Braves can't sink the Maine

With the Triple-A season winding down, it seems that Zephyr starters want to end their seasons on a positive note. The latest working toward that goal was Adam Bostick. Last night against the Round Rock Express, Bostick threw six innings of one-hit ball in the Zephyrs 3-0 victory. The lone hit was a double in the first.

Bostick still had control problems, walking five, but he did strike out seven. He threw 91 pitches of which 56, or 62%, were strikes. It was Bostick's sixth win agains seven losses.

The losing pitcher was Chan Ho Park, the ex-Met. The loss was his 14th; he's won six.

In the Zephyrs previous game, another ex-Met, Dave Williams, pitched well. He only surrendered four hits and two runs in seven innings. And two games ago, Jason Vargas, who also pitched briefly for the New York Mets this season, gave up only five hits and two runs in 5.1 innings. The Zephyrs won both games.

In Double-A, the Binghamton Mets lost as starter Robert Paulk lasted only 4.1 innings, surrendering all four runs that Akron scored in the game. Though he struck out seven, he also gave up seven hits and three walks, including a home run.

In Single-A, St. Lucie won behind the seven-hit pitching of Deolis Guerra. Though he gave up three runs in 5.1 innings, no Mets reliever gave up any, so the Mets were able to beat Daytona 6-3.

Brooklyn got another stellar pitching performance from Dylan Owen, who upped his record to 9-1. In six innings, he limited Aberdeen to four hits, one unearned run, and struck out four. He walked none while lowering his ERA to 1.65. Owen continues to lead the NY-Penn League in Wins, ERA, and WHIP, which before yesterday's game was 0.94.

On the hitting side, Cyclones leadoff batter Ezequiel Carrera pounded out four hits to up his average to .378. This guy can hit. Before being promoted this season to the Cyclones he hit .341 with the GCL Mets. In 179 at-bats with them his OPS was .866.

And finally, the New York Mets. Mets fans can breathe again. John Maine, who's been struggling for awhile, ended the Mets struggles last night. Against Atlanta, another pennant contender, Maine returned to pitching the way he did in the first half of the season when he deserved to be selected to the All-Star team (which didn't happen). He held the Braves to just three hits and one run, striking out eight. He still threw a lot of pitches (112), of which 62 were strikes (55%), but was able to last seven innings, giving the bullpen a bit of rest. It was Maine's 14th win.