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Brown able to shake off slump

By DAVID MURPHY
Published August 22, 2006

A week ago, Dee Brown went 0-4 in a loss to the Winston-Salem Wart Hogs and watched his batting average at Potomac fall to .167. Since then, the former Hernando star has turned in his best string of games since the Nationals promoted him to high-Class A last month.

Over the past five games, Brown is 8-for-20 with nine RBIs, raising his season average to .242. In a 7-6 loss to Winston-Salem on Thursday, the outfielder went 3-for-5 with four RBIs. The following night, in a 6-5 loss to Kinston, he went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and hit his first triple since his call up.

Brown, who has 18 RBIs in 18 games with Potomac, is batting seventh and primarily playing rightfield, though he has seen action in left and center. Brown was hitting .278 at low-Class A Savannah before his call up.

Patrick Ryan, RP, West Virginia Power (low-Class A/Brewers)

Ryan, a former Central standout who was selected by the Brewers in last year's draft, hasn't had many low points this season. But a 6-3 loss to Delmarva on Aug. 12 was one of them. West Virginia entered the bottom of the ninth leading 3-1, but Delmarva rallied to tie it at 3-all. With one out and two men on base, Ryan was inserted to face Stuart Musslewhite, who promptly hit a walk-off, three-run home run over the leftfield fence.

Ryan has rebounded nicely. The Power's steadiest reliever throughout the season, he pitched two innings in an 8-5 loss to Delmarva Aug. 13, allowing two hits and one run. Then on Aug. 17, he picked up his first save of the season, giving up no runs and one hit while striking out four and walking one in 2 1/3 innings.

Through Sunday, he was 5-2 with a 2.00 ERA, 67 strikeouts and 25 walks in 85 ¹/₃ innings.

Bronson Arroyo, SP, Cincinnati Reds (Major League Baseball/National League)

Arroyo snapped a puzzling 10-start winless streak Thursday, allowing one run and four hits in seven innings of a 7-2 win over St. Louis. The victory was the former Hernando star's first since June 19.

"It was frustrating more in the beginning than it has been of late, just because it's getting to that time of year when every win is important to the team regardless of if I get a win or not," said Arroyo, whose Reds entered his start against the Astros Monday night with a tenuous two-game lead in the National League wild card standings.

Before the game, Arroyo received a mysterious bouquet of roses in his locker. Heading into Monday night's game , he was 10-8 with a 3.45 ERA.

Bert Snow, SP, Shreveport Sports (Independent league/American Association).

The former Hernando pitcher and one-time Oakland prospect has won his past two starts for the Sports, who through Sunday had won 10 of their past 12 games.

On Aug. 8, Snow pitched six innings, allowing three runs on seven hits in a 14-3 victory over Fort Worth. Then on Friday, he allowed one run on four hits in six innings as the Sports defeated Pensacola 6-1. Snow is now 8-3 with a 3.22 ERA.

Tyrone Woods, 1B, Chunichi Dragons, (Nippon Pro League/Central League)

The former Hernando star continues to establish himself as one of the top professional baseball players in Japan.

Through Sunday, Woods was batting .400 for the month, with 18 RBIs and eight home runs. He recently increased his league-leading RBI total to 94.

[Last modified August 22, 2006, 07:14:38]