11 May

have a day

Seth Smith went 3-for-4, drove in four runs, scored two and came up a single shy of the first cycle in San Diego Padres history. But the Ole Miss product’s big day wasn’t the best by a Mississippian in the majors on Saturday. No, that honor would have to go to Corey Dickerson, the ex-Meridian Community College star from McComb, who went 4-for-5, hit two homers, drove in four runs and scored three in Colorado’s 11-2 win at Cincinnati. Dickerson, in his second MLB campaign, is batting .385 with four homers and 11 RBIs as a platooning outfielder for the rolling Rockies, second in the National League West. Jackson native Smith, playing more regularly for the Padres, has been on a roll of his own with 15 hits in his last 27 at-bats. He is batting .327 with three homers and 13 RBIs. P.S. Vicksburg native Ellis Burks, who had some monster years with Colorado during his playing days, is working as a part-time instructor with Rockies hitters this season.

23 Mar

dodger dog

Paul Maholm, the former Mississippi State Bulldogs star, made his official Los Angeles Dodgers debut on Sunday in Australia. One of three pitchers the Dodgers used in a rocky bottom of the ninth inning against Arizona, Maholm struck out the only batter he faced. L.A. held on to win 7-5 despite yielding four runs in the ninth. Veteran left-hander Maholm, cut loose by Atlanta after a 10-11, 4.41 ERA season in 2013, struggled in competition for the Dodgers’ No. 5 starter job during the first few weeks of spring training. He figures to rejoin that battle when the team returns to the States. P.S. Getting to the majors is hard, they say, but staying is even harder. Despite hitting .354 so far this spring, Meridian Community College product Corey Dickerson has not nailed down a job with the Colorado Rockies. The left-handed hitting Dickerson, 24, who had a solid rookie year in 2013, is competing for one of two available outfield jobs. Commenting on questions about his defense, Dickerson told mlb.com: “I think I’ve got a pretty good track record and I can play any position in the outfield — I have the speed and the tools to do it.” Already sent to the minors this spring were Picayune’s T.J. House by Cleveland; Ole Miss product Phillip Irwin by Pittsburgh; and Hattiesburg’s Robert Carson by the L.A. Angels (who took him off their 40-man roster). … Released on Saturday: former Mississippi Braves star Jeff Francoeur, who hit .286 with 10 RBIs for the Indians this spring.