DJ Herz – Picture by Todd Johnson

Today was a strange one as Myrtle Beach lost for the first time all week to Kannapolis. They fell behind early before a late rally closed it to 6-4. South Bend faced off in a pitcher’s duel. It was a 0–0 game in the ninth-inning when Owen Caissie singled (his third hit of the day), then stole second, and came around the score on a Fabian Pertuz walk-off knock to center. Iowa only managed five hits on the day and lost 2 to 1. Tennessee came down to the final inning as they lost 8-6. Middle relief tonight could not build on another nice 3 inning outing from the new and improved Ryan Jensen. Cole Roederer continues to hit as he went 2-for-3 to quietly raise his average up to .294.

Let’s get to some awards! 

Dinger of the Day

In the bottom of the ninth, the young Cubs in the Arizona Complex League walked it off with a grand slam by Christian More to win 6-3 over the A’s.

Starting Pitcher of the Day

DJ Herz went 4.2 scoreless innings today and struck out 10 Peoria Chiefs. He allowed 2 hits and threw 80 pitches, 50 of them for strikes. His performance lowered his season ERA to 1.97. And when I arrive in Beloit on Tuesday around 4:15 PM, I am hoping that he is in Tennessee because he has definitely “earned” it. 

Reliever of the Day

Michael Rucker has not allowed a run since being sent back down to Iowa. Tonight, he pitched the seventh and eighth innings, allowed one hit, did not allow any runs or walks, and struck out three. In fact, his ERA at Iowa is 0.00. Runner-up was Michael McAvene of South Bend who threw 2 scoreless and struckout 2 while allowing just one hit.

Hitter of the Day

This award came down to two players Matt Mervis who went 2-for-5 with a double and a home run and drove in three.

Owen Caissie went 3-for-4 including a single in the ninth whereupon he stole second and scored on a Fabian Pertuz base hit to center. 

I did a quick poll with my fellow North Side Bound writers and we decided to go with Owen Caissie who has now raised his yearly average to .267. However, when you factor out his crappy month of April he has hit .302 since May 1. That’s a nice two month stretch. And there were even a few games where he did not hit very well including an 0-12 stretch. His ability to rebound at a place he hated hitting (The Quad Cities) carried over back to this homestand where he is in contention for Player of the Week. 

I will be back in the morning with my usual “Weekly.” And at noon, the “Rookie League Recap” will be released. Tomorrow is also biscuits and gravy for breakfast day at Grubsteakers. Wish me luck!