Baseball (REVISED Greenville pitching rotation)
South Atlantic League
Lexington Legends vs. Greenville Drive
What: Four-game series
When: Thursday through Sunday (7:05 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 5:05 p.m. Sunday)
Where: Whitaker Bank Ballpark
Tickets: Call (859) 422-7867
Major League affiliates: Houston Astros (Legends), Boston Red Sox
Alaniz
Cruz
Sogard
Quevedo
Probable pitchers (Legends listed first): Thursday, RH Ruben Alaniz (5-4, 4.78) vs. RH Keith Couch (2-1, 3.34); Friday, LH Luis Cruz (1-0, 2.04 vs. RH Chris Martin (4-0, 2.74); Saturday, RH Carlos Quevedo (5-3, 4.62) vs. RH Miguel Celestino (5-4, 4.43); Sunday, LH Alex Sogard (1-2, 4.58) vs. LH Manuel Rivera (4-3, 3.75).
Brandon Jacobs
Drive to watch: All-star LF Brandon Jacobs (6-foot-1, 225 pounds, from Snellville, Ga.) is batting .323 with nine homers, 39 RBI, 36 runs and 14 stolen bases over 57 games. He also has a .397 on-base and .529 slugging percentage. Selected by the Red Sox in the 10th round of the 2009 draft out of Parkview High School in Lilburn, Ga., he had been committed to play football (running back) for Auburn University. As a high school senior, he hit .511 with seven homers 16 RBI and a 1.307 slugging percentage. The Red Sox offered $750,000 to win out over Auburn and assigned him to their Gulf Coast League team, where he went 6-for-24 (.250) in eight games. Last year, with the Lowell Spinners of the New York-Penn League, Jacobs hit .242 with a team-leading six homers and 18 doubles. He also had 31 RBI and 30 runs over 64 games. Coming into this season, Baseball America rated him as the 27th-best prospect in Boston’s system.
Jorge DeLeon
Legend to watch: RHP Jorge DeLeon (6-0, 182, from La Cega Azua, Dominican Republic) saved 10 of the Legends’ 35 first-half wins. With a 1-3 record and 2.43 ERA, DeLeon has worked 29 2/3 innings over 21 games, with a 1.04 WHIP and 25 strikeouts to six walks. All this while holding opponents to a .214 batting average. His last eight appearances, spanning nine innings, he has not given up an earned runs, striking out nine and walking two. DeLeon has been toughest at home, where he is 1-1-4 with a 0.71 ERA. Signed by the Astros on May 30, 2006, as a non-drafted free agent, DeLeon played shortstop for his first four pro seasons before moving to the mound last year. His infielder days included a 43-game tour with the Legends in 2009, when he hit .187 and drove in nine runs. With the New York-Penn League’s Tri-City ValleyCats last season, DeLeon went 2-1 with six saves and a 0.64 ERA over 23 relief appearances. Armed with a top-end 98 mph fastball, he struck out 29, walked 12 and earned a spot on Houston’s 40-man roster. Coming into this season, Baseball America rated him as the 20th-best prospect in the Astros system.
Radio: WLXG AM-1300
