one fine day

A handful of former Mississippi Braves made significant contributions for various MLB teams on Monday. The sizzling Freddie Freeman (two hits, two RBIs) and the amazing Craig Kimbrel (35th save) helped Atlanta beat Florida. Charlie Morton stepped up as the stopper Pittsburgh so desperately needed, throwing eight shutout innings as the Pirates beat San Francisco to end their 10-game skid. Matt Harrison worked seven innings for his 10th win in Texas' victory over Seattle. And Jarrod Saltalamacchia went 2-for-5 with his 11th homer in Boston's win over Minnesota. "Salty" arrived in Pearl in 2006 as Atlanta's No. 1 prospect and had a rough go of it. He made strides in 2007 and jumped to The Show. He was traded to Texas, along with Harrison, Neftali Feliz and Elvis Andrus, in the big Mark Teixeira deal, then dealt to Boston last season. The switch-hitting catcher has had his share of struggles — at the plate and behind it — the last couple years but may finally have locked in with the Red Sox. While sharing catching duties with veteran Jason Varitek, Saltalamacchia is batting .257 with 38 RBIs in 72 games. The hitting coach in Boston is former Jackson Mets star Dave Magadan.
P.S. Ole Miss product Seth Smith hit a pair of homers for Colorado on Monday, giving him 11 for the season. There were seven homers hit all told in the Rockies' 10-7 win at Cincinnati's Great American Ballpark.

off the rails

It's all gone horribly wrong for Pittsburgh. The Pirates, who had captured our fancy in the season's first half, have lost nine straight and fallen four games under .500. Their playoff hopes may be dashed even before September gets here. Paul Maholm, the left-hander from Greenwood by way of Mississippi State, has had two chances to play stopper during the Pirates' skid and failed both times. On Saturday, he allowed 10 hits, a walk and seven earned runs in 6 2/3 innings of a 13-2 loss at home to San Diego. On Monday, when the losing skid was just three, Maholm yielded six hits, three walks and four earned runs in six innings of a 5-3 loss at home to the Chicago Cubs. For the year, Maholm is 6-12 with a 3.54 ERA. Pirates manager Clint Hurdle, the former Jackson Mets skipper, may be headed toward one of his most disappointing finishes. He's not alone there; all the Mississippi-connected managers in the big leagues are having tough times. An awful start may have doomed Ron Gardenhire's Minnesota club. Washington has fallen into last place since Davey Johnson took over. Baltimore has been a disaster in Buck Showalter's first full year there, and Kansas City has floundered again under Ned Yost.
P.S. Former Mississippi Braves shortstop Brent Lillibridge hit his eighth homer of the season on Saturday for the Chicago White Sox. Lillibridge, a 185-pound utility man who has just 132 at-bats this season, was in the game as a defensive replacement at first base for Adam Dunn, the 285-pound slugger signed to a big-money deal in the off-season. Dunn has 11 homers in 331 at-bats. He is hitting .163 and has struck out an MLB-worst 142 times.

fight night

The battle between first-place teams in San Francisco turned into a literal fight on Friday night. In the sixth inning of what would be a 9-2 Philadelphia win, the Giants' Ramon Ramirez hit Shane Victorino squarely in the back with a fastball. Victorino, who had homered earlier in the game, started towards the mound but was cut off by Giants catcher Eli Whiteside. The former Delta State star then tackled (sort of) the Phillies' Placido Polanco as both benches, bullpens and clubhouses emptied. It was a wild scene; even Phillies coach Sam Perlozzo, the old Jackson Mets manager, was caught up in the middle of the giant scrum. Ramirez, Victorino and Whiteside — who hit his fourth homer of the year Friday — were ejected. Suspensions are sure to follow. The Phillies have won the first two games of the four-game series, which continues today with Cole Hamels facing Matt Cain. Weir's Roy Oswalt is slated to come off the disabled list and go Sunday for Philly. This is compelling stuff.
P.S. Ole Miss product Lance Lynn notched his first career save Friday in hair-raising fashion for St. Louis. He gave up two walks and a hit in the ninth before ending the Cardinals' 3-2 win over Florida with a punchout of Marlins slugger Mike Stanton.

take that

Cliff Lee's numbers from Thursday night's start imply dominance. (On Sirius/XM radio, he sounded dominant, and the MLB Network highlights today confirmed that.) The left-hander out of Meridian Community College hurled his fifth shutout of the season for Philadelphia, beating San Francisco 3-0. He allowed just seven hits, struck out eight and walked none. The Giants were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. That's the kind of effort the Phillies were paying for when they gave Lee a 5-year, $120 million dollar deal in the off-season. For the year, Lee is 11-7 with a 2.96 ERA. He's had some rough spots, but when he's on, as he was Thursday, he's an artist. Still hard to fathom how he lost twice to the Giants while pitching for Texas in the World Series last fall. Thursday night might have been a little payback, though the real test will come if these teams meet in the postseason, which is a strong possibility.

