The Results
Pawtucket vs Scranton/WB - W, 9-7
Portland at Akron - L, 8-3
Wilmington vs Frederick - L, 2-1 and L, 5-2
Greenville vs Rome - W, 7-2
Lowell vs Oneonta - L, 3-2
The Prospects
Manny Delcarmen - DNP
Jacoby Ellsbury - 2-4, r, 2b
Craig Hansen - DNP
Jed Lowrie - 3-4
Cla Meredith - DNP
Brandon Moss - 0-4, bb, k
David Murphy - 1-4, 2rbi
Dustin Pedroia - 1-3, r, bb
Hanley Ramirez - 0-1
Kelly Shoppach - DNP
Luis Soto - DNP
The Starters
name IP H R ER BB SO HR Dec
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Anastacio Martinez 5 6 7 5 0 2 1 ND
Dave Pauley 5 7 6 5 2 3 0 L
Justin Sturge 5 4 1 1 0 4 0 ND
Tommy Hottovy 4.1 5 4 4 1 4 1 L
Kevin Guyette 4 3 0 0 1 2 0 ND
JT Zink 4 3 1 1 0 2 0 ND
Other Notables
George Lombard - 2-5, 2rbi
Adam Hyzdu - 3-4, 2r, hr, 2rbi
Mike Lockwood - 0-2, 2r, rbi, 2bb, k
Chad Spann - 3-3, 2b, rbi
Scott Youngbauer - 3-5, 2r, 2b
Jeremy West - 2-4
John Otness - 2-4, r, 2b, hr, 2rbi
Chris Turner - 2-4, r, 3b
Matt Ciaramella - 2-4, r, 2 2b, rbi, k
Charlie Zink - 3 IP, 3 BB, W
Brett Rudrude - 2 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 1 K
Tim Cox - 4 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, L
News and Notes
According to the Providence Journal, the Paw Sox set a record for attendance for the second year in a row. Last year they set their record with 668,259 fans. With one more game to go the Sox have drawn nearly 10,000 more than that. They also lead the International League in attendance. I don't know if it's because New Englanders love their baseball or if it's because McCoy is just a great place to see a game, but I do know both of those things are true. My parents couldn't afford Fenway when I was a kid so they took me and my brother to McCoy all the time. As a kid I managed to get autographs of such greats as Phil Plantier and Dwayne Housie. Next year I recommend getting tickets to at least one game down in Pawtucket.
Kelly Shoppach has missed the last few games after injuring his ankle in a collision at the plate. The injury is not serious. He's been doing sprints and taking batting practice and while he may sit out the next couple of games in Pawtucket, he will be healthy enough to get the call to the bigs to try and help the Sox down the stretch.
Portland has made the play offs and will be facing Trenton in the first round. Portland has a 7-9 record against New York's AA club this year after losing four straight to them in mid-August.
Wilmington was swept in a double header by Frederick. They play their final game of the season today against the same team and hope to go out on a high note. Tom Hottovy took the loss in the second game for the Blue Rocks and dropped to 3-12 on the year. In 25 games, 23 of them starts, Hottovy has gone 104 innings and has a 5.45 ERA. His peripherals are about average with 7.1 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9. He has been hurt by the long ball, allowing 18 of them for a 1.6 HR/9 rate. Still, he's not nearly as bad as his record suggests and may hav even pitched a little bit better than his ERA suggests. Before the season Hottovy seemed to be on the fast track to the majors. Baseball America, who ranked him as the organization's 18th best prospect before the season, said that they wouldn't be surprised if Hottovy, a 4th round pick in the 2004 draft, beat Dustin Pedroia to the majors. He did put up a 0.89 ERA in 30 IP with 39 K's and only 4 BB's last year for Lowell. But after a disappointing 2005 it looks like things are going to have to move a little slower for Hottovy. His athleticism and stuff still make him a prospect, but at 24 years old he's really going to have to impress next year and will have to make it all the way to Portland to still be one of the organization's best.