catching up (yet again)

What a day it was Sunday for players with Mississippi ties, a day so filled with noteworthy items it’s worthy of a Top 10 list:
1) Scott Diamond was summoned to the big leagues by Minnesota, and the former Mississippi Braves left-hander will make his major league debut today against Cleveland. Diamond will be the 54th M-Braves alumnus to advance to The Show, the sixth to do so this season.
2) Former Mississippi State star Mitch Moreland homered to supply all the runs for Texas in its 3-1 win over Seattle, the 11th straight victory for the Rangers. Ex-M-Brave Matt Harrison got the W.
3) Ole Miss product Zack Cozart hit his first major league homer — off former Rebels teammate Lance Lynn — to help Cincinnati beat St. Louis 3-1.
4) Ex-Rebels standout Alex Presley had three hits, three RBIs, a run and a stolen base in Pittsburgh’s 7-5 win against Houston in 11 innings.
5) MSU alum Jonathan Papelbon nailed down his 21st save with a 1-2-3 16th inning as Boston beat Tampa Bay 1-0.
6) Carlos Guillen, the former Jackson Generals star who came off the DL on Saturday, had a big RBI hit for Detroit in its 4-3 win over Chicago. It’s been 12 years since the Gens last played at Smith-Wills Stadium, but several alums of those Astros clubs are still contributing, including Lance Berkman, Bobby Abreu, Freddy Garcia, Ramon Castro and Julio Lugo.
7) Berkman, having an MVP-caliber season, belted his 25th homer in St. Louis’ loss to Cincy.
8) Former M-Brave Jeff Francoeur homered, his 13th, in Kansas City’s 4-3 loss to Minnesota.
9) Ex-Ole Miss star Seth Smith had two hits and an RBI for Colorado in a 4-3 loss to Milwaukee.
10) Freddie Freeman, former M-Braves standout, got the game-winning hit for Atlanta in the bottom of the ninth against Washington. Seven of Atlanta’s nine runs were scored by M-Braves alums, and Brian McCann — another MVP candidate — drove in three of them with his 16th home run.
P.S. Ole Miss product Matt Tolbert was sent to the minors by the Twins, who added ex-M-Brave Chuck James to their bullpen. Tolbert can play a lot of positions but hasn’t hit much this year (.181 in 55 games).