Other note: Pittsburgh CF/leadoff situation- saw where Nyjer Morgan is out 2-3 months w a torn ligament in his thumb or something, so that leaves Rajai Davis, he of the .300+, 23 or so SB in AAA to supplant the mediocre Duffy/McLouth combo once Pitt tires of them

McGee - 6 IP, 8 K, 1 BB, 4 H, 2 ER
Kennedy - 5 IP, 8 K, 1 BB, 5 H, 2 ER

Gordon hit a double off him right before he came out...

On a side note, the Astros continue to get the tar beat out of them. And watching Eric Byrnes play baseball is just downright fun; all out, all the time. One of my fav players ever since I saw him play in the minors- the whole town of Sacramento absolutely loved him

Indians beat the Tigers 7-4; Martinez, Blake, and Barfield all with HRs; Michaels robbed Monroe of one HR, though Monroe hit one later.  Byrd with a QS - 6 IP, 3 ER, 0 BB - hasn't walked a batter in 37.0 IP.  He's now 5-1 with a 3.81 ERA.  In fact, he threw 60 strikes, 13 balls in tonight's game - unbelieveable control!  This is more the Paul Byrd the Indians were expecting when they signed him before the 2006 season.  Nice to see him come around for the Indians.

Onto the Minors:

AAA Buffalo - lost to Louisville (CIN) 10-1:

RF Franklin Gutierrez - 1-4, 1 K (.340)
CF Ben Francisco - 1-4, 1 2B, 1 K, 1 GIDP (.340 - still matching Gutierrez in the BA department.  :-)
1B Ryan Mulhern - 1-3, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 SF (.315)
LF Brad Snyder - 1-4, 1 K (.281)

LHP Rafael Perez - L (3-3) - 4.1 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 WP; 5 G/6 F; 52 S/23 B (3.66 - didn't seem to have good command tonight, though his control - S/B - was good.)
RHP Jake Dittler - 2.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 K; 5 G/1 F; 29 S/11 B; 1/1 IR scored (5.68 - similar to Perez - good control, but not good command.)
RHP Jim Ed Warden - 1.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR (3-run); 1 G/2 F; 23 S/18 B; 2/2 IR scored (7.59 - didn't have good control or command; has really faltered after a strong start to 2007.)

Louisville:
1B Joey Votto - 3-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 K (.319)
3B Earl Snyder - 1-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 1 E (3-throw) (.181 - part of the Alomar/Escobar trade back in 2002.)

LHP Mike Gosling - W (3-2) - 6.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 K; 15 G/4 F; 66 S/32 B (2.94 - another solid outing for former 2nd-Rd. 2001 Diamondbacks pick out of Stanford who is now 26-YO.)
RHP Todd Coffey - 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 WP; 20 S/11 B (0.00 - rehab?  I'm not sure.)

AA Akron - lost to Erie (DET) 5-1 (there was a 1 hr. 18 min. rain delay

SS Asdrubal Cabrera - 1-5, 1 R, 1 SB (13-2nd; 13/13 in steals.) (.318)
1B Jordan Brown - 3-4, 1 K (.311)
DH Brian Barton - 1-4, 2 K (.275)
LF Ryan Goleski - 1-2, 2 BB (.258 - threw out a runner at 3rd.)
RF Trevor Crowe - 0-4, 1 K, 1 SB (6-2nd) (.173)

RHP J.D. Martin - 2.2 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 3 K; 3 G/2 F (4.25 - I'm guessing either the rains came after 2.2 IP OR Martin was injured, though I have not heard anything to that effect at this point.)
RHP Nick Pesco - 3.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HB; 1 G/4 F; 0/3 IR scored (5.40)
LHP Mariano Gomez - 0.1 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K (4.50)
RHP Jensen Lewis - 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 WP; 3 G/1 F; 3/3 IR scored (2.10 - K rate was impressive again, but the first hit given up by him tonight was very costly, a 3-run RBI double by Jackson Melian, allowing all 3 IR to score.)

Erie:
2B Michael Hollimon - 0-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K (.243)
3B Kody Kirtland - 1-3, 1 2B, 3 K, 1 E (11-throw) (.255)
DH Jackson Melian - 2-2, 1 BB, 1 CS (5-2nd) (.304 - the former Yankee prospect mentioned in a recent thread on here.)

RHP Jair Jurrjens - 7.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 1 WP; 9 G/6 F (3.02 - another solid start to this point for the undrafted 21-YO FA out of the Netherlands, signed by the Tigers in May 2003.)

