MONTREAL, PQ (CP)--Salomon Torres has pitched 4 games this year. He has 3 quality starts already. A 2.67 ERA in 30 innings of work. But he didn't have a win under his belt until last night.
Torres limited the Deadwood Outlaws to only 2 runs and pitched a complete game, preserving a 3-2 victory for the Montreal Royals. Torres outdueled Greg Maddux, who lasted only 6 innings for the Outlaws. Reliever Billy Taylor was tagged with the loss.
"Torres shouldn't have any trouble filling Randy's shoes," said Maddux after the game. "He's not truly overpowering, but he has control mixed in with his pitches. The Royals won't have to wait very long for him to become a star."
Rondell White didn't produce much offensively, but he made a spectacular play in the outfield, gunning down Mike Stanley trying to stretch his hit into a double.
"Hitters are going to start paying attention to White's arm, now," said manager Carter.
Rusty Greer had a 3-hit night, boosting his average to .309. Greer also leads the club in home runs (3) and stolen bases (4). Hal Morris and Gary Gaetti, despite having career years in 1998, continue to struggle below with sub-.200 batting averages.
McCoy News
-In Thursday's game, Pete Schourek hung on for the 3-2 win over the Montreal Royals. Schourek earned his 3rd victory of the season, versus no losses. This is a turn of fortune for the lefthander: last year, Schourek had 19 losses despite a respectable 3.83 ERA. He has a 3.00 ERA this year.
-Hartford is giving Deadwood a run for their money (literally). The team nobody gave a chance now leads their division. They are 8-2 in their last 10 games. Troy Perceival has been Chrabascz's biggest acquision. He has 6 saves so far this year.
-GM Sculac made a gusty deal to acquire A-Rod, and so far results are good. Rodriguez is currently leading the league in batting average (.452) and RBIs (17).
-Oil King secondbaseman Joey Cora may lose his job to Gene Erickson. Cora is batting .093 and has 2 errors in 10 games.
-Rookie Hideki Irabu has yet to give up an earned run in 23 2/3 innings pitched.
