ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Bryant's Travis Wood is starting to treat the Class AAA International League like he did the Class AA Carolina League earlier this season.
Wood, the son of Jay and Dena Wood, compiled a 9-3 record with a miniscule earned run average of 1.21 in 119 innings for the Carolina Mudcats before being called up to the Louisville Bats on July 25. On Tuesday, Aug. 11, he improved to 2-1 with Louisville by pitching six innings against the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs (Philadelphia Phillies) allowing just one run on six hits with three walks and a strikeout. Louisville won the game 2-1 at Coca-Cola Field with Wood scoring the go-ahead run in the sixth.[more]
Wood lowered his Class AAA earned run average to 2.55 in four starts at Louisville, covering 24 2/3 innings. He also raised his batting average to .400 with a 2-for-3 night at the plate.
The lefty got off to a bit of a rough start. With two down in the first, he allowed a single and a walk. Terry Tiffee, another Arkansas product, then lined a single to right but Louisville right fielder Darnell McDonald threw out the lead runner at the plate as he tried to score from second.
Lehigh Valley got its lone run in the second when John Mayberry Jr. grounded a single up the middle off Wood's glove. A base hit by Paul Hoover put runners at first and second but Wood induced a doubleplay ball that his teammates turned. With Mayberry at third, however, Brian Mazone beat out an infield hit to get the run home.
Louisville's Chris Helsey homered to tie the game in the top of the third.
Wood then retired the next six in a row including Major League veteran Miguel Cairo, Tiffee and Mayberry before walking two in the bottom of the fourth. But he got Mazone to fly to center to end the inning.
After working a 1-2-3 fifth, Wood pitched around a two-out single by Mayberry in the sixth.
The Bats took the lead in the top of the seventh and Wood instigated the uprising with a two-out single to left. He then stole second and scored what proved to be the decisive run on a double by Drew Stubbs.
Ramon Ramirez took over for Wood in the seventh, picking up a hold by working two scoreless innings to get it to Enerio Del Rosario in the ninth. He retired the side in order in the ninth for his second save.
Wood, by the way, had been expected to start on Saturday, Aug. 8, but was pushed back to Tuesday due to a re-hab start for Cincinnati Reds hurler Micah Owings.
