4/20/08: Chiefs Clang Iron Pigs, Diaz Says Bye

An eventful day Sunday for the Syracuse Chiefs, as they stretched their winning streak to six against the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs. Kane Davis (W, 2-1) struggled to start the game, but ended up going 8 innings to get the win. The first inning was troublesome, as 3 hits were given up by Davis. Luckily, Brandon Watson (first hit of the game) was thrown out trying to steal second. If he ends up safe, the game gets more complex. Lehigh Valley would only get one run that inning, which would be the only time they touched home plate all day. It didn't go much better for the Syracuse hitters, as they scored only two runs. Those came in the third, where two errors helped Jorge Velandia and Pedro Lopez cross the plate. Iron Pig starter, Brian Mazone (L, 1-3)was only credited with one earned run, but it was enough to earn him the loss.


Three Stars of the Game

3. Robinzon Diaz (SYR) - Diaz went 2 for 2, while also walking in his other plate appearance. His biggest play came in the first, when he gunned out Brandon Watson. That out was instrumental in the Chiefs only giving up one run in the opening frame. His reward? A callup to Toronto (see below).

2. Pedro Lopez (SYR) - Lopez went 1 for 3, but his bunt single in the 3rd was a huge one. He laid it down perfectly, helping lead to Mazone's throwing error. That error scored Velandia. Lopez then came around to score the winning run.

1. Kane Davis (SYR) - Davis came out stumbling from the gate giving up 3 hits in the first inning, including his only earned run. He then pitched 7 more innings, only giving up a total of 2 more hits and walking one batter. It does any team good to know that they can score only two runs and still be able to win the game.



As for the other big news of the day, Robinzon Diaz was recalled by Toronto after Sunday's game. Diaz will be filling the spot that was emptied when Frank Thomas was released by the Blue Jays. This is a huge loss for the Chiefs, which really weakens the catching regime. Diaz gave a viable strong arm behind the plate. Curtis Thigpen should be on fulltime duty catching while Diaz is gone, making Syracuse an easier team to steal on. The move will most likely not be permanent, as Adam Lind seems a likely candidate to get the full time promotion. It has been reported that he is nursing a minor injury, thus Diaz is a better choice at this moment. I have not seen any current moves to place another catcher with Syracuse, although they do have Kevin Nelson on their roster. He is currently on the DL.

Scranton's loss Sunday leaves Syracuse one game out of the division lead, 18 games into the season.

Not gonna bother with the probables again, as these roster changes are killing me.

Chiefs try to make it 7 in a row Monday, starting time 6pm. May not have much of a write up, as I will see only about half the game.