Around the Bases - Weekend Edition

Lincecum's delivery may be awkward, but the results certainly aren't

Here is a round-up of some of the more interesting lines over Friday’ and Saturday’s games:

20yo Rick Porcello not only went 7 Innings, on Friday night, allowing 6 Hits, 1 BB and 1 ER, but he did some damage with his first major league At Bats, going 2 for 3 with 2 RBIs.

23yo Chris Coghlan continues to be the table setter that the Marlins are looking for. He went 5 for 10 with 2 doubles and a stolen base, and has a .362 OBP through 110 ABs.

The Royals’ Billy Butler extended his hit streak to 9 games, going 4 for 9 with a HR.

Is there a better pitcher in baseball than the Giants’ Tim Lincecum? The 24yo Lincecum threw a complete game shutout on Friday night, allowing 7 Hits and 1 Walk while fanning 8.

Homer Bailey looks like he finally may be ready to come up and stay in the Major’s, after going 8 2/3 Innings, allowing 1 ER on 6 Hits and 2 Walks while striking out 8 batters. Since May 18, Bailey has a 1.27 ERA and 30:9 K:BB ratio.

The Giants’ Clayton Tanner had the pitching performance of the nigh on Friday. The 21yo went 6 Innings, allowing 1 Run on 3 Hits and struck out 10. Tanner now has a 2.96 ERA on the year in the hitter-friendly California League.

This week’s Top Hot Prospect, Travis Wood, posted another gem on Friday, going 7 shutout innings, allowing 1 hit and 1 walk, while fanning 9. The 22yo has now allowed 2 ERs in the last 36 innings with a 28:2 K:BB ratio.

Diamondback fans got a scare on Saturday night as uber-prospect Jarrod Parker took a line drive off his pitching hand from the second batter he faced. Parker left the game in obvious pain, but X-rays were negative.

Ugly pitching line of the weekend belonged to the Phillies Antonio Bastardo , who couldn’t retire a batter in the second inning on Saturday. All told, he went 1 inning, allowing 4 ERs, 3 hits and 3 walks.

‘Hot’ Pitching prospect, Esmil Rogers of the Rockies, went 8 shutout innings on Saturady, allowing 5 Hits and fanning 10. In 6 of his 12 starts on the year, he hasn’t allowed a run. In the other 6, he has a 5.55 ERA.

The Twins’ rewarded Anthony Swarzak for his 7 shutout inning performance…with a demotion to AAA.

It looks like the Pirates’ Pedro Alvarez is starting to show why he was regarded as the best hitting prospect in the 2008 draft, going 3 for 9 with a 2B and 2 HRs. Alvarez now leads the Carolina League in RBIs with 49.

Take your pick on the ugly hitting performance: Charles Blackmon, COL – 0 for 7 with 5Ks; Delta Cleary, COL – 0 for 9 with 4 Ks; Greg Halman, SEA – 0 for 7 with 3 Ks. Halman has no gone 10 straight games with at least 1 strikeout, fanning 16 times in 35 Plate Appearances during that stretch.

The Brewers’ Chris Dennis continues his torrid hitting. In 7 weekend Plate appearances, he had 4 Hits and 2 walks including a 2B and a 3B.

Michael Burgess’ bat (Nationals) is finally starting to show some life. In 3 Games, Burgess made 13 trips to the plate, reaching base 8 times, including a double, 2 walks and 2 home runs. The 20yo Burgess has posted a .414/.485/.828 over his last 9 games.

The Mets’ Ike Davis is starting to alleviate concerns over his lack of power. Davis went 3 for 7, with 2 HRs. He now has 5 HRs in his last 10 games.

The Red Sox’s Aaron Bates, in 11 trips to the plate, had 4 walks, 2 singles and 2 HRs.

Questionable decision of the weekend goes to Cal State-Fullerton’s coach Dave Serrano, who decided to start Freshman Noe Ramirez in the College World Series opener against Arkansas. The Freshman, self-admittedly nervous, went 3 2/3 innings, allowing 7 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks—sending the Titans to defeat.