TRIPLE-A

HIGHS: There were two excellent pitching matchups across the minors on Friday, one of which took place in Rochester as Twins righthander Kevin Slowey met up with Rays 6-foot-9 righthander Jeff Niemann. Both pitched well, but Slowey emerged the victor in the Red Wings’ 3-0 win. Slowey scattered seven hits over eight shutout innings, struck out seven and did not allow a walk in the victory. Niemann allowed three runs on six hits and struck out seven over six innings of work . . . Triple-A has been fun for Giants outfielder Brian Horwitz since he was called up earlier in the week. Horwitz went 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles in Fresno’s 6-1 win against Salt Lake. Signed as a nondrafted free agent in 2004, the 24-year-old batted .309/.371/.390 in 136 at-bats at Double-A Connecticut this season . . . Reds first baseman Joey Votto continues to heat up at Louisville. The 2002 second-round pick went 3-for-5 with a pair of RBIs in the Bats’ 10-1 win against Buffalo to improve his overall numbers to .319/.426/.503 and is currently riding a 17-game hit streak—collecting two hits or more in 12 of those 17 games.

LOWS: Only one low at this level, but it’s low enough to stand alone. Blue Jays righthander Josh Banks lasted just one inning in Syracuse’s 10-4 loss to Pawtucket, allowing 10 runs—all earned—on 11 hits. The 2003 second-round pick saw his ERA jump nearly two full points after that brief outing . . . to 5.47.

DOUBLE-A

HIGHS: Rays catcher John Jaso has been crazy hot lately and that trend continued in Montgomery’s 14-5 loss to Mississippi. Jaso, a 12th-round pick in 2003, doubled and homered, improving his overall numbers to .339/.423/.540 in 124 at-bats . . . Altoona manager Tim Lieper said back in the middle of April that there was nothing to worry about with Andrew McCutchen’s struggles, and slowly it appears as if the 11th overall pick in 2005 is beginning to put something together. McCutchen went 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored in the Curve’s 8-7 loss to Bowie, and while his average is creeping toward .200, the 20-year-old recorded his 10th double of the season.

LOWS: Phillies lefty Matt Maloney hasn’t been very good in May. Maloney, who allowed four runs on nine hits over six innings in Reading’s 9-5 loss to Portland, is 1-3, 5.65 this month . . . Cubs righthander Mark Holliman got hammered in Tennessee’s 8-4 loss to Jacksonville. Holliman, a 2005 third-rounder, allowed eight runs on 11 hits over 5 2/3 innings . . . Luis Munoz isn’t someone on most radars across the minors, but the 25-year-old Dominican had been emerging in Altoona . . . until his last two starts, that is. Or maybe he just doesn’t like facing Bowie. Munoz allowed five runs on 10 hits against the Bay Sox in his last start on May 19, and didn’t make it out of the first inning against them on Friday. Munoz allowed seven runs on seven hits in just 2/3 of an inning. This season, Munoz is 5-2, 3.97 in 48 innings.

HIGH CLASS A

HIGHS: The other pitching matchup worth watching in the minors on Friday pitted Tampa righthander Ian Kennedy against Devil Rays lefty Jacob McGee. And the two were near-mirror images of each other at least based on the numbers. Kennedy, who piled up 20 strikeouts over his last two starts, allowed a pair of runs on five hits and fanned eight over five innings. McGee allowed two runs on four hits and struck out eight over six innings in the Yankees’ 5-2 win . . . Go figure: it was a night for pitchers in the Florida State League, as Marlins lefthander Aaron Thompson struck out 10 over seven innings in Jupiter’s 3-0 win against Clearwater, and Brewers righthander Will Inman whiffed 12 over six innings in Brevard County’s 3-1 win against Sarasota.

LOWS: OK, so I was wrong. At the beginning of the season, I said in a chat that this would be a comeback year for Cubs first baseman Brian Dopirak. But after hitting .218/.247/.269 with virtually no power (one homer, one double) in 78 at-bats, the Cubs reassigned Dopirak to the FSL, where he’s hitting just .125 in his first 32 at-bats . . . Angels righthander Stephen Marek got roughed up in Rancho Cucamonga’s 9-3 loss to Bakersfield, allowing five runs on five hits and walking six over four innings.

LOW CLASS A

HIGHS: You had to figure it’d only be a matter of time until the bats would come around in Great Lakes, as the majority of the Loons’ roster had never played full season ball before this year. Friday, third baseman Josh Bell homered and shortstop Preston Mattingly showed signs of emerging from his season-long doldrums. Mattingly went 3-for-5 with a homer, triple and double in the Loons’ victory against Lansing. Another fun fact about Great Lakes? The young club features seven switch-hitters . . . Chris Marrero delivered a walk-off homer in the bottom of the 12th inning in Hagerstown’s 9-8 win against Delmarva. It was Marrero’s 12th jack of the season . . . A 2006 19th-round pick, Angels outfielder Chris Pettit is quietly having a nice season in Cedar Rapids. Pettit went 3-for-5 with two doubles—giving him 20 on the year—in the Kernels’ 7-3 win against Kane County. Pettit is now hitting .359/.415/.583 with five homers and 25 RBIs in 156 at-bats . . . Third base, second base, it doesn’t matter for Lake County infielder Jared Goedert. The Indians swapped positions between Goedert and Adam Davis about a week ago and Goedert hasn’t allowed the move to affect his offense. The pair combined to go 6-for-10 with eight RBIs in the Captains’ 12-9 win against Lakewood, with Goedert hitting his 16th homer.

LOWS: Cardinals righthander Blake King didn’t have much fun riding the piggyback system in Quad Cities’ 5-2 loss to Beloit. King walked four and allowed four runs, maxing out his pitch count in just 2/3 of an inning . . . Athletics righthander Scott Deal didn’t do much dealing in Kane County’s loss to Cedar Rapids. The 2005 fifth-round pick allowed seven earned runs on 13 hits over just five innings.