What a performance by lefthander Steven Matz last night as he blanked the Altoona Curve for six innings and struck out nine batters to pick up his first victory for Double-A Binghamton. Ironically, Matz didn’t have his best stuff, but when things got shaky he reached down and got the big outs holding the opposition to 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Guts and guile…
His teammate Dilson Herrera is also turning heads since his promotion and delivered on a career-high five RBI night with four hits including a mammoth two-out homer in the fifth. In nine games at Double-A, the flashy second baseman is slashing at .389/.436/.556 in 36 at-bats with nine RBI and seven runs scored. He’s rising fast like a bullet.
Meanwhile, down in the Sally, how about Dario Alvarez of the Savannah Sand Gnats… The power lefty has impressed all season long and only keeps adding to his eye-popping numbers. In 14 games including four starts, Alvarez has a 1.04 ERA and is holding the opposition to a .203 batting average. But what I find most impressive is his 70 strikeouts in 41.2 innings while walking only 11. Egads…
(Photo credit: Bryan Green)
