Starting pitcher Sidney Ponson missed the last couple of weeks due to an elbow strain, but came back on Tuesday to start in game one of the doubleheader between his Royals and the Angels. LA touched him for eight hits, six runs and two walks in five-plus innings en route to an 8-5 win. The team from Anaheim, California also prevailed in the second match by a score of 10-2. Ponson struck out two and threw 60 of his 90 pitches for strikes. He is now 1-6 with an ERA of 7.63.
Around the Majors:
- Wladimir Balentien homered in a 7-9 loss of his Mariners against the Tigers. It was his fourth long ball of the season. He is batting .223 (OBP .278/SLG .372) with 18 runs scored and twelve RBI in 148 at bats thru 54 games this year.
Around the Minors:
- Reliever Leon Boyd of the Toronto Blue Jays affiliate in New Hampshire has four scoreless outings in six games in July so far. On the year he has a 0-3 record with an ERA of 5.90 and 19 strikeouts (21 walks) in 29 innings for the Fisher Cats.
- Russian left-handed pitcher Andrei Lobanov of the GCL Twins struck out all five batters he faced on Tuesday against the GCL Red Sox to pick up the save. His ERA fell to 0.82 in six games with his latest scoreless appearance. He now has 17 strikeouts (no walks) in eleven innings, allowing just one run (solo homerun) on five hits.
- Shortstop Hainley Statia of the Arkansas Travelers (LAA) is batting .306 in his last ten games and .221 (OBP .294/SLG .289) overall. He has scored 29 runs and drove in 27 in 79 games at Double-A this year.
- Reliever Loek van Mil is thriving in the Florida State League. In 17 games for the High-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, the tall right-hander has an ERA of 1.71 with 19 strikeouts (11 walks) in 26 1/3 innings.