Colorado Springs Sky Sox: (56-74), 23.0 GB
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Col. Springs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 14 | 1 | |
| El Paso | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
RHP Hiram Burgos: (W, 3-3) 5.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K — 3.25 ERA
RHP Jim Henderson: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 HR — 5.06 ERA
3B Matt Dominguez: 2-for-5, 2B, RBI, 2 R — .252 AVG
LF Matt Long: 1-for-3, 3B, RBI, 2 BB, SB (11), R — .262 AVG
Biloxi Shuckers: (30-27), 2.0 GB
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| Biloxi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | x | 9 | 11 | 1 |
RHP Adrian Houser: (W, 3-0) 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K — 2.17 ERA
RHP Martin Viramontes: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K — 6.80 ERA
C Parker Berberet: 3-for-4, HR (1), RBI, 2 R — .219 AVG
1B Nick Ramirez: 1-for-4, HR (14), RBI, R, 2 K — .241 AVG
RF Josh Fellhauer: 2-for-2, 3 RBI, 2 BB — .253 AVG
Brevard County Manatees: (25-32), 10.0 GB
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brevard County | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | x | x | x | 1 | 3 | 1 | |
| Lakeland | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | x | x | x | 2 | 6 | 0 |
[Game shortened due to rain.]
LHP Wei-Chung Wang: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 3 K — 3.65 ERA
CF Omar Garcia: 1-for-3, 2 SB (51), R — .258 AVG
3B Taylor Brennan: 1-for-2, 2B, SB (13), K — .238 AVG
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers: (21-35), 16.5 GB
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burlington | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 2 | |
| Wisconsin | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | x | 6 | 11 | 1 |
RHP Eric Hanhold: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R (2 ER), 0 BB, 3 K — 7.52 ERA
LHP Luis Ortega: (W, 2-7) 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K — 5.59 ERA
DH Tucker Neuhaus: 2-for-4, 2B, 3B, BB — .240 AVG
1B David Denson: 2-for-3, 2B, BB, 2 R — .202 AVG
3B Sthervin Matos: 3-for-3, 2B, RBI, 2 R — .214 AVG
Helena Brewers: (8-17), 7.0 GB
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helena | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 1 | |
| Missoula | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | x | 11 | 16 | 1 |
RHP Jordan Yamamoto: (L, 1-6) 2.1 IP, 8 H, 8 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 2 HR — 8.10 ERA
RHP Bubba Blau: 3.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 1 HR — 5.74 ERA
CF Troy Stokes: 2-for-5, RBI, SB (20), R, K — .257 AVG
3B Steven Karkenny: 1-for-3, 2B, RBI, R, 2 K — .250 AVG
AZL Brewers: (11-14), 4.0 GB
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AZL Dodgers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 2 | |
| AZL Brewers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 3 |
RHP Scott Grist: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K — 3.45 ERA
RHP Miguel Diaz: (L, 0-3) 4.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 8 K — 2.21 ERA
2B Gregory Munoz: 2-for-3, R — .240 AVG
CF Trent Clark: 1-for-4, BB, 2 K — .309 AVG
Prospect of the Day: 1B David Denson, Wisconsin
On August 15, Denson made history by becoming the first active professional baseball player to come out as gay. He’s certainly not the first gay ballplayer, nor is he statistically likely to be the only active gay player, but it still represented a positive move for the sport that Denson no longer has to hide a key part of his identity — or even have to consciously act against it in an effort to be accepted. Much of the discussion surrounding the announcement has concerned the weight that has been lifted off Denson’s shoulders, the lessening of anxiety. One sees him go 2-for-3 with a double for the Timber Rattlers on Tuesday, and the tendency is to ride the narrative and celebrate his new-found peace. I checked his recent numbers, expecting to find an uptick in performance.
Unfortunately, the young man is only hitting .209/.314/.442 with four doubles and two homers in the 12 games since his public announcement.
Of course, the whole situation is far too complicated to confidently draw causal arrows. Timber Rattlers’ manager Jeff Erickson noted that Denson’s pronouncement was not a surprise to people in his clubhouse, as Denson had already shared his secret with many T-Rats players. Thus, can we really point to August 15 as the day the anxiety lifted and the real David Denson appeared on the diamond? Seems doubtful. Perhaps we should then acknowledge his positive performance in July — as he hit .270/.363/.461 with 11 extra-base hits — but there’s no way to know when Denson began to feel emotional and psychological relief from the pain he endured earlier in the season.
It’s a tremendous story and a narrative that begs to be written, in terms of his performance, but it’s impossible to draw clear-cut lines. It’ll have to suffice to note that he’s turned around his fortune on the diamond in recent months, improving dramatically from April and May, when he struggled to eclipse the Mendoza Line.