It might be a little soon to write off left-handed reliever James Russell. Now pitching with the Iowa Cubs, Russell has 7.2 innings under his belt in which he has given up just three hits, no walks, and has struck out eleven. Opposing hitters are batting just .115 off of him.
I suspect a lot of Cubs fans will be initially very skeptical should Russell make a return to Wrigley at some point this summer, but if he keeps pitching like he has been so far that skepticism may not last. He’s been effective (in an admittedly limited sample size) enough that I suspect he could be considered for a call up not just as a lefty specialist, but as a guy who can pitch an inning or two as needed. (And he was better than you may remember in his time with the Cubs.)
[Iowa] Donn Roach had the start in the first game. He pitched 6 innings and allowed a run on 7 hits and 3 walks while striking out one. Joe Ortiz walked one in an otherwise flawless 7th to end it.
[Tennessee] Stephen Bruno went 0 for 4, but he did pick up his 4th steal.
[Tennessee] The back end of the Smokies bullpen was excellent in this one. Zach Cates (1.1 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 1 K), Stephen Perakslis (1 IP, 2 K), and P.J. Francescon (1 IP, 1 BB, 1 K) combined to hold the Lookouts scoreless for the last third of the game.
[Myrtle Beach] Jen-Ho Tseng needed just 73 pitches to toss 5 innings of one run ball. He allowed 3 hits and struck out 2.
[Myrtle Beach] James Pugliese struck out 2 in his 2 innings of 2 hit pitching in relief.
[Myrtle Beach] All 9 Pelican batters reached base in this one, 8 via hits and one (Victor Caratini) via the walk.
[Myrtle Beach] Of those 8 hits, though, only a double from Wes Darvill went for extra bases.
[South Bend] Jake Stinnett had the walks back under control last night, but he gave up too many hits instead. Over 2.2 (72 pitches) he allowed 5 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks while striking out a pair.
[South Bend] David Garner had 2 innings of hitless relief to end it.
[South Bend] Charcer Burks went 3 for 4 and stole his 3rd base of the season.
Other News
There was some roster shuffling in the minors yesterday as Albert Almora hit the disabled list and Hannemann was promoted. Brett has the details here. I admit that I am a little surprised Hannemann was the first outfielder up and not Billy McKinney, but I don’t think we should take any significance from that fact. McKinney is still ready for Double A, but Hannemann is a true center fielder whereas McKinney looks more like a corner guy defensively.
Since it was his first Double A home run and, for many, may be the first glimpse of this guy in action, how about a look at Hannemann’s big hit:
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NEWSLETTER
It might be a little soon to write off left-handed reliever James Russell. Now pitching with the Iowa Cubs, Russell has 7.2 innings under his belt in which he has given up just three hits, no walks, and has struck out eleven. Opposing hitters are batting just .115 off of him.
