=== Daily Dugout Chatter - Thursday, July 29th === (Games from Wednesday, July 28th)
From The My Sportsbook
DIAZ KNOCKS IN FIVE; BULLS WIN STREAK REACHES EIGHT
Matt Diaz exploded for five RBI and Jason Standridge pitched eight strong innings as the Durham Bulls defeated the Scranton-W/B Red Barons, 11-3, in the International League Wednesday afternoon. Durham picked up its eighth win in a row and upped its record to 56-47. Scranton-W/B dropped its third in a row and fell to 55-49. Diaz hit his 17th home run of the season and finished the day 3- for-5 with two runs scored. Midre Cummings (21), Jonny Gomes (20) and Keith Osik chipped in with one home run apiece for the Bulls. Gomes also knocked in three runs and walked. Standridge (5-1) held the Barons to three runs, two earned, on eight hits and struck out four. Scranton's Franklin Perez suffered the loss and fell to 0-4. Perez surrendered six runs on seven hits and struck out two in four innings of work. Marlon Byrd went 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and also scored a run for the Red Barons.
TIGERS AND METS SPLIT THRILLING DOUBLEHEADER
Yusmeiro Petit tossed a complete game three-hit shutout as the St. Lucie Mets defeated the Lakeland Tigers, 2-0, in game two of a doubleheader on Wednesday night. Petit, who improved to 2-2 for the Mets this season, fanned 10 Tigers en route to his three-hit gem. He issued just one walk and lowered his ERA to 1.14 on the year. Alhaji Turay accounted for all of St. Lucie's runs in the contest. The right fielder belted a two-run home run in the fourth inning, his 14th of the season. The Mets received six solid innings from Orlando Roman in game one, but fell to the Tigers by a count of 3-2. Matt Paris picked up the win by going five innings and holding the Mets to two runs. Gilberto Mejia knocked in the eventual game-winning run with an RBI bunt single in the fifth.
PINTO TOSSES GEM FOR WEST TENN
Renyel Pinto tossed seven innings of one-hit ball and struck out 11, while Richard Lewis drove in three runs, to lead the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx to a 6-0 shutout over the Huntsville Stars. Pinto improved to 9-7 with the win. Russ Rohlicek and Jermaine Van Buren each tossed one inning to seal the shutout. Aron Weston and Geovany Soto drove in a run each for the Diamond Jaxx. Lewis drove in all three of his RBI with a triple, highlighting a six-run seventh inning. Jeff Housman suffered the loss despite not allowing an earned run. Housman allowed three unearned runs on six hits in six innings to fall to 4-7. Ozzie Chavez had the only hit for Huntsville, a single in the fifth inning.
FIGUEROA TOSSES COMPLETE GAME BEHIND BIG OFFENSE
Nelson Figueroa tossed a complete game three hit shutout and Rich Thompson knocked in four runs as the Nashville Sounds blanked the Salt Lake Stingers, 12-0, in Pacific Coast League action Wednesday evening. Nashville upped its record to 49-54 while Salt Lake fell to 39-65. Figueroa (11-6) scattered three hits, two walks and struck out eight while lowering his ERA to 3.98 for the year. This was Figueroa's second complete game in 2004. Thompson hit his second home run of the season and finished the night 3-for-5 with three runs scored. Terry Shumpert blasted his sixth long ball, scored two runs and knocked in three for the Sounds. Salt Lake's Chris Bootcheck suffered the loss and fell to 6-7. Bootcheck was shelled for eight runs, six earned, on nine hits, three walks and struck out five over five innings of work.
SNYDER LIFTS FISHER CATS TO FIFTH STRAIGHT
Michael Snyder tied the game before scoring the winning run as the New Hampshire Fisher Cats edged the New Britain Rock Cats, 6-5, in an Eastern League Northern Division game Wednesday night. On a five-game winning streak, New Hampshire improved to 59-44 while New Britain, which has dropped three straight, slipped to 48-54. Trailing 5-4 entering the top of the seventh inning, New Hampshire got a leadoff walk from Paul Chiaffredo, who scored when Snyder smacked a triple. Snyder would score the game-winning run on an error. Reliever Ryan Houston (5-2) allowed one run on one hit in 2 1/3rd innings to earn the victory. James Vermilyea recorded his fourth save with three scoreless innings of work. Losing pitcher Jason Miller (0-2) was touched for two runs on two hits in two innings. New Britain and New Hampshire are scheduled to play again Thursday.
SOX EDGE CHIEFS IN TENTH
Henri Stanley's RBI double in the top of the tenth inning was the difference in the Pawtucket Red Sox 9-7 win over the Syracuse SkyChiefs on Wednesday night. Down 4-3 in the top of the eighth inning, Pawtucket took the lead on a two-run triple off the bat of Cesar Crespo. Crespo scored later that inning when Stanley reached on an error by Shawn Fagan. Syracuse answered in the bottom of the eighth. The SkyChiefs tied the game at 6-6 when Julius Matos scored after Anthony Sanders grounded out. The score would remain tied until the top of the tenth. Aquilino Lopez retired the first two batters he faced, but Crespo doubled to put the go-ahead run in scoring position. Jimmy Alvarez followed with an RBI single before Stanley knocked in the eventual game winner. George Lombard added an run-scoring single in the inning. Howie Clark slapped a two out RBI double to left center field in the bottom of the tenth inning for Syracuse, but the Red Sox held on to win it, 9-7. Brandon Puffer (2-2) picked up the win in three innings of relief. Lopez (1-5) suffered the loss. Game three of the four-game series is Thursday at 7:00 PM (ET).
BAUTISTA, SANTOS POWER WRANGLERS PAST DRILLERS
Denny Bautista tossed seven strong innings of shutout ball, while Chad Santos drove in three runs to lead the Wichita Wranglers to a 5-1 win over the Tulsa Drillers. The Wranglers have won five straight. Bautista allowed four hits, walked three, and struck out six to improve to 3-1. Jorge Vasquez recorded his 15th save, closing out the ninth after Colt Griffin allowed three hits and a run in the frame without getting an out. Santos had an RBI single in the first inning and a two-run single in the third. Cory Aldridge chipped in with an RBI on a sacrifice fly in the fourth. Kip Bouknight suffered the loss and fell to 1-2. He allowed five runs on nine hits in seven innings of work. Shawn Garrett hit a solo home run, his 12th, in the loss for the Drillers. Wichita will host Tulsa again tomorrow, with an 8:00 PM (ET) scheduled start.
ASTROS SWEEP DOUBLE DIP
The Greeneville Astros picked up their third and fourth wins in a row with a doubleheader sweep of the Princeton Devil Rays in Appalachian League action on Wednesday night. The Astros thumped the Rays in game one of the double dip, 8-4. Greeneville scored seven runs in the third and were led by leadoff hitter and right fielder Ryan Reed, who went 2-for-4 with a home run on the day. In game two, Levi Romero tossed five solid innings and fanned eight as the Astros took the nightcap, 3-1. Romero held the Devil Rays to a run on four hits and picked up the win to improve to 3-0 on the year.
