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The Tides (55-87) went three up, three down six times against Bulls starter Matt Torra (5-1) in the penultimate game of the season Sunday night.
The 27-year-old acquired from Arizona in July baffled Tides batters up until the eighth inning. Torra struck out six and averaged an efficient 10 pitches per inning through seven innings as Tides batters constantly swung on the first pitch. Durham improved to 10-1 when Torra starts.
"He's got a nice little slider," Tides manager Gary Allenson said. "He gets ahead with something else and throws that slider up there, and it's a tough pitch to lay off of."
Torra retired 13 straight batters between shortstop Carlos Rojas' single in the third and Hughes' stand-up triple to start the eighth. After the triple, second baseman Brendan Harris reached first base on a hit-by-pitch and catcher John Hester doubled, scoring Hughes, before Dane De La Rosa relieved Torra.
Hester left the game with an injury following the double. He had two of the Tides' four hits against Torra, which may not be a coincidence. In 2007, Hester caught Torra when the two were with the Arizona Diamondback's Class A-Advanced affiliate Visalia.
"I would think it would help you a little bit if you caught the guy before," Allenson said. "You get an idea of how he works and what his stuff does."
Gedman was 0-3 in the contest in an 8-3 loss to the New Hampshire Fisher Cats but finished his first season of professional ball with a .234 batting average (46-for-197), five doubles, one triple, three home runs, 18 runs scored and 17 RBI combined across three different teams.
Gedman began the season with the Gulf Coast League Red Sox before being promoted to the short season-A Lowell Spinners in late July.
The Bulls swept the Knights Sunday at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, winning 4-3 in eight innings and then 3-0 in the nightcap in front of 10,015. Durham (77-57) reduced its magic number in the South Division to five and extended its lead to 3.5 games over Gwinnett, which comes to the DBAP Monday for a two-game series.
Torra started the year in Reno, where he had a 6.07 ERA before being traded to Tampa. He had a 6.86 ERA in his first four starts in Durham, but the 27-year-old righty has given up just nine runs in his last 39.2 innings and is 4-0 in his last six starts.
Torra credited pitching coach Neil Allen for making some mechanical adjustments, including moving him from the third-base side to the first-base side of the rubber and getting him more upright in his delivery. He gave up just four hits and no walks Sunday to lower his ERA to 3.81.
Read more of the recap from the Herald-Sun.
"It feels like old times," said Rich Gedman. "I use to drag him to the ballpark and throw him pitches, and watched all of his Little League games. Now he is following his dream."
At 22 years old and now noticeably taller than his dad, Matt Gedman still listened closely to his father's advice, just as he has done his entire baseball life.
"On the field he is coach," said Matt. "But off the field he is just dad. To see him every day, to be around him is amazing. He's been working with me since I was a little kid."
Little League has now been replaced by professional baseball, but the two Gedmans again find themselves in the same dugout, father and son donning the uniform of the Lowell Spinners.
Read more of Baseball Bond Runs Deep For Gedmans from the Eagle Tribune.
This past Sunday against the Rangers, he had his first career multi-hit game as a pro, going 2-for-4 with a triple, a walk, a stolen base and a run scored.
Copa is currently hitting .364 (4-for-11) wth an RBI and three runs scored.
Leigh (1-2) pitched 22/3 innings of scoreless relief to record his first win of the season for the Frogs. He currently holds a 2.92 earned run average in 12.1 innings over seven appearances with five walks and nine strikeouts and an opponent batting average of .205.
Through 21 Games, Gedman is tied for the team lead with 18 hits, is tied for second in doubles (4) and is fourth in RBI (8) and on base percentage (.306).
The second baseman is hitting .234 in 77 at bats.
Clegg pitched the sixth and the seventh, striking out two in his 16th appearance of the season. He has thrown 55.0 innings to date and holds a 4.91 ERA with 22 walks and 22 strikeouts.
Torra threw five innings and allowed three runs on six hits, walked none and struck out four, but did not earn a decision in the Bulls' 11-5 win. All three runs came in the first as he followed up with four shutout frames.
Following this five-games stint against Norfolk, the Bulls will be making a trip to New England to face the Pawtucket Red Sox, July 14-17.
