Matt Mervis – Picture by Todd Johnson

I didn’t think a day could get any busier, but today was quite busy. Between mowing the yard, groceries, baseball and some house cleaning, there was plenty to do and plenty to see.

When I sat down to watch South Bend, I knew I was going to be seeing South Bend starting pitcher Kohl Franklin who had a really clean first inning and then struggled in the second and third. He will get there in time. It’s been two and a half years since he pitched competitively, it’s going to take a while for him to get back to full strength and feel. You just have to be patient just like you were with Caissie and Preciado. 

When it comes to the Reliever of the Day it doesn’t look like Bailey Horn is going to be long for South Bend. He threw another two frames today and struck out two giving him five scoreless frames this week with five strikeouts. He did not allow a baserunner all week either. That’s impressive.

In the Tennessee game, the Smokies scored 11 runs which made picking the Hitter of the Day fairly easy. Matt Mervis went 2-for-4 including a grand slam home run as he drove in a total of five on the day. Mervis is showing no signs of needing to adjust to Double-A so far. I’m sure that tat day will come, but right now he is hitting .333 with a 1.031 OPS with the Smokies.

As for the Starting Pitcher of the Day, that was probably the most clear-cut decision of the week as Richard Gallardo threw 5.2 scoreless innings for Myrtle Beach. He also did not allow a hit as he struck out three. But he did walk three and was charged with one run on the night.

Golf Shot of the Day

It looks like Pete Crowe Armstrong used a nine iron to hit his sixth homerun of the year. I don’t think he’s going to be here around Myrtle Beach too much longer.

I will be back tomorrow morning with “The Breakdown” with a special focus on the statistics for the week along with the playoff positions for each of the four affiliates all four are in the hunt for spots for the first time in years.