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Rock solid Beleaguered reliever strikes out the side again
Posted: Sunday June 11, 2000 08:17 PM
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- John Rocker recorded his second save in two appearances since being sent to the minors, striking out three -- including Randall Simon -- in the ninth inning Sunday as the Richmond Braves beat Columbus 4-1. Rocker was greeted by a mixture of boos and cheers when he came in to pitch, and again when the game ended. Simon was the first batter Rocker faced, and the reliever struck him out on three pitches. Simon swung at a high fastball for strike three. A day earlier, Simon -- referred to as a "fat monkey" by Rocker in the offseason -- got a chance to visit with his former Atlanta teammate. Rocker faced four batters, giving up a single to Tom Wilson. Of his 20 pitches, 14 were strikes. Asked after the game what Rocker needed to do to get back to Atlanta, Braves pitching coach Mike Alvarez said, "He's doing it right now, being aggressive, pitching ahead of hitters, going letter-high to finish guys off. "His intensity has been great. While this is a minor league game, he's pitching like it's 1-0 in the bigs," he said. Said Richmond manager Randy Ingle: "In the two games he's taken the ball for us, I'm really proud of the way he's going about his business. He is pitching like he's saying, 'I don't belong here, I belong in the big leagues.'" Rocker was not made available to reporters after the game. Tim Unroe hit a two-run homer for Richmond. Richmond starter Chris Seelbach (3-4) limited the Clippers to two hits in six innings, struck out seven and walked three. Ted Lilly (2-4) pitched the first 6 1-3 innings for Columbus, allowing four runs on 10 hits.
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