Former GreenJackets get selected for all-star game

A trio of former Augusta GreenJackets have proven their talent at higher levels this season enough to land spots in the Double-A Eastern League All-Star Game.

Pitchers Madison Bumgarner and Joe Paterson and infielder Brock Bond , all members of the San Francisco Giants' Connecticut Defenders, were named to the all-star roster last week.

Bumgarner, last year's Single-A Outstanding Pitcher of the Year with the GreenJackets, has gone 6-1 with a 1.70 ERA in eight starts for the Defenders this season.

Paterson made 20 appearances out of the bullpen in the early part of the season for the GreenJackets last year before moving onto Advanced-A San Jose. The left-handed reliever is 2-2 with a 1.53 ERA in 31 appearances at the Double-A level this season.

The selections were no surprise for Bumgarner and Paterson, the first- and 10th-round picks (respectively) have been considered top Giants prospects since they entered the pros after the 2007 draft. But Bond, a 24th-round selection in that same draft, has had to bide his time patiently before he could secure a chance at proving his worth.

The 5-foot-10 switch-hitter spent half the season last year in Augusta making sporadic starts at second and third base behind regular starters Nick Noonan and Andrew Davis . He found a few other starts as a designated hitter before moving on to the Advanced-A level later in the season when the San Jose Giants had a starting spot open for him at second base.

Bond finished the 2008 season hitting .297 for San Jose. He has found even more success at the Double-A level this year, leading the team as an everyday second baseman with a .326 batting average, 50 runs scored and 10 stolen bases.

Though not originally a well-known prospect, he has played well enough for the Eastern League fans, who voted him into this year's all-star game.

Bumgarner was also a fan pick for the all-star game, while Paterson was added through league officials, managers and media voting.

The Eastern League All-Star Game will be played July 15 at Waterfront Park in Trenton, N.J.

'NEVER-ENDING GAME OF HITS': California League records came crashing down in an unprecedented display of offense a week ago in a game between the Advanced-A Lake Elsinore Storm and High Desert Mavericks. Lake Elsinore won the game 33-18.

The 51 runs scored by the two teams in the nine-inning game came on 58 hits. Lake Elsinore scored eight runs in the top of the first and out-hit the home Mavericks 32-26.

"It seemed like a never-ending game of hits," Lake Elsinore's Matt Clark told MiLB.com.

Clark, who went 5 for 6 with two homers and five RBI, extended his hitting streak to 36 games with the win and tied a league record with seven runs scored in a game.

Storm starting pitcher Jeremy McBryde surrendered 11 earned runs over 4w innings pitched, but his team still won the game.

The contest lasted four hours and 10 minutes, according to the official box score. First pitch came with sunny skies and the temperature at 100 degrees.

FAIR OR FOWL: In the wake of Rome Braves manager Randy Ingle 's June 25 tirade in which he relocated a base during an argument with an umpire over a home run ball ruled foul, the Augusta GreenJackets have announced a "Fair or Fowl Night" scheduled for the next time the Rome Braves play in Augusta.

The first 1,000 fans in the gates at the Sept. 5 game will receive a Bojangles gift card and anyone who catches a foul ball will be given the chance to run the bases after the game.

On-field games between innings will also play off the night's theme with the end result of each game being "fair of fowl," according to a statement released by the GreenJackets.