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Tony Graham’s story on the second-half clincher last night (click here):
“This is quite an accomplishment for probably the youngest team in the league,” Parent said. “It’s a credit to these guys working out, staying in shape, so they’re strong throughout the season.”
It was over almost as soon as it started. By about 7:45 tonight, Lakewood was already up 6-0 over Augusta and Greensboro was down 4-0 to Savannah. Two hours later, they were both finals and Lakewood had clinched the second half, 73 days after they clinched the first half championship.
Mark Parent called his team in amidst a post-game party on Wednesday night and contragulated them on playing hard for nine innings a game over the first five months of the season.
Trevor May gave up one run over six innings to earn the win, his seventh in 11 starts with Lakewood this year.
“May was so good tonight, I think I could have gotten back there and caught him,” said Parent.
Here is more on the game.
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Other notes…
Welcome back to FirstEnergy Park in Lakewood where the BlueClaws look for their 80th win of the season on a potential clincher night…they clinch the 2nd half title with a win and a Greensboro loss.
Game Notes
Listen Live (at 6:50)
LAK: RHP Trevor May (6-3, 3.05)
AUG: RHP Brian Irving (7-5, 4.50)
Let’s Get This Party Started…The BlueClaws can clinch the league’s second half title tonight with a win AND a Greensboro loss…The Grasshoppers are currently 4.5 games behind Lakewood with six games to play…If the BlueClaws do win the second-half title, they will become the first team since Capital City in 2004 and just the fourth (also Lake County in 2003 and Piedmont in 2000) to win both halves (the SAL switched to the current two-half/two-division format in 2000)…None of the three teams to win both halves went on to win the South Atlantic League title…Piedmont, the Phillies SAL affiliate before Lakewood’s 2001 debut, was managed by current BlueClaws hitting coach Greg Legg.
The First Clincher…The BlueClaws clinched the first-half title on the last day of the half, June 20th in a 6-3 win over Kannapolis…Jonathan Singleton hit two home runs in the win.
May Day…May, 20, makes his 11th start with Lakewood after he went 5-5, 5.01 in 17 starts with Hi-A Clearwater…He gave up four runs (tied Lakewood season-high) in five innings at Hickory last Wednesday…May has struck out 85 in just 59 innings with Lakewood and has walked just 19 (he walked 61 in 70 innings with Clearwater)…On July 27th at Delmarva, he struck out 14 Shorebirds, tying a BlueClaws single-game franchise record…In 10 starts with Lakewood, May has struck out at least nine hitters in six of them…Left-handed hitters are batting just .198 against May (.234 for right- handed hitters)
Before Lakewood’s game with Augusta on Tuesday, we sat down for a few minutes with Phillies Minor League Hitting Coordinator Sal Rende, who shared his thoughts on a number of different hitters on this BlueClaws team as they head into the post-season next week.
Progress of the collective group of hitters this season?
I think its evident on the field in the way they perform, there’s a lot of little things that goes into it, a lot of hard work with Greg Legg everyday in the cage. Our concern with young guys is that they strike out a lot…this league seems to be a high strikeout league for a lot of teams including us, but that should minimize as they go through their career. Legger does a great job with them, and hopefully they’ll cruise through the playoffs.
Congratulations to four BlueClaws: 1B Jonathan Singleton (Most Oustanding Prospect), C Sebastian Valle, SS Jonathan Villar (traded) and manager Mark Parent, who were all selected to the South Atlantic League Post-Season All-Star team, it was announced today by League President Eric Krupa.
Here is the full BlueClaws release:
First baseman Jonathan Singleton was named the league’s Most Outstanding Prospect. He is the first BlueClaw to receive the honor.
The 18 year old from Lakewood, California is batting .296 with 14 home runs and 73 RBIs and joined the BlueClaws on May 13th. He was an 8th round pick of the Phillies in 2009. Singleton hit two home runs when the BlueClaws clinched the first half title on June 20th against Kannapolis. He entered the season as the 20th ranked prospect in the system per Baseball America.
