Starting pitcher Rick van den Hurk of the Florida Marlins had to take his first loss in the big leagues this season on Wednesday. Against the Nationals he allowed seven hits, five runs and a walk in four innings. Three of the five runs came through solo homeruns by Adam Dunn, Ryan Zimmerman and Ronnie Belliard. He threw 77 pitches, 47 for strikes. He is now 1-1 with an ERA of 4.29. Florida lost 4-5 in the end.
Around the Minors:
- After a short taste of Triple-A ball, Alessandro Maestri tries to make sure that he will get a new chance real soon. In his last four appearances back with the Tennessee Smokies, he allowed just two hits in 5 2/3 innings, while striking out seven and walking none. He is now 3-1 for the season with an ERA of 3.03.
- Shortstop Hainley Statia of the Los Angeles Angels was promoted to Triple-A Salt Lake City. He replaces the injured infielder Luis Figueroa, who went onto the disabled list with a sprained ankle. The 23-year-old Statia walked and scored a run in his lone appearance so far on August 3rd. He was batting .228 (OBP .301/SLG .302) with 36 runs scored and 33 RBI in 88 games at Double-A.
