Here are some News and Notes from July 9th from Around the Nation.
Former UCR pitcher basks in Memorable Night
SEATTLE — The ‘W’ did not go next to his name, and surely that didn’t matter one bit.
Chris Smith set a goal to give the A’s six innings Saturday in the biggest game of his professional career. He did that, and afterward exuded equal parts excitement, relief and, probably most importantly, a well-deserved sense of achievement.
The oldest pitcher in A’s history to ever make his first career start, the 36-year-old journeyman held Seattle to three runs over six innings, then watched his teammates rally late for a 4-3 victory at Safeco Field.
Former St. John’s and UMass-Lowell brothers take on Minor Leagues
Most American-born players in the minor leagues get there after being drafted, either out of high school or college.
Let’s just say the Kuzia brothers, Joe and Nick, of Seymour have taken roads less traveled.
Joe has had a particularly circuitous route. He’s had the baseball program at his first college dropped before he ever took a class. He’s spent a “terrible” summer in the Can-Am League, living out of a Motel 6 and playing for a team that didn’t even have a home field. He was cut last summer by the Bridgeport Bluefish.
Former Sac State star Rhys Hoskins on verge of MLB
She is there, even if he cannot see or hear her.
But he can feel her.
Rhys Hoskins’ mother is not gone, he figures, as long as he remembers her.
Inspired by his mother’s plight against an insurmountable illness and her plea for him to achieve, Hoskins is on the cusp of reaching the big leagues with the Philadelphia Phillies. The one-time Jesuit High School and Sacramento State slugger will compete in Sunday’s Futures Game at Marlins Park in Miami, a showcase of baseball’s top prospects.
Cathy Reynolds died of breast cancer in 2009 after staging a courageous fight for 14 years. A day before her funeral in Sacramento, Hoskins turned 16.
