Infielder Maza returns; Abbott placed on DL

NEW BRITAIN -- The New Britain Rock Cats received some healthy midseason tonic Friday with the return of second baseman Luis Maza.

Maza, 23, who was promoted to Triple-A Rochester on June 15, was hitting .321 and among the Eastern League leaders in hits (79) at the time of his departure. The Rock Cats placed right-hander Jim Abbott on the seven-day disabled list.

Maza was promoted when an injury in Minnesota created a chain of events that left Rochester in need of a middle infielder. In eight games with the Red Wings, the Venezuelan native hit .258 with two doubles, a triple, an RBI and six runs.

"He was doing a good job for (Rochester manager) Phil Roof but the Twins sent down Alex Prieto when they activated Nick Punto," Rock Cats manager Stan Cliburn said. "Prieto’s a guy the Twins have been calling every time there’s been a need for a middle infielder. They want him to stay fresh by playing every day in Triple-A."

The Twins want Maza, too, to play every day so he was bound for Double-A during the day on Friday.

While Maza’s offensive ability will be a lift, Cliburn cited his defense and his mere presence as equally valuable assets as the team tries to gain some leverage in the race for a playoff spot.

"Maza was the backbone of this club while he was here," Cliburn said. "He was a guy who would get on base ahead of (Kevin) West and (Billy) Munoz. And he was errorless in the field in 62 games. It’ll be good to have him back."

Maza, however, did commit his first miscue of the season at Rochester.

Abbott is 2-5 with a 5.43 ERA in 13 games, all starts. He enjoyed a solid start (3.26 ERA through 5 games) but posted an 11.37 over the next five. In his last three starts, it was 2.65. Although he is experiencing some soreness in his shoulder, the move is temporary. He will be reactivated Friday.

"Every year at this time our starting pitchers skip a turn in the rotation," Cliburn said. "It keeps their arms fresh for a late-season run. It happened to be his turn to skip when the transaction was made."

J.D. Durbin, who pitched in his second simulated game during batting practice Friday, will be activated in time to pitch in the second game of a doubleheader in New Hampshire Monday, prompting another move.

"It’s possibly going to be a pitcher moving up to Triple-A," Cliburn said. "They’re one short on their roster and I think Roof wants to go with another pitcher."

Although Durbin underwent arthroscopic surgery on his shoulder May 21, he was hitting 94 mph on the speed gun consistently Friday afternoon.

CAT-A-LOG: While the Rock Cats came into Friday’s game 14-21 at home, they have kept their heads above water by going 19-17 on the road.

Closer Bobby Korecky has converted 12 of his 14 save opportunities and has not blown one since April 19. In his last eight games, he’s 1-0 with three saves and hasn’t yielded an earned run in 10 1/3 innings.

Starter Scott Baker has given up just 28 hits and nine walks in 50 1/3 innings since arriving from Class A Fort Myers on May 18. Overall, Baker is 8-4 with a 2.26 ERA in 14 starts this season with 15 walks and 80 strikeouts.

Reliever Travis Bowyer hasn’t allowed a run in his first 13 1/3 Double-A innings but has walked 14 hitters. Combined with his superb work in Class A, Bowyer has yielded just one earned run in 43 innings (0.21 ERA), but has issued 31 free passes.

"A lot of luck and a lot of help from the relievers coming in and picking me up," is how Bowyer explains his fortune. "I don’t like (the walks) at all. It’s something to work on."

Said Cliburn: "When he throws it over, he’s as good as anyone. He can walk people but how does he react to the next hitter? His damage control is good."

Jon Pridie, who gets his third spot start tonight after working out of the bullpen, has pitched to a 2.75 ERA in his last 13 games to lower his season ERA from 6.41 to 4.25. Pridie, a right-hander, has been particularly valuable in getting left-handed hitters out, especially since Cliburn went the first two months without a lefty in the pen.

Throw out Boof Bonser’s nightmare against Trenton June 17 (3 innings, 11 hits, 10 runs) and he’s put together numbers commensurate to his being a first-round draft pick (Giants, 2000). Other than that ERA buster, Bonser is 5-1 with a 2.45 ERA since mid-May.

The offensive side of the ledger isn’t nearly as positive. Rob Bowen hit a game-winning homer Thursday in Trenton but he came into the at-bat zero for his previous 15.

Seth Davidson has three RBI in 48 games...B.J. Garbe’s homer on Tuesday was his first in 54 games...Matt Scanlon came into Friday having hit safely in seven of his last eight games but the only time he scored was in the one game he didn’t hit safely.

Garrett Jones had a 15-game hitting streak snapped Wednesday. He hit .319 with four homers and 10 RBI during the streak.

"Man for man, we’re probably one of the least talented teams in our division," Cliburn said, "but as far as heart and character and doing what I ask them to do, we stack up pretty good."