A pair of pitching performances highlight this week's Bradley Baseball Braves in the Pros Update as second-year pro Rob Scahill tossed his first career complete game Thursday, while rookie hurler Patrick Cooper picked up his second career win with a solid outing of his own Friday night.
An eighth-round selection by the Colorado Rockies in 2009, Scahill led the Modesto (Calif.) Nuts to a 6-1 victory against Lancaster Thursday by allowing only one run on six hits while striking out seven without allowing a walk in his 9-inning effort. Pitching in the Class A Advanced California League, Scahill has made 18 starts this season and has lowered his ERA to 5.44 in 99.1 innings. In his last seven outings dating to June 11, though, Scahill is 4-1 with a 2.89 ERA.
Cooper allowed just one run on two hits in 6.2 innings, leading the Connecticut Tigers to a 2-1 victory against State College Friday night. Pitching for the Rookie New York-Penn League affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, Cooper is now 2-1 with a 3.18 earned run average in his first four professional appearances and boasts 17 strikeouts in 17 innings pitched. Cooper was selected in the 14th round of last month's Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
Elsewhere around the minors, second baseman Ryan Curry hit his fifth home run of the season Saturday at Birmingham, putting the Jacksonville Suns in front in the sixth inning of a 7-4 Southern League victory. Bradley's all-time hits leader then drew a leadoff walk in the seventh and scored the tying run in a 7-6 win Sunday against the Barons. He is batting .250 on the season for the Double-A affiliate of the Florida Marlins.
Veteran left-handed reliever Brian Shouse made appearances on back-to-back days for the first time since returning to action this season and bounced back from his first loss of the year Thursday with an inning of perfect relief Friday in the Gulf Coast League. As he continues to prepare for a return to the Major Leagues, Shouse has made five appearances in the GCL since he signed with the Tampa Bay Rays July 6. He has tossed 1.0 inning in all five outings, three times without allowing a run, giving him a 3.60 ERA to date.
