out there

In Buffalo, home of the Toronto Blue Jays’ Class AAA affiliate, former Picayune High standout T.J. House picked up his first win in five starts on Saturday, throwing six shutout innings in a 4-0 victory over Charlotte. In 10 starts overall, the 27-year-old left-hander is now 5-4 with a 3.20 ERA, perhaps serving notice to the big club that he could help if needed. Good to see him having some success. House, signed as a minor league free agent in the off-season, got a look from the Blue Jays as a non-roster player in spring training, but that ended when he was struck in the head by a line drive on March 10. He didn’t pitch again for several weeks. He went 5-3 with a 3.35 ERA for Cleveland in 2014 but was up for a total of just eight games with the Indians the past two years. … In Detroit, Ole Miss product Alex Presley went 3-for-4 with his first home run of the season for the Tigers in a 10-1 victory against the Chicago White Sox. Presley, trying to hold onto a job with the Tigers, is 5-for-15 with three RBIs, six runs and two steals since being called up on May 28. Saturday’s homer was the 27th career MLB blast for the veteran outfielder, now with his sixth team, a journey that began in Pittsburgh in 2010. … In Baltimore, ex-UM star Seth Smith came to the plate as a pinch hitter representing the tying run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth against Boston and former Mississippi Braves closer Craig Kimbrel. (Ah, the joys of channel surfing on XM radio.) Kimbrel, having a rare off night during a sensational stretch, won this battle, locking up Smith – a .270 hitter with five homers — on a breaking ball for a called third strike on a 2-2 pitch. Red Sox, 5-2. Kimbrel has 16 saves in 17 opportunities and a 1.07 ERA.