FOR GAMES OF 08/10/02 by Matt Santillo and David J. Decter CHARLOTTE (INT) RHP JON RAUCH matched a franchise record with 11 strikeouts in the Knights' 7-0 triumph over Norfolk. Rauch allowed just two hits and a pair of walks over seven scoreless innings to improve to 4-2 with a 2.64 ERA in his last six starts. The 23-year-old induced a double play to end the first inning and retired the next six batters, including five by strikeout. He fanned three in a row between the fourth and fifth and struck out three of the final four hitters of his outing, tying Joel Adamson, who recorded 11 strikeouts for Charlotte on August 25, 1995. Rauch now has four 10-plus strikeout performances in his four-year career, including a two-hit shutout with a career-high 14 strikeouts on August 29, 2000 for Birmingham of the Class AA Southern League. A third-round selection of the White Sox in 1999, the 6-1, 230-pound hurler is 6-7 with a 4.64 ERA in 16 starts, striking out 79 batters in 87 1/3 innings.

NORWICH (EAST) RHP JULIO DE PAULA recorded his fourth complete-game win of the season in the Navigators' 2-1 triumph over New Britain. De Paula yielded a run and four hits with three walks and seven strikeouts, improving to 3-0 with a 2.31 ERA in his last four starts. The 23-year-old pitched three straight complete-game victories between June 22-July 4, including a three-hitter on June 22. The 6-1, 180-pound pitcher, who retired 15 of 16 batters between the second and seventh frames, improved to 11-6 with a 3.85 ERA over 23 outings in his first season of Class AA ball. The Dominican native has allowed 122 hits with a league-leading 128 strikeouts through 145 innings of his sixth season as a pro. LHP BRENT HOARD allowed just two runs and four hits with five strikeouts in an eight-inning, complete-game loss, falling to 10-6 with a 4.00 ERA in 27 games with the Rock Cats.

ELSEWHERE IN THE MINOR LEAGUES

ASHEVILLE (SAL) OF TONY MILLER hit a game-winning home run in the bottom of the 12th inning to lift the Tourists over Kannapolis, 4-3. With two outs in the frame, Miller connected on his 13th longball of the season off of LHP RYAN MEAUX. The 21-year-old, who entered the 12th frame hitless in five at-bats with a pair of strikeouts, is batting just .217 with a pair of longballs and four RBI in his last 11 games. 3B ASHLEY FREEMAN homered in the second inning and tied the score at 3-3 with a run-scoring double in the sixth for Asheville.

CEDAR RAPIDS (MID) LHP JOE TORRES won his third straight start, tossing seven strong innings in the Kernals' 8-1 victory over Beloit. Torres yielded an unearned run and four hits, striking out five and walking one, to improve to 11-6 with a 3.03 ERA in 21 outings. After giving up a career-most eight earned runs in a loss to Lansing on July 4, the 19-year-old is 4-1 with a 1.26 ERA and an opponents batting average of .230 over his last five starts.

DELMARVA (SAL) RHP PAT HENTGEN threw five solid innings in the Shorebirds' 1-0 loss to Augusta. Hentgen, down in the minors recovering from elbow surgery, allowed a run and four hits over five innings for the loss. The 33-year-old also struck out four, walked a batter and hit one. This was the second rehab outing for Hentgen. He threw three scoreless innings in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League on August 5. Since signing a two-year contract with Baltimore in December of 2000, Hentgen has only made nine major-league starts, all last season.

LOUISVILLE (INT) 3B CHRIS SEXTON scored a run in his 12th consecutive game as the Bats lost to Columbus, 5-2. Sexton led off the fourth inning with his sixth longball of the season, reaching home plate 16 times over his last 12 games. The 31-year-old is batting .413 (19-for-46) with three doubles, a pair of triples, four homers and 10 RBI during his streak, which began July 28. For the season, he is hitting .331 with 111 hits, 23 doubles, 40 RBI and 67 runs in 88 games.

MEDICINE HAT (PIO) OF ERIK RICO went 3-for-4 with a home run and six RBI in a 7-2 victory over Idaho Falls. Rico, who entered the contest with just nine RBI in his first 38 games, singled home a run in both the fourth and sixth frames. In the eighth, he followed a pair of walks and single with his first career grand slam. Rico is a recent 22nd-round pick out of Cornell University.

MYRTLE BEACH (CARO) RHP KENNY NELSON pitched eight scoreless innings of a combined shutout in the Pelicans' 3-0 triumph at Lynchburg. Nelson scattered five hits, issued a pair of walks and fanned two batters to improve to 3-1 with a 1.17 ERA in his last four starts. The 20-year-old retired the first seven batters and induced a double play in both the third and eighth frames. A second-round selection of the Braves in 2000, the 6-2, 200-pounder is 9-5 with the second-best ERA in the league at 1.92 over 20 starts this season. The Maryland native has allowed 82 hits with 86 strikeouts in 117 innings of his third year as a pro. RHP KEVIN BARRY struck out the side in the ninth for his 25th save of the season, the second most in the league. Selected in the 2001 draft, the 23-year-old has not allowed a run over his 12 2/3 innings and recorded 13 saves over his last 15 outings.

PAWTUCKET (INT) 1B JUAN DIAZ homered in the bottom of the ninth inning, one of three players that went deep, to help the Red Sox edge Buffalo, 4-3. Diaz belted his 15th home run of the season in the ninth inning, sealing the victory for Pawtucket. SS FREDDY SANCHEZ drilled a solo shot, his first with the Red Sox, back-to-back with OF JEFF ABBOTT to tie the score at 2-2 in the third. Sanchez also laced a two-out, RBI single in the eighth frame that tied the score at 3-3, giving Diaz the chance for heroics in the ninth.

SALT LAKE (PCL) OF LARRY BARNES homered twice and matched a career-high with six RBI in the Stingers' 7-3 victory over Tucson. Barnes crushed a grand slam in the first inning and belted a two-run shot in the seventh for his fourth multi-homer game of the season. The 28-year-old last recorded six RBI on September 1, 1996 for Cedar Rapids of the Class A Midwest League. The lefthander is batting .302 with 110 hits, 20 doubles, eight triples, 17 homers and 76 RBI in 93 games this season. OF NATHAN HAYNES doubled in the first inning and singled in the second, extending his hitting streak to 20 games. The 22-year-old is batting .366 (30-for-82) with six doubles, four triples and two home runs during his streak, which began on July 19.

TACOMA (PCL) 1B NATE ROLISON smacked a pinch-hit homer in the ninth inning to help the Rainiers edge New Orleans, 8-7. Rolison, who entered the game 0-for-1 as a pinch-hitter with Tacoma, followed a solo blast from 1B RON WRIGHT that tied the score at 7-7 with his sixth longball of the season, sealing the win for the Rainiers in dramatic fashion.

TRENTON (EAST) LHP CHRIS ELMORE picked up his sixth win in his last eight starts, helping the Thunder down Binghamton, 5-1. Elmore yielded a run and three hits with three walks and a season-high seven strikeouts over six innings to improve to 6-1 with a 2.59 ERA since June 28. The 25-year-old retired the side in order in the first inning and nine of 10 between the third and fifth frames. He also matched a career-high strikeout total, which he last recorded on July 30, 2000 for Lowell of the Short-Season New York-Penn League. The 6-1, 195-pound West Virginia native improved to 8-2 with a 2.34 ERA in 14 outings this season. A 17th-round selection of the Red Sox in 2000, Elmore has allowed 76 hits, including just one homer, and struck out 57 batters in 84 2/3 innings of his third season as a pro.