hits a poppin’

Ole Miss alumnus Alex Presley celebrated his return to the big leagues from Triple-A with a home run, a triple and two runs as Pittsburgh beat Cincinnati 8-4 on Tuesday and moved into second place in the National League Central. Presley, back in the leadoff spot that he was expected to hold down this season, lifted his average to .228. Ex-Rebels star Zack Cozart was 3-for-5 for the Reds in that game. Itawamba Community College’s Desmond Jennings also celebrated a return, coming off the disabled list to go 1-for-4 for Tampa Bay. Alas, the Rays lost to the New York Yankees 7-0 and dropped into a first-place tie with Baltimore in the American League East. Southwest Mississippi CC product Jarrod Dyson went 1-for-3 in Kansas City’s 1-0 win over Minnesota. Ex-Southern Miss star Brian Dozier had two hits for the Twins. Ex-Mississippi Braves shortstop Andrelton Simmons had three hits and three RBIs (his first in The Show) as Atlanta whipped Miami 11-0. And former Jackson Generals standout Bobby Abreu, batting .329 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, had a pinch hit and scored a run as the Dodgers rallied for two runs in the eighth inning to beat Philadelphia and former Meridian CC ace Cliff Lee (now 0-3) by a 2-1 count.