- Coming into Friday, Deybis Benitez had 4 walks in his previous 16 games played this season.  Yesterday, he drew four walks in Pulaski's 13-7 loss to the Burlington Royals, doubling his season total in one game.

- No specific word on why Juan Freaking Fuentes left Pulaski's game after the 5th inning, though given the score was 11-4 Burlington at that point, perhaps manager Rob Mummau wanted to be cautious and pull his star hitter from a blowout.  Of course, fellow catcher Tommy Johnson is no slouch at the plate himself (389/421/500) so Mummau may have just taken advantage of the lost cause and given Johnson the chance to get some hacks... which he certainly did: TJ had two hits, including a double.

- Austin Bibens-Dirkx isn't the only hyphenated prospect struggling this year.  Tommy Johannesen-Ellis got pelted for three home runs in Pulaski's loss, bringing his season total to 5 gopherballs in only 13.1 IP.

- After spending the week getting used as a punching bag by the Boise Hawks, the Everett Aqausox rebounded by hanging on for a 4-3 win against the league-leading Spokane Indians, behind an impressive 10 K performance by Walter Suriel, who pitched into the 6th, and withstanding some 8th inning damage from Matt Renfree.  Suriel is probably a bit overrated by the M's and he'd ultimately be more useful out of the pen, but he can definitely put himself in position to mow down hitters, and as he showed Friday, sometimes he can string a few good frames together.

- After taking a few more games off, Dennis Freaking Raben got back in the Aqausox lineup as the DH, batting 3rd, and unloaded a 2 run shot in the 3rd inning.  He finished 1 for 2 with a walk. More of this and less of the hand-hurting 0-fors and Dennis can keep Freaking- uh... that's probably the wrong way to put it, but you get my point.

The wind was blowing a bit out to center, but given Indians SP Richard Bleier recorded 12 groundouts to 1 flyout and solid peripherals (6 GS +2, 2.70 ERA, 36.2 IP, 2 HR, 5/28 BB/K), I'm thinking the HR was no small feat.

- Luis Nuñez:  122 ABs... still one walk (against 25 K).  Combine this with 9 stolen bases, and he's the Latin Charlton Jimerson.

Players in Friday's Aqausox game, from either team, that matched Luis Nuñez's season walk total in this game alone:

Jared Bolden
Matthew West
Dennis Guinn
Dennis Freaking Raben
Ryan Royster
Anthony Phillips

Nate Tenbrink drew two walks, doubling Luis Nuñez's season walk total in one game.

- Daniel Carroll's having a rough stretch, where even when he's hitting well he's running into poor fortune.  Carroll reached base twice on base hits yesterday.  He got caught stealing after one, and picked off after the other.

- Anybody seen Kyle Parker lately?  Looks like that arm injury was indeed serious.

- Anthony Varvaro, meanwhile, had one of his best starts of the season, allowing only 2 runs and pitching into the 6th while striking out 7 batters.

Speaking of season-high performances, West Tenn's Travis Chick pitched 8 strong innings, striking out 8 and allowing only one run in West Tenn's 7-1 romp over LOOK OUT- the Chattanooga Lookouts.  Meanwhile, opposing starter Jordan Smith was far from his best, plunking two batters, balking once, allowing a home run, 10 hits and five runs while failing to finish the 5th inning.

- I'm sure Rainiers fans across Pierce County are crestfallen to hear that the Wild West Fest has been cancelled.

- I'm sure Ryan Rowland-Smith isn't crestfallen to have began RotationQuest in Nashville last night.  Hyphen pitched into the 6th, allowing only 2 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks, with 5 K, 7 groundouts, 5 flyouts and a wild pitch.  He threw 91 pitches, 54 for strikes.  Control and throwing consistent strikes always was his biggest issue as a starter, so the key for Hyphen may not be showing endurance, which appears not to be a problem, but showing that he can consistently throw strikes with all his pitches and keep the walks down.

Actually, many Rainiers could use some help with controlling their pitches: five different Rainiers combined to walk 11 batters in the 10-9 win.  Randy Messenger was the biggest offender, walking 5 batters in his 3 relief innings.  Why did the Giants give up on this guy again?

There may have been a narrow strike zone, as Nashville walked 7 batters themselves.  The umpire?  DANGER: his name was Will Robinson.

This game turned wild late, as the Rainiers had a 4-2 lead until the Sounds blew up a wild Baek Bait in a 6 run 8th inning, punctuated by Carlos Corporan's one out grand slam, to make it 8-4.

