Bats Fall in 12th

After an impressive Louisville debut Cincinnati native Andrew Brackman has been struggling with control issues that caused the Yankees to decline his option after the end of last season. Once a top 100 rated prospect, the 6-10" right-hander has thrown only half of his pitches for strikes over the last four starts.

Host Louisville rallied from an early 5-0 deficit to tie the game in the ninth last night before falling to Norfolk after the winning run scored on a wild pitch in the twelfth inning. Corky Miller had three hits to raise his average to .316. Former Cardinal prospect Daryl Jones added two more and crossed the plate twice. Starting pitcher Andrew Brackman had his worst start of the season when he was lifted in the second after walking five of the eight batters he faced. Travis Webb finished the game for the Bats and took the loss. There was some added some added excitement in the eighth when David Bell was ejected for the first time as Louisville manager after protesting a call when Denis Phipps was picked off second base.

After a solid debut this season Brackman has struggled with control issues that caused the Yankees to decline his option after last season. The Moeller grad was once a top-100 rated prospect before returning home to Cincinnati as a free agent. Last night he managed only 8 strikes out of 34 pitches and added three wild pitches past veteran catcher Miller. He’s now 1-3 with an ERA close to 10 after five starts.

It’s been a rough road for Brackman since the Yankees selected him out of North Carolina State with a late first round pick. In 2007 he underwent Tommy John surgery before throwing his first pitch as a professional. They finally moved him to the bullpen in the second half of last year before he had a cup of coffee in the big leagues at the end of the season. The Reds returned him to the rotation at Louisville and it looked like a good move on April 9 when he threw six innings of 2-hit ball while walking only one. In four subsequent appearances he’s failed to make it out of the second inning twice and only half of his 266 pitches have gone for strikes. He’s also had five wild pitches and hit three batters. His next scheduled start is on May 5 at Indianapolis.

Other News from the Farm:

It was a slow day in the Cincinnati Organization yesterday. The Reds, Pensacola, and Bakersfield all had a day off. Dayton was shut out at Beloit 7-0. Juan Perez had two of the Dragons’ five hits while Stanley Gerson lost his second game of the season.

Pensacola resumes their season tonight when hosting Jacksonville. Bakersfield will be visited by Lancaster.