Eastern League
Erie 4, Akron 2
Portland 10, Binghamton 7
Richmond 5, Altoona 3
Harrisburg 6, Reading 4
New Hampshire 5, New Britain 0
Trenton 6, Bowie 1
International League
Syracuse 6, Toledo 4
Florida State League
Daytona 6, Lakeland 5
Midwest League
West Michigan 8, Bowling Green 1
Venezuelan League
Mariners 12, Tigers 2
The Erie SeaWolves didn’t have a defined closer heading into the 2013 season, but Justin Souza 
has certainly filled that role. Souza has collected seven saves this season and is 2-0 with a 2.35 ERA. In his last eight appearances, Souza, 27, has allowed two runs on six hits in 72⁄3 innings for an ERA of 2.35. He picked up his eighth save Saturday night. The reliever came to the Detroit Tigers in a 2009 trade for Jack Hannahan and is having an impressive season. He could be the SeaWolves’ go-to pitcher to close out games the rest of the season.
Former Mercyhurst University player David Lough led off and went 2-for-4 for the Kansas City Royals against the Oakland Athletics Friday night.
Lough’s third-inning double scored Salvador Perez and gave the Royals a 1-0 lead.
The Royals lost 2-1.
Here’s more on Lough from the Kansas City Star.
– Rick Green
Here’s a look at Saturday’s starting pitchers. The first game is at 1:05 p.m.:
AL
Seattle (J.Saunders 3-4) at Cleveland (McAllister 3-3), 1:05 p.m.
Toronto (Morrow 1-2) at N.Y. Yankees (D.Phelps 1-2), 1:05 p.m.
Chicago White Sox (H.Santiago 1-2) at L.A. Angels (Blanton 0-7), 4:05 p.m.
Tampa Bay (Ro.Hernandez 2-4) at Baltimore (Jurrjens 0-0), 4:05 p.m.
Houston (Bedard 0-2) at Pittsburgh (A.J.Burnett 3-4), 7:05 p.m.
Boston (Dempster 2-4) at Minnesota (Diamond 3-3), 7:10 p.m.
Detroit (Ani.Sanchez 4-3) at Texas (Grimm 2-3), 8:05 p.m.
Kansas City (E.Santana 3-2) at Oakland (Milone 3-5), 9:05 p.m.
NL
N.Y. Mets (Hefner 0-4) at Chicago Cubs (Feldman 3-3), 1:05 p.m.
Cincinnati (Arroyo 3-4) at Philadelphia (K.Kendrick 4-1), 4:05 p.m.
Houston (Bedard 0-2) at Pittsburgh (A.J.Burnett 3-4), 7:05 p.m.
Arizona (McCarthy 0-3) at Miami (Koehler 0-1), 7:10 p.m.
L.A. Dodgers (Capuano 1-2) at Atlanta (Medlen 1-5), 7:10 p.m.
Milwaukee (Estrada 3-2) at St. Louis (Lynn 6-1), 7:15 p.m.
San Francisco (Lincecum 3-2) at Colorado (Chatwood 1-0), 8:10 p.m.
Washington (Zimmermann 7-1) at San Diego (Stults 3-3), 8:40 p.m.
Here’s who I like — and don’t:
Eastern League
Akron 4, Erie 1
Binghamton 5, Portland 3
New Hampshire 4, New Britain 3
Bowie 2, Trenton 1
Altoona 2, Richmond 1
Harrisburg 7, Reading 4
International League
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 4, Toledo 3, 10 innings
Florida State League
Daytona 5, Lakeland 1, 1st game
Daytona 7, Lakeland 4, 12 innings, 2nd game
Midwest League
Bowling Green 4, West Michigan 0
The Pittsburgh Pirates are supposed to beat the lowly Houston Astros.
For a while, it didn’t look like it would happen.
Then, Pedro Alvarez stepped to the plate with one on in the bottom of the eighth inning. To tie it at 4.
The Bucs won it in the ninth.
Here’s his blast (estimated at 462 feet):
– Rick Green
David Lough
Former Mercyhurst University standout outfielder David Lough has been promoted to the Kansas City Royals. Lough, a 27-year-old outfielder, is hitting .340 this season with Triple-A Omaha, including three home runs, 17 RBIs and five stolen bases. He will fill in for Jarrod Dyson, was placed on the disabled list with a sprained right ankle.
Lough was selected by Kansas City in the 11th round of the 2007 draft and is listed as the No. 20 overall prospect in the Royals organization by MLB.com. Lough made it to the major league level in 2012 and went 14-for-59 (.237) with the Royals. He played in 20 games for Kansas City after spending six seasons in the minor leagues.
–Tom Reisenweber
Corey Jones and Michael Morrison are headed to Triple-A Toledo as the Mud Hens continue to have injury problems this season. Jones will replace another former Erie SeaWolves infielder Brandon Douglas, who was placed on the disabled list with a shin contusion. Morrison will also replace a former Erie SeaWolves pitcher in Casey Crosby, who was also put on the DL.
Jones is hitting .200 this season with five RBIs and one stolen base. Morrison is 2-1 this season with a 5.28 ERA. He has 13 strikeouts in 15 1/3 innings with the SeaWolves.
Ryan Robowski will make his return to Erie from Lakeland. Robowski, a 25-year-old left-handed relief pitcher, came over to the Detroit Tigers in 2011 in a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Arizona sent Robowski and Kevin Eichhorn to Detroit for Armando Galarraga. Robowski is 1-0 with a 4.96 ERA this season with Lakeland. He has 19 strikeouts to eight walks and has allowed 13 hits in 16 1/3 innings.
Robowski made six appearances with Erie in 2011 with an 0-1 record and 7.27 ERA. He also pitched in 25 games with the SeaWolves in 2012. He went 1-1 with a 3.32 ERA and two saves, and he had 41 strikeouts to 11 walks with Erie.
The SeaWolves are at 24 players but another move has not been announced.
–Tom Reisenweber
Who says there aren’t great moments in sports?
Lieutenant Colonel Will Adams surprised his daughter, Alayna, who was throwing out the first pitch at the Rays’ game last night.
Alayna didn’t know her dad had returned from Afghanistan.
Here’s the touching moment:
And here’s a photo from the Associated Press:
– Rick Green
Red Sox starter Felix Doubront didn’t have a good grip before he threw this pitch:
– Rick Green
