Tag Archives: Reds

18 Jun

just the highlights

On a good day — like Tuesday — Billy Hamilton is the baseball equivalent of former basketball star Dominique Wilkins: a Human Highlight Film. Hamilton, the pride of Taylorsville, had three hits for Cincinnati, including a double and a bunt single. He drew a walk. He stole three bases (28 for the year). He scored twice. And he even threw out a runner, Pittsburgh’s Andrew McCutchen, at the plate. The Reds won the game 6-5 at PNC Park, sending Pirates fans home disappointed. But the true baseball fans among them had to be impressed with what they had seen from the visiting team’s wispy center fielder. P.S. Mycal Jones of the Mississippi Braves also did some box score-filling on Tuesday. He hit a homer, scored twice, drew a walk and stole a base for the South All-Stars in the Southern League All-Star Game at Chattanooga. Elmer Reyes also had a hit in the South’s 6-4 win. Matt Kennelly caught half the game and went 0-for-2. Williams Perez started for the South and put up a scoreless inning, while J.R. Graham and James Hoyt also pitched, both yielding home runs. Hoyt did record the final out.

16 Jun

good stuff, but …

Billy Hamilton led off with a home run at Milwaukee on Sunday, giving the former Taylorsville High star three bombs in his last eight games for Cincinnati. The 160-pound rookie leadoff batter has only two stolen bases over that span. Strange, but true. For the year, Hamilton is batting .264 with four homers, three triples, 18 RBIs, 31 runs and 25 steals (in 33 attempts). Those are good numbers, but this one isn’t: .301. That’s Hamilton’s on-base percentage. He has walked just 12 times in 63 games — and has fanned 43 times in his 220 official at-bats. He also has just six bunt hits. Considering his speed, he would seem capable of more. Bottom line: It’s been a good season for Hamilton so far, but there is room for improvement. P.S. Southern Miss alum Brian Dozier was back in Minnesota’s lineup at second base on Sunday against Detroit after missing a couple of starts with a sore back. He homered — his 15th — on Saturday as a pinch hitter, then went 0-for-4 on Sunday.

12 Jun

3 stars — plus a couple

Desmond Jennings, the ex-Itawamba Community College star, had a two-run single in a four-run fourth inning as Tampa Bay snapped a 31-inning scoreless blight and went on to beat St. Louis 6-3 on Wednesday night. All told, Jennings was 2-for-4 with a run for the reeling Rays, who have won just twice in their last 16 games. … Meridian CC product Corey Dickerson, enjoying more playing time in Colorado, went 2-for-4 with three RBIs as the Rockies beat Atlanta 8-2 and knocked the Braves out of first place in the National League East. … Former Taylorsville High standout Billy Hamilton went 1-for-3 with a walk, an RBI, a run and a stolen base (No. 24) as Cincinnati beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-0. … Ole Miss alum Alex Presley, a veteran among Houston’s cast of kids, went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a steal to help the Astros beat Arizona 5-1. … And Jarrod Dyson, the former Southwest Mississippi CC star, was 1-for-3 with an RBI for Kansas City, which beat Cleveland 4-1. Ned Yost’s Royals have climbed into second place in the American League Central. P.S. The Biloxi Shrimpers? That’s one of the choices — perhaps the best — on the new Southern League club’s name-the-team ballot. The others: Beacon, Schooners, Mullets, Shuckers and Black Jacks. Voting ends this week. The team, moving from Huntsville, is scheduled to begin play in a new ballpark on the Coast next April.

11 Jun

mr. 300

What is shaping up as a forgettable season in Philadelphia will include at least one memorable moment for Jonathan Papelbon. The former Mississippi State star notched his 300th save with a scoreless ninth inning in a 5-2 win over San Diego on Tuesday night. Papelbon, 33, reached the milestone in his 552nd appearance. Of the 25 other pitchers with 300 or more saves, only all-time leader Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman got there in so few games. Things got a bit hairy for Papelbon on Tuesday: He gave up a leadoff double to Ole Miss product Seth Smith, yielded a one-out single and then hit a batter with two outs to load the bases. A bouncer to the shortstop ended it. Papelbon has 14 saves (and a 1.48 ERA) this year for the ph-lopping Phillies, who are 26-36 and last in the National League East. The save was the first for the uber-competitive Papelbon since May 24, and he has had only three opportunities since May 10. There is still some speculation he might be traded, though his big contract could be a sticking point. P.S. Ex-Ole Miss star Zack Cozart got plunked in the helmet by a Josh Beckett pitch but stayed in the game for Cincinnati and later delivered an RBI single (off MSU alum Paul Maholm). “I’m a big believer that if you’re fine, you stay in the game,” Cozart told mlb.com. The Reds, scuffling for runs, lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-1.