Torra threw five innings and allowed three runs on six hits, walked none and struck out four, but did not earn a decision in the Bulls' 11-5 win. All three runs came in the first as he followed up with four shutout frames.
Following this five-games stint against Norfolk, the Bulls will be making a trip to New England to face the Pawtucket Red Sox, July 14-17.
Torra, who took the mound in Las Vegas for the Aces against the 51s yesterday, celebrated his first Father's Day. Torra and his wife Jessica welcomed their daughter Isabel into the world nine months ago.
"Having a kid now has really put a lot of things in perspective for me," Torra said. "After a good game you go up and see your family and my daughter's like, 'Hey, let's go play. I don't care what you did on the field.' And it goes the other way, too. If you have a bad outing and you go up after the game and you see her, she smiles at you and it makes you just forget about it."
In his outing yesterday, Torra went four innings and allowed eight runs on 14 hits and struck out two. Reno rallied late, though, as the Aces went on to win 12-9 after scoring five runs in the eighth.He threw 87 pitches, on the night, 63 of them strikes. He did not walk a batter and struck out four for the win. Paronto (1-3) allowed six hits, with no walks and six strikeouts in his first complete game since July 9, 2000.
Read more of the recap from the Berkshire Eagle.
Read the full Red Sox Notebook on Boston.com
Leigh, who signed with the Seattle Mariners' organization last summer as a free agent, was 2-0 with a 1.71 earned run average over 21.0 innings with the Pulaski Mariners in 2010. He registered three saves in his 12 appearances, as well, with 19 strikeouts to just six walks and an opponent batting average of .203.
The AquaSox open their season this Friday, Jun. 17, on the road against the Tri-City Dust Devils.
On the day his younger brother was drafted, former Minuteman hurler Mike Gedman unfortunately took the loss for the Worcester Tornadoes after walking the leadoff hitter on a 3-2 pitch in the eighth inning vs. Chad Paronto's Pittsfield Colonials. The Colonials rallied for a 6-4 win.
Finally, Matt Torra will be on the bump tonight as the Reno Aces open a four-game series against the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. Torra will put his 4-0 record on the line against Sky Sox RHP Esmil Rogers (0-0, No ERA), who is on a Major League rehab assignment.
Torra (4-0) scattered just seven hits and struck out four en route to his third quality start in his last four outings. The right-hander surrendered just one base on balls.
The game was covered by kolotv.com and AZ Snakepit, as well.
Through 11 starts, Torra holds a 4.64 earned run average with one complete game. In 64.0 innings pitched, he has fanned 29 batters, while walking 16.
Clegg, who played for the SteepleCats in the Summer of 2008, is 2-3 in eight starts for the Potomac Nationals of the Carolina League.
Torra held the Express to two runs on seven hits in seven innings on the mound with a season-high six strikeouts and two walks. His first K of game was the 500th of his professional career.
Through 52.0 innings over nine starts, Torra currently holds a 4.67 ERA with 12 walks and 23 strikeouts.
"The 35-year-old pitcher, who has appeared in 177 major league games with the Orioles, Indians, Braves, and Astros, has agreed to come out of retirement to be a player/coach for the Colonials. Chad lives in Pittsfield with his wife and two children.
'I really wanted to coach-slash-teach,' Paronto said. 'I guess I'm called the pitching coach, but I just want to teach guys how to pitch a little bit, and share some of the ideologies that I've come across in the 16 years that I've played. I think it's going to be exciting...and the stadium is only about eight-tenths of a mile from my house.'
Read more on Heard It From Hoard
Torra threw six innings and allowed three runs on six hits with no walks and four strikeouts. He is currently 2-0 on the season through eight starts with a 5.00 earned run average in 45.0 innings pitched with 10 walks and 17 strikeouts.
UMass baseball's own Mitchell Clegg fired his best outing of the year and Potomac knocked off Lynchburg 6-2 from City Stadium on Friday night.
The Woburn, Mass., native improved to 2-2, only allowing four hits and never dealing with any significant jams. The one run he allowed came in the first inning when he hit lead-off man Todd Cunningham and then gave up a double to Phil Gosselin two batters later. Cunningham came all the way around from first to score, but by that point, Potomac had all the runs it needed.
