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A week of highlights on mound

It might go down as the most successful week of pitching the Rays organization has seen.

Tuesday night Joe Kennedy, the poster child for moving up quickly after starting last season at Double-A Orlando, moving to Durham and bursting onto the major-league scene in the summer, pitched Tampa Bay's first complete game since April 13, 2001.

The next night Gerardo Garcia struck out nine, walked two and became the first Orlando player in 24 years to pitch a no-hitter. It was the third in Rays history.

Garcia, an undrafted free agent who signed with the Rays in 1999 only to be released 18 months later and re-signed this offseason, earned Southern League Pitcher of the Week honors.

Friday night, Durham pitcher Luis de los Santos recorded his first win in nearly two years as the 24-year-old took a major step in his recovery from elbow and knee surgeries by retiring eight of the last nine batters he faced, beating Rochester. De los Santos, who had pitched 151/3 innings this season, was limited to six innings and about 70 pitches.

That night in Greenville, Orlando pitcher Dewon Brazelton (first round, third overall in 2001) pitched his first career complete game, striking out a career-high nine in eight innings. The only thing wrong with Brazelton's night was losing 2-0.

The final pitching highlight for the week came Sunday when Jason Standridge (first round, 30th overall in 1997) came two outs from pitching Durham's first complete game of the season.

Standridge, who spent some time in the majors this season, pitched 81/3 scoreless innings before allowing a walk, a double and a run-scoring single. He was relieved before he could record his seventh career complete game.

Throw in Bakersfield's Evan Rust recording his 15th save and Charleston's Austin Coose finally allowing his first earned run after a 23-plus inning streak to start the season and it seems there are some big-league pitchers in the making in Tampa Bay's affiliates.

That said, the organization as a whole still is struggling to find some consistency on the mound.

Three pitchers for Orlando have winning records. Charleston had five before sending John Vigue to Princeton to take Nate Dion off the disabled list.

The O-Rays rank last in the Southern League with a team ERA of 4.36 despite Garcia's masterpiece. Durham is carrying a 4.42 ERA, 11th of 14 teams in the International League.

Bakersfield is slightly better with a 4.08 ERA and Charleston leads with a 3.55, seventh in the 16-team South Atlantic League.

ENCOURAGING BATS: Josh Hamilton is showing the form that led the Rays to draft him first overall in 1999. The Bakersfield outfielder is 13 for his past 33, including 3 home runs, 6 RBIs and 6 runs. Hamilton, who has spent time on the disabled list, is batting .369 overall, which would lead the California League if he had enough at-bats.

Instead, teammate Rocco Baldelli (first round, sixth overall in 2000) leads the league at .353 and seems to have benefitted from Hamilton's return to the Blaze lineup. Baldelli is seven for his past 25 with 5 runs and 2 RBIs.

HURTIN' THEMSELVES: Charleston committed 77 errors in its first 49 games, most in minor-league baseball. Those errors led to 57 unearned runs, about 25 percent of the runs RiverDogs pitchers allowed to that point.

HELPIN' THEMSELVES: Bakersfield's pitching staff is second in the California League with 477 strikeouts, though that changes almost nightly as Modesto led with 481 entering Tuesday's games.

MANAGING JUST FINE: Durham manager Bill Evers missed two games last week to be with his 19-year-old son, William, who had surgery. Bulls pitching coach Joe Coleman was gone for three days to attend to family business. That left coach Richie Hebner in charge. He went 1-1.

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