Tag Archives: Rockies

17 Sep

as the dust clears

Buck Showalter and his Baltimore Orioles celebrated an American League East championship after beating visiting Toronto 8-2 on Tuesday night. It’s the first division crown for the O’s since 1997. Former Mississippi State standout Showalter will make his fourth foray into the postseason as an MLB skipper looking for another elusive achievement. For all his success (.521 winning percentage) in various places, Showalter has yet to win a postseason series. … In Atlanta, former MSU star Tyler Moore and Ole Miss product Aaron Barrett got to celebrate as Washington clinched the National League East with a 3-0 win over the Braves. … In the role of spoiler, Meridian Community College alumnus Corey Dickerson went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs to lead Colorado to a 10-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers, whose NL West lead over San Francisco slipped to 3 games. Dickerson is batting .307 (he’d be in the top five in the batting race if he had enough plate appearances) with 23 bombs, 73 RBIs, 70 runs, 27 doubles, five triples and eight stolen bases. … Former Mississippi Braves star Charlie Morton, making his first start in a month because of injury issues, threw five shutout innings for Pittsburgh, which beat Boston 4-0 and boosted its postseason hopes. Morton is 6-12 with a 3.72 ERA for former Jackson Mets manager Clint Hurdle’s Bucs, who are just 2 1/2 games back of St. Louis in the NL Central. … Wasting a great start (one run in seven innings) by ex-Ole Miss standout Lance Lynn, the Cardinals lost to Milwaukee 3-2 in extra innings. … M-Braves alumnus Craig Kimbrel is Atlanta’s nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, ex-M-Brave Todd Redmond is Toronto’s and Morton is Pittsburgh’s.

28 Aug

welcome to the club

It’s not a record, but Billy Hamilton swiped his 50th base on Wednesday in Cincinnati’s 7-5 win over the Chicago Cubs. “It’s just what I do: Steal bases,” Hamilton told The Associated Press. The rookie from Taylorsville High joins an exclusive fraternity of Reds in the 50-bag club. Among the group: Bobby Tolan, Joe Morgan, Eric Davis, Barry Larkin and Deion Sanders. The Cincinnati record for steals by a rookie is within Hamilton’s reach: 54, by Bob Brescher in 1909, back in the deadball era. Brescher also holds the overall franchise record with 81, which he set in 1911. Hamilton has some other nice numbers, too: 126 hits, 66 runs, 24 doubles, seven triples and eight assists. … Also on Wednesday, Corey Dickerson belted his 20th home run, joining a whole lot of players in Colorado’s 20-homer club. However, the ex-Meridian Community College standout hit his milestone bomb into McCovey Cove in San Francisco for the 100th splash hit in AT&T Park’s history. (Barry Bonds hit most of them.) Dickerson has a few other numbers of note, as well: 109 hits, 60 runs, 63 RBIs, 23 doubles, four triples and eight stolen bases. P.S. Worth noting from Wednesday: Jarrod Dyson, the Southwest Mississippi CC product, put down a nifty bunt to squeeze home a run as first-place Kansas City rallied late for a 6-1 victory against Minnesota. It would have been Dyson’s seventh sac bunt of the year, but he beat it out for a hit, his 65th of the season.

24 Aug

star turns

Take 1: What will Gustavo Nunez do today? The Mississippi Braves infielder has had quite the weekend so far. On Friday night at Trustmark Park, he hit an inside-the-park home run — his first homer of the season — and also scored the game-winning run on a sac fly in the eighth inning. On Saturday night, Nunez hit an 11th-inning, walk-off homer. With the 6-5 win over Birmingham, the M-Braves, winners of five straight, kept a grip on first place, by a single game over Jacksonville, in the Southern League South. The win was also the M-Braves’ 77th of the year, most in a season since the team moved to Pearl in 2005. Nunez, a 26-year-old Dominican signed by Atlanta in the off-season, doesn’t typically garner a lot of attention, but he has had a good year. The switch-hitter, whose walk-off on Saturday came from the left side, is batting .302 with 29 RBIs and 43 runs in 85 games. He has played shortstop, second base and some outfield. This is his eighth pro season. … Take 2: Corey Dickerson’s dream season for Colorado continued on Saturday when he hit a game-tying homer — third deck in right field at Coors Field — in the ninth inning and then slapped a game-winning single in the 13th as the Rockies beat Miami 5-4. Meridian Community College alum Dickerson, in his second MLB season, is batting .322 with 19 homers and 61 RBIs. His homer on Saturday was just the 33rd to reach the third deck at Coors in the ballpark’s 20 seasons. “It was pretty awesome that it went that far,” Dickerson, a lefty hitter, told mlb.com. P.S. Brian Dozier, the former Southern Miss star, has scored six runs in the last two days (three games) for Minnesota to run his American League-leading total to 91. The Twins have put up 38 runs the last two days against slumping Detroit, winning two of the three games. Dozier is batting just .235 but has a .341 on-base percentage. He also has 20 homers and 20 steals, the first 20-20 season by a second baseman in Twins history.

