Back-to-Back Jaxx

SOUTHERN LEAGUE (AA) NORTHERN DIVISION PLAYOFFS GAME 2 THREAD (JAXX LEAD BEST-OF-FIVE SERIES 1-0) [PARACHAT] CAROLINA MUDCATS (77-57) @ WEST TENN DIAMOND JAXX (83-56) PRINGLES PARK, 6:35 pm CDT, RADIO: Dixie 1310 WDXI
The Jaxx made a good start to the Southern League playoffs last night, winning the opening game of the series 3-0 (recap, boxscore, play-by-play) on the back of Renyel Pinto's fine pitching and multi-hit games from Eric Patterson, Casey McGehee, Brandon Sing and Jose Reyes, who is not the Mets' shortstop. Last season Renyel Pinto won the Southern League Pitcher of the Year title, but this year it was not to be. Why's that? Because, keeping it in the family, it was tonight's Jaxx starter, Ricky Nolasco, that took home the prize, leaving poor Pinto this year had to settle just for being named the best left-hander in the league. Yes, indeed, it would seem that the Jaxx have orchestrated something of a monopoly over the pitching prizes. Tonight the team's line up thus...

Ricky Nolasco, RHP 14-3, 2.89 ERA 173/46 K/BB, 13 HR in 161.2 IP	Nick Ungs, RHP 7-5, 3.68 ERA 79/34 K/BB, 8 HR in 120.0 IP
2B *Frank Moore	2B *Eric Patterson
LF James Shanks	SS Ryan Theriot
RF Juan Carlos Muniz	3B Casey McGehee
C Jason Hill	1B #Matt Craig
CF Reggie Abercrombie	LF Brandon Sing
1B Angel Molina	CF *Buck Coats
3B #Drew Niles	RF *Adam Greenberg
SS Rex Rundgren	C #Jose Reyes
P Nick Ungs	P Ricky Nolasco

What a year Ricky Nolasco has enjoyed...

IP	H	HR	BB	K	ERA
161.2	151	13	46	173	2.89

His 14 victories set a new Jaxx record and were good enough to tie him for first in the league (with Sean Tracey of the White Sox), and though he fell just 6 strikeouts short of breaking the franchise record that Pinto set last year, he led the league in that category too. He finished third in the league in ERA, though the two ahead of him (one of them Pinto) pitched significantly less innings. It is worth bearing in mind though that though Nolasco is just 22, he was repeating the league after a 2004 stint at Iowa went quite horribly wrong (let's just say he allowed 68 hits in 40.2 innings). Like Pinto, he found the transition from the pitcher friendly Southern League to the much more hitter orientated Pacific Coast League very difficult. And, like Pinto, it's a hurdle that he's almost certainly going to have to navigate before he makes the big leagues. A sinkerballer, and therefore often talked about in the same breath as Sergio Mitre, the comparison perhaps doesn't quite ring true. Nolasco's low-90s sinker induces a lot of groundballs, but it's not as good a pitch as Mitre's. Nolasco though definately showcases the better off-speed stuff, with a good curveball and changeup. Mitre's breaking pitches on the other hand are much more fringy, though that sinker, when it's on, is remarkable. Opposing Nolasco tonight is Nick Ungs, who earlier this year threw a no-hitter against the Jaxx. The Mudcats actually bested the Jaxx 9-7 in the regular season, though that was largely because they went 8-2 at home. If the Jaxx have their way, the Mudcats won't be able to take the series back to Carolina. Somewhat ironically, both teams are playing this series without their most talented player. While the Jaxx have lost outfielder Felix Pie to injury (for half the season no less), the Mudcats last week were robbed of their stud prospect outfielder by the Florida Marlins. Jeremy Hermida only went on to become just the second player in history to hit a grand slam in his first Major League plate appearance. The rest of the series looks like this... Game 3, Friday, 5.05pm CDT, Carolina Mudcats @ West Tenn Diamond Jaxx Game 4, Sunday, 2.00pm EDT, West Tenn Diamond Jaxx @ Carolina Mudcats Game 5, Monday, 7.15pm EDT, West Tenn Diamond Jaxx @ Carolina Mudcats Games 4 and 5 will only be played if necessary. The series winner will then play either the Birmingham Barons (CWS) or the Jacksonville Suns (LAD) for the Southern League title in a five game series starting a week today. Go to the games if you can, or listen via the Radio (Dixie 1310 AM WDXI, and there's an online feed at WDXI.com). And go Jaxx!