High-A Kinston - split a DH with Winston-Salem (CHW,) losing Game 1 2-1 in 7 innings, winning Game 2 5-2 in 6.5 innings:

Game 1:
CF Jose Constanza - 0-1, 2 BB (.252)
1B Michael Aubrey - 0-3 (.353)
RF Nathan Panther - 1-2, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI (.237 - 6-12 over his last 4 games w/ 1 HR, 3 RBI.)
SS Josh Rodriguez - 1-2, 1 K, 1 PO (1st) (.217)

RHP Frank Herrmann - L (3-1) - 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB (IBB,) 5 K, 1 HR (solo); 6 G/9 F (2.56 - tough-luck loss, but the 23-YO undrafted FA out of Harvard pitched very well again.)

Game 2:
CF Jose Constanza - 1-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB (10-2nd)
2B Chris De La Cruz - 2-4, 1 2B, 3 RBI (.306)
DH Michael Aubrey - 0-3, 2 K (.300)
1B Stephen Head - 1-3, 2 K (.247)
LF John Drennen - 2-2, 1 R, 1 SB (2-2nd,) 1 HBP (.251)
SS Josh Rodriguez - 3-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB (8-2nd) (.227 - might he finally be getting comfortable at High-A?)

LHP Dan Cevette - 4.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 2 HR (solos); 3 G/1 F (3.97 - the HRs given up weren't good, but the high K numbers were very good for the 23-YO 3rd-Rd. 2002 HS pick out of Elkland, PA.)
RHP Erik Stiller - 2.0 IP, 2 H; 2 G/4 F (0.00 - first appearance of 2007 for the undrafted FA from Princeton University signed by the Indians in 2006.)

Low-A Lake County - defeated Lakewood (PHI) 12-9:

CF Jason Denham - 2-5, 3 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 BB (.310 - at this rate, he might reach High-A by the ASB.)
3B Adam Davis - 2-6, 2 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI (.239 - like his former Florida teammate, Josh Rodriguez, is Davis finally starting to get comfortable at Low-A?)
2B Jared Goedert - 3-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 1 CS (1-2nd,) 1 HBP (.359 - also helped to turn a 6-4-3 DP and has made only 1 E in 6 G at 2B; if Goedert can stay at 2nd base and hit like this, the Indians could have a nice blue-chip prospect on their hands!)
1B Matt Whitney - 1-3, 1 2B, 3 BB, 1 K (.318 - the plate discipline is nice to see.)
C Matthew McBride - 1-2, 1 RBI, 2 BB (.300 - along with Tomlin, gave up 2 more SBs, though the players who got them had 18 and 12 before tonight's steals, respectively.)
DH Roman Pena - 0-4, 1 BB, 1 K (.259)
SS Carlos Rivero - 1-5, 1 R, 2 K (.267)
LF Nick Weglarz - 2-4, 3 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K (.233)
RF Cirillo Cumberbatch - 1-4, 2 R, 1 K (.409)

RHP Josh Tomlin - W (4-0) - 5.0 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 K, 1 HB; 5 G/9 F (2.68 - solid outing for a spot start, though he seems more dominant in the bullpen, SSS understood.)
RHP Paolo Espino - 1.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 K, 1 HR (2-run); 1 G/2 F (5.34)
RHP Cody Bunkelman - H (2) - 1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 HB; 3 G/1 F; 1/2 IR scored (5.61 - control and command continue to be issues with him.)
RHP Neil Wagner - S (6) - 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 K, 1 WP; 1 F; 2/3 IR scored (2.79)

Lakewood:
2B Adrian Cardenas - 2-5, 1 R, 1 K (.267)
3B C.J. Henry - 1-5, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI (.200 - former Yankee prospect traded in the Abreu deal; 38 G, 130 AB, 6 HR, 26 RBI, 8 BB/50 K, 9 SB/0 CS, .200/.264/.431.)

Take care and have a great day!

play by play guy: "Elijah Dukes has been out of the lineup due to off-field difficulties the last couple of days."

color guy: "Yeah, he threatened to whack his ex-wife."

It was like a scene out of Major League w Bob Uecker. Great!

but 2-2 tonight, 2B, HR, 2 BB...avg. up to .264 in the Carolina league.

perhaps Marrero will be promoted soon, and maybe thatll give him someone to play with/move through the system with...