HERNANDEZ SHINES IN DEBUT
It had been nearly 6 weeks since Hector Hernandez had his last win. In fact since his last win he has had 3 subpar starts and 4 bullpen appearances since beating The Bruins on 6/22. In his last start for Orlando he didn't get out of the 2nd inning, giving up 3 hits, 3 walks and 5 earned runs. While seeming like the odd man out of the rotation for Orlando, he was dealt the next day to Jersey Shore.
His first start in for Jersey came this past week on 8/4. He was facing the same Whitewater Warhawks that battered him around and knocked him out in the 2nd inning, but this time things were different. After allowing a solo HR to Star Carlos Valle in the 1st inning and escaping a 2-on, 2-out jam in the 2nd something clicked for Hernandez. He only allowed 2 hits and 1 walk in the next 6 innings, going 8 innings strong for his first win as a D-Bag. It was an encouraging sign after much criticism for trading for such a struggling pitcher at the deadline. Hopefully this is just the start of the good things we will see from Hernandez in the future.
TAVAREZ WINS POTW
For the first time this season a D-Bag has been named the Trillian Player of the Week. That player was OF Ramon Taverez. In 28 AB's, Tavarez pounded out 11 hits, including 2 2B, 3 HR and 5 RBI. His splits were .393/.414/.786. He also scored 6 runs in this time period.
It was Ramon's first POTW award in his short career. Tavarez first saw action in the big leagues as a 24 year old rookie for Jersey in 2010. In 23 games he hit a pedestrian .238 with 0 HR, amassing 15 hits in 63 AB's. That year he went on to hit 17 HR in AAA Tuscaloosa while posting a .358 BA. In 2011 he saw time in spring training for Jersey, but didn't make the opening day roster. He went on to lead Tuscaloosa in almost every major offensive category for a team that won 90+ games. The most notable statistics were the 26 HR and 100+ RBI. Power numbers that we hadn't seen in Tavarez's minor league career up to this point.
After dealing William Hinson in the offseason, Tavarez would have thought to be a shoe-in for a roster spot in 2012. Yet, he started the season back in familiar Tuscaloosa. He got the call up to the show in the last week of April and finally got his chance to start when others faltered during early May. Once given that shot he hasn't looked back since. On the year, Tavarez, is hitting .302/.329/.500 while bashing 11 HR and 39 RBI.
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