Cade Horton – Picture by Todd Johnson

5 Innings.

2 hits.

10 Ks.

That dog will most definitely hunt.

Starting Pitcher of the Day

It is weird for most of us to see a pitcher pitch with high K numbers and low hit totals that Cade Horton is now putting down in the stat line. What I like most is that Horton is improving from start to start. He looks like he is fully stretched out until you look at just exactly how many pitches Horton actually threw. It was just 69 in 5 innings. 48 of them were for strikes. It was also Horton’s first win at South Bend as they won 1-0.

In the past few years, we have seen relief pitchers move fast. From Dillon Maples to Scott Kobos to Jeremiah Estrada to Jack Patterson, several arms have proved worthy to move from level to level to level. But a starting pitcher? Well, you have my permission to start wondering if that is going to happen to Horton. Could he possible end up in Tennessee this season? Could he even get to Iowa? Those are two big questions that will be answered this summer. Tennessee looks like it could be happening fairly soon, as early as July 1 if Horton continues to dominate. It is pretty clear that tonight was a clinic.

Tweet of the Day

To say that the Myrtle Beach Pelicans are hot is quite the understatement. They’ve won 13 out of their last 15 and tonight they continued their torrid stretch beating Augusta 7 to 3. The Pelicans had several things going for them tonight.

1. They had Michael Arias on the mound. He went five innings, gave up one hit while striking out 5 while walking 3. That’s a pretty solid start.

2. Moises Ballesteros hit a double and a homer. He rakes away from home.

3. Felix Stevens hit his team-leading 9th dinger.

4. Juan Mora, aka Juan Baseball, went 3-for-5 with a dinger and continues to be the sparkplug for this resurgent team on offense.

Debut of the Day

Jefferson Rojas had 2 hits today, both doubles. Not bad for an 18-year-old.

Smokies Explode

When the Smokies fell out of first place last weekend, I wondered how they would respond. I am pretty sure they were pissed.

Tonight’s 11 to 2 thumping of Rocket City put the Smokies 1.5 games ahead of Chattanooga in the Southern League North. This evening’s game in Huntsville was notable for several things.

1. DJ Herz pitched really well. He made it to the fifth inning, and had not allowed a run yet. Unfortunately, he gave up two unearned runs in that inning before leaving. On the night, he struck out five and allowed three hits. But most importantly, he only walked two. That’s a really good sign for him and hopefully he’s starting to come around.

2. As for the bats, the Smokies showed why they are the most potent offence in the Southern League. They had taken a one run lead in the fifth only to give up two in the bottom of the inning and then a to run jack by Haydn. McGeary gave them the lead for good. Just to make sure that the save opportunity was out of reach, the Smokies scored eight runs in the ninth inning punctuated by a three-run homer by Pete Crow-Armstrong. BJ Murray Pablo Aliendo, Jordan Nwogu, and Cole Roederer all had two hits while PCA and Cole had three RBI apiece.

The Iowa Collapse Continues

The Cubs fell behind 5-1 but came back to tie St. Paul at 6 in the middle of the sixth. Things looked pretty hopeful. Ryan Jensen came back out to pitch in the sixth after his AAA debut the inning before when he went 1-2-3. Welp, he did not record an out in the sixth and was charged with three runs. St. Paul scored three more in the seventh off Bailey Horn and they cruised to an 11-6 win. Jared Young had three hits on the night while Nick Madrigal and Bryce Windham each had two.

I will be back in the morning with a look at some guys who hope to recover from a poor first half.