Minor Leagues: Carrasco Vs. Willis

Minor League notes from the night that was:

The classic battle between Carlos Carrasco and Dontrelle Willis was a wash, with Carrasco’s Lehigh Valley defeating Willis’ Toledo 6-5. Carrasco surrendered all five runs in 4.1 innings, striking out eight and giving up a home run. Offensively, Jason Donald went 3-for-4, and John Mayberry Jr. went 1-for-3. They’re hitting .267 and .271, respectively.

Reading lost 4-2 to Harrisburg, as Antonio Bastardo — back in the rotation — lasted four innings, giving up three runs. Mike Zagurski pitched a scoreless inning — the lefty hasn’t given up a run in five minor league frames. The offense is looking better lately, led by Michael Taylor, who is hitting .319 with three home runs. His 11 strikeouts in 19 games isn’t too high, either.

Clearwater defeated Daytona, 5-3. Kyle Drabek gave up two runs in five innings, striking out six. Dominic Brown — hitting .299 — went 2-for-4 in the win.

Lakewood lost, 6-3, to Hickory. Tyler Cloyd struggled, giving up six runs and 11 hits in six innings. Zach Collier went 2-for-4 with a double; he’s hitting .225 this season.

Tim first found the Phillies as a little infant at Veteran’s Stadium, cheering on a Juan Samuel game-winning home run in his very first game. With the pinstripes in his blood, he witnessed Terry Mulholland’s 1990 no-hitter, “Steve Carlton Night” at the Vet, game three of the 1993 World Series, countless games during the charmed 2008 championship season and various road excursions. Since November 2007 Tim’s been writing about them daily at Phillies Nation, becoming one of the world’s most popular Phillies scribes. You can catch him on Twitter and Facebook, as well. When he’s not talking about the Phils he’s relaxing with a St. Bernardus ABT 12 or one of his many favored brews.