Tag Archives: MLB

20 Jul

on the move

Corey Dickerson has taken another step on the path to returning to the Colorado Rockies’ lineup. The former Brookhaven Academy and Meridian Community College star played left field and went 1-for-3 on Sunday in the first game of his rehab assignment. He is with Class A Modesto in the California League. Dickerson, dealing with plantar fasciitis in his left foot, has only 127 MLB at-bats this season and is hitting .299 with five home runs and 16 RBIs. He last played a game for the Rockies on June 16. Colorado manager Walt Weiss told the Denver Post that Dickerson would get about 25 rehab at-bats and should be back with the Rockies “real soon.” Dickerson had a breakout year in 2014, when he batted .312 with 24 homers, 76 RBIs and 74 runs in 131 games. He was All Mississippi Baseball’s Cool Papa Bell Award winner, given for the best season by a Mississippian in the majors. … Ole Miss product Alex Presley, designated for assignment by Houston on Saturday, may soon land with another MLB club, according to various reports. Presley, a lefty-hitting outfielder who had just 12 ABs with the Astros this season, is a .259 career hitter who can do a lot of little things well.

16 Jul

breaking away

The big league All-Star break, which continues through today, means different things to different players. Those who are slumping likely welcome the respite, while those on a roll are hoping not to lose their mojo. Seth Smith, the Ole Miss product from Jackson, falls into the latter category. He homered for Seattle in the last game before the break, giving him eight for the year. He is hitting .333 over his last 15 games to lift his average to .268. Former Mississippi State standout Tyler Moore had a big two-run double for Washington last Sunday and has seven RBIs in eight July games for the first-place Nationals. He would like to find his home run stroke, however; his last blast came on June 12. UM alum Drew Pomeranz, who has been rock solid since moving to the Oakland bullpen, had a 1.50 ERA over his last seven appearances heading into the break. The break might have been a good thing for Pascagoula native Joey Butler. So hot for Tampa Bay just a couple of weeks ago, he is batting .098 with one RBI over his last 15 games, dropping his average to .287. Ex-UM star Chris Coghlan’s consecutive games streak ended at 150 when he sat out on Sunday, getting a pre-break break. Coghlan hasn’t produced much of late for the Chicago Cubs, with just one RBI and four runs in 11 games in July. Tony Sipp, the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College product, has a 5.06 ERA – two runs higher than his season number — over his last seven games for Houston, which fell out of first place in the American League West on the last day before the break.

15 Jul

step right up

The award-winning Emerson Landoni Show comes to Trustmark Park in Pearl tonight. The Mississippi Braves shortstop put up back-to-back five-hit performances at Chattanooga on Sunday and Monday. Prior to Monday’s game, Landoni was named the Southern League player of the week for July 6-12. He batted .566 in that span, getting 14 hits in a six-game streak and picking up 10 runs and five RBIs. For the year, the 26-year-old Venezuela native, getting a fourth look in Double-A, is batting .281 with 11 doubles, three triples, 22 RBIs and 30 runs. The M-Braves, back at the TeePee to start a five-game series against Jacksonville, have been searching for some offense. They are 10-8, hanging a game back of first-place Pensacola in the SL South. The M-Braves won four of five games at Chattanooga, a nice run that included strong pitching performances from Andrew Barbosa and Greg Ross as well as Landoni’s heroics. Landoni is now the team’s leading hitter, just ahead of Matt Lipka (.279). P.S. Former M-Braves ace Tyrell Jenkins, who threw seven shutout innings in his Triple-A debut on July 9, is in line to start for Gwinnett on Thursday or Friday at Syracuse. Right-hander Jenkins, one of Atlanta’s top prospects, was 5-5 with a 3.00 ERA for the M-Braves this season before his promotion. … On the subject of the Braves and pitchers, here’s an interesting fact: There are 17 former M-Braves pitchers on the 40-man rosters of other major league clubs, including Craig Kimbrel, Charlie Morton, Blaine Boyer, J.J. Hoover, Chasen Shreve and J.R. Graham. Two others, Zeke Spruill and Todd Redmond, who have pitched in the big leagues this year, recently were assigned to the minors, and yet another, Paul Clemens, was among Philadelphia’s last cuts in the spring. The Braves also have traded in recent weeks John Cornely, Ian Thomas and Juan Jaime, each of whom pitched for Atlanta this season.