But suddenly down to their final three outs, the Rainiers did not back down.  Tuglett led off with a walk, Tui lined a single, and WLAD lined a single to quickly load the bases.  Reliever Luis Peña did strike out Shawn Garrett and Craig Wilson to quickly make it game-time, but the soon-to-depart Michael Saunders drew a walk to force in a run, 9-6, then Prentice Redman drew a walk himself to make it 8-6.  New dad Rob Johnson then lined a single to right to cash in WLAD and Saunders to TIE THE BALLGAME AT 9!

The Rainiers finally broke the ice in the top 12th as Tui went deep with one on and nobody out to make it 10-8.  WLAD doubled right after, and Shawn Garett walked, but Craig Wilson struck out again and Saunders flew out, leaving it up to Hubertime to finish the bottom 12th.  Carlos Corporan doubled with one out and Hernan Iribarren singled him in to make it 10-9, but Tony Gwynn's kid grounded out and Joe Dillon struck out to end it.

Okay, STATS!

VENEZUELA~!  VSL Tigers 3, VSL Mariners 2
VSLMs:  37-24... VSL Tigers:  21-40
(League:  253/335/343... 3.47 ERA)

Nolan Diaz:  4 IP, 8 H, 2 ER (14 app, 6 GS, 2.84 ERA, 57 IP, 4/38 BB/K)
Kervin Montbrum:  2.2 IP, 4 H, (1 R) 0 ER, K (15 ap, 3.86 ERA, 32.2 IP, 22/24 BB/K)
Rhonny Acosta:  2.1 IP, K, hit batter
Carlos Ramirez:  2-4, K (329/394/414)
Jetsy Extrano:  1-4, double, R, K (289/367/447)
Mario Yepez:  1-3, double, R, walk (318/383/438)

Dominican:  DSL Mariners 7, DSL AthleticsUno 5
DSLMs:  30-15... DSLA1s:  20-15
(League:  237/339/322... 3.74 ERA)

Felix Bautista:  6 IP, 7 H, (5 R) 2 ER, 4 K (14 app, 5 GS, 2.05 ERA, 57 IP, 2 HR, 9/61 BB/K)
Bruno Mercedes:  3 IP, 1 H, 4 K (16 app, 4 GS, 2.03 ERA, 44.1 IP, 15/48 BB/K)
Ramon Morla:  3-5, R, K (226/397/311)
Ameilis Carvajal:  1-3, R, 2 RBI, walk (278/409/426)
Hector Mercedes:  2-5, double, RBI, 2 K (293/429/474)
Rudy van Heydoorn:  2-4, GRAND SLAM, walk, K (228/426/366)

Rk-AZL:  Padres 9, Mariners 6
AZLMs:  9-18... HATED RIVALS WHO ARE TRYING TO TAKE STRASBURG FROM US:  14-13
(League:  268/350/388... 4.60 ERA)

Ariel Alcantara:  3 IP, 2 H, 3 ER (HR), 2 walks, K (4 GS +1, 7.52 ERA, 20.1 IP, 3 HR, 16/22 BB/K)
Jean Tome:  2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, walk, 2 K, wild pitch
Eddy Hernandez:  1 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 4 walks, wild pitch
Philip Hann:  1 IP, walk, 3 K
Chris Kirkland:  1 IP, 1 H, 2 K
Terry Serrano:  3-5, triple, R, RBI (283/305/414)
Cesar Fuentes:  1-5, R, RBI (299/346/402)
Jharmidy De Jesus:  2-5, 2 run HR, 2 R, 2 K (357/417/571)
Alfredo Mateo:  2-4, RBI, K (263/370/384)
Joel Mendez:  2-4, double, K (324/337/382)

Rk+: Burlington Royals 13, Pulaski 7
PMs:  23-14... BUR:  13-24
(League:  260/332/386... 4.12 ERA)

Kyle Haas:  2 IP, 3 H, (5 R) 1 ER, walk, 3 K (8 GS, 7.56 ERA, 25 IP, 1 HR, 19/25 BB/K)
Tommy Johannesen-Ellis:  1.2 IP, 5 H, (6 R) 5 ER (3 HR), walk, K (9 app, 10.13 ERA, 13.1 IP, 5 HR, 7/13 BB/K)
Stephen Penney:  3.1 IP, 3 H, K, hit batter (8 app, 9.28 ERA, 10.2 IP, 7 K)
Brent Gaphardt:  2 IP, 3 H, (2 R) 1 ER, walk, 3 K, wild pitch
Deybis Benitez:  1-1 double, 2 R, 4 walks (352/429/556)
Tommy Johnson:  2-3, double, R (389/421/500)
Jose Rivero:  2-5, R, RBI, K (314/387/455)
George Soto:  1-3, RBI, walk, K (214/279/214)

