Charlie Morton pitched a real gem, Jed Lowrie came back swinging from his layoff,  Brent Clevlen clubbed two homers, Jaime Garcia is back on track and Colby Rasmus hit in his 10th straight.

INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE

Prospect Of The Day

Richmond righthander Charlie Morton (Braves) has been gaining steam all season, but with last night’s performance he took his profile to a new level. A third-round pick from a Connecticut high school in 2002, Morton struck out 13 Durham batters in eight shutout innings yesterday, walking one and allowing just a lone infield hit. His big game moved him to second in the league in both innings and strikeouts.

With the win, the 24-year-old Morton improved to 5-1, 1.70 (to maintain control of the IL ERA title) in 74 innings with 68 strikeouts, 24 walks and just 47 hits allowed. Better still, he hasn’t allowed a home run this season. If you think the Braves would be foolish not to call him up immediately, keep in mind than Morton hasn’t made it through a full season yet as a starter. He hasn’t had injury problems; he just has been demoted to the bullpen in most seasons. It seems that won’t be a problem this season.

Prospect Nuggets

Pawtucket SS Jed Lowrie (Red Sox) has hit in every game since coming back from a wrist injury, going 2-for-4 yesterday with a double, a run and an RBI. He’s batting .295/.392/.475 on the year . . . Like all of us, Toledo RF Brent Clevlen (Tigers) has his flaws. Clevlen strikes out a ton, but this season he’s balanced that by also hitting for a ton of power—more than he’s shown above A-ball. In connecting for two home runs yesterday (and going 2-for-3 with five RBIs and a walk), the 24-year-old improved his season line to .330/.415/.621 with 12 home runs. Clevlen now has hit in 14 straight games . . . Louisville LHP Matt Maloney (Reds) was on the other end of the Clevlen outburst, and he gave up a third homer to Jackson Melian. The Mud Hens are the slugging-est team in the league, though, and Maloney did manage to strike out eight in six innings. Unfortunately, he gave up those three home runs as part of a seven-hit, two-walk, six-run outing.

What To Watch For Today

Like last year, Durham and Richmond are battling for Southern Division supremacy. The clubs square off this afternoon, with the Braves trailing the Bulls by just a half game.

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

Prospect Of The Day

Memphis (Cardinals) boasts three of the youngest and most promising prospects at their positions in the entire PCL, and last night all three came up big in a win at Albuquerque. Considering context, lefthander Jaime Garcia, 22, had his best outing of the year, and continued trending in the right direction after a couple of poor starts. He struck out nine Isotopes in seven innings, walking two and allowing just two runs on three hits. His sinker was really sinking, as 11 of his 12 outs in play were recorded via groundout. Garcia’s two-start stretch in which he allowed nine runs in 10 innings is a distant memory.

Center fielder Colby Rasmus, 21, continued his climb out of the ditch he’d dug himself into by going 1-for-4 with a crucial two-run home run, his eighth. It also extended his hitting streak to 10 games and improved his ever-improving averages to .225/.323/.367. Catcher Bryan Anderson, also 21, chipped in an RBI single in going 1-for-4.

Prospect Nuggets

Omaha 1B Billy Butler (Royals) was 3-for-5 with a double (second), a triple (!), a run scored and two RBIs. He’s batting .364/.417/.545 in six games back in the minors . . . Oklahoma 2B German Duran (Rangers) connected for his first Triple-A home run and went 2-for-4 with two RBIs. His RedHawks teammate, C Taylor Teagarden, was 2-for-4 with his third home run.

What To Watch For Today

The PCL has the day off.