Kata In Tucson; Ohlendorf Near Flawless Again

Matt Kata got off to a good start in Tucson; Chris Carter gets out the power stroke in Lancaster; Ross Ohlendorf is on fire in South Bend; Matt Chico is lost in Tennessee. All this and more in a FREE PREVIEW of FutureBacks.com's daily tour through the D'Backs minor league system.

Tucson 5 @ Nashville 1

It’s been tough for Corey Myers to even crack the lineup this season in Tucson, but when he got the start Tuesday night behind the plate he certainly made the most of it.  Myers went 3 for 4 with the game winning double in the 8^th inning, and drove in three runs on the day.  It was Myers first appearance in a week, and though Myers is hitting a robust .333 the double was his first extra base tally of the season.

Lefty Mark Freed made his second start of the season, and of the last three years Tuesday night and is making a case to remain in the rotation.  Tuesday Freed pitched five innings giving up just one run on four hits.  He walked three and struck out six.  In two starts this season Freed has pitched 10 innings and carries a 0.90 ERA.  In 10 relief appearances he’s pitched 19.1 innings and his ERA is 6.05.

Three relievers combined for four innings of scoreless baseball, with Kevin Tolar earning the win to improve to 3-0.  While is wasn’t a save situation Jason Bulger did pitch a hitless 9^th for Tucson, walking one and striking out one.  Since the May 6^th game where Bulger allowed three earned runs in one-third of an inning he’s made two scoreless appearances, faced seven batters, walked one, and struck out three.

Matt Kata made his first appearance in Tucson since being sent down and went 1 for 5 with a double, and RBI, and a run scored.  He started at second base and lead off for the Sidewinders.

Tennessee 3 @ West Tennessee 6

Things are going from bad to worse for left handed starter Matt Chico.  The highly touted lefty had given up three home runs in six starts coming into Tuesday night’s game against West Tennessee, he allowed three in five innings Tuesday.  Chico fell to 1-6 on the season, he allowed twelve hits and six earned runs, striking out two.  He did not walk a batter.

Dan Uggla started the game at third base, and moved to second in the sixth inning.  He was 2 for 4 including an RBI double raising his season average to .345, not bad for a ‘super sub.’

In the 7^th inning Jon Zeringue’s season long slump was officially announced as dead.  That was when Zeringue, who collected two hits for his third straight game, crushed a home run to deep right center field.  He also doubled in the game and is hitting .371 in May.

Inland Empire 13 @ Lancaster 11

It took 12 innings and eight pitchers before the Lancaster JetHawks finally lost Tuesday.  JetHawks starter Jon Castellanos was staked to a four run lead after the first inning but couldn’t hold it, lasting only 4.2 innings before 12 hits and seven earned runs knocked him out of the game.  Carlton Wells took the loss after giving up two runs on four hits in just one-third of an inning.

JetHawks pitchers gave up eight walks and three home runs in the game.

Chris Carter was locked in, going 3 for 4 with two walks, two home runs and a career high six RBI.  Carter has five home runs and 26 RBI on the year, with three home runs and eight RBI in his last three games.

Miguel Montero was 2 for 5 on the evening, extending his hitting streak to six games.  Montero is hitting .354 with a home run, four runs scored, and six RBI during the streak.

Jay Garthwaite started at third base for the third time in the last four games and picked up two doubles and three RBI in six at bats.

Kane County 1 @ South Bend 14

Ross Ohlendorf did not need 14 runs to win Tuesday night, but after suffering losses where he had given up three and one earlier in the season Ohlendorf seems to be taking matters into his own hands.  He gave up just five hits and one run while walking two and striking out nine.  In his last two starts Ohlendorf has given up one run in thirteen innings while striking out 19.  Opponents are hitting just .152 off him in his last two outings.

Every Silverhawk in the lineup scored at least one run, and only catcher Orlando Mercado Jr. failed to get a hit.  Six Silverhawks had multiple hit games including left fielder Travis Gulick and right fielder Carlos Gonzales, who both tallied three base knocks on the day.

Gulick had his best day of the season, going 3 for 5 with a double, triple, and two RBI. 

After his 3 for 5, two RBI, two run performance Carlos Gonzales is hitting .368 in May after scratching out just a .218 average in April.

Center Fielder Jereme Milons got his sixth and seven doubles of the season, and scored his nineteenth and twentieth runs, while shortstop Alberto Gonzalez went 1 for 5, extending his hitting streak to seven games.