comings and goings

Roy Oswalt is slated to make his return to the Philadelphia rotation on Sunday. The Holmes Community College alumnus from Weir has been out since June 24 with back problems. His rehab work reportedly went well, and the Phillies will put him back on the bump at San Francisco. "The thing about baseball is that you never know what's going to happen until you get out there," Oswalt told mlb.com. Oswalt won seven straight games for the Phils down the stretch last season after he was acquired from Houston. A repeat of that kind of performance would be a bonus for a first-place club that doesn't appear to need that much help. Oswalt is 4-6 with a 3.79 ERA this season. ... On Wednesday, for the second straight day, ex-Mississippi State star Jonathan Papelbon picked up a win thanks to a walk-off hit by Jacoby Ellsbury. The Boston closer has allowed just one run in 11 appearances since July 6. He has five saves and the two W's over that period. For the year, Papelbon, a pending free agent, is 4-0 with 24 saves in 25 opportunities and a 3.35 ERA. ... Ole Miss product Chris Coghlan, out of the Florida lineup since June 17 because of a knee problem, has twice had his rehab assignment interrupted, the latest time by an elbow injury. He is expected to resume playing in the next couple of days. When he might return to the Marlins is unclear. ... Nettleton's Bill Hall has cleared waivers and accepted his assignment to San Francisco's Triple-A Fresno team. Hall, hitting .318 in six games for Fresno, is no longer on the Giants' 40-man roster but apparently is hoping he can get back to the big league club in September. We shall see. Other than two rehab assignments, Hall's last stint in the minors was in 2003.

unsung hero

In what might have been the game of the year in the big leagues on Tuesday night, Ole Miss product Lance Lynn played a large if somewhat unheralded role as St. Louis took an 8-7 win over Milwaukee in 11 innings. The game between the two National League Central title contenders — the Cardinals moved within 2 1/2 games of the first-place Brewers with the win — had home runs, hit batsmen, great plays, bad plays, a big comeback and an ejection. Pretty much everything. Lance Berkman, the former Jackson Generals star who is having an MVP-type season, knocked in the game-winning run, slicing an opposite field single to shallow left to score Matt Holliday in the top of the 11th. Octavio Dotel, a trade deadline pickup by the Cards, notched the save. But give props to Lynn, the rookie right-hander who entered the game for St. Louis in the midst of a mess in the seventh inning. St. Louis had just tied the score at 7-all in the top of the frame. Jason Motte hit Ryan Braun to start the bottom of the seventh, clearly a retaliatory measure after Cards star Albert Pujols had been plunked previously. Motte was lifted — not ejected — and Marc Rzepczynski came on to walk the next batter. Enter Lynn. An infield hit loaded the bases with none out. Lynn then got a pop up, a ground-ball force at home and a strikeout to end the frame. A truly pivotal moment. Lynn has posted a 3.48 ERA in 15 games since he made his debut on June 2. Opponents are hitting just .214 against him, and he has 32 strikeouts in 31 innings. Good starting pitching is essential for a contender, and you've got to have a reliable closer who throws strikes. But those guys who work the middle innings, guys like Lynn, are pretty valuable, as well.

the new guy

Right-hander Zeke Spruill, up from Class A Lynchburg, is slated to start tonight for the Mississippi Braves, filling one of their two vacant starting jobs. Spruill, who'll be making his Double-A debut, was 7-9 with a team-best 3.19 ERA and five complete games in 20 starts for the high-A Hillcats. He's not a highly rated prospect, but with those numbers, he's one to watch. Wondering if some more players might be coming from Lynchburg in the coming days. Lefty Chris Masters is 6-5 with a 3.17 ERA, primarily as a starter. Then there's shortstop Andrelton Simmons, Atlanta's No. 15 prospect entering 2011. The Curacao native is a stringy 6-foot-2, 170-pounder who reportedly has marvelous defensive skills. He's also hitting .295 with 37 RBIs, 48 runs and 16 steals in 99 games. Other prospects there are outfielder Adam Milligan, hitting .291 with 12 homers and 40 RBIs in 64 games, and second baseman Phillip Gosselin, batting .264 with five homers, 55 RBIs and 47 runs in 99 games.