Catcher Sebastian Valle, who turned 20 in July, was named as the league’s All-Star catcher. The Los Mochis San Aloa, Mexico native is batting .256 and leads Lakewood in home runs (16) and leads the league’s catchers in RBIs (74). He entered the season as the seventh ranked prospect in the system per Baseball America.
The rosters for the prestigious Arizona Fall League were announced today and feature several BlueClaws (including two current ‘Claws). All will represent the Mesa Solar Sox.
Here is the full release from MLB on the league, which enters its 19th season and features seven players from all 30 organizations split among six teams.
One night after the 13th walk-off win of the season, the BlueClaws are back in action tonight against Augusta at FirstEnergy Park, with just seven games left in the 2010 regular season.
Game Notes
Listen Live (at 6:50)
LAK: RHP Brody Colvin (6-7, 3.28)
AUG: RHP Andrew Reichard (4-1, 3.50)
Magic Tricks…The BlueClaws magic number to win the second half title is just three.
Record Chasing…BlueClaws CF Jiwan James has 147 hits on the season, just five off Quintin Berry’s single-season franchise record set in 2007…Sebastian Valle, with 89, is three behind Ryan Howard’s franchise RBI record (Valle was placed on the disabled list, retroactive to Saturday with a right hamstring strain).
The Beal Deal…BlueClaws RHP Justin Beal has has only allowed one run in his last 10.1 innings pitched, including 4.2 scoreless on the current road trip…Beal joined the BlueClaws on 6/27 from Williamsport…He began pitching during his senior year of college at Missouri Southern State.
Two things from last night…
Bottom of the 9th, 2-2 game, Leandro Castro, who is very fast, is on first. Michael Dabbs hits a long fly ball into deep right-center field.
(For those of you who haven’t been here, we have an 8-foot high padded wall, then an 8-inch gap and behind that a 4-foot high chain link fence. You have to clear both).
Dabbs’ ball bounces up, hits the fence, and rolls along the ledge. Castro by now is standing on third base. If the ball falls one way it’s game over. If it falls the other, ground-rule double. Guess which way it fell.
So now you have 2nd and 3rd with one out. Anthony Hewitt struck out and on 1-2, Kyle Lafrenz won the game with an RBI single. Phew. -
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It was Lakewood’s 13th walk-off win of the season. 13 of their 36 home wins (36%) have ended in walk-off fashion…In addition to Lafrenz, Jiwan James leads the team with three walk-off hits…Jonathan Villar has two…Leandro Castro has a HR (plus a fielder’s choice)…Anthony Hewitt and Domingo Santana each have one (Santana HR)…Jonathan Singleton has a game ending walk…Alan Schoenberger scored on a wild pitch and Keoni DeRenne has an RBI double.
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Very cool tonight in LA as 2004-06 BlueClaw Kyle Kendrick will pitch for the Phillies against 2007 BlueClaw Carlos Monasterios. It is believed to be the second ever pitching match-up in the Major Leagues against two former BlueClaws (Matt Maloney of Cincinnati faced Cole Hamels on July 11th).
Monasterios, the Opening Day starter for the BlueClaws in 2007, has a tough act to follow, as Hiroki Kuroda took a no-hitter into the 8th inning last night for the Dodgers in a series-opening win over the Phillies. He was taken in the Rule-5 draft by the Dodgers from the Phillies in December and has had a very good year, pitching to a 3.54 ERA (2.79 after the All-Star break). All the more impressive, before this year, he had only thrown seven innings above Double-A!
Kendrick, who was with Lakewood between 2004 and 2006, was here again a month ago to throw a bullpen session. He is 8-7, 4.64 and is 1-3 with a 6.23 ERA in his last four starts. The right-hander gave up four runs and nine hits over six innings in Thursday’s 5-1 loss to Houston.
We might be a year away from some Carlos Carrasco (Indians) and Gavin Floyd (White Sox) match-ups next year in the American League Central.
The BlueClaws made two transactions today:
1. C Sebastian Valle was placed on the disabled list with a right hamstring strain suffered on Friday night in Hickory. The move is retroactive to Saturday and he’s eligible to return on Saturday, with three games left in the regular season.