19 Aug

ouch

The Mississippi Braves’ hopes for a second-half championship took a blow on Monday when Jose Peraza was placed on the disabled list with a groin injury. The 20-year-old second baseman is the team’s best player, batting .341 with 25 steals since his mid-June promotion. He played in the MLB All-Star Futures Game and was the Southern League player of the month for July. The second-place M-Braves (33-24) are battling Jacksonville (34-23) and Mobile (33-22) for the SL South second-half title; the BayBears won the first half, so the wild card could also come into play for the second postseason berth. The M-Braves, currently at Mobile, have 13 games left, only five of those at home (starting Friday) and none with Jacksonville. If Peraza, who hasn’t played since Aug. 14, is shut down for the rest of the season, the M-Braves’ task will be that much tougher. P.S. Kudos to ex-Meridian Community College star Corey Dickerson for winning National League player of the week honors. Dickerson, with Colorado, batted .393 with three home runs and 11 RBIs in seven games last week. For the year, he is at .326 with 17 homers and 57 RBIs.

18 Aug

the heat is on

Billy Hamilton shook out of a slump on Sunday, going 5-for-9 with four runs and a stolen base (No. 45) for Cincinnati in a doubleheader against Colorado. However, the Reds lost both games — the first in particularly gut-wrenching fashion — and fell to 61-63 on the season. They are in real danger of missing the postseason for the first time in three years. The games are getting more important now for teams with playoff hopes, and there will be a lot of scrutiny on individual performances under this pressure. Taylorsville High product Hamilton gave the Reds a kick last September in a bit role; he hit .368, swiped 13 bags and scored nine runs in 13 games. This year is very different. Hamilton, while still a rookie, is the everyday leadoff man for an offense that has sputtered, especially since the All-Star break. He entered Sunday’s play batting just .190 with three runs and one bag in his last 10 games. His big day lifted his average to .271 and he now has 64 runs in 118 games. But it went for naught as the Reds’ pitching let them down, allowing 20 runs to the last-place Rockies at Coors Field. Ole Miss alumnus Zack Cozart, who has been swinging the bat better of late, was just 1-for-7 on the day for the Reds and is at .226 on the season. From the other dugout, where there is no playoff pressure, McComb native Corey Dickerson went 4-for-9 with a homer (No. 17), five RBIs and three runs in the two games.

13 Aug

rising above it

While the Colorado Rockies are sinking like a stone in the standings, Corey Dickerson’s star continues to rise. The Meridian Community College alum from McComb extended his hitting streak to seven games in the Rockies’ 4-1 loss at San Diego on Tuesday. (Colorado is an MLB-worst 46-73.) Dickerson, who homered for the third straight game, is 12-for-28 (.429) with the three bombs, 10 RBIs and seven runs during his hit streak, which began with a 4-for-4 effort on Aug. 6. His season numbers are outstanding: .321, 16 homers, 50 RBIs, 51 runs, 19 doubles and four triples. That’s 101 runs accounted for in 94 games. Yes, Coors Field is a hitter’s dream, but Dickerson’s road numbers are also good: .271, eight homers, 20 RBIs. The 25-year-old lefty-hitting outfielder has emerged as a leading candidate for allmississippibaseball’s Cool Papa Bell Award. P.S. There was nothing lucky about T.J. House’s 13th big league appearance. The former Picayune High star threw three shutout innings for Cleveland against Arizona on Tuesday before the game was washed out. The rookie left-hander, who can’t seem to catch a break, is 1-3 with a 4.13 ERA in 12 games, 11 starts.

07 Aug

number crunching

18 — Stolen bases by Brian Dozier. The Southern Miss product got No. 18 on Wednesday against San Diego and, with 19 home runs, is fast approaching a 20-20 season.
12 — Home runs for Seth Smith. The ex-Ole Miss star belted his 12th, a 10th-inning game-winner for San Diego, against Minnesota.
12 — Number of Mississippi-connected players currently in the big leagues. A total of 24 have appeared in MLB games this season; four are on the disabled list, one (Joey Butler) is in Japan and the others are in the minors.
10 — Starts for T.J. House. The rookie left-hander out of Picayune High will make No. 11 today for Cleveland against Cincinnati. He has a respectable 4.09 ERA but just a 1-2 record.
4 — Hits by Corey Dickerson. The Meridian Community College alumnus, now batting .320, came up a home run shy of the cycle for Colorado against the Chicago Cubs.
3 — Hits by Chris Coghlan. The former Ole Miss standout, now batting .302, also came up a homer shy of the cycle for the Chicago Cubs against Colorado.
3 — Home runs for Zack Cozart. The UM product hit his third for Cincinnati against Cleveland. He hit 12 homers in 2013.
1 — Errors by Seth Smith. The Jackson native, who flips between left and right field for San Diego, committed his first of the year against Minnesota.