A-:  Everett 4, Spokane 3
EVE:  16-22... SPO:  28-10
(League:  254/344/366... 4.17 ERA)

Walter Suriel:  5.1 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, walk, 10 K, wild pitch (8 GS, 5.48 ERA, 44.1 IP, 7 HR, 18/45 BB/K)
Matt Renfree:  3.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 walks, 5 K, 3 wild pitches (14 app, 2.54 ERA, 28.1 IP, 1 HR, 12/32 BB/K)
Luis Nuñez:  2-4, 2 R (336/344/410)
Dennis Freaking Raben:  1-2, 2 run HR, walk (321/455/585)
Manny Pimentel:  1-4, RBI, K (231/349/315)

A:  West Michigan 9, Wisconsin 4
WIS:  7-26... WM:  17-16
(League:  252/323/374... 3.71 ERA)

Brett Lorin:  3.2 IP, 7 H, 4 ER (HR), 2 walks, 5 K
Keith Meyer:  1.1 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 3 walks, K, 2 wild pitches (31 app, 5.77 ERA, 43.2 IP, 4 HR, 24/45 BB/K)
Joe Kantakevich:  3 IP, 3 H, 2 walks, 2 K (13 app, 8.50 ERA, 18 IP, 2 HR, 9/11 BB/K)
Daniel Carroll:  2-4, R, K (278/358/330)
Edilio Colina:  2-4, R (284/344/377)
Denny Almonte:  1-4, 3 run HR, 2 K (262/307/439)
Israel Nuñez:  1-3, solo HR, walk (185/246/250)

A+:  High Desert 6, Lancaster 3
Mavs:  15-20... Jethawks:  18-16
(League:  273/342/412... 4.57 ERA)

Anthony Varvaro:  5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER (HR), 2 walks, 7 K, hit batter (20 GS +2, 6.40 ERA, 95.2 IP, 18 HR, 67/95 BB/K)
Steven Richard:  2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, K, hit batter (18 app, 3.95 ERA, 27.1 IP, 1 HR, 15/27 BB/K)
Aaron Cotter:  1.1 IP, 1 H, 2 K, hit batter (41 app, 3.53 ERA, 51 IP, 4 HR, 13/48 BB/K)
Ronnie Prettyman:  2-3, double, solo HR, sac fly RBI, some other RBI, K (330/358/557)
Chris Minaker:  2-3, R, RBI (297/326/444)
Joe Simokaitis:  1-4, RBI (340/386/623)

AA:  West Tenn 7, Chattanooga 1
WTN:  14-20... CNG:  14-20
(League:  263/340/397... 4.17 ERA)

Travis Chick:  8 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 walks, 8 K, balk (25 app, 9 GS, 3.98 ERA, 86 IP, 5 HR, 41/69 BB/K)
Marwin Vega:  1 IP, 2 walks, K (35 app, 5.44 ERA, 51.1 IP, 3 HR, 36/34 BB/K)
Greg Halman:  2-5, 2 doubles, 2 R, K (288/324/523)
Marshall Hubbard:  1-4, solo HR, walk, K (321/448/551)
Jon Nelson:  0-4, sac fly RBI, 3 K (268/309/417)
Adam Moore:  4-5, solo HR (320/390/501)
Matt Mangini:  3-4, double, R, K (239/275/268)
Jeff Dominguez:  1-2, R, sac fly RBI (206/272/263)

AAA:  Tacoma 10, Nashville 9, 12 innings
TAC:  53-53... NSH:  41-65
(League:  275/346/440... 4.79 ERA)

Ryan Rowland-Smith:  5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 walks, 5 K
Mumba Rivera:  1.1 IP, 2 H
Jared Baek Bait Wells:  1 IP, 3 H, 6 ER (HR), 3 walks (41 app, 6.75 ERA, 44 IP, 4 HR, 25/40 BB/K)
Randy Messenger:  3 IP, 5 walks, 6 K (34 app, 4.22 ERA, 49 IP, 4 HR, 18/39 BB/K)
Jon Huber:  1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, K (39 app, 7.43 ERA, 49.2 IP, 3 HR, 19/36 BB/K)
Tug Hulett:  1-4, double, 2 R, 3 walks, 2 K (303/385/514)
Matt Tuiasosopo:  2-7, 2 run HR, 3 R, K (260/348/406)
WLAD:  3-7, double, 2 R (266/362/578)
Craig Wilson:  2-7, double, GRAND SLAM, 2 K
Michael Saunders:  3-6, R, RBI, walk, K (226/293/357)
Prentice Redman:  2-5, RBI, walk, K (313/373/555)
Rob Johnson:  4-6, 2 RBI (294/364/444)
Oswaldo Navarro:  2-6, K (273/341/341)