2. C Jim Klocke (pronounced Clock-ee) was called up from Williamsport. A 31st round pick this year from SE Missouri State. He was batting .274 with one home run with the Crosscutters. A St. Louis native, he was drafted in the 46th round last year by the Cardinals.
Welcome back to FirstEnergy Park. After the final day off of the regular season, the BlueClaws are set to kick off an eight-game homestand beginning with four against the Augusta GreenJackets (Giants). The teams haven’t met since 2008 and Lakewood beat Augusta in the 2006 SAL Championship Series.
Game Notes
Listen Live (at 6:50)
LAK: RHP Mike Bolsenbroek (0-1, 3.00)
AUG: LHP Kelvin Marte (1-0, 2.70)
Do You Believe in Magic?…The BlueClaws are trying to become the first team since Capital City in 2004 and just the 3rd (Piedmont, a Phillies affiliate managed by current Lakewood hitting coach Greg Legg, in 2000 and Lake County in 2003) to win both halves…They currently lead Greensboro by 4.5 games in the second half standings with eight games left…The BlueClaws magic number is four over Greensboro and three over Hickory and Kannapolis, meaning any combo of four BlueClaws wins and Grasshoppers losses plus any combo of three BlueClaws wins and Kannapolis/Hickory losses would clinch the half for Lakewood.
Barnes Burning Up…On the strength of a 13-30 week, Jeremy Barnes has raised his average up to .296 …Barnes has not been at .300 since May 31st…He is 31-82 (.375) in August with 10 multi-hit games this month…He hit .346 in April, .268 in May, .176 in June, .247 in July.
Here is the promotional rundown for this week’s eight-game, regular season concluding homestand. A packed week, should be fun (order tickets here)
Every year Mike Drago of the Reading Eagle surveys media around the farm system and ranks the prospects in the organization from 1-20. He released his survey results yesterday, and as expected the list had a distinct BlueClaws feel to it.
Before Saturday’s game at Hickory, we sat down for a few minutes with BlueClaws manager Mark Parent, who talks about the series with Hickory, the upcoming postseason series (also possibly against Hickory) and more.
After dropping the first game, how do you think your guys responded over the last two days? They know they need to matchup against this club. Offensively, during BP, they’ve been taking it very serious, not that they haven’t all year but it’s coming down to the end and they’re trying to take care of all the little things.
Do you view it as a chance to “make a statement” against these guys? I don’t know. The standings kind of look like it’s going to be them because it’s hard for Greensboro to jump two teams (they’ve already jumped one). Messages don’t count for much. You still have to go play the game. There are times that we’ve played well and then go to Delmarva and lose a couple. In a three game series, you’re in trouble if you do that.
The first inning has been big for the winning teams in these three games. How significant is that for your pitcher? That’s very important. When James gets on in the first game, we didn’t get him in. But more importantly is when we do score the runs is when you give back one or two. For a catcher, that’s the most important thing. When we score some runs, throw a zero up there.
Jonathan Singleton, do you think he’s finding his groove again? He’s starting to realize he’s not Superman and he has to shorten his swing and know where the head of the bat is. When we’re young, we’re young and stubborn. We think we’re invincible but sometimes it takes awhile for young people to make adjustment and he’s made a few.
How important has the re-emergence of Jeremy Barnes (.400 in August) been to add another bat in the middle of the lineup? Real big. Here’s a guy staying above water but he made a few adjustments that Greg Legg has been trying to get him to do all year and he’s been swinging the bat really well, staying back and using his hands. When those things happen, you want to make sure the other guys see that too. Even when you’re doing well, you can do better.
What do you want to see the last nine days? I’d give all my pennies to see Valle healthy. He’s got a tweaked hamstring right now. But I’d like to see everyone healthy, win or lose, show what they can do and give it their best and enjoy being in a playoff chase.
With a bunch of guys in different roles lately at the back of the bullpen, how important is it to have organized roles or do you want to see as many guys as possible pitching well? We’ve changed guys around like McGuire just to get him innings or we had a need and he was the guy that fit it. But we’re trying to see who’s been in different roles, who’s throwing strikes and making quality pitches. Certain guys are doing that and certain guys aren’t. Those that aren’t won’t get the opportunity. Those that do deserved it.