Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Moore 'numb' over promotion to Durham

Pitcher Matt Moore, after years of methodically moving up through Tampa Bay's system, is encountering something new this week with his promotion from the Biscuits to Triple-A Durham.

"I've never had a midseason promotion before," Moore said Monday night. "We'll see how it goes, but I just found out.

"I'm still a little numb."

Moore, despite his big numbers, said his promotion was "definitely a surprise." He was 8-3 with a 2.20 ERA and 131 strikeouts for Montgomery. The left-hander leads the Southern League in ERA and strikeouts.

But he'll fall short of winning the Southern League's ERA title. Moore threw 102 1/3 innings, which isn't enough to qualify. If the Biscuits play their full 140 games, he would need 112 innings. He could have been Montgomery's first ERA champ since Dave Rozema had a 1.57 for the Rebels in 1976.

"I'm not trying to sound weird, but I'm trying to get to the big leagues," Moore said. "I may not get there the fastest, but I want to get there the best way. I can't complain about not winning an ERA title."

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