12 Jul

on a good track

While the Texas Rangers’ season might be in danger of running off the rails, Mitch Moreland remains on track for the best year of his career. The Mississippi State product from Amory hit two homers on Saturday, running his season total to 16. He has had three two-homer games in the last 13 days. He is batting .289, 32 points above his career average. He has 46 RBIs, 14 shy of his career-high from 2013, when he hit 23 homers. This is good timing for Moreland, 24, in his sixth MLB season. He is eligible for salary arbitration next year. Moreland’s bombs on Saturday couldn’t lift the host Rangers past San Diego, which won 6-5. Texas has lost 14 of 19 to fall to 42-45, third place and 5.5 games off the pace in the American League West. P.S. Nice moment at Target Field in Minnesota on Saturday when it was announced between innings that Southern Miss alum Brian Dozier would be going to the All-Star Game as a replacement for the injured Jose Bautista of Toronto. Dozier, who got a much-deserved standing O, will be USM’s first All-Star representative since Jim Davenport in 1962. … Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton swiped two bases on Saturday – including third base on a throw from the catcher back to the pitcher — to push his MLB-leading total to 44. But his Cincinnati team got pounded by Miami 14-3 and fell to 39-46 in what has been a lost season for the All-Star Game host.

10 Jul

the hot spot

On a night when the Yankees are at Fenway, the White Sox and Cubs are clashing at Wrigley and the Nats and O’s are dueling at Camden Yards, the best place to be might be PNC Park in Pittsburgh. That’s where former Ole Miss star Lance Lynn and his St. Louis teammates will meet the Pirates in a matchup of the two best teams in the National League. The pitching matchup is a dandy. Lynn, 6-4 with a 2.53 ERA, will be opposed by Pirates ace Gerrit Cole, 12-3, 2.28. The Cardinals won the opener of the four-game series 4-1 on Thursday night, snapping the Pirates’ four-game win streak and extending their lead in the National League Central to 5½ games. Lynn faced the Bucs in St. Louis on May 1, striking out 10 in seven innings in a game won by the Cards 2-1 in 10. Lynn has fared well against Andrew McCutchen (.132) and Pedro Alvarez (.182), not so well against Starling Marte (.381) and Neil Walker (.294, two homers, eight RBIs). Envy Jackson’s Chris Maloney, who, as the Cardinals’ first-base coach, will have a great view of what ought to be a great game. P.S. UM product Aaron Barrett, on the disabled list for Washington, has made three rehab appearances in Class A ball, working three innings with no earned runs allowed. Barrett has a 5.06 ERA in 30 games for the Nationals. … Former Picayune High star T.J. House remains on the DL in the minors for Cleveland. The left-hander last pitched on June 5. He was sent down by the Indians after going 0-4, 13.15 in four starts; he is 0-2, 3.86 in four games for Triple-A Columbus. … Meridian Community College product Cliff Lee reportedly will start throwing later this month, though his return to Philadelphia still appears iffy. The veteran lefty hasn’t pitched at all this season and made just 13 starts last year because of elbow problems.

08 Jul

just another day …

There were no walk-off homers, or any homers at all by Mississippi-connected players. Nobody had a bunch of hits or drove in a bunch of runs. No quality starts were delivered, no holds or saves recorded. And yet, Mississippians made their mark in Tuesday’s MLB games, splattering numbers all over the 17 box scores. Twelve Mississippians (natives or college alums) played on Tuesday, and they collectively delivered six hits, five walks, five runs, two steals, a sac fly, a win and 2 2/3 scoreless innings of pitching. The line of the day belongs to Southwest Mississippi Community College product and McComb native Jarrod Dyson. In Kansas City’s 7-1 win over Tampa Bay in Game 2 of a twinbill, Dyson put up a 2-3-1-0 with two walks and a stolen base. P.S. On this date in 1941, Ted Williams hit his legendary three-run, ninth-inning, game-winning home run in the All-Star Game at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. The pitch was delivered by Claude Passeau, one of the greatest pitchers Mississippi has produced. The Waynesboro native and Millsaps College alum, who won 162 games in the big leagues, was working his third inning for the National League and would have been a winner (by a 5-3 score) had a double play been turned before Williams’ at-bat. Hall of Fame broadcaster Red Barber of Columbus called the game for Mutual Radio.

