Tag Archives: Twins

08 May

eye on …

Brian Dozier didn’t produce a hit for Minnesota on Thursday, but the ex-Southern Miss standout was hardly unproductive. He drew a walk, scored a run and made two sensational leaping snags at second base to help the surging Twins put the wraps on an 8-3 homestand with a 6-5 win over Oakland. The Twins are 16-13, creeping up on Kansas City and Detroit in the American League Central. Dozier is hitting .293 over his last 10 games, with three walks, nine runs and nine RBIs. For the season, he is batting just .236, but, much like last year, he is producing runs, which is what it’s really all about in baseball. Dozier has scored 21 runs and driven in 14 in 28 games. In 2014, he batted .242 but was second in MLB with 112 runs and drove in 71. Dozier has just two homers and two steals this year, so he is behind the pace of 2014 when he was a 20-20 man. But those numbers, homers in particular, seem to come in bunches. Worth noting, too: He hasn’t made an error in the field. P.S. The Twins’ win came at the expense of struggling A’s starter Drew Pomeranz, the Ole Miss alum who fell to 1-3 with a 5.12 ERA. … Ex-Rebels star Zack Cozart, out since Sunday when he was hit by a pitch on the wrist and then by a ground ball on the finger tip, reportedly could be back in the Cincinnati lineup tonight. The shortstop was seen wearing a T-shirt with the word “almost” taped to it on Thursday. He is batting .304 with five homers and 12 RBIs.

03 May

big league chew

After a tough year at the plate in 2014, ex-Ole Miss standout Zack Cozart has come out swinging this season. The Cincinnati shortstop went 3-for-5 in an 8-4 win against Atlanta on Saturday to boost his average to .308. He hit his fifth home run — off Jackson native Donnie Veal — to surpass his total for all of last year and now has 12 RBIs. Cozart, valued more for his glove, hit .221 a year ago. … Taylorsville High product Billy Hamilton, the Reds’ center fielder, took an 0-for-5 that dropped his average to .204. He still leads the majors with 13 steals, however. … The Reds’ Jay Bruce had two triples against the Braves, marking the first time a Cincy player has done that in a game since Vicksburg native Dmitri Young 15 years ago. … Aaron Barrett, another UM alum, notched his third hold of the season by retiring the only two batters he faced in the eighth inning of Washington’s 1-0 win against the New York Mets. Barrett trimmed his ERA to 1.64. … Former Southern Miss star Scott Copeland, in his sixth pro season, made his big league debut and threw a scoreless ninth inning for Toronto in its 11-4 victory at Cleveland. … The frustration must still be building for Mississippi State product Jonathan Papelbon. He worked a scoreless inning in mop-up duty as Philadelphia lost to Miami 7-0. Papelbon has a 0.96 ERA for the 8-17 Phillies. … Ex-USM star Brian Dozier took an 0-for-5 as Minnesota’s leadoff batter – he’s no longer hitting cleanup — and saw his average tumble to .209. … Ole Miss alum Drew Pomeranz went 5 1/3 innings and allowed three runs in a game Oakland would lose to Texas 8-7 in 10 innings. Since throwing seven scoreless frames in a brilliant 2015 debut, Pomeranz is winless in four starts while his ERA has swelled to 4.61. … Former Itawamba Community College star Desmond Jennings has missed six straight games for Tampa Bay with a knee problem. He could be headed for the disabled list, where he would join fellow Mississippi products T.J. House, Mitch Moreland and Cliff Lee.

20 Apr

ballpark fare

Yes, tonight is Free Hot Dog Night at Trustmark Park. On Tuesday, there is a cap giveaway, and then there’s Thirsty Thursday and Friday Night Fireworks. Just in case you needed some other reason to head out to the ballpark in Pearl this week, the Mississippi Braves are hosting what Baseball America touts as one of the most talented teams in the minors. The Chattanooga Lookouts, now a Minnesota Twins affiliate, feature No. 2 overall prospect Byron Buxton, No. 13 Miguel Sano and No. 36 Jose Berrios, plus quite a few more of the Twins’ top prospects. Buxton, an outfielder with all the tools, is batting just .225. Third baseman Sano is at .200 with two homers, and Berrios is 1-0 with a 3.29 ERA. Shortstop Jorge Polanco, No. 8 on Minnesota’s list, is hitting .324, and Ole Miss product Stuart Turner (No. 13) is batting .250. The Lookouts’ top hitter is Dalton Hicks at .385. Of course, the home team also trots out a few prospects, including right-hander Jason Hursh (Atlanta’s No. 6), third baseman Rio Ruiz (No. 10) and center fielder Mallex Smith. Hot hitters for the M-Braves, off to a 5-4 start, include Chris O’Dowd, who is 6-for-13 with a homer and seven RBIs; Matt Lipka (.393); Daniel Castro (.361); and Smith (.361, six steals, nine runs). In tonight’s series opener at 7 p.m., Hursh (0-1, 9.00) faces Chattanooga’s Tyler Duffey (0-0, 0.00 ERA in 13 2/3 innings).

