Willie Ramirez, one of the small handful of very talented young Denver relievers (a few in the Denver bullpen and more on the way in the minor league system), achieved an unusual distinction the other day when he struck out 4 batters in the 9th inning of Denver's 8-4 victory over St. Louis.
Ramirez had entered in the bottom of the 8th inning and gave up a single to the first hitter he faced but the inning ended when right fielder
Joe McPhillips threw out the base runner trying to score on the play (Joe's second outfield assist of the game, both at home plate).
Ramirez then struck out the first batter of the 9th but catcher
Joe Sandwell couldn't corral the last pitch which was ruled a wild pitch and the runner made it to first base safely. The 24-year old power pitcher wasn't fazed as he then proceeded to strike out the next 3 batters as well (all swinging!) for the rare 4 K inning.
And speaking of young Brewers on fire, rookie outfielder
Javier Hernandez took Player of the Week honors in the MGL this past week for his fine play. Not a bad big league start for an 11th round (268th overall) pick!