23 Jul

passion for the game

It’s not always about numbers in Major League Baseball. The MLB Players Alumni Association announced its annual Heart & Hustle Award winners on Tuesday, and Mississippi natives Brian Dozier and Corey Dickerson and ex-Mississippi Braves star Jason Heyward were among the 30 honorees (one for each club). The award recognizes players “who demonstrate a passion for the game of baseball and best embody the values, spirit and tradition of the game.” An overall winner will be announced on Nov. 18. Each of the honored Mississippi three went out Tuesday night and, as if to celebrate, put up some numbers. Tupelo native and former Southern Miss star Dozier went 3-for-5 and belted his 19th home run — topping his career-high 18 of 2013 — for Minnesota. Dickerson, from McComb and Meridian Community College, went 2-for-5 and hit homer No. 12 for Colorado. And Heyward, M-Braves Class of 2009, went 2-for-3 with three RBIs for Atlanta. Unfortunately for all three, they wound up on the losing end of their games.

10 Jul

sounds like a yes

Under the category of “Duh,” we have this: When asked about whether he would welcome a trade from Philadelphia, the unabashed Jonathan Papelbon reportedly replied: “Some guys want to stay on a losing team?” Former Mississippi State star Papelbon racked up his 22nd save on Wednesday night as the Phillies (40-51, last in the National League East) beat Milwaukee 4-1. He reduced his ERA to 1.24 and has just two blown saves. Papelbon, who recently topped the 300 career save mark, is in the third year of a 4-year, $50M contract (with an option in 2016), which might make him hard to deal. Still, a quality closer is a valuable commodity in September and beyond. P.S. On the topic of trades, former MSU standout Tyler Moore might be a chip that NL East leader Washington can throw in. Moore is batting .305 with four homers and 18 RBIs in 34 games at Triple-A Syracuse; there appears to be no room for him (other than as a pinch hitter) with the Nationals. … Ole Miss product Seth Smith, who recently got a new contract from San Diego, hit his 10th home run on Wednesday; the Jackson native has reached double digits in five of his six full MLB seasons. … Ex-UM star Lance Lynn notched his 10th win as St. Louis beat Pittsburgh 5-2 in an NL Central showdown. … Ole Miss alum Chris Coghlan saw his nine-game hit streak end in the Chicago Cubs’ 4-1 loss to Cincinnati. But over his last 10 games, Coghlan is batting .400 with two homers, six RBIs and 10 runs. … Taylorsville product Billy Hamilton has seven hits, three walks, seven RBIs, three runs and two steals in the four games (all wins) of the Reds’ current five-game series with the Cubs. However, Hamilton left Wednesday’s game with a tight hamstring and could sit today’s series finale. … Meridian Community College product Corey Dickerson (hitting .327) sat out Colorado’s game on Wednesday with a sore left wrist. … If the Cardinals have to put catcher Yadier Molina (thumb) on the disabled list, former MSU star Ed Easley, now at Triple-A Memphis, might get that long-awaited first call-up. Easley, on a recent tear, is batting .259 with five homers and 20 RBIs. … The MLB DL includes Mississippians Cliff Lee, Mitch Moreland (out for the season), Drew Pomeranz and Alex Presley, and down in the minors, ex-East Central CC standout Tim Anderson is out (possibly until mid-August) with a broken right wrist. The Chicago White shortstop prospect is batting .297 with six homers, 31 RBIs and 10 steals at high Class A Winston-Salem.

05 Jul

fireworks

Mississippians do love fireworks. And Mississippians in the majors did their part to contribute to the noise on the Fourth of July, cracking out eight hits on the day, two of them bombs, and getting some sizzle from the mound, as well. Eight Magnolia State-connected position players got into games on Friday and collectively went 8-for-26 (.308) with the two home runs, three RBIs and nine runs. A pretty good day to be sure, and consider that the state’s best hitter, Meridian Community College alum Corey Dickerson (.337), did not play for Colorado, the left-handed slugger sitting against Los Angeles Dodgers lefty Clayton Kershaw. Itawamba CC’s Desmond Jennings sparkled with a three-hit game, and he also scored three times for Tampa Bay. Ole Miss product Chris Coghlan scored three for the Chicago Cubs and went 2-for-4, raising his average to .219. Ex-Southern Miss star Brian Dozier smoked a home run (No. 16) for Minnesota, and Taylorsville High product Billy Hamilton lit off one (No. 5) for Cincinnati. Former Ole Miss standout Seth Smith went 1-for-3 with a run for San Diego. UM alum Zack Cozart of the Reds had the only real dud of a day, going 0-for-4 — though his team did win its game. Former Rebels star Alex Presley was 0-for-1 as a pinch hitter for Houston, and Southwest Mississippi CC product Jarrod Dyson got in late for Kansas City, as he often does, as a defensive replacement. Ex-Ole Miss ace Lance Lynn provided the pitching sparks, throwing 6 2/3 shutout innings for St. Louis in a victory over Miami. Lynn has nine W’s on the year. For the day, this Mississippi nine helped their clubs go 6-2. Now that’s a blast.