Who’s hot
JONATHAN DAVIS (High-A Blue Jays), who had been in a slump the past two weeks, saw his batting average rise from.227 to .247 in the past 7 games. Davis is 10 for 33 (.303) in his past 10 games through Thursday, hitting 2 home runs while scoring 6 runs and driving in 9. He went 3 for 4 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored Wednesday in a 12-5 loss to the Lakeland (Fla.) Flying Tigers (High-A Tigers).
D.J. BAXENDALE (AA Twins) earned a victory Wednesday as the Chattanooga Lookouts beat the Tennessee Smokies (AA Cubs) 6-2. Baxendale allowed both Tennessee runs on 4 hits with no walks and 1 strikeout over 6 2/3 innings.
Who’s not
BRIAN ANDERSON (High-A Marlins) saw his batting average drop from .324 to .313 in the past 7 games. Anderson scored 1 run on 5 hits, including a double, with 2 RBI.
JALEN BEEKS (High-A Red Sox) took the loss Wednesday as the Salem Red Sox lost to the Potomac Nationals (High-A Nationals) 5-2. Beeks allowed 3 earned runs on 9 hits with no walks and 3 strikeouts in 6 innings.
News and notes
Outfielder Brett Eibner (Arkansas Razorbacks) was called up to the Kansas City Royals from Class AAA Omaha on Thursday. Eibner took the roster spot of third baseman Mike Moustakas, who was placed on the disabled list with a torn ACL in his right knee. Eibner went 1 for 3 with 1 run scored and 2 strikeouts in his major-league debut Friday as the Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 7-5. He followed that up Saturday by going 2 for 5 with the game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the ninth as the Royals scored seven runs to beat the White Sox 8-7.
Pitcher Ashur Tolliver (Sylvan Hills) was called up to the Baltimore Orioles from Class AA Bowie, Md., on Tuesday and made his major-league debut Thursday. He went 1 2/3 innings, didn’t allow a hit or an earned run, but had 3 strikeouts in the Orioles’ 4-2 loss to the Houston Astros in Houston. Tolliver, 28, had a 1-1 record and 2 saves with a 2.42 ERA in 18 appearances for Bowie. He was drafted in the fifth round of the 2009 draft by the Orioles after transferring to the NAIA Oklahoma City Stars from UALR and was a nonroster invitee to the Orioles’ spring training camp.
It’s not often that pitchers with Arkansas ties face each other at the major-league level, but this season’s first occurrence happened Tuesday night as Mike Bolsinger (Razorbacks) took on Daniel Wright (Arkansas State), who was making his major-league debut for the Cincinnati Reds after being called up from Class AAA Louisville on Monday. Bolsinger, who was recalled by the Dodgers from Class AAA Oklahoma City on Tuesday, earned the victory as the Dodgers beat the Reds 8-2. He allowed both Reds runs on 3 hits with 1 walk and 6 strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings. Wright took the loss, allowing 4 runs — 3 earned — on 7 hits with 1 walk and 4 strikeouts in 51/3 innings. He is scheduled to make his second start for the Reds on Monday against the Colorado Rockies in Denver.
Outfielder David Harris (Southern Arkansas) was one of four minor-leaguers suspended May 20 after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Harris, 24, was suspended for 76 games. He appeared in 21 games for Class A Dunedin, Fla., batting .183 with 1 home run and 10 RBI. Harris is the third player in the Blue Jays organization to be suspended this season for PEDs. Toronto first baseman Chris Colabello was suspended 80 games, while pitcher Clinton Hollon of the Class A Lansing (Mich.) Lugnuts was banned for 50 games.
Around the horn
Outfielder Kyle Robinson (Razorbacks), who re-signed with the independent Kansas City T-Bones in the offseason, decided to retire before the team’s season started last week. T-Bones radio broadcaster Nathan Moore did not give any reasons for Robinson’s decision, nor did he have any information on where Robinson is now. Robinson, 27, hit .254 with 8 home run and 44 RBI in 55 games for Kansas City last season before going on the disabled list. … First baseman Logan Uxa (Arkansas State) was released by the Class A Delmarva Shorebirds of the Baltimore Orioles organization on Tuesday. Uxa, 25, was placed on the disabled list before the season started with an undisclosed injury. He hit .243 with 7 home runs and 35 RBI in 72 games for the Shorebirds last season. … Pitcher Torey Desahzier (Arkansas Baptist/Pine Bluff) got his first victory of the season Tuesday as the Lexington Legends (A Royals) beat the Kannapolis Intimidators (A White Sox) 3-1. Deshazier scattered 4 hits over 3 1/3 innings with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts. … Pitcher Zac Treece (Ouachita Baptist/Hot Springs) earned a victory and two saves in the span of four days for the independent River City Rascals of O’Fallon, Mo. Treece earned the victory May 18 as the Rascals defeated the Florence Freedom 4-2. He allowed 2 hits and had 2 strikeouts in 2 innings. He picked up his first save the next day, allowing 2 hits with 4 strikeouts and 1 walk over 1 2/3 innings as River City beat Florence 6-5. Treece got a second save May 21 in River City’s 11-8 victory over the Gateway Grizzlies, in which he allowed 2 hits with 4 strikeouts and 1 walk over 1 2/3 innings.