Maybe this is why
Joe Cowley harbors such disdain for Southern California:
Oh my goodness, Hawk just kissed D.J. on the Angels "Kiss Cam." Time to get out of L.A. ASAP.
But that's unfair to make any inferences based on this isolated event. After all, it came during the pitching change after Carlos Quentin broke the game open with a grand slam in
the Sox's 6-1 victory over the Angels Wednesday night. After watching the Sox get shut out Tuesday and struggle to put together an offense again against John Lackey, I might've kissed Darrin Jackson, too.
Quentin became the first American Leaguer to reach 10 home runs this season, and even if the Sox offense keeps slumping, he's a reason to keep watching. Or,
in other words...
Yeah, I'd like to say, partly to talk about it, and partly to let the
new guy in on the mood here a little bit. Uh.. Q is.. the
light of my life. Um.. I know I speak for the others.. uh, when I say
he is.. so amazing.. you know? And, uh.. he's just.. I wish.. you know.. I wish I could know him more,
you know? Because.. he.. he is one of a kind, you know? He's.. I think
about him all the time, and.. well, I'm wondering - should we kill him?
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But let's not forget about the South Side's second-most eligible bachelor.
Jose Contreras pitched seven innings of one-run ball for the second straight start, and he accomplished this feat with a forkball that has taken on a new life of its own. As he neared the end of his start, he used it almost like a knuckleball, especially against left-handers:
Against Garrett Anderson: Eight pitches, eight forkballs, seven for strikes.
Against Casey Kotchman: Eight pitches, eight forkballs, six for strikes.
He went exclusively with the forkball against Anderson in his first at-bat, but against the other lefties in the Angels lineup, he had a pretty healthy mix of fastballs and off-speed stuff. It almost looked like he was pitching through an arm injury, considering his pitch selection seemed to indicate he was afraid of throwing anything resembling "hard" to lefties.
And then he came out in the seventh and worked a pretty easy frame. He walked Mike Napoli, but when Gary Matthews Jr. came to the plate, he threw him two fastballs before throwing a forkball. So either Contreras wasn't feeling great and toughed it out, or he was the definition of "crafty."
Tonight's victory improved his line to 4-3, 3.35 ERA. No complaints here.
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Minor league roundup:- Syracuse 18, Charlotte 6
- The Knights had a 5-1 lead entering the sixth. Then the Chiefs scored the next 16 runs.
- Jack Egbert pitched well through five, allowing one run. He walked a couple, then was hurt by defense (Brad Eldred error led to one run) and Dewon Day (who gave up a single and a homer). Final line: 5 1/3 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 7 K.
- Oneli Perez retired only one hitter, and ended up getting tagged six runs of a nine-run inning. Mike MacDougal pitched a scoreless inning. Go figure.
- Chris Getz went 4-for-4 with a homer and three runs scored. He also stole a base.
- Jerry Owens had two hits, a walk and a steal. Thomas Collaro (solo homer), Eldred and Fernando Cortez also had two hits.
- West Tenn 3, Birmingham 1
- Carlos Torres pitched well in defeat: 7 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
- John Lujan and Joseph Torres pitched a scoreless inning apiece.
- Miguel Negron and Victor Mercedes each had two hits.
- Lynchburg 12, Winston-Salem 11
- Brandon Allen hit for the cycle during a 5-for-5 day. He doubled twice, drove in two runs and scored three times.
- John Shelby hit his fifth homer, a two-run shot; Anderson Gomes also went deep.
- Lee Cruz had a pair of doubles and an RBI.
- Matt Long was tagged for five runs in the first, but lasted five, giving up eight runs on six hits and three walks, striking out four.
- Kannapolis 5, Delmarva 3
- Jose Martinez went 2-for-4 with two RBI.
- Sergio Morales and Dale Mollenhauer each collected two hits as well.
- Johnnie Lowe allowed three runs (one earned) over five innings on five hits and three walks. He only struck out one.
- Santo Luis, Wander Perez and Henry Mabee combined to throw four scoreless innings.