Minor matters

Talked an AL scout who has seen Daryl Thompson pitch twice. He said the times he saw Thompson, Thompson's stuff was good enough to get big leaguers out. "The first batter of the game he throws a 74-mph curve for a strike. The next pitch is 94 on the inside corner. As hitter, you're thinking: What the hell is coming next?"

From Jamie Ramsey

Louisville sweeps a doubleheader at Richmond…Jay Bruce 4-for-4 (HR) and 1-for-3 in the 2 games…he’s leading the league with 48 hits and a .348 average…Andy Phillips extends his hitting streak to a league-best 15 straight games…Chris Dickerson homers…Matt Maloney was 2 outs away from a no-hitter…Tom Shearn solid in game 2 (6ip, 3h, 1r, 0bb, 4k)…Chattnooga squanders a 6-1 lead and spoils another fine outing by Daryl Thompson (6ip, 1r/0er, 4bb, 5k)…Cody Strait working on a 10-game hitting streak…Tonys Gutierrez has reached base safely in 20 straight games (28-67, .418)…Sarasota tops Ft. Myers…Alex Smit outstanding in his 6.0 innings (3h, 1r, 2bb, 8k)…Mike DeJesus with 3 hits…Juan Francisco extends his hitting streak to 7 games…Dayton wins today to go 7 games over .500 for the first time this season…Enerio Del Rosario continues to excel since his move to the rotation…the Dragons won last night, too…Curtis Partch fantastic in his 6.0 innings (2h, 1r/0er, 1bb, 7k)…Phil Valiquette tres bien in relief.

Reds minor league starting pitchers over the last 6 games are 4-0 with a 0.49 ERA (37ip, 18h, 5r/2er, 9bb, 36k).

THOMPSON’S GETTING BULLIED: Chattanooga’s Daryl Thompson is 2-1 with a 1.28 ERA in 8 starts this season...In each of his 5 no-decisions, the Lookouts were leading when he left the game (5 blown saves)…In his only loss of the season (4/25 vs. Carolina), Thompson allowed 3 unearned runs on 4 hits in 7.2ip (3bb, 11k)…Overall, 7 of Thompson’s 8 appearances have been quality starts…He’s holding opponents to a .200 batting average and leads all Reds minor league pitchers in ERA (1.28) and strikeouts (49).