Read more of the recap on MiLB.com.
Clegg's performance is also mentioned on dcprosportsreport.com and on insidenova.com.
Through seven starts this season, Clegg has thrown a total of 36.2 innings with 11 walks, 16 strikeouts and a 4.66 earned run average.
Bill Buckner won't be the only former big leaguer in town Saturday when the Brockton Rox meet the Pittsfield Colonials in a Can-Am League exhibition at Forest Park (2 p.m.)
Buckner's the major celebrity as manager of the Rox. As for the Colonials, they have Chad Paronto, a former University of Massachusetts pitcher who spent parts of seven seasons in the majors as a middle reliever.
Paronto, 35, has a dual role as pitcher and pitching coach.
Read more o Garry Brown's article on MassLive.com
He was helped by his defense which turned a double play and caught a runner trying to steal. Josh Smoker relieved Clegg with one out in the sixth and was helped by a spectacular diving catch in right field by Hood and a brilliant stab of a grounder and strong throw to first by Francisco Soriano.
The P-Nats won on a walk-off single in the ninth, a 5-4 victory.
Clegg scattered five hits, walked one and struck out two in his outing. He is now 1-2 on the year through six starts with a 5.46 ERA.
Read the entire game recap here: Walk-off single leads Potomac Nationals to victory
Torra threw a seven inning complete game two-hitter, collecting a win as the Reno Aces swept a doubleheader against the Salt Lake Bees. He allowed two runs, walked one and struck out two en route to the 3-2 victory. Torra is now 2-0 on the season with a 4.50 ERA, throwing 34 innings over six starts with nine walks and 12 strikeouts.
Clegg started, but did not factor into the decision for the Potomac Nationals who fell to the Winston-Salem Dash, 5-3 on the road. The former UMass lefty tossed five innings and allowed two runs on six hits, while walking one and striking out three. He is currently 1-2 on the year with a 6.29 ERA in five starts for a total of 24.1 innings with eight walks and 12 Ks.
Torra is currently 1-0 with a 4.29 ERA in 21.0 innings, five walks and 10 strikeouts.
Live audio is available through the MiLB.com web site.
Clegg is currently 0-0 with a 4.50 ERA after pitching four innings in his 2011 debut last week, a 3-2 win over the Winston-Salem Dash.
Instead of working out on his own, Clegg's new routine called for visiting Mike Boyle Strength & Conditioning four times a week for 15 weeks. Other athletes who have sought out Boyle in the past include Nomar Garciaparra, Cam Neely, Ray Bourque and Rich Hill, a Boston native who pitched for the Red Sox in 2010.
"It is in Woburn, in my hometown, so I really had no excuse not to go," said Clegg, a minor league pitcher in the Washington Nationals' farm system. "I slimmed down and put on some muscle mass. I needed it. I feel as good as I have in a couple of years."
Read more of David Driver's Former UMass pitcher Mitch Clegg making strides in Nationals' farm system
The 35-year-old city resident signed a contract with the Pittsfield Colonials in dual roles as pitching coach and starter.
Despite having been invited to spring training by multiple professional clubs, Paronto decided to hang up his professional career to be closer to his family.
"I know that I can pitch in the big leagues but that's the least of my concerns," Paronto said at a press conference Friday. "I chose to retire for my family."
Last season, Paronto led the Pawtucket Red Sox in appearances with 54 and posted a 4.22 ERA out of the bullpen. But at the end of the year, he said he began thinking of retiring in order to spend more time with his children.
Read more of Pittsfield Colonials Sign Former Major Leaguer
Clegg did not earn a decision, but threw four innings and allowed two runs on four hits with one walk and three strikeouts in the seven-inning contest.
Check out the recap and box score on on MiLB.com.
Audio is available on MiLB.com and the contest will also air on MiLB.TV.
Clegg was 9-4 with a 3.20 ERA in 107 innings of work last season and started 16 games. He logged 63 strikeouts and 25 walks in 2010.
Potomac will open its season on Friday, Apr. 8, at home against the Lynchburg Hillcats at 7:05 p.m.
Torra won 11 games for the Aces last season and set a D-backs Triple-A record with 178.0 innings pitched.
