LYNX: STRENGTH UP MIDDLE WINS; CALLOWAY HANGS UP HIS GLOVE

The Lynx outscored heavy-hitting Buffalo 7-5 tonight (boxscore, play-by-play) with the meat of the order going a combined 2-for-18.

The up the middle guys got it done. Shortstop Danny Sandoval gets a hat tip. In the seventh, after his two-out error brought in Buffalo's tying run and stuck lefty J.A. Happ with a no-decision, he got a two-out hit that kept the inning alive for second baseman Joe Thurston's eventual game-winning two-run single. Thurston was on base four out of five times at bat.

Meantime, the catcher Jason Jaramillo ended the home ballpark home run drought somewhere around 7:40 p.m. and capped the night with a game-ending pickoff at second base to help Brian Sanches nail down the save despite a 22-pitch ninth inning. Lefty Matt Smith got the win.

For good measure, the centre-fielder, Chris Roberson, drove in a couple runs.

We'd like to imagine J.J.'s jack was a celestial comet, tracing a line across the mid-evening sky while the humble earthlings in the seats quivered with awe. You would think Buffalo's Jeff Harris would have surrendered to the moment, but the fact it was the long-awaited first Lynx long ball at the Stadium was lost on him, especially since JJ was swinging on a 3-0 pitch. Suffice it to say that Dusty Wathan, the next batter, got plunked.

CALLOWAY CALLS IT A CAREER

Lynx outfielder Ron Calloway, who'd seen his playing time reduced lately, retired today.

It couldn't have been an easy decision for the 31-year-old outfielder, who was hitting .200 with three RBI. The Lynx, who wrap up their set with Buffalo tonight (6:05, Rogers 22), don't owe him a picnic or day in his honour, but he was a decent enough ballplayer. Like a lot of the veteran position players in the International League, he probably just lacked the one special skill — fielding, speed, hitting for power — that can keep you in the majors. Baseball's like basketball. If you're exceptional in one area, you'll play. It's tough when you don't have that, especially when teams only have room for 13 position players on the 25-man roster.

That leaves Lou Collier as the only one left from the trio of second-time Lynx outfielders who were on the Opening Day roster. Logically, you would think Pedro Swann might be recalled from Double-A Reading. It's tempting to think the Phillies might decide that speedmeister Michael Bourn (he of the 19 at-bats all season) is too young to sit on the bench and send him to Ottawa, with Roberson moving to left field.

Related:
Ron Calloway career stats (The Baseball Cube)