05 Jul

by the numbers

4 – RBIs on Saturday for Tyler Moore, the former Mississippi State standout. Moore went 3-for-4 to help Washington, the National League East leader, beat San Francisco 9-3. He has 17 RBIs for the year.
5 – Wins for Mississippi Braves ace Tyrell Jenkins. The right-hander threw seven strong innings in a 4-2 win over Jackson (Tenn.) at Trustmark Park. Jenkins is 5-5 with a 3.00 ERA for the M-Braves, now 5-4 in the second half.
5 – Wins by Lance Lynn, the former Ole Miss star. Lynn (5-5, 2.74 ERA) starts today for St. Louis, the NL Central leader, against San Diego. Lynn has a 1.47 ERA in his last five starts.
7 – Shutout innings on Saturday by Kendall Graveman, the ex-State star. Graveman, now 6-4, 3.16 for Oakland, outdueled Seattle ace Felix Hernandez in a 2-0 A’s win.
7 – Holds for Drew Pomeranz, the Ole Miss alumnus. The converted starter worked a scoreless eighth inning for Oakland in relief of Kendall Graveman.
20 – Stolen bases by Corey Wimberly, the Alcorn State product. Wimberly got a bag for Yucatan in a 6-5 win over Tijuana and also went 1-for-3 to boost his average to .323 in the Mexican League.
62 – Runs by Brian Dozier, the former Southern Miss standout. Dozier, who leads the American League in runs, tallied one in Minnesota’s 5-3 win against Kansas City.

30 Jun

flipping the script

Seems sorta silly now. Mitch Moreland was projected to hit 13 home runs for Texas this season while batting .243, according to Rotowire.com. Speculation was that the former Mississippi State star would wind up in a platoon situation at DH. He had off-season ankle surgery after playing only 52 games (and hitting two homers) in 2014, and then underwent elbow surgery in late April. He had one homer at the time. When the Rangers reacquired Josh Hamilton, it was assumed Moreland’s playing time would drop. Flash to Monday. Moreland hit two homers in the Rangers’ 8-1 win against Baltimore, giving him 12 for the season, which is not yet half over. A career .258 hitter, he is batting .300 (and his average has been as high as .321). He plays every day, almost always at first base. (Prince Fielder is the regular DH; Hamilton has been injured.) Moreland, 29, is looking like the star the Rangers thought they had found when he broke in in 2010 with nine homers in 47 games for a team that made it to the World Series. P.S. Former Taylorsville High standout Billy Hamilton stole four bases and scored three runs on Monday, leading Cincinnati to an 11-7 win over Minnesota. Hamilton has a major league-best 40 steals and 37 runs in 67 games. … Southern Miss alum Brian Dozier homered for the 16th time for the Twins. … MSU product Kendall Graveman threw seven shutout innings as Oakland beat Colorado 7-1. Graveman is 5-4 with a 3.47 ERA. … Ex-Ole Miss star Chris Coghlan is MLB’s active leader in consecutive games played at 138 going into the Chicago Cubs’ game today against the New York Mets. Coghlan is batting .259 with eight homers in 74 games this season.

29 Jun

the only day

On this date in 1905, Archibald Graham, better known as “Moonlight,” made his one and only major league appearance, an otherwise obscure event immortalized by the film “Field of Dreams.” There have been hundreds of players who got into only one major league game, but the list of those who, like Graham, never got to bat or make a play in the field is considerably shorter. On that list is John Howard “Lefty” Merritt, a Tupelo (or Plantersville) native. Eight years after Graham’s one appearance, Merritt made his, also for the New York Giants. A successful pitcher in the minors, Merritt played right field, same as Graham, in his one big league game. A year earlier, in 1912, Meadville native Pat McGehee made his one big league appearance, as a starting pitcher for the Detroit Tigers. McGehee faced two batters, allowed a walk and a hit, then left the game. In 1963, Hattiesburg’s Mickey Harrington made his lone MLB appearance as a pinch runner for the Philadelphia Phillies. Never got to bat, never played in the field. But he was, for that brief moment, a major league player. And that’s still pretty cool.

27 Jun

rough seas ahead

Ned Yost’s Royals are in first place, and Buck Showalter’s Orioles, John Gibbons’ Blue Jays and Clint Hurdle’s Pirates have winning records and are contending in their respective divisions. The fifth Mississippi-connected manager in the big leagues, Dan Jennings, is running a club much closer to the cellar than first place. And things just took a turn for the worse for his Marlins. Already hindered by injuries, Miami has now lost star slugger Giancarlo Stanton for 4-6 weeks with a hand injury. Jennings, a Southern Miss and William Carey alum, was mocked when he was hired and still is drawing criticism from Miami fans. The team was 16-22 when the “shocking” decision was made to replace Mike Redmond with Jennings, a longtime scout and front office exec whose only experience running a team came at the high school level. The Marlins started 0-5 under Jennings, then went 14-13 over a stretch but have now lost five straight. At 30-45, Miami is 11.5 games out in the National League East. With pitcher Jose Fernandez and some others due back from the DL soon, there was cause for optimism for a team that was expected to contend for a playoff berth. “We’re not jumping off the ship, no doubt about that,” Jennings told a writer for CBS Sports last week. But with the loss of Stanton, the waters have become very choppy.