23 Oct

whatever happened to …

Corey Wimberly, the former Alcorn State standout, is still chasing the dream of making it to the big leagues — and the trail has led him to the Mexican Pacific League. Wimberly, 31, a sixth-round draft pick by Colorado in 2005, is batting .308 with three runs and a steal in six games for Obregon. The 5-foot-8, switch-hitting outfielder played at Double-A New Britain in the Minnesota organization in 2014, batting .252 with 32 runs and 17 bags in 72 games. Wimberly has been with seven different organizations, including some time with Atlanta’s Triple-A Gwinnett club in 2013. Wimberly’s best pro year might have been his first, 2005, when he led the rookie Pioneer League with a .381 average. He has stolen as many as 59 bases in a season (2008 in Double-A). P.S. Props to Mississippi Braves alum Gregor Blanco for becoming just the 19th player to hit a lead-off home run in a World Series game. Blanco’s Wednesday night blast didn’t hold up for San Francisco, which lost Game 2 to Kansas City 7-2.

27 Sep

central casting

Kansas City, managed by former Jackson Mets catcher Ned Yost and with Mississippi natives Jarrod Dyson and Louis Coleman on its roster, celebrated — quite exuberantly, it should be noted — its first playoff berth in 29 years on Friday after beating the White Sox 3-1 in Chicago. The Royals, currently in a wild card position, can still win the American League Central title outright, and they can give some thanks to Brian Dozier, the former Southern Miss star from Tupelo, for that. Dozier, with Minnesota, went 3-for-5 with a home run (No. 22), three RBIs and three runs to spark the visiting Twins to an 11-4 win over AL Central leader Detroit. The Tigers are 89-71, up just one game on the 88-72 Royals with two left in the regular season. … St. Louis can clinch the National League Central title today with a win at Arizona and a loss by second-place Pittsburgh at Cincinnati. Ex-Ole Miss standout Lance Lynn is on the bump for the Cardinals. He is 15-10 with a 2.73 ERA and can notch his 50th career win today. Lynn and the Cardinals could get some help from UM product Zack Cozart and Taylorsville High alumnus Billy Hamilton, who suit up for the Reds. Hamilton’s status for today is unclear; the rookie outfielder suffered a mild concussion making a sensational catch on Wednesday and has not played since. P.S. Congratulations to Steve Knight, the William Carey University basketball coach and a onetime USM baseball player, on his election to the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.

24 Sep

managerial material

If you haven’t noticed, Tim Bogar, the former Jackson Mets shortstop, has done a pretty impressive job as the interim manager in Texas. After a slow start under Bogar, the injury-thinned Rangers have won 10 of 11 and are 11-6 overall since Bogar stepped in for Ron Washington, who resigned on Sept. 5. Surely Bogar, a successful minor league manager, will be considered for the job next season. … Meanwhile, ex-JaxMets catcher John Gibbons will return in Toronto in 2015, according to reports. Gibbons is 154-165 in his second stint with the Blue Jays, who were officially eliminated from playoff contention on Tuesday. Toronto, which faded this year after a great start, hasn’t made the postseason since 1993. … Clint Hurdle, the 1990 Jackson Mets skipper, celebrated the clinching of a second straight playoff appearance on Tuesday after his Pittsburgh club beat Atlanta. … Former JaxMets catcher Ned Yost has Kansas City on the brink of its first playoff berth since 1985 yet still seems to attract more than his share of criticism for his game management. The Royals won their 86th game on Tuesday, matching last year’s total with five games left, and have posted their best back-to-back years since 1979-80. Yost is in his fifth season at the KC helm. … In Minnesota, the last-place Twins have clinched a fourth straight 90-loss season, but former JaxMets shortstop Ron Gardenhire reportedly will return as manager in 2015 – if he wants to. Gardenhire, 56, steered the club to six division titles in a nine-year stretch, but hasn’t sniffed the postseason since 2010, when he was the American League’s manager of the year. … The only question about the future of Buck Showalter, the onetime Mississippi State star, is whether he’ll win AL manager of the year for the job he has done in Baltimore. … Wondering what the shakeup in Atlanta will mean for the minor league field personnel. Aaron Holbert has done a good job as manager of the Double-A Mississippi Braves the last three years and would seem deserving of a promotion. But who knows how much change is coming for the Braves?

