Brandon Allen Shows His Stuff

Season: 35-42; Home Stand: 2-0; Bulls v. Bisons: 2-0; Standings

Box, Wrap, Herald-Sun

By the time the first three Bulls hitters in the 1st inning were done, the Bulls were ahead 3-0. They never looked back. Jeff Salazar hit a lead-off home run (his 5th, and he had a terrific night in the field). Catcher Stephen Vogt hit a single. Henry Wrigley hit his 6th homer (and collected his 21st and 22nd RBI). A good start and it got better. 

Brandon Allen has some huge career stats which makes me wonder why he wasn’t claimed by another team when he was DFA’d (probably some aspect to the rule that I don’t understand). True, he was having a rough start up in Tampa and started slow with the Bulls as well. But look at him now! Two home runs (his first with the Bulls) and 4 RBI last night. Since his first game early in the month he has put up a batting average of .416 and a stellar OPS of 1.098. Plus he’s been playing a lot of outfield (Tampa Bays’ call?) instead of his usual first base. Glad to have him on the team.

Jim Paduch is certainly a workhorse. He threw 104 pitches last night and kept the Bisons to just one run (and that was unearned). That’s two very solid outings in a row. Here’s hoping he can keep it up.

Tim Beckham started at shortstop with Reid Brignac at second. Beckham did OK at the plate, 1 for 4, and threw one away for his first error since returning. 

This was the first four-homer game for the Bulls this year. 

Romulo Sanchez faced two batters in the 8th inning, walked them both, and left the game. The Herald-Sun is reporting “shoulder tightness.” That’s the second pitcher in three days who has left the game with a problem (Bryan Augenstein left Thursday’s Rochester game early). With Torres being called up, the Bulls may have some serious problems (or more serious than usual) in the pitching department. All the more important for the hitters to keep at it.

Outside the game

• With Beckham’s return, the Bulls had an unusually strong bench: Gimenez, Anderson, Thompson, and O’Malley were sitting out the game.
• See last night’s post regarding Alex Torres and Matt Buschmann.
• Some early versions of this year’s Bulls schedule had Monday’s start time at 1:00pm. That’s changed. It will be 12:05 to accommodate MLB telecast. 

Chart

South Division Standings

There have been some surprising changes in the International League South Division in the five days since we last looked at this chart. The Bulls have won 4 out of 5, the Gwinnett Braves have fallen off the face of the earth; Charlotte is stalled; and Norfolk is on a run. Interesting times.