All Things Bubba

The Louisville Bats escaped being no-hit by the skin of their teeth. With two outs in the ninth, Chris Dickerson hit a line drive to center. It went all the way to the wall, and Dickerson ended up on 3B. Yup, a triple ended the no-no.

Andy Phillips started at 1B - back in the lineup for the first time since April 11. He hit one hard to deep center, but Andrew McCutcheon, the Pirates’ top prospect, went against the fence and robbed him. Andy did have some nice plays on defense, including one of those wide-receiver style over the shoulder catches in foul territory.

McCutcheon stole 3B…twice.

Kevin Thompson hit the only homer of the game, a two-run shot. He’s hitting well. I always felt kind of sorry for KT. Bubba was always kind of blocked in the Yankees system, but it was even worse for KT. He was stuck behind Bubba. Thompson has good speed, but doesn’t seem to have Bubba’s instincts on the basepaths or in the outfield. He does hit well. One of his problems might be his height. He’s listed at 5’-10”, but I suspect he’s a lot shorter than that. He is really short for an outfielder.

Reds reject Craig Wilson came in as a pinch-hitter for the Indians, and singled to left. He’s still shaking off the rust, but his shoulder seems to be holding up.

Bats starting pitcher Matt Maloney had a bad day at the office. He hit three batters in the first inning. His pitch count was up to 40 with no outs in the 2nd inning.

The Bats had their chances. Indianapolis starting pitcher John Van Benschoten walked two batters on eight pitches in the first inning, but they couldn’t cash them in.

The final score: Indianapolis 7, Louisville 0. A shutout, but not a no-hitter.