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"\"&lt;p&gt;As he bird-dog scouted from the stands on Saturday night and charted pitches, one of the newest arrivals to the Eastern League&amp;mdash;a righthander on the verge of making his Double-A pitching debut&amp;mdash;kept telling himself not to get too awestruck.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Tim Alderson couldn&amp;#8217;t help it, though. The Giants&amp;#8217; top righthanded prospect took a look at the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Blue Jays) lineup and couldn&amp;#8217;t help but wonder what their bats might have in store for him.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;That is, until Connecticut pitching coach Ross Grimsley walked by on Sunday.&lt;span id=\\\"more-38492\\\"&gt;&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&amp;quot;I was excited to see what it (his Double-A) was all about, and my pitching coach talked to me before the game and said that I didn&amp;#8217;t have to be perfect,&amp;quot; Alderson said.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Alderson made a striking debut in the Eastern League on Sunday, striking out 10 over 6 2\\/3 scoreless (and hitless) innings in a 3-1 win and then grabbed a seat near the back of the team bus, eager to see what his contemporary has in store tonight.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Yes, 19-year-old lefthander Madison Bumgarner, the Giants&amp;#8217; top prospect, takes the hill tonight at New Britain for his Double-A debut.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;The Giants dispatched the duo, along with shortstop Brandon Crawford, from high Class A San Jose to Connecticut last Thursday in roster moves that were only a matter of time before the weather warmed in the EL.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&amp;quot;It&amp;#8217;ll be fun to watch him as always,&amp;quot; Alderson said. &amp;quot;We&amp;#8217;re having a blast. He&amp;#8217;s been throwing lights out.&amp;quot;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Bumgarner was 3-1, 1.48 with 23 strikeouts and only eight walks in 24 1\\/3 innings at San Jose. His ERA ranked second in the California League behind Modesto (Rockies) righthander Bruce Billings.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Alderson, who led the Cal League in ERA last year, dominated in his 26 innings in San Jose, finishing 1-1, 4.15 with 20 strikeouts and only three walks.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;But when he arrived to Norwich, Conn., his debut looked as if it would be quite a challenge. New Hampshire&amp;#8217;s lineup featured a pair of hot hitters in one-time Cubs top prospect (in 2005) Brian Dopirak and second baseman Brad Emaus, who entered the year as BA&amp;#8217;s No. 10 Blue Jays prospect. &lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Dopirak had a five-hit game Friday night and was batting .327\\/.394\\/.619 with seven home runs and 26 RBIs entering Sunday. Emaus was twirling a big bat of his own, too, as he brought in a line of .330\\/.395\\/.539 thanks in part to a pair of back-to-back, three-hit games.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;It was not lost on Alderson.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&amp;quot;(Saturday) night I was watching from the stands when our pitchers went out there,&amp;quot; Alderson said. &amp;quot;I looked at their team and they had some big guys. They put the ball in play and pretty hard. I just didn&amp;#8217;t want to try to do too much.&amp;quot;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;In spring training, Alderson incorporated a changeup to go along with his low 90s fastball and the best curveball in the Giants&amp;#8217; system.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;On Sunday, he put them all on display and credited his manager, Steve Decker, pitching coach and catcher Jackson Williams for shepherding him through.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Alderson had never faced a Blue Jays lineup in the past season and two months, having spent all of that time in the Cal League while the Blue Jays&amp;#8217; high Class A affiliate is in Dunedin, in the Florida State League.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&amp;quot;I was trying to get ahead with (the fastball) and then I would mix in my other stuff the second and third time through the order,&amp;quot; Alderson said. &amp;quot;I was able to use all of my pitches. It kept them guessing it seemed like.&amp;quot;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;His one big battle was against Dopirak in that seventh inning as Alderson tried to protect a 1-0 lead. The at-bat resulted in a flyout to left fielder Bobby Felmy, but Alderson&amp;#8217;s heart nearly sunk to his stomach.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;He had issued a one-out walk to David Cooper and saw Dopirak, a 25-year-old first baseman, launch a 3-2 curveball.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&amp;quot;Right off the bat, I thought it was going to go out,&amp;quot; Alderson said. &amp;quot;But then the wind got a hold of it and it stayed in the park somehow. They (New Hampshire) fought all day and I knew I had to be close to perfect with every pitch. I was just trying to battle with him, and it was fun.&amp;quot;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Three relievers covered the final 10 outs, and Connecticut added two runs in the top of the ninth to pad its lead.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;To Alderson, other than winning his Double-A debut, his changeup was encouraging. He says he&amp;#8217;s getting the arm speed to mirror that of his delivery on the fastball.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&amp;quot;I like where it&amp;#8217;s at right now,&amp;quot; Alderson said. &amp;quot;I&amp;#8217;m not trying to make it perfect and that helps.&amp;quot;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;THE HANSON WATCH&lt;\\/strong&gt;&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nTriple-A Gwinnett (Braves) righthander Tommy Hanson struck out nine over eight innings on Sunday, but yielded three home runs in a 4-3 home loss to Durham, as we eavesdrop on &lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.gwinnettdailypost.com\\/main.asp?SectionID=7&amp;amp;SubSectionID=7&amp;amp;ArticleID=59643&amp;amp;TM=22833.52\\\"&gt;the Gwinnett Daily Post.&lt;\\/a&gt; &lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Justin Ruggiano got in on the home run binge, extending his own from Saturday night.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Hanson is 1-3, 1.99 with 57 strikeouts in 40 2\\/3 innings.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;NOT SUGARCOATING IT&lt;\\/strong&gt;&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nDouble-A Reading (Phillies) lefthander Joe Savery missed his shot at a third consecutive win Saturday, working only five innings, and is ratcheting up the pressure on himself, &lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/readingeagle.com\\/article.aspx?id=138003\\\"&gt;according to The Reading Eagle&lt;\\/a&gt;.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Savery ranked as BA&amp;#8217;s No. 3 Phillies prospect a year ago but dropped to No. 20 in this year&amp;#8217;s Prospect Handbook.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;PERFECT STORM&lt;\\/strong&gt;&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nWhat a weekend it was for Double-A Mobile (Diamondbacks) righthander Bryan Augenstein, who flirted with perfection on Saturday night and then got summoned to the majors on Sunday.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Augenstein, a seventh-round pick in 2007 out of Florida, had a perfect game through three innings on Saturday at Double-A Carolina before a rainstorm swept through the Raleigh-Durham area. &lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;The weather delay led Mobile to call it a night for Augenstein, who is 5-0, 0.78 with 31 strikeouts and six walks in 34 2\\/3 innings.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;He makes his big league debut Wednesday night against the Reds, a move brought on by the Diamondbacks placing righthander Yusmeiro Petit on the disabled list because of a right shoulder strain.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n\""^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/monday-dish-alderson-debuts-in-double-a/>