By Rick Mariotti
Minor Leagues Beat Writer
Chicago Sports Online
Beloit, WI – Last week was a little like treading water for the Beloit Blue Sox: they put in lots of work to go pretty much nowhere.
In baseball terms, Chicago’s AA minor league affiliate went 3-3 for Week 8 and picked up just half a game in the standings.
Beloit started the week by splitting a pair of games with the Frederick Travelers (Charm City) on the road, then went home to take 2 of 3 from the Providence Bees (Des Moines). The week ended with Beloit dropping the opener of a 3-game set with the Columbus Brown Sox (Wichita).
The highlight of the week came on May 23, when SP José López and RP Israel Villa combined for a 6-hit shutout against Providence.
López, who recently returned to action from a 7-week stint on the disabled list with an undisclosed injury, went 8.1 innings, allowing 6 hits, 0 runs and 2 walks while striking out 8 to post a PQS score of 5. Villa retired both batters he faced in the 9th to pick up the save.
3B Juan De La Cruz was the hitting star, going 2-3 with a critical 2-RBI single in the 4th inning. He also hit a double and scored in the 3rd, which gave him a hand in every run the Sox scored in the game.
Eighth Week Scores
At Frederick
05/19: Beloit 11, Frederick 6
05/20: Frederick 3, Beloit 2
At Beloit
05/21: Beloit 4, Providence 2
05/22: Providence 9, Beloit 8
05/23: Beloit 3, Providence 0
At Beloit
05/25: Columbus 3, Beloit 2
Record As Of May 25
W-L Record For Week 8: 3-3
Overall Record: 28-23, .549
Position in Standings: In 3rd Place in the DNL Mid-Central Division, 2 games behind Duluth.
Position Players of Interest
| Player | Slash Line | OPS | HR | RBI | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hao Hang, LF ** | .359/.419/.852 | 1.271 | 20 | 39 | 2.7 |
| Ricardo Torres, RF | .303/.355/.545 | .900 | 11 | 31 | 1.6 |
| Juan Lozano, SS | .257/.317/.434 | .751 | 3 | 15 | 0.6 |
| Spencer Hillson, C | .230/.304/.349 | .652 | 3 | 9 | 0.4 |
| Juan De La Cruz, 3B | .298/.332/.461 | .792 | 2 | 24 | 0.7 |
| Danny Bennett, LF | .209/.239/.442 | .681 | 2 | 6 | -0.3 |
| Pitcher | ERA | W-L-SV | IP | K's | BB's | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andresa Frederico, SP* | 0.00 | 0-0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Tsurayaki Saito, SP *** | 6.45 | 3-3 | 37.2 | 17 | 16 | 0.2 |
| Weston Etheridge, RP | 1.89 | 1-0-0 | 19.0 | 24 | 7 | 0.5 |
| James Matarazzo, RP | 3.38 | 2-1-1 | 19.0 | 24 | 7 | 0.5 |
| Francisco Salgado, CL**** | 2.00 | 1-1-13 | 18.0 | 19 | 2 | 0.7 |
** Promoted to AAA Carolina on May 12
*** Demoted to Grand Junction on May 12
**** Promoted to AAA Carolina on May 19