Duffy Does It Again; Church to DL

DANNY DUFFY stretched his perfect [no earned runs] stretch past the 10-inning mark Monday night as he handcuffed the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in Class A Midwest League play.

If there was a question whether Duffy had learned from his blue-chip performance last Wednesday against Clinton, there was no doubt after his five innings tonight in a 6-4 Burlington victory.

Duffy threw five innings. He gave up a total of two hits. He struck out eight, a big jump from the three on Wednesday. He walked nobody. He received credit for the victory just as he had on Wednesday.

The only smudge on the outing was the second inning in which the Rattlers tallied two unearned runs. Duffy lowered his ERA which was above eight five days ago to 4.43.

In the second a two-out double scored two runners who by rights should have been back in the dugout on a double play. With the two on base, the first on a leadoff single, and nobody out Duffy got a strike out and a line drive out. That’s already four outs. The runs were unearned.

All four of Duffy’s other innings went 1-2-3, three up, three down. Combining his last two starts Duffy has allowed only three hits in 10 2/3 innings. In those innings he has struck out 11 and walked three.

Also significant is the fact that Duffy’s Bees won none of their four games since Duffy started last Wednesday. He may become their streak-breaker.

His next start, barring rain, could come on Saturday at Peoria.

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Church to Disabled List

NEW YORK -- Mets general manager Omar Minaya said Monday that outfielder RYAN CHURCH will be placed on the 15-day disabled list before Tuesday's game because of lingering effects from a concussion suffered May 20 in Atlanta.

Minaya, speaking at the Mets Foundation "Teammates in the Community" charity fundraiser in Greenwich, Conn., said Church saw a neurologist Monday and the decision then was made to rest the right fielder.

"It's not like he has headaches, no dizzy spells, none of the symptoms he had before," Minaya said, "but he just doesn't feel, in his words, 100 percent."

Church will be placed on the DL retroactive to last Friday, a day after Church last played in a game vs. the Padres. Church is hitting .300 with 10 home runs and 35 RBIs, but is 2-for-11 with six strikeouts since the injury.