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Pirates Notebook: LaRoches' dad thrills at having family time
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Pirates starter Tom Gorzelanny couldn't hold a 5-0 lead his teammates built in the first two innings yesterday.
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CINCINNATI -- Adam and Andy LaRoche had their own private cheering section during this series.
That section consisted of their father.
Dave LaRoche, a former major league pitcher who's the pitching coach for Class AA New Hampshire, saw his sons on the same field for just the second time.
He did manage to see them together in Pittsburgh 2 1/2 weeks ago during a break in New Hampshire's schedule.
Visiting with his sons was a treat in itself, he said.
"But the neatest part is seeing them out there on the field together," he said. "Because of their age difference [Adam is four years older], they never got to play together growing up."
STATE COLLEGE (18-54) beat Auburn, 3-2. RHP Wilson Ortiz (0-2, 4.70) pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings and allowed five hits. RHP Mike Williams (4.67) pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings of relief and got all five outs by strikeout. CF Ciro Rosero (.268) went 1 for 3 with a walk and two RBIs.
The news of the July 31 trade that brought Andy LaRoche to the Pirates from the Los Angeles Dodgers seemed almost too good to be true.
"They would talk about playing together [in the big leagues] almost every winter," Dave LaRoche said. "And then it happened sooner than anybody ever imagined."
Dave LaRoche was in Manchester, N.H., preparing for a game when the news broke. For whatever reason, cell phones didn't work on the baseball field, so his sons couldn't reach him.
"The players saw it on television and came out to tell me," Dave LaRoche said.
Andrews lauds Ohlendorf
Count Jeff Andrews among those who were impressed with Ross Ohlendorf's performance in his first major league start Wednesday night.
"I thought he did really well," the pitching coach said. "He used his strength, which is his fastball. He made them speed up [their bats]. He attacked inside on both sides of the plate. He used his breaking ball ahead on the count well. He knew where to go with the breaking ball. His changeup is very usable.
"With the velocity he has on his fastball [clocked at 94-95 mph Wednesday] and using it inside, I think it's going to be a nice pitch for him."
Ohlendorf is scheduled to start again Tuesday night in Houston, then make his home debut Sept. 15 against Los Angeles.
Sanchez rests sore arm
Freddy Sanchez, hit by a pitch on the underside of his right forearm near the heel of his hand Wednesday night, didn't start yesterday as a precaution.
"Usually, the day after is when it's the sorest," Sanchez said.
He did pinch-hit in the ninth inning yesterday and should be able to play tonight.
Wilson on the mend
The swelling on Jack Wilson's bruised right index finger was down significantly yesterday, making it likely the shortstop can return to the lineup tonight.
"It's a stupid injury because it could have been avoided," Wilson said, citing an unusual hop in Sunday's game that caused a ground ball to slam into his index finger.
"I've done it before but never this bad."
Brewers react to ruling
As reported in yesterday's Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, this is the reaction by Brewers general manager Doug Melvin to Major League Baseball upholding official scorer Bob Webb's "hit" ruling on Andy LaRoche's roller Sunday: "We appreciate the opportunity offered by [MLB] to have plays reviewed. While we had hoped for a different outcome, we understand that an official scorer's role is very difficult."
First Published September 5, 2008 12:00 am