05 Sep

holding a charge

Though his power has waned — and his team’s postseason hopes have flickered out — Brian Dozier’s bat still has some life. The former Southern Miss star is batting .350 over his last 10 games with five RBIs and seven runs for Minnesota, which is battling with the Chicago White Sox to avoid last place in the American League Central. Dozier, not a noted slugger, belted 15 home runs through June, helping the second baseman get an invite to the MLB Home Run Derby (which didn’t go so well). He hit his 20th bomb of the year on Aug. 10 – and hasn’t hit one since. But that’s not really his game. Dozier’s other numbers for the season range from fair to great: .244 average, 132 hits, 80 walks, 62 RBIs, 20 steals and a league-leading 98 runs in 136 games. By season’s end, he’ll likely have improved his numbers from 2013 in every important category.

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.

21 Aug

numbers to crunch

5 1/3 — Shutout innings hurled on Wednesday by former Picayune High standout T.J. House, who notched his second win for Cleveland in a victory against Minnesota and lowered his ERA to 3.80 in 13 appearances as a rookie.
6 — Current hitting streak for Ole Miss product Seth Smith, who banged out two more for San Diego against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The streaky Smith, on another roll, is batting .364 over his last 10 games and is at .297 for the season.
8 — Outfield assists for Taylorsville High alum Billy Hamilton, who got one for Cincinnati against St. Louis, completing a double play after making a diving catch in right-center. Hamilton has been involved in three DPs and has just one error.
14 — Wins for ex-UM star Lance Lynn, who went seven strong innings for St. Louis to beat Cincinnati 7-3. Lynn is 14-8 with a 2.78 ERA in 26 starts.
20 — Stolen bases for former Southern Miss standout Brian Dozier, who reached that number for Minnesota against Cleveland and matched his home run total for the year.
30 — Saves for Mississippi State product Jonathan Papelbon, the Philadelphia closer who nailed down a 4-3 win against Seattle with a scoreless ninth. Papelbon has a 1.55 ERA.
70 — Hits for former Rebels star Chris Coghlan, who got one for the Chicago Cubs against San Francisco. The oft-injured Coghlan, batting .273, has his most hits in an MLB season since 2010.

17 Aug

eye on …

Interested to see if Phil Gosselin is in the Atlanta lineup tonight. The former Mississippi Braves standout is 4-for-8 with a home run (first career), two RBIs and three runs in the first two games of the huge Oakland series. But you never know with Fredi Gonzalez. (Why does B.J. Upton continue to play? Why does Jason Heyward bat leadoff? Why is Mike Minor still in the rotation?) Gosselin, who can play just about anywhere, could supply a spark the Braves sorely need. The 25-year-old former Virginia star (who famously homered off Stephen Strasburg in the NCAAs) earned his ticket to Atlanta this season with his showing at Triple-A Gwinnett (.344, five homers, 31 RBIs, 29 doubles). Gosselin might aptly be called a late bloomer. He didn’t have a great season in his first Double-A campaign in 2012. As the M-Braves’ regular second baseman, he batted just .242 with three homers and 46 RBIs in 128 games. He came back to Pearl for the start of the 2013 season but was displaced at second by Tommy La Stella. Gosselin played some third base and outfield and hit .243 with one homer and 23 RBIs in 59 games before he was summoned to Gwinnett in late summer to fill a roster need. Gosselin responded by hitting .266 (with a pair of homers) while playing six different positions for the G-Braves. His offense erupted his year, and Atlanta finally created a roster spot for him. Now if Gonzalez will just keep running him out there … . P.S. Jordan Schafer is batting .321 with six steals in six attempts since Minnesota picked him up on waivers from Atlanta. The former M-Braves outfielder rarely got to play other than pinch-running duty this season with the Braves but has been given more opportunities by the Twins.