Packer's six scoreless innings make him 7-4 with a 1.68 ERA and a brilliant strikeout-to-walk ratio. He's even better since being put into the starting rotation.
UPDATED: 11:01 p.m.
Matt Packer pitching for the University of Virginia in the spring of 2009. FARM REPORT
AAA Columbus Clippers
Clippers 7, Bats 5: Wyatt Toregas slugged a two-run homer, his first of the year, in the top of the 10th inning, and Columbus held on Sunday to beat Louisville, Ky. Jess Todd (3-2) pitched two innings in relief for the win, and Vinnie Pestano pitched a scoreless 10th for his sixth save.
Notes: Going into Sunday night's game, 2B Luis Valbuena was batting .340 (18-for-53) with three doubles, one triple, three home runs and 12 RBI since the Indians sent him to Columbus. ... Going into Sunday night's game, catcher Carlos Santana (.316) and outfielder Michael Brantley's (.315) batting averages ranked first and second, respectively, in the International League. Since both are now with the Indians, soon neither will have enough plate appearances with the Clippers to qualify for league leadership. ... CF Jose Constanza did not have enough appearances for his .303 batting average to rank among the league leaders, but his 22 stolen bases (in 24 attempts) ranked second. ... RH reliever Vinnie Pestano was 1-1 with five saves and a 2.16 ERA in 23 games spanning 25 innings. He had struck out 32, walked eight and allowed 23 hits, including no homers. Pestano began the season with Akron, where he was 1-1 with three saves in 14 games. He fanned 18, walked two and allowed 12 hits (one homer) in 13 1/3 innings. ... RH reliever Bryce Stowell had pitched three scoreless innings in his first two outings with the Clippers, with four strikeouts and two walks, yielding one hit. Continuing his stints at AA Akron and Advanced A Kinston, Stowell was 2-0 with seven saves and an 0.71 ERA in 50 2/3 innings over 27 games. He had struck out 78, walked 21 and given up 32 hits, as batters were hitting .184 against him. He was striking out 13.9 batters per every nine innings.
AA Akron Aeros
SeaWolves 5, Aeros 1: Erie snapped a 1-1 tie with four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Aeros LH starter Scott Barnes did not get a decision, but pitched seven strong innings, holding Erie to one run on four hits and no walks, with four strikeouts. Akron DH Matt McBride (.275) singled, and has reached base safely in his last 40 road games. LF Tim Fedroff (.261) doubled, and now has an 11-game batting streak during which he's hit .432 (19-for-44).
Notes: McBride is batting .370 (20-for-54) in his last 14 games, with eight homers, five doubles, 16 RBI and 14 runs. ... 1B Beau Mills (.232) is batting .438 (14-for-32) with three homers and 10 RBI in his last nine games. ... Barnes is 4-8 with a 5.08 ERA, but is 3-3 with a 3.11 ERA in his last eight starts. During that span, he's pitched 46 1/3 innings, struck out 42 and allowed 38 hits and 15 walks.
Advanced A Kinston Indians
Keys 11, Indians 2: Frederick, Md., clubbed three home runs and 14 hits to rout visiting Kinston, N.C.
Notes: RHP Joseph Gardner (6-4, 2.86) is 0-3 with a 7.36 ERA in his last three starts, striking out 15 in 14 2/3 innings while yielding 14 hits and nine walks. Still, combining his stints at Kinston and Lake County, Gardner is 7-4 with a 2.97 ERA in 18 starts this season. He has struck out 102 in 91 innings, walked 38 and allowed 59 hits, including four homers. Opponents are batting .184. ... LH Austin Adams is 1-0 with a 1.42 ERA in his first three starts with Kinston. He has struck out 18 in 12 2/3 innings. Before promoted to the Indians, Adams was 2-4 with a 3.54 ERA at Lake County. In five relief outings followed by eight starts, he struck out 61 in 53 1/3 innings, giving up 40 hits and 21 walks. ... Going into Sunday night's game, LF Bo Greenwell was batting .375 (18-for-48) for Kinston, including .478 (11-for-23) in his last seven games. Greenwell hit .310 in 66 games at Lake County before being promoted. ... 3B Adam Davis (.225) was 7-for-16 (.438) in his last four games, with a double, three RBI and three runs.
A Lake County Captains
Captains 4, Whitecaps 1: LH starter Matt Packer (7-4, 1.68) got the win, blanking West Michigan on three hits and two walks over the first six innings, with four strikeouts. DH Chris Kersten (.311) drilled RBI doubles in the first and eighth innings, and 2B Argenis Martinez (.171) singled twice and scored a run. LH reliever Francisco Jimenez pitched two scoreless, one-hit innings.
Notes: Packer's first 11 appearances this season were in relief. He is 5-3 with a 1.45 ERA in 10 starts, striking out 57, walking nine and allowing 46 hits. ... RH relievers Tyler Sturdevant and Preston Guilmet have posted some sparkling numbers. Sturdevant is 3-0 with two saves and an 0.76 ERA in 35 innings, striking out 56. He's allowed just 17 hits, including one homer, and walked eight. Guilmet is 1-1 with seven saves and a 2.91 ERA. He has struck out 36 and walked three in 21 2/3 innings, allowing 18 hits, including one homer. Both Sturdevant and Guilmet have pitched in 16 games.
A Mahoning Valley Scrappers
Renegades 6, Scrappers 4: Hudson Valley beat Mahoning Valley with two runs in the top of the 12th on a bases-loaded double.
Notes: The Scrappers are getting strong starting pitchers from right-handers Alex Kaminsky (3-1, 2.13) and Owen Dew (1-0, 1.15). Kaminsky has fanned 18 and walked nine in 25 1/3 innings over five starts, allowing 22 hits and a homer. In Dew's three starts, he's struck out nine, walked two and allowed eight hits, none of them homers, in 15 2/3 innings. ... LH starter Mike Rayl is 0-2, but has a 3.18 ERA in five starts, striking out 15, walking three and allowing no homers in 22 2/3 innings.
Independent Lake Erie Crushers
Otters 6, Crushers 5: Lake Erie scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning for a 5-4 lead, but Evansville won it with two runs in the bottom of the frame. Crushers CF Dom Duggan (.238) singled twice, scored two runs and drove in one.
Notes: RH reliever Alberto Rolon pitched two scoreless innings. He's 2-0 with seven saves and a 3.38 ERA in 21 games spanning 34 2/3 innings. He's struck out 39, walked 10 and allowed 28 hits. ... RH reliever Jeff Cinadr is 2-1 with three saves and a 1.78 ERA in 20 games. He's struck out 24, walked 10 and yielded 23 hits in 35 1/3 innings. ... RH Josh Roberts is 5-0 with a 2.25 ERA in 10 starts, covering 64 innings. His ERA ranks fourth in the Frontier League.