Zephs vs. Portland Game #41 Preview

The Zephs open a four-game set tonight in Portland against the Beavers, AAA affiliate of San Diego. In sum:

The Teams:
May 24, 9:05 CT
New Orleans Zephyrs: 17-24, last in the PCL South
Portland Beavers: 18-25, last in the PCL North

The series pits perhaps the two worst teams in the PCL against each other, so someone is going to win some games. The Zs are 9-11 in May and have lost four straight and six out of eight. Portland is an atrocious 8-15 in May.

The Pitching Matchup:
Brad Stone (4.42 ERA) vs. Cesar Carillo (3.22 ERA)
Stone had a couple solid starts early in the month, but has been knocked around in his last two appearances, the most recent in relief. Carillo is a fringey prospect; he's a 2005 first-round pick of the Pads who labored through 150 innings of 4.5 ERA ball last season with Portland and San Antonio. This year he's been quite good, really only having one bad outing on April 27 against Fresno. He's only given up one HR this year.

FYI:
Portland's bullpen ace Ernesto Frieri has been neigh unhittable. His opponents' batting average is .103 and he has limited righthanded hitters to one hit total.

Check back later with Mr.Z for in-game updates.