Doubledays closing by committee
Lately, the Auburn Doubledays haven't had trouble bridging the gap from starter to closer. Relievers such as Ted Serro (0.00 ERA) and Ben Harrison (1.04 ERA) have held offenses scoreless in the middle innings for much of the season.
While the middle relief has successfully bridged the gap from the starting pitcher, it hasn't yet been set in stone which member of the Auburn bullpen will be the everyday closer.
Manager Dennis Holmberg has used seven different closers. Edward Rodriguez saved two games before being promoted to Lansing while Zach Dials, who hasn't allowed a run in 10 innings this season, has notched two saves before jumping into the starting rotation.
Seth Overbey, Scott Byrnes and Dennis Bigley each have one save. Overbey, with his sidearm delivery, was once predicted to be the Doubledays everyday closer but has allowed three earned run and a homer in six innings of work in July. Bigley has only pitched in two games while in Auburn while Byrnes has allowed one earned run in 7 1-3 innings.
Patience at the plate
While the offense has been up and down, the Doubledays have remained constant with their patience at the plate. Through Friday, Auburn leads the New York-Penn League with 85 walks.
The Doubledays are also tied for second in the league in on-base percentage (.340).
Auburn's big bopper Luke Hopkins has developed into the team's most lethal bat and in turn, has been pitched to most carefully by opposing teams.
Hopkins leads the Doubledays with 17 walks and an .889 OPS.
Jonathan Diaz and Scott Campbell have also been on-base machines. The middle infielders have a combined on-base percentage of .413 and have walked a total of 22 times.
Doubledays end slide against Lowell
It wasn't a Rasheed Wallace guarantee, but it held up.
With the Doubledays coming off a five-game losing streak, infielder Scott Campbell called his shot and predicted an Auburn win.
“Right now we've got a small losing streak but that's going to end tonight,” Campbell said on July 10.
Campbell held up his promise and against the Lowell Spinners, went 1-for-2 with three walks and three runs scored.
Relievers return
Relievers Wilfreddy Aguirre and John Tritz rejoined the ballclub this week.
Aguirre (7 2-3 IP, 2.35 ERA) returned to Venezuela earlier in the week to attend to the death of his father. In his first appearance back Monday, Aguirre threw two innings and allowed one run against Lowell.
In the same game, Tritz returned to toss one perfect inning. He was suspended for five games after hitting a batter in a game at Jamestown.
The Bulkley Report
Port Byron native Aaron Bulkley's team, the Tri-City ValleyCats, will be making an appearance at Falcon Park this week but it isn't certain whether Bulkley will be able to play in his homecoming.
The second-year outfielder has been dealing with a leg infection for three weeks and just started rehabbing.
-The Citizen staff reports
While the middle relief has successfully bridged the gap from the starting pitcher, it hasn't yet been set in stone which member of the Auburn bullpen will be the everyday closer.
Manager Dennis Holmberg has used seven different closers. Edward Rodriguez saved two games before being promoted to Lansing while Zach Dials, who hasn't allowed a run in 10 innings this season, has notched two saves before jumping into the starting rotation.
Seth Overbey, Scott Byrnes and Dennis Bigley each have one save. Overbey, with his sidearm delivery, was once predicted to be the Doubledays everyday closer but has allowed three earned run and a homer in six innings of work in July. Bigley has only pitched in two games while in Auburn while Byrnes has allowed one earned run in 7 1-3 innings.
Patience at the plate
While the offense has been up and down, the Doubledays have remained constant with their patience at the plate. Through Friday, Auburn leads the New York-Penn League with 85 walks.
The Doubledays are also tied for second in the league in on-base percentage (.340).
Auburn's big bopper Luke Hopkins has developed into the team's most lethal bat and in turn, has been pitched to most carefully by opposing teams.
Hopkins leads the Doubledays with 17 walks and an .889 OPS.
Jonathan Diaz and Scott Campbell have also been on-base machines. The middle infielders have a combined on-base percentage of .413 and have walked a total of 22 times.
Doubledays end slide against Lowell
It wasn't a Rasheed Wallace guarantee, but it held up.
With the Doubledays coming off a five-game losing streak, infielder Scott Campbell called his shot and predicted an Auburn win.
“Right now we've got a small losing streak but that's going to end tonight,” Campbell said on July 10.
Campbell held up his promise and against the Lowell Spinners, went 1-for-2 with three walks and three runs scored.
Relievers return
Relievers Wilfreddy Aguirre and John Tritz rejoined the ballclub this week.
Aguirre (7 2-3 IP, 2.35 ERA) returned to Venezuela earlier in the week to attend to the death of his father. In his first appearance back Monday, Aguirre threw two innings and allowed one run against Lowell.
In the same game, Tritz returned to toss one perfect inning. He was suspended for five games after hitting a batter in a game at Jamestown.
The Bulkley Report
Port Byron native Aaron Bulkley's team, the Tri-City ValleyCats, will be making an appearance at Falcon Park this week but it isn't certain whether Bulkley will be able to play in his homecoming.
The second-year outfielder has been dealing with a leg infection for three weeks and just started rehabbing.
-The Citizen staff reports
The Citizens' Say
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