LYNX: BRIAN MAZONE, WE HARDLY KNEW YE

Lynx manager John Russell's style of sticking with his starter in tight spots paid off in today's 5-2 win (boxscore, play-by-play) in Louisville.

Starter Matt Childers, up 1-0, was labouring in the Bats sixth when Canada's own Joey Votto ripped his 103rd pitch of the day to right field for a double, putting runners on second and third with one out. Chris Dickerson worked a seven-pitch walk -- the second free pass of the inning issued on a 3-2 count -- to load the bases, but Childers was left in the game and struck out the next two hitters.

A manager might be more apt to get away with that in Triple-A, where fewer hitters have that home-run stroke and (many suspect, at least) they don't use the rabbit ball like in the majors. Either way, Russell looked smart for standing by Childers after the Lynx tacked on three runs in the seventh. It would be nice to see more managers not be so quick with the hook in those sixth- or seventh-inning situations.

Childers, who's now 4-1 with a 2.31 ERA (he also set up the game's first run with a two-out single) is probably the de facto veteran ace since left-hander Brian Mazone, the reigning International League ERA champ, has decided to try his luck in Korea.

Wouldn't you know it given the run of luck around these parts, righty reliever John Ennis, who got the win last night, is on the DL with a groin injury. To replace Mazone, the Lynx have added Heath Totten, who was 2-4 at Double-A Reading.

Also of note today: Lou Collier has had six hits and five RBI batting out of the 3-hole in the past two games, while Danny Sandoval's ninth-inning homer marked the first time the Lynx have gone yard in back-to-back games. And talk about a guy having a rough day: Louisville's Mike Edwards took the collar (0-for-5) and killed two rallies by striking out with runners on the corners in the fifth and hitting into a double play with the bases loaded vs. Kane Davis (who got his first save of '07) in the eighth.

One last thing: For those of you who enjoy Carl Kiiffner's Ottawa Lynx Blog, he'll soon be moving to http://ottawalynxblog.com/. The transition is underway.