=== Daily Dugout Chatter - Tuesday, September 1st === (Games from Tuesday, August 31st)
From The My Sportsbook
FISHER CATS STREAKING TOWARDS PLAYOFFS
Aaron Hill roped an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning, plating Tyrell Godwin with the winning run, as the New Hampshire Fisher Cats won for the fourth straight time, sweeping tonight's doubleheader with a 2-1 win over the Norwich Navigators in game two. Hill powered the Fisher Cats, going 3- for-4, including a solo home run in addition to his game winning hit. Ryan Houston improved to 7-2 with the win in relief of Brandon League. Houston struck out the side in the top of the eighth inning. League had a fine outing in the no-decision. He allowed a run on six hits in seven innings of work. Merkin Valdez allowed two runs on six hits in 7 2/3rd innings to absorb the loss. Valdez struck out seven and walked one, as he fell to 1-3. Doug Clark knocked in the lone Navigators run with an RBI single in the third inning, that tied the game 1-1. The Fisher Cats took game one, 2-0, behind the arm of starting pitcher Josh Banks.
BULLS LOSE COSTLY ONE TO BRAVES
Ryan Langerhans belted his 19th home run of the season and the Richmond Braves knocked off the Durham Bulls, 3-2, on Tuesday night. The Bulls trail the Braves by three games in the International League South Division, but failed to gain any ground on the division leaders as Richmond took two out of three from Durham. Durham, however, still leads the wild card. The Braves scored all three of their runs in the fourth inning. After Langerhans gave his team a 1-0 lead with the round-tripper, Richmond loaded the bases with a walk and two singles. Damon Hollins plated Luis Lopez with a sacrifice fly and J.C. Boscan singled home a run to give the Braves all the runs they needed. The Bulls got on the board in the fifth inning on an RBI single by Matt Diaz. Keith Osik tallied their other run with an RBI ground out in the sixth. Dan Meyer (3-3) allowed a run on seven hits in five innings and picked up the win. Matt Whiteside closed out the game by pitching a scoreless ninth and chalking up his league leading 38th save. Doug Waechter (0-2), who was making his final rehabilitation start with the Bulls, took the loss. Durham will now look to gain ground in the division standings on the road, as they play their final six games in Norfolk and Charlotte. Richmond will play six of its final eight games at home as they also close the regular season with series against the Knights and Tides.
BARONS CLINCH PLAYOFF BIRTH
Ryan Meaux was tourched for two runs early but settled down to deliver six solid innings as the Birmingham Barons beat the Chattanooga Lookouts, 7-3, in a Southern League game Tuesday night. With the win, Birmingham improved to 38-26 in the second half of the Southern League season while Chattanooga tumbled to 45-19. Meaux (7-8) was touched for two runs on four hits and struck out three in six innings. After Meaux put Birmingham in a 2-0 hole after two innings, the Barons' bats responded with seven unanswered runs. In the six-run sixth inning, Guillermo Reyes plated what proved to be the game-winning run with a two-run single to centerfield. Losing pitcher Casey DeHart (6-6) was torched for six runs on five hit and recorded just one out. Birmingham and Chattanooga are scheduled to play again Wednesday night.
ON A MISSION
Shin-soo Choo smashed his 13th home run of the season and drove in three runs to lead the San Antonio Missions past the Tulsa Drillers, 6-4 in a Texas League battle. Choo finished the day with two runs scored on a perfect 2-for-2 performance. He got the Missions on the board in the first stanza when his sacrifice fly chased home Dustin Delucchi. Choo belted his two-run home run as part of a three-run fifth inning to give San Antonio a 5-1 advantage. TJ Bohn homered in the win, it was his sixth in the Texas League. Adonis Harrison and Jeff Winchester each knocked an RBI double in the ninth to close the scoring in the game for the Drillers. Jayson Nix collected three hits in the effort. Felix Hernandez was solid on the mound in five innings for San Antonio. Hernandez allowed one earned run on three hits and a pair of walks. He fanned eight to improve to 5-1 on the season. Rick Guttormson recorded his 25th save in the win. Tulsa's Chris Narveson (0-3) took the loss. He was touched for three runs -- two earned -- on two hits and four walks.
PETERSON SHINES AGAINST SILVER HAWKS
Trent Peterson pitched a three-hit complete game shutout as the Kane County Cougars defeated the South Bend Silver Hawks, 6-0 in a Midwest League battle. Peterson (8-5) walked on and struck out six in the win. Brian Snyder and Chris Tritle each knocked in two runs in the win.
RIVERDOGS BLANK GREEN JACKETS
Andrew Sonnanstine was dominant on the mound in six shutout innings as he struck out eight to lead the Charleston South Carolina River Dogs over the August Green Jackets, 8-0 in a South Atlantic League contest. Sonnanstine allowed two hits and walked one as he improved to 2-0 in Single-A. Elliot Johnson collected three hits, while Delmon Young and Wes Bankston each knocked in two runs in the victory.
BEAVERS WIN SIXTH STRAIGHT: CLOSING IN ON DIVISION TITLE
Jon Knott, Xavier Nady, Humberto Quintero, and Jake Gautreau all went deep for Portland, as the Beavers used the long ball to defeat the Fresno Grizzlies, 8-1. Knott's bomb was a two-run blast, while Nady, Quintero, and Gautreau all hit solo shots. JJ Furmaniak added two RBI in the win, while Kerry Robinson went 3-for-5, falling a home run shy of the cycle, with an RBI and two runs scored. Justin Germano tossed seven strong innings to pick up the win and improve to 9-5. He allowed a run on four hits and struck out six. Ryan Jensen was shelled in 5 1/3rd innings and suffered the loss. Jensen allowed eight runs on twelve hits, and struck out seven to fall to 10-7. Brian Dallimore knocked in the lone run for the Grizzlies with an RBI single in the second inning.
CAN'T CATCH CUBS, YET
Marshall McDougall homered and drove in four runs to pace the Oklahoma attack, as the RedHawks picked apart Colorado Springs pitching, en route to an 11-6 win. McDougall hit a three-run homer, his 19th, and had an RBI double, while also scoring twice for the RedHawks. Peter Zoccolillo chipped in with a 3- for-4, three RBI performance, while Chad Allen went 3-for-4 with an RBI and scored four runs. Jason Conti added three hits and three runs scored in the win. Keith Stamler (7-3) tossed three shutout innings in relief of Scott Erickson to pick up the win. Erickson was shaky, allowing six runs on nine hits in six innings. Luis Martinez (2-1) was rocked for eight runs on nine hits in 6 1/3rd innings to suffer the loss. Travis Driskill didn't fair much better for the Sky Sox, allowing three runs on three hits in an inning of work. Brad Hawpe hit a grand slam in the loss, his 29th bomb of the season. The RedHawks, who have clinched the Eastern Division, are 80-58. With the loss, the Sky Sox remain a game behind Iowa, who also lost tonight, in the Central Division.
