Eastern League news and notes
Pittsburgh Pirates OF Chris Duffy was hitting .275 (11-for-40) with one homer, two RBIs and five runs scored in the first 13 games of his rehabilitation assignment with the Altoona Curve.
Three Pirates have had rehab assignments with the Curve this season, including catcher Ryan Doumit and shortstop Jack Wilson.
Catching prospect Matt Weiters was promoted to the Bowie Baysox on June 27 after a standout first half with the Single-A Frederick Keys of the Carolina League. Baseball America ranked him the No. 1 prospect in the Baltimore Orioles’ system entering the season. Weiters was selected by the Orioles as the No. 5 overall pick in the June 2007 draft. He earned his Double-A promotion after hitting .342 with 14 homers and 38 RBIs in 68 games with Frederick. He was selected to the Carolina League All-Star Game and went 1-for-2 with one RBI in a 3-1 win over the California League All-Stars. Weiters had a standout college career at Georgia Tech, where he was a first-team All-America selection in 2006 and 2007.
Harrisburg Senators outfielder Roger Bernadina was promoted to the Washington Nationals on June 27 and made his major league debut the following day, starting in center field at National Park against the Baltimore Orioles.
Bernadina, 24, singled in his first big league at-bat.
At the time of his promotion, Bernadina was ranked in the Eastern League’s top 10 in hitting (.323), steals (26), runs scored (47) and outfield assists (8).
Connecticut Defenders reliever Sergio Romo was promoted to the San Francisco Giants last week. He made his big league debut on June 26 at Cleveland and struck out two in his lone inning of work. He pitched another scoreless inning on June 29 at Oakland.
Romo, 24, was 1-3 with a 4.00 ERA and 11 saves with Connecticut.
The New Britain Rock Cats surpassed 200,000 in attendance for the season on June 26, the earliest date they have reached that mark in franchise history.
New Hampshire Fisher Cats right-hander Robert Ray, the Eastern League pitcher of the week for the period ending June 29, is 3-1 in four starts since his promotion from Single-A Dunedin. Ray has thrown two complete games, tying the franchise single-season record. He has allowed only three runs in 29 1/3 innings.