Minor League Report

RICHMOND The Richmond Braves send Zach Miner to the mound tonight in Rochester to try and snap a four-game losing streak. Miner will take on left-hander Dave Gassner.

Richmond went 11-17 in the month of May and is now 20-32 on the season, 8.5 games back of Norfolk in the International League's South Division.

Here are how some of the Richmond players performed in May: Andy Marte - .297 BA with 5 homers, 17 RBI in 91 AB Billy McCarthy - .250 BA with 2 homers, 11 RBI in 100 AB Tony Pena, Jr. - .248 BA with 1 homer, 9 RBI in 105 AB

MISSISSIPPI

Mississippi rounded out the month of May with a four-game winning streak. They take that stretch into tonight's game with Huntsville tonight at 8:05 as Matt Coenen goes to the mound against Stars' lefty Manny Parra. Coenen is second in the league in ERA with a 2.70 mark.

The Braves were 18-11 in May after a tough April. They are now 25-27, two games back of Birmingham in the Sally League's South Division.

Scott Thorman has a 15-game hitting streak (.355, 22-62). His average is now at .311 and he is second in the league in RBI with 42. He's also third in the league with 64 hits, and tied for 12th in Batting Average with a .311 mark. Scott hit .307 in May with 4 home runs and 25 RBI in 114 at bats.

Jeff Francoeur hit .281 in May with 4 home runs and 22 RBI in May. He also had 9 walks last month - compared to 3 in April. Francoeur is now seventh in the league in RBI with 38 and second in the league with 19 doubles.

Brian McCann is 11th in the Southern League in on base percentage with a .514 mark. He hit .271 in May with 2 home runs and 9 RBI in 85 at bats.

Wes Timmons is tied with Scott Thorman for 11th in the league in batting average with a .311 clip. He's also third in on base percentage with a .433 mark. Timmons currently has a four-game hitting streak (7 for his last 13). He hit .281 in May in 89 at bats.

Outfielder Onil Joseph continues his hot hitting. He currently has a four-game hitting streak (8 for his last 12). Onil had a productive May, hitting .276 and driving in 21 runs in 87 at bats.

Jonathan Schuerholz also had an impressive month of May, hitting .281 in 89 at bats.

Anthony Lerew has been great in his last two starts. He's 2-0 with an ERA of 0.75. Anthony has allowed nine hits in 12 innings, one run, five walks, and nine strikeouts.

Matt Wright has also been tough in his last two starts. He's 2-0 and has allowed 11 hits and 1 run in 14 innings, with one walk, and 10 strikeouts.

Blaine Boyer has done well since his switch to the bullpen, pitching three scoreless innings. The Braves believe this switch is very similar to the one made by Roman Colon two years ago.

MYRTLE BEACH

Myrtle Beach has a 12:00 noon game in Winston-Salem today as Brady Endl (3-3, 1.92) goes for the Pelicans against righty Charles Haeger (7-1, 2.51). Endl leads the Carolina League with his 1.92 ERA. He went 2-1 in five starts in May with a 0.84 ERA (18 hits allowed in 32 innings, 13 walks, 32 K's).

The Pelicans went 12-17 in May and are now 25-27 on the season, five games back of Kinston in the Carolina League's Southern Division.

Myrtle Beach struggled offensively in May hitting only .236 as a team. Martin Prado hit only .234 in May in 107 at bats, and while Josh Burrus hit only .248 he did hit 3 home runs and drive in 21. Burrus leads the Carolina League with 13 stolen bases. He's also tied for fifth in the league with 15 doubles.

Matt Esquivel hit .312 in May in 77 at bats, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit .287 with 2 homers and 11 RBI in 87 at bats. Steve Doetsch continued his solid play with a .292 May average.

ROME

Rome improved dramatically in May, going 18-11 for the month. They'll send lefty Matt Harrison to the mound tonight in game three of their four-game series with Kannapolis. The Braves are 3-3 on their eight-game road trip and are now 4.5 games back of Charleston with their 29-23 record.

Van Pope really helped himself in May, hitting .278 with 4 home runs and 17 RBI. But Johan Silva struggled mightily, hitting only .119 in 59 at bats. Keith Eichas hit only .225 in 80 at bats, but Clint Sammons continued his solid offensive season with a .323 mark in May.

Bill Shanks has a new book out on baseball scouting and player development with the Braves as the main focus. "Scout's Honor: The Bravest Way To Build A Winning Team" is out on the shelves now. Bill can be reached at [e-mail].