09 Jun

numbers of note

2 — Number of home runs this season for Taylorsville High product Billy Hamilton, who hit his latest on Sunday in Cincinnati’s 4-1 win over Philadelphia. Hamilton is batting .253 with 23 stolen bases.
3 — Months former Mississippi State star Mitch Moreland is expected to miss after having ankle surgery. “It’s to the point where I’m hurting the team …,” the Texas Rangers first baseman told ESPNDallas.com about his decision to go under the knife. Moreland is batting .246 with two homers; he hit 23 bombs in 2013.
12 — Hits, in nine MLB games, for Tommy La Stella, the former Mississippi Braves standout now starting at second base for Atlanta. La Stella, a .340 hitter in Pearl last season, is batting .400.
14 — Runs scored by the M-Braves in their victory over Chattanooga at Trustmark Park on Sunday. The M-Braves are 1½ games out of first in the Southern League South with six to play.
16 — Hits this season for Ole Miss freshman Colby Bortles, who delivered his latest on Sunday, a two-run, eighth-inning single that helped the Rebels beat Louisiana-Lafayette 5-2 in their NCAA Super Regional. Game 3, with a College World Series trip on the line, is tonight at 6.
35 — Number of Mississippi-connected players picked in the MLB draft, from West Lauderdale High catcher Blake Anderson at No. 36 overall to Gulfport High third baseman Daniel Keating at No. 1181.
38 — Points lost off his batting average since May 21 by Ole Miss product Seth Smith. Smith, batting .301 with six homers and 21 RBIs for San Diego, is 7-for-34 (.206) over his last 10 games with just one RBI.

16 May

the other guys

With all due respect to the Mississippi Braves, sometimes the talent on the visiting team can be the attraction at Trustmark Park. The Tennessee Smokies are currently in Pearl, and this club features several of the Chicago Cubs’ top prospects. Foremost among this group is third baseman Kris Bryant, who was picked second overall in the 2013 draft (after blasting 31 homers in college last season) and is already knocking on Wrigley Field’s door. Bryant, 6 feet 5, 215 pounds, is batting .324 with 11 homers and 34 RBIs for a 23-17 team. Right fielder Jorge Soler, rated as high as No. 4 on the Cubs’ prospect chart, is hitting .333 with seven RBIs in seven games, though he did exit Thursday night’s contest with an undisclosed injury. Right-hander C.J. Edwards (1-2, 2.61 ERA in four starts) and former M-Braves standout Arodys Vizcaino, also top 10 prospects, are on the Smokies’ pitching staff. Another player of note is catcher Rafael Lopez, batting .330 with four homers, including one on Thursday. By the way: The M-Braves (21-19) won Thursday’s game 6-5 on a walk-off hit in the 11th inning by former big leaguer Cedric Hunter, who is having a solid season. The five-game series continues with Game 2 tonight. P.S. Ole Miss alumnus Zack Cozart, hovering beneath the Mendoza Line most of the season with Cincinnati, got three hits (and two RBIs) in Game 1 of a twinbill on Thursday and climbed to .208. He is batting .278 over his last 10 games, which might be a good sign. Cozart is valued more for his defense at shortstop, but he needs to hit a bit better. He batted .254 last year with 12 homers. He has just one homer this year.

