LYNX: RUSHFORD PITCHES IN ON LONG NIGHT

The Lynx can at least they say they had a lefty pitcher start and finish a game, just not necessarily the same one.

Outfielder Jim Rushford, who was a pitcher (mostly) in his first year of pro ball in 1996 with the Dubois County Dragons of the Heartland League (don't look for it, it's not there anymore) manfully mopped up in the eighth inning of tonight's 20-11 drubbing (boxscore, play-by-play) vs. the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees. That let the Lynx, the fastest team to 50 losses (84 games) in Triple-A, save some pitching for today's doubleheader vs. the ScranYanks. Rushford had a night -- he was the only one of the 18 starters not to get a hit, and he ended up pitching in a game for the first time since 1999.

It was kind of bad. The ScranYanks tagged lefty J.A. Happ (1-3, 4.97) seven runs in just two-thirds of an inning and had three different double-digit leads. Hey, the great part about baseball is every day you get to start back at zero.

Gary Burnham was on base all five times at bat and had collective five RBI as he pushed his on-base percentage all the way up to .405. Burnham, with 24 doubles through the team's first 84 games, has a chance to break the club record of 35 two-baggers set by Derek Lee in 1994 and tied last season by Keith Reed. OK, that's not much, but after a team loses by a CFL score, take the positives any way you can.