Clippings 6-13-09

The Clippers and Bats play Saturday and Sunday to complete a four-game series at Huntington Park. Here is the latest:

* Clippers manager Torey Lovullo was back in the dugout Friday. Lovullo missed Thursday’s game to attended his daughter’s high school graduation. Jon Nunnally was the acting manager in the Clippers 6-1 loss to the Bats.

* Wyatt Toregas suffered a bruise on his right hand from foul ball on Friday. The injury occurred on the outside knuckles of Toregas’ hand. He is listed as day-to-day and expected to be available Saturday off the bench. Damaso Espino will start in his place.

* Chuck Lofgren pitched six innings, allowing three runs against Louisville on Thursday. He is 1-2 with a 3.71 ERA in three starts for Columbus. Lofgren, 23, led the Eastern League with a 1.48 ERA in eight starts for Akron before his promotion.

* Jake Westbrook threw four scorless innings Friday for Akron. Westbrook is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and is expected to appear with the Clippers on Wednesday against Rochester. Westbrook has allowed four hits in seven innings over his two Double-A starts.

* Scott Lewis fired three perfect innings for Lake County on Thursday. Lewis retired all nine batter faced, including three strikeouts. The former Ohio State standout is expected to make a stop in Columbus during his rehab assignment.

* The Clippers Booster Club is still looking for folks to make a bus trip to Cleveland on Friday, June 26th. The Indians are playing the Reds at Progressive Field and the trip includes a pre-game party on the Party Deck. Click here for more info.

* Wes Hodges, Stephen Head and George Lombard all remain on the comeback trail from the Clippers disabled list. It appears Head is the closest to returning. He has been working on base running after the Clippers batting practice sessions. Head banged his knee against the wall in an Indians spring training game in Goodyear and re-injured it while sliding for a ball in April.

* Tomo Ohka will start for the Indians on Saturday. Ohka was not expected to make the Clippers roster this year, but farm director Ross Adkins decided to keep him as a long reliever and the gamble paid off. Ohka joined the rotation when Aaron Laffey was called up and proceeded to go 3-3 with a 3.42 ERA over nine starts. He is only the second Japanese-born pitcher to start a game for Cleveland. Kaz Tadano (2004) is the other.

* Michael Brantley is the hottest Clippers hitter… batting .357 (15-for-42) over his last ten games.

* Andy Cannizaro is next best… 11 for his last 33 (.333) over an eight game stretch.

* Wilson Valdez is 4-for-20 (.200) with a double, triple and three RBI since being traded to the Mets for the Clippers roster.

* Kirk Saarloos was pushed to the back of the rotation, missing his scheduled start on Friday. According to Torey Lovullo, the move was made to give Saarloos a few extra days of rest. Saarloos has made eleven starts (3-7, 5.62 ERA). He lasted only two innings in his most recent outing (June 5th at Charlotte) and allowed eight runs, four earned from five hits.

* The Louisville Bats are in town and so are some familiar names from their parent club in Cincinnati. George Foster is signing autographs at Huntington Park this weekend and Eric Davis is camping in the Bats dugout.

Foster, 60, was a career .274 hitter with 348 HR and 1,239 RBI. He won the National League MVP in 1977, a season in which he drove in 149 runs and homered 52 times. He is a five-time All-Star and two-time World Champion.

Davis, 47, is a special assistant to Reds General Manager Walt Jocketty. He is a two-time All Star and won the 1990 World Series with Cincinnati.

* Tony Graffanino was scratched from the Clippers lineup just before Thursday’s game. Graffanino has been battling a stiff neck since the end of the recent road trip. He is listed as day to day.

There is plenty more, but I’ll have to check back later…