08 May

ups and downs

The new job seems to be working out fine for Seth Smith. The former Hillcrest Christian and Ole Miss star, in his first year with San Diego, is batting .344 over his last 10 games and is at .295 for the year with two homers and seven RBIs. He batted .253 last season in Oakland. … Mississippi State product Tyler Moore, batting .200 in limited work for Washington, has been sent down to Triple-A Syracuse to make room on the roster for pitcher Doug Fister, coming off the disabled list. … Meridian Community College alumnus Corey Dickerson went 1-for-4 with two RBIs in Colorado’s 9-2 thumping of Texas on Wednesday. He is batting .348 with two homers and seven RBIs as a part-time outfielder. … Ex-MCC star Cliff Lee allowed six runs in 6 1/3 innings as Philadelphia lost to Toronto 10-0. Lee’s record dipped to 3-3 and his ERA jumped to 3.64. … Southwest Mississippi CC product Jarrod Dyson contributed a hit, two walks and a run and Schlater native Louis Coleman threw a scoreless inning in Kansas City’s 8-0 win over San Diego. Dyson is batting .286; Coleman, who has been scuffling, dropped his ERA to 6.30. … Billy Hamilton, the ex-Taylorsville High star, did not play in Cincinnati’s 3-2 loss to Boston. He has made just two appearances — no starts — since hurting his left hand on May 1. Ole Miss alum Zack Cozart took an 0-fer for the Reds and is batting just .200 despite a recent hot streak (.314 over his last 10). … Former Southern Miss star Brian Dozier picked up a couple of RBIs — he has 14 for the season — in Minnesota’s 4-3 loss to Cleveland.

02 May

opportunity knocks

Tony Sipp, the ex-Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College star from Pascagoula, has signed a major league deal with Houston and reportedly will be in the Astros’ bullpen tonight when they host Seattle. Sipp had been at Triple-A Tucson in the San Diego system but was granted his release so he could sign with the Astros. Sipp, 30, came up with Cleveland and spent last season with Arizona. The left-hander has a 3.84 career ERA in 304 games. P.S. There has been nothing new today on Billy Hamilton’s injured left hand. The Taylorsville High product sprained his knuckles Thursday night making a diving catch. Word last night was that he might not miss more than a game or two. He is batting .245 with 11 steals for Cincinnati.

30 Apr

no doubt about it

We have replay confirmation: It left the yard. Actually, there wasn’t any doubt about Billy Hamilton’s first major league home run. “It wasn’t one of those wall-scrapers,” the former Taylorsville High star said of Tuesday night’s blast, which landed fairly deep in the right-field seats at Cincinnati’s Great American Ballpark. Without seeing it, one would have been justified in assuming that the wispy Hamilton’s first homer was an inside-the-parker. He is considered the fastest man in baseball. And for the record, two of his three hits on Tuesday were of the infield variety. He also stole his 10th base, drew a walk, scored twice and made a diving catch in center field as the scrambling Reds beat the Chicago Cubs 3-2. Hamilton has lifted his average to .244 with a recent hot streak. Also of note: Hamilton hit 13 homers in his minor league career. … Meanhwile, Mississippi’s other homegrown speed demon in MLB, Jarrod Dyson, went 2-for-4, stole his fifth bag and scored a run to help Kansas City beat Toronto 10-7 and climb over .500 (13-12). Dyson, from McComb and Southwest Mississippi Community College, is batting .375 in limited playing time in center field for KC. … Unfortunately, the Reds and Royals don’t play this season. It would be fun to see Hamilton and Dyson on the same field. A stopwatch would be a required accessory.

21 Apr

slowly but surely?

It seems odd to put Billy Hamilton and the word “slowly” in the same sentence, but here goes: The former Taylorsville High star is slowly starting to hit for the Cincinnati Reds. The jet-fast Hamilton, feeling some pressure perhaps as the Reds’ new leadoff batter this spring, got off to an awful start but is batting .282 over his last 10 games. He extended his hit streak to five games with a 1-for-5 effort in the Reds’ 8-2 win over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday. He is now hitting .213 with seven stolen bases in nine tries. He has walked just three times and scored only six runs, but those totals should begin to rise. “I’m starting to get to the point where I’m more relaxed, and I can play this game with the big guys,” Hamilton told mlb.com before getting three hits on Saturday. The Reds, just 8-10, need Hamilton’s spark at the top of the lineup. They could also use some more offensive crackle from Ole Miss alumnus Zack Cozart, who is batting just .153. The Cincy shortstop went 3-for-5 Sunday and belted his first home run, so perhaps things are beginning to turn around for him, too. P.S. The New York Mets reportedly will recall 40-year-old outfielder Bobby Abreu, the only ex-Jackson General still playing affiliated ball. (Freddy Garcia apparently is going to pitch in Taiwan this year.)