Mark Maloney on Kentucky sports

South Atlantic League baseball

Coming up

Lexington Legends vs. Hickory Crawdads

What: Four-game series

When: Tuesday through Friday (7:05 each night)

Where: Applebee’s Park

Tickets: (859) 422-7867

Probable pitchers (Legends listed first): Tuesday, LH Brad Dydalewicz (7-5, 4.02) vs. RH Wilfredo Boscan (6-7, 3.51); Wednesday, RH Robert Bono (8-8, 3.40) vs. RH Joe Wieland (4-5, 5.53); Thursday, RH Ross Seaton (8-10, 3.39) vs. RH Wilmer Font (7-2, 3.32); Friday, LH David Duncan (3-3, 4.50) vs. RH Jake Brigham (2-8, 5.42).

Matthew West

Crawdad to watch: 3B Matthew West (6-foot-1, 215 pounds, from Bellaire, Texas) is hitting .234 with five homers, 50 RBI and 10 stolen bases over 120 games (through Sunday). He leads active Crawdads in hits (97), runs (59), walks (48), doubles (24) and total bases (140). Selected by the Texas Rangers in the second round of the 2007 draft, when he was 18, West hit .301 and hit 17 homers in 29 games for the Arizona Rangers that year. However, he also was suspended for 50 games after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug. In 2008, with Spokane of the Northwest League, West hits .258 with four homers and 30 RBI over 67 games.

Matt Nevarez

Legend to watch: RHP Matt Nevarez (6-5, 220, from San Fernando, Calif.) was assigned to the Legends last week after the Houston Astros acquired him from Texas as part of the deal that sent C Ivan Rodriguez back to the Rangers. Through Sunday, Nevarez has pitched twice for the Legends, giving up no runs and two hits over 1 1/3 innings, striking out three. Selected by Texas in the 10th round of the 2005 draft, out of San Fernando High School, Nevarez had been with the Crawdads all season prior to the trade. With Hickory, he was 1-4 with nine saves and a 2.83 ERA. In 34 relief appearances covering 35 innings, he walked 15 and struck out 50, holding opponents to a .177 batting average. Besides being ranked among the top 200 draft prospects by Baseball America in 2005, Nevarez was an all-city football players and all-league basketball player in high school. Last season, with Spokane, Nevarez compiled a 4-2 record and 4.36 ERA over 16 games, including seven starts.

Radio: WLXG AM-1300

Also of note: The four-game series against the Crawdads is the start of Lexington’s final homestand of the season. The home season closes with a three-game series against the Greenville Drive, Saturday through Monday. … Hitting coach for the Crawdads is Brian Dayett, who held the same position with the Legends in 2004, when Ivan DeJesus served as manager. … The Legends are on track to surpass 300,000 in home attendance for the ninth year in a row (every season since joining the SAL).

Promotions during the final homestand:

Tuesday — Quarter Hot Dog Night and Kraft Singles Night

Wednesday — Ladies Night

Thursday — Thirsty Thursday

Friday — AT&T Advertising Solutions Game Day and Champion Window Giveaway

Saturday — Fireworks Night; Bucket Boys; Fan Appreciation Night

Sunday — Kids Club Sunday

Monday — Dollar Day and Kids Eat Free

South Atlantic League baseball

Coming up

Lexington Legends vs. Asheville Tourists

What: Four-game series

When: Saturday through Tuesday (7:05 Saturday, Monday and Tuesday nights; 2:05 Sunday afternoon)

Where: Applebee’s Park

Tickets: Call (859) 422-7867

Probable pitchers (Legends listed first): Saturday, RH Ross Seaton (8-8, 2.67) vs. RH Dan Houston (5-8, 3.95); Sunday, LH David Duncan (1-3, 4.40) vs. RH Jonnathan Aristil (2-6, 4.70); Monday, RH Kyle Greenwalt (7-10, 3.81) vs. TBA; Tuesday, Jordan Lyles (6-10, 3.44) vs. TBA.

Tourist to watch: LF Scott Robinson (6-foot, 185 pounds, from McDonough, Ga.) leads the Tourists in runs (71), hits (124), doubles (27), stolen bases (37), games (97) and at-abats (391). He’s batting .317 with three homers and 31 RBI. Selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 30th round of the 2006 draft, Robinson played the 2007 season for the Casper Ghosts of the Pioneer League, compiling a .240 average, five homers, 25 RBI and 10 steals over 50 games. Last year, with the Tri-City Dust Devils of the Northwest League, he hit .268 with six homers, 25 RBI and 15 steals over 59 games.

Antonio Noguera

Legend to watch: LHP Antonio Noguera (6-3, 194, from Caracas, Venezuela) joined the Legends last week, promoted from the Tri-City ValleyCats of the New York-Penn League. The southpaw has made a pair of one-inning, shutout relief appearances for the Legends, with combined totals of one hit, one walk and one striketout. In 14 games with the ValleyCats, Noguera compiled a 2-0 record and 3.62 ERA, with eight walks to 21 strikeouts over 27 1/3 innings. Signed by the Houston Astros as a non-drafted free agent in September of 2004, when he was 16, Noguera also pitched for Tri-City last season. There, he was 2-8 with a 7.59 ERA over 15 games, including 13 starts. He walked 21 and struck out 24 over 53 1/3 innings. 

Radio: WLXG AM-1300

Jordan Lyles

Also of note: Jordan Lyles, scheduled to start Tuesday’s game for the Legends, is on Baseball America’s “Prospect Hot Sheet” this week. … Members of the Breathitt County Junior Red Cross Club will attend Saturday’s game. When massive flooding took place in Eastern Kentucky last May, club members voted to use all available funds to help those affected by the floods. That included money for the club’s annual trip to a Legends game, which is a reward to students for their service. Officials from several agencies, including the Legends, Central Bank and

Patrick Urckfitz

Jay Austin

Trust, Aramark and the Bluegrass Chapter of the American Red Cross stepped in to fund Saturday’s trip. … Fans are invited to come early for Tuesday’s game and take part in the Family Fun Fest, just outside the ballpark gates. The Fun Fest, free to the public opens at 4 p.m. More than 20 attractions will be available, including batting and pitching cages, bungee runs, super slides, bounce houses, video arcade, a “rookie

Andy Simunic

zone” and a minor-league museum. Fans also can put their own photos on free souvenir baseball cards or on a Sports Illustrated for Kids magazine cover. … Legends players of the month for July, as selected by the coaching staff, are LH Patrick Urckfitz (Pitcher), CF Jay Austin (Offensive) and IF Andy Simunic (Defensive). Urckfitz was 1-0 with a 0.77 ERA over 10 relief appearnaces. Austin was 31-for-107 (.290) with nine extra-base hits, 10 RBI and eight steals over 26 games. Simunic has a .973 fielding percentage (five errors in 184 chances) over 51 games this season. … Former Legends picking up team Player of the Month honors in the Astros system include: Round Rock Express OF Brian Bogusevic (Offensive); Corpus Christi Hooks IF Jhon Florentino (Defensive); and Lancaster JetHawks RH Leandro Cespedes (Pitcher). … Mike Tauser’s “Farmstros Five” of the week: Gulf Coast League Astros IF Enrique Hernandez; Lyles; Lancaster OF/C Koby Clemens; Corpus Christi OF Drew Locke; and “top performer” Wilton Lopez, RHP for Corpus Christi.