The Reno Gazette-Journal also has a position-by-position preview of the season.
Reno opens 2011 next Thursday, Apr. 7, on the road against the Salt Lake Bees.
Paronto had a weekly radio segment on the team's radio broadcasts called "Hangin' With Chad" that featured him interviewing his teammates. (Listen to the segments here)
Click here to read the blog posting, which includes a link to this video, which prominently features Paronto.
Serino and Leigh joined Mitchell Clegg, Matt Torra, Ron Villone, Chad Paronto, and Nick Gorneault as former Minutemen getting paid to play the national past time.
Check out this piece from Examiner.com, recapping the 2010 minor league season for all seven UMass baseball alumni.
Clegg, who has battled injury over the past two months, is currently on the seven-day disabled list.
Pulaski will play at home vs. Greeneville both tonight and tomorrow to wrap up the regular season and will await its playoff opponent.
Leigh, who signed with the Mariners in late June, is currently 2.0 with a 1.71 ERA and has thrown 21.0 innings in his first season of pro ball.
Paronto is currently 3-5 with a 4.31 ERA in 71.0 innings pitched on the season.
"I've been on teams where we were close but it was just one or two plays that made the difference," recalled Gorneault. "Unfortunately for us they went the wrong way."
He hopes this Bees team is different.
Read more of this great feature on Gorneault from the Salt Lake Bees web site.
Leigh is currently 2-0 with a 1.71 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 21.0 innings pitched. Heading into the final week of the regular season, Pulaski is 35-25 and is in first place in the East Division of the Appalachian League.
Playing for the AAA Salt Lake Bees, Gorneault batted .435 (10-for-22) with three home runs, three doubles and 10 runs batted in last week, helping the Bees overtake Tacoma in the Pacific Northern Division. The veteran outfielder finished the week with a flourish, going 8-for-12 with three homers and nine RBI in three weekend games, boosting his batting average from .196 to .221 in the process.
Serino picked up a win in his most recent outing with Gulf Coast League Nationals, throwing 1.1 scoreless, hitless innings of relief against the GCL Astros. He is currently 2-2 on the season with a 2.70 ERA with 18 strikeouts and two walks in 16.2 innings pitched.
Leigh also earned a win in his last appearance for the Pulaski Mariners, an 8-5 victory over the Princeton Rays. He tossed three innings of relief and allowed just one hit, a solo home run, striking out two. Leigh is now 2-0 on the year with a 1.45 ERA with five walks and 18 strikeouts in 18.2 innings pitched. Opponents are hitting just .188 against him.
Clegg was interviewed by the Herald-Mail following the game: "I felt good," Clegg said. "The biggest thing was I was trying to get back to how I was doing before I got hurt and I wanted to control my emotions. I know I'm not going to be a strikeout pitcher. so it is important for me to have good defense behind me. I tried to work fast to help them stay ready. I got a lot of ground balls off my sinker."
Clegg is now 9-1 on the season with Hagerstown, boasting a 2.52 ERA with 44 strikeouts to just 17 walks in 78.2 innings on the hill.
Conversely, lefty Mitchell Clegg limited the Gulf Coast League Mets to two runs, one earned, on seven hits over five innings in his rehab start with the GCL Nationals, but was hooked with the loss in the 4-1 game.
Gordon Edes writes that, "Saltalamacchia learned about his call-up around 2:30 a.m., after the PawSox arrived by bus in Allentown, Pa., from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. For the ride, he wore a special sweater, acquired by Pawtucket pitcher Chad Paronto, awarded in the clubhouse to the player deemed the star of the game.
'It's a sweater he made, bought in a convenience store,' Saltalamacchia said, momentariliy abashed by the sweater's notoriety. "It says 'Meowy Christmas.' [PawSox pitcher] Rich Hill loves cats, but we decided to make it a team thing. The first night Rich Hill won it, which was good. Last night it was me. I was very excited, thrilled."
Another UMass baseball alum playing in AAA, Chad Paronto, threw two shutout innings of relief for the Pawtucket Red Sox in a 2-1 loss to the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees last night. Paronto is 3-5 with a 4.08 ERA in 64.0 innings pitched.