Cougars able to tighten the screws vs. Lugnuts

The Kane County Cougars have struggled against the Lansing Lugnuts, but they always ended up avoiding the sweep.

The first time the teams faced off in April, the Cougars won the last game of the series. The same thing happened again when the Lug nuts came to Elfstrom Stadium in Geneva earlier this week.

After topping the Cougars twice, the Lug nuts fell to the home team 9-8 in 10 innings, thanks to Matt Ray's sac fly that allowed Cougars catcher Jake Smith to score.

It was a much-needed win for the Cougars, who had lost 11 of their last 15 games through Wednesday.

"Matt Ray did a heck of a job battling up there to put that ball into play," Cougars manager Aaron Nieckula said.

After an off-day Tuesday, the Cougars hit the road for one of their longest roadtrips of the season against Fort Wayne, Dayton and Peoria.

Doing his job: Cougars manager Aaron Nieckula gave right fielder Todd Johnson a lot of credit after the Lansing series. Nieckula said he likes the way the 23-year-old has been playing lately. Through Wednesday, Johnson was batting .271, scored 30 runs with 70 hits and 18 doubles. He's also made no errors this year.

"First and foremost, I think his approach and plan has been very good," Nieckula said. "His swing is very good too. He had a good mechanic. This is the Todd we saw in the second half of last season, the guy who was going up there with confidence."

Johnson has been with the Cougars since the 2006 season.

"He's a great dude, a hard worker and someone who stays positive," Nieckula said. "He's been pretty consistent in that 3, 4, 5 (spot in the lineup)."

2003 Cougar alum update: A pair of former Midwest League all-stars from the 2003 Cougars season, Joe Blanton and John Baker, made news recently in the major leagues.

Blanton, a right handed pitcher, was traded from the Oakland Athletics, the major-league affiliate of the Cougars, to the Phillies after months of trade talks. Baker, a catcher, finally made his major-league debut with the Florida Marlins after 6 years in the minor leagues. He landed a spot on the Marlins' roster in early July after catcher Matt Treanor was placed on the disabled list with a left hip strain.