Bulls are Back; Looking Good

Season: 9-5; Home Stand: 1-0
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

J.D. Martin was supposed to fill out the Bulls bullpen as a long reliever. Instead, he’s taken over Mike Montgomery’s spot in the rotation. His first two starts weren’t very impressive. Last night he walked the first batter, who moved to second on a sacrifice, and the third batter hit a home run. So things were looking even worse. But then the next nine batters failed to get on base and Mr. Martin went on to have a very impressive 7 K appearance. The rest of the crew pitched well, ending up with a season-high 16 Ks, although I have to point out that Adam Liberatore had to throw 4 K’s to get through the 7th inning (one of the batters who struck out reached first base on a wild pitch).

Tim Beckham, until last night, has not been having a great season. OK in the field, but awkward-looking at bat even before he sprained his ankle. He looked good last night, though. His two-hit, 3 RBI night may be a breakthrough for him. Hope so. See the quotes in the Herald-Sun article as well.

It was a small crowd last night which let us hear the sounds of the game better. I have to say that the hits coming off Vince Belnome’s bat were particularly crisp-sounding. He went three for four. Gonna have to add him to my “player to watch” list.

Outside the game —

• We sit just above the concourse behind the third-base dugout. Looking out toward the right-field seats we kept seeing these odd little flurries of motion during the evening — it was the wagging of tails! Looks like the Bark-in-the-Park promotion went very well. Couple of very cute shots during the “Kiss Cam” routine.
• Also thought the “Frisbee Dogs” act was fun to watch.
• Alexander Torres got some attention over at Rays Colored Glasses. Hope he’s right. story provides some solid background on what Torres has been working on since late last season.