Rodriguez Picks Up His 11th Victory

The Clearwater Threshers (10-12) avoided a sweep at the hands of the Charlotte Stone Crabs (13-9) with a 4-1 win on Saturday (July 16).

Julio Rodriguez shut the door on the Stone Crabs, giving up just one run on three hits over seven complete innings. More importantly for the 20 year old was his control, as he issued just two walks.

The Phillies drafted Rodriguez in the eighth round of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft. In 2008 and 2009 he pitched in the Gulf Coast League without a great deal of success. The 2010 season in Lakewood is where he made the organization take note. His 90 strikeouts in 56 innings, combined with a 1.44 ERA, earned him a starting role with the Threshers for 2011.

A third inning solo homer by third baseman Brian Gump would turn out to be the winning run. Jonathan Singleton added a pair of singles and two RBI's to widen the margin.

On Deck: The Threshers stay on the road, travelling to Port St. Lucie (12-9) for a four game series, starting Sunday (July 17).

Need to Know: The GC Phillies, starter Ramon Oviedo, pitched seven hitless innings against the GC Braves on Saturday. The 6'4" right hander was a Phillies free agent signing in 2010.

Jim Birmingham would pitch the eighth and ninth, picking up his seventh save of the season, in the 3-1 victory.