By Hamish Campbell
Claymores Beat Writer
The Edinburgh News
Edinburgh, Scotland – Progress. Sorta.
The Claymores went 3-3 this past week, losing 2 of 3 at home to San Juan to kick things off, but coming back to take 2 of 3 from Hartford on the road to close things out. The hitting is still sporadic, but there are a couple of bright spots where the pitching is concerned:
Oniji Yokoyama is off to a nice start and is proving to be the stabilizing force Scotland had hoped for at the top of the rotation.
Clark Snow is back from the injured list and threw 8 scoreless innings in 2 rehab starts at AAA Aberdeen. If he can come back reasonably strong, the Scottish should have at least a serviceable starting group.
After losing two low-scoring affairs to San Juan to finish April on a decidedly down note (10-16 for the month), Scotland came back to nip the Coqui 6-5 on May 1.
Allen Guthrie made his first regular season start after beginning the year on the injured list and rehabbing at AAA for a couple of weeks. He pitched reasonably well, going 4.0 innings before hitting his pitch count for the day, allowing 4 hits, 2 runs and 1 walk while striking out 2. CF Teruo Nagai, who starts against left-handers, went 3-4 with a home run, 1 run scored, and 2 RBIs. C Yasunari Fujihara contributed a 3-run homer in the 1st to give the Claymores a lead they would not relinquish.
The highlight of the Hartford series was a shutout unspooled by Oniji Yokoyama and reliever Manuel Sánchez. Yokoyama threw 7.0 innings, yielding 4 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk and 5 strikeouts for PQS score of 5. Sánchez, meanwhile, pitched 2 innings of hitless and scoreless relief to nail down the win. RF Pat Barry had only 1 hit on the day, but he made it count: he launched a grand slam in the 6th inning to give Scotland all the cushion it would need.
May, at least, is off to a hopeful note: the Claymores are 3-1 so far, and looking to climb back towards .500. The road is anything but easy, though, as Scotland goes on the road for a 3-game series with Manchester and then goes to West Virginia for 3.
The Week’s Scores
At Scotland
04/29: San Juan 2, Scotland 0
04/30: San Juan 4, Scotland 3
05/01: Scotland 6, San Juan 5
At Hartford
05/03: Scotland 5, Hartford 0
05/04: Hartford 5, Scotland 0
05/05: Scotland 9, Hartford 5
Who’s Hot This Week …
Vincent Powell, OF: .357/.471/.714; 2 doubles, 1 HR, 4 R, 2 RBIs in 14 ABs
Pat Barry, OF: .350/.381/.700; 1 double, 2 HRs, 3 R, 6 RBIs in 20 ABs
Oniji Yokoyama, SP: 0.00; 1-0; 0 R; 4 H; 1 W; 5 Ks in 7.0 IP
Manuel Sánchez, RP: 0.00; 1-0; 0 R; 2 H; 3 W; 4 Ks in 7.0 IP
… And Who’s Not
Sadakuno Nakagawa, RP: 20.25; 0-0-0; 3 R; 4 H; 0 W; 1 K in 1.1 IP
Tony Figueroa, DH: .000/.059/.000; 0 H; 1 W in 16 ABs
Jorge Flores, OF: .000/.000/.000; 0 H; 0 W in 9 ABs