Originally created 07/25/04

GreenJackets notebook

By Staff Writer

The Boston Red Sox organization has been good to the Augusta GreenJackets over the past three weeks.

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Boston raided the GreenJackets' roster before the first half of the season ended in June, but has made up for it recently by sending Augusta some impact players. The highest-rated addition came in the form of a 5-foot-9, 180-pound shortstop from Arizona State.

Boston picked Dustin Pedroia with its first pick in the June draft (second round, 65th overall).

After signing him nearly two months later, the Red Sox sent Pedroia to Augusta, where he made an immediate impact. Pedroia went 4-for-4 with a walk and a run scored Monday in his professional debut.

But it was Friday night when the GreenJackets found just how valuable he could be. With two outs and the go-ahead run at second, Pedroia drilled a two-run double that ended up being the difference in a 4-3 win against Asheville.

Going into Saturday's game against the Tourists, the right-hander was batting .429 with two doubles, two RBI, two walks, no strikeouts and one stolen base in his first five games.

The GreenJackets have won four of their five games since Pedroia joined them.

"This kid has been an absolute spark plug for this team," manager Chad Epperson said.

Pedroia's not the only addition that has sparked the GreenJackets' turnaround from a 2-9 start to their 13-15 record going into Saturday's game. Right-hander Cla Meredith and left-hander Randy Beam have held opponents scoreless in a combined 16 appearances.

Meredith has six saves and has struck out 18 in 13q innings. Beam has struck out eight in six innings and has three saves. Opponents are hitting a miniscule .130 against Meredith and just .143 against Beam.

Starter Adam Blackley has also pitched well since he joined the GreenJackets on July 4. Augusta's only left-handed starter is 0-1 with a 3.32 ERA in four starts, but he's given up zero earned runs in two of his starts, including a two-hitter through six innings Wednesday.

These additions - combined with players like Brandon Moss, who leads the South Atlantic League in batting (.354) and RBI (89) - are a big reason the GreenJackets are only 41 games back of first-place Capital City in the SAL Southern Division. They're only two games back of second place, where there's a three-way tie with Asheville, Charleston (S.C.) and Columbus.

Pedroia might be new to the team, but the playoff race isn't lost on him.

"We want to finish in first place," Pedroia said.

Mickey Hall earned SAL Player of the Week after exploding for five home runs in a four-game span July 11-15. Hall hit a walk-off homer in a 7-6 win against Asheville on July 11 to start the streak and hit two homers in a July 15 win against Greensboro to cap it. Hall batted .444, scored eight runs, drove in nine and had a 1.278 slugging percentage from July 9-15.

Hall added another homer July 19 to take the team lead with 11 home runs, surpassing Moss' 10. Hall was batting .255 with a .476 slugging percentage going into Friday's game. Thirty-four of Hall's 69 hits were for extra bases.

MOVING UP: Former Greenbrier star James Shanks has earned a promotion within the Florida Marlins organization. Shanks jumped from low Class A Greensboro of the SAL to high-A Jupiter of the Florida State League. He made his debut July 13 and went 2-for-4 with one RBI in a loss to Clearwater.

Shanks was batting .322 with eight home runs and 32 RBI for Greensboro before he was called up. It's the 25-year-old outfielder's second stint in a high-A league. Shanks hit .301 last year with the Wilmington Blue Rocks of the Carolina League, where he played in the Kansas City Royals organization. Shanks was released by the Royals after spring training this year and signed in May with the Marlins.

KEY HITS IT BIG: Bradley Key, another former Greenbrier player, hit his third home run for the Billings (Mont.) Mustangs of the rookie Pioneer League on July 18. Key, who also played at USC Aiken, went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and four RBI in a 14-7 rout of Casper.

SHUTTING OUT THE COMPETITION: Burke County's Jonathan Broxton threw a complete-game shutout for the Vero Beach Dodgers on Wednesday night. Broxton limited the Tampa Yankees to four hits in the seven-inning 2-0 win. The right-hander improved to 7-5 with a 3.36 ERA. His nine strikeouts give him 116 in 99 innings this year, good for first in the Florida State League.

Reach Kristy Shonka at (706) 823-3216 or kristy.shonka@augustachronicle.com.