The Barons are up 8-1 in the 7th, but the way Cotts' lines this year have been, I would be shocked if he was pitching right now in the 7th, here's my prediction for his line:

 

5.1 IP 3 H 1R 5 BB 6 K

 

That's your basic Cotts line right there, I'm going with the safe bet.... His theme the last few starts has been go enough for the win, walk a s*** load of people, but don't give up enough hits for them to bite you in the ass.

Cotts is going to be really good if he gets his stuff done. I got this really good feeling that he's gonna be a lot like a Zito/Mulder.

Barons bullpen struggled in the 8th. Looks like Bullard and Smith got knocked around. Bullard gave up one HR and Smith 2. No box yet.

Oh yeah, Barons still won, 8-7. Ring with save # 10.

Oh yeah, Barons still won, 8-7.  Ring with save # 10.

I think Ring and Cotts will be on their way up (Maybe if Yetsu) with Wing, Honel, Yan and Reed coming up sometime in the near future.

 

Yan and Reed will be the first to move up.

Nice line finally for Cotts. I am impressed. Can I say WOW??

 

5 IP 3 H 1 R O ER O BB 9 K

Full boxscore..... Bullard and Smith with rough outings, but a win is a win.

 

SOU  FINAL

                       1  2  3   4  5  6   7  8  9   R  H  E

                       -  -  -   -  -  -   -  -  -   -  -  -

  BIRMINGHAM           0  1  0   5  2  0   0  0  0   8 12  2

  TENNESSEE            0  0  1   0  0  0   0  6  0   7 12  1   FINAL
 

                  WP - NEAL COTTS (6-1)

                  LP - JEREMY CUMMINGS (4-4)

                SAVE - ROYCE RING (10)
 
 

     HOME RUNS:  BIR - GABE ALVAREZ (3) OFF JEREMY CUMMINGS IN THE 4TH

                       GUILLERMO REYES (1) OFF JEREMY CUMMINGS IN THE 5TH

                 TEN - SCOTT KRAUSE (3) OFF JIM BULLARD IN THE 8TH

                       BUCKY JACOBSEN (10) OFF MATT SMITH IN THE 8TH

                       COREY ERICKSON (5) OFF MATT SMITH IN THE 8TH
 

          TIME: 2:52                   ATT: 2,240--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Extended Box
 
 

BIRMINGHAM (8) AT TENNESSEE (7)
 

 BIRMINGHAM       AB  R  H BI  TENNESSEE        AB  R  H BI

 D Sandoval 2B     5  0  2  0  S Schumaker CF    4  1  1  0 

 G Reyes SS        5  1  1  1  C Cosme 2B        5  1  2  3 

 R Hankins 1B      5  2  2  0  S Krause 1B       4  1  3  2 

 D Ingram LF       5  1  1  0  B Jacobsen DH     5  1  1  1 

 J Piniella LF     0  0  0  0  P Bolivar LF      4  0  0  0 

 C Saunders 3B     3  1  1  2  C Erickson 3B     4  1  2  1 

 S Bikowski RF     5  1  1  0  Y Molina C        4  0  0  0 

 C Maldonado C     5  1  1  1  K Burns RF        4  0  1  0 

 G Alvarez DH      2  1  2  3  J Nelson SS       4  2  2  0 

 C Durham CF       3  0  1  0  

 TOTALS           38  8 12  7  TOTALS           38  7 12  7
 

 BIRMINGHAM                010 520 000 --  8

 TENNESSEE                 001 000 060 --  7
 

 E--S Bikowski, N Cotts, C Erickson. 

 DP--BIRMINGHAM 2. LOB--BIRMINGHAM 8, TENNESSEE 6. 

 2B--R Hankins 2, S Krause. 3B--D Ingram, C Cosme. 

 HR--G Reyes 1 (1) (off J Cummings), G Alvarez 1 

 (3) (off J Cummings), C Erickson 1 (5) (off M 

 Smith), S Krause 1 (3) (off J Bullard), B Jacobsen

 1 (10) (off M Smith). S--S Schumaker.

                                   IP   H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR

  BIRMINGHAM

 N Cotts (W,6-1)                    5   3   1   0   0   9   0

 J Bullard                          2   6   4   4   0   1   1

 M Smith                          2-3   2   2   2   0   0   2

 R Ring (S,10)                  1 1-3   1   0   0   0   1   0

  TENNESSEE

 J Cummings (L,4-4)                 4  10   8   6   0   2   2

 L Walrond                          3   1   0   0   2   3   0

 K Sprague                          1   1   0   0   2   1   0

 J Figueroa                         1   0   0   0   1   2   0
 

 HBP--S Krause by R Ring. SO--BIR: G Reyes 3, D 

 Ingram 2, S Bikowski 2, C Maldonado. TEN: K Burns 

 3, S Schumaker 2, P Bolivar, C Erickson, C Cosme, 

 Y Molina, S Krause, B Jacobsen. BB--BIR: C 

 Saunders 2, G Alvarez 2, C Durham.  T--2:52. 

 A--2,240.

Dang that was Cotts best outing of the season in my mind. Thats huge for him to have 0 walks.

Dang that was Cotts best outing of the season in my mind.  Thats huge for him to have 0 walks.

I'd be curious to know his pitch count.

I'd guess he went into a lot of full counts, but I don't think it would be over 100.

I'd guess he went into a lot of full counts, but I don't think it would be over 100.

Can't be. Gotta figure with 5 IP and 3 hits (didn't see any HBP's) he faced 18 or 19 batters (possible error). Even if he went to a full count with every batter, he wouldn't be at 100 pitches, unless there were tons of foul balls, but we all know how likely that scenario is.

Man he just can't seem to break the 5 IP mark, but the 0BB 9K's looks pretty good

Nice to see the 0 walks but I imagine he must have been deep into counts, or the other team was bailing him out a lot. If he only went 5 innings there must have been a reason.

Nice to see the 0 walks but I imagine he must have been deep into counts, or the other team was bailing him out a lot.  If he only went 5 innings there must have been a reason.

Does anyone know the typical lines on their other starters? Do any of them typically go longer then 5 innings? I am just wondering if the manager has a quick hook regardless of who's pitching...

The Sox enforce a soft pitch limit of about a 100 throughout every minor league team. So, as Cotts approaches 100, he will get yanked.

Cotts is going to be really good if he gets his stuff done.  I got this really good feeling that he's gonna be a lot like a Zito/Mulder.

I think so too...In fact, I pictured him pitching at Comiskey while watching him pitch for my ISU Redbirds, which might happen within a year's time. He's a great location pitcher who doesn't get tensed up when he gets into jams, but instead pitches out of such jams. If he can up his velocity, he'll be all set to be a stunning major league pitcher.