HI NOTES: MU>MSU; Mathis > Pettite; Kinsler > Ruth & Gherig; Scherzer > Scherzer

Dusty Ross
KBIA Sports Extra

♦ Word on the Tweet:

Shawn Davis: The @MUTigerBaseball bullpen has given up just seven ERs in the last 11 games, spanning 45.1 innings. That's good for a 1.39 ERA.

Brandon Weiss: Hey @MUTigerBaseball fans: Missouri State got about 2,000 for the midweek game in Springfield.  Let's beat their attendance Wednesday night!

♦ In case you missed it, Hunter Mense interviewed Eric Anderson on the KTGR pre-game show on Saturday.   Anderson said, "I will be having surgery within the next couple of weeks. . . I think 'Tommy John' is most likely."

♦ Missouri Student Athlete Spotlight: Jake Walsh (big12sports.com)

Redemption stories are practically an American institution. Our youth grow up hearing the countries greatest tales of perseverance: Lincoln overcoming a losing senate campaign in 1858 to win the presidential election two years later, Edison taking more than 1,000 attempts to invent the lightbulb, Jordan going from once-cut sophomore to six-time NBA Champion. A "never give up" attitude is part of U.S. folklore, instilled in us by the media and the education system. Missouri Tigers reliever Jake Walsh must have paid close attention in class.

Walsh, a sophomore from Dallas, Texas, has become one of the great stories of the 2012 Missouri Tiger baseball team. Less than a year ago, Walsh was sitting in the stands of Taylor Stadium, watching his future teammates play the game he loved, doing whatever he could to stay close to the sport. Months earlier, he had been dealt the ultimate blow: the Missouri coaches decided his services were no longer needed on the team. He had been cut. His baseball career hung in the balance.

Read the rest HERE

MU IN THE MINORS

♦ PawSox send Pettite to Defeat (milb.com)

The Pawtucket Red Sox are back on the winning track. On Sunday afternoon in Rochester the PawSox downed the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees and Andy Pettitte 7-5 in front of 13,584 fans at Frontier Field. The Sox have won three straight. They earned the victory against the winningest pitcher in MLB postseason history, Andy Pettitte. Pettitte, making a bid to return to the New York Yankees lasted 5 innings, surrendering 8 hits and 5 runs, walking 2 and striking out 5. The lefthander threw 95 pitches.

The PawSox jumped on Pettitte for two runs in the first as Ryan Lavarnway and Lars Anderson picked up an RBI each. In the second, Jose Iglesias drew a bases loaded walk to make it 3-0. In the fourth, Tony Thomas and Pedro Ciriaco added an RBI apiece. Josh Kroeger homered in the eighth and in the ninth Lars Anderson doubled home a run to cap the scoring.

Doug Mathis earned his first win in a PawSox uniform. Mathis (1-2) gave up 3 runs in 5 innings. Justin Thomas, Junichi Tazawa and Garrett Mock worked the final 4 innings. Mock earned his fourth save jn 5 attempts.

MU IN THE MAJORS

♦ After rocky start, Tigers' Max Scherzer figures it out (Detroit News)

In his five starts this season, Tigers starter Max Scherzer has been up and down.

His last outing, a 6-2 loss at Yankee Stadium, included seven walks and three earned runs in 4 2/3 innings.

On Saturday afternoon, Scherzer had his best start of the season, going seven innings and allowing one run on four hits while racking up nine strikeouts. He was in line for his second win of the season, until closer Jose Valverde gave up a ninth-inning home run to Adam Dunn.

"Scherzer was terrific today. That's the Scherzer we need and that's the Scherzer we're capable of getting very often," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "He was absolutely terrific — really, really good."

♦ Move over Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig ... here comes Rangers' Ian Kinsler (fantasysp.com)

Calculating early-season paces are usually fruitless exercises.

But when a player's pace puts him on par with guys named Ruth and Gehrig, it catches your attention. In the case of second baseman Ian Kinsler, who began Thursday tied for the Major League lead in runs scored, the pace is truly historic.

Kinsler and Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers have each scored 27 runs in their first 25 games. Multiply that out over 150 games played out of a 162-game schedule, and you get 162 runs. Multiply it over 155 games, and it jumps to 167. Either way, it puts them on pace to join rarified company