As the Tucson Toros near the midway point of their inaugural season, one thing seems to be sure — the team can hit and score runs.
The pitching performance, especially in relief, is a different story.
Hitting .324 overall before Monday's 5-1 victory over the Long Beach Armada at Hi Corbett Field, the Toros also sported a 6.08 team ERA.
"We definitely have a better pitching staff than we've shown," pitching coach Ed Vosberg said. "I'm just looking forward to trying to get more out of our guys and I know our team thinks we can do better."
The Toros broke out of that funk Monday, as starter Cibney Bello (2-0) allowed one run in seven innings. Rene Garcia and Reid Price each tossed a scoreless inning.
"Bello threw great," manager Tim Johnson said. "It's amazing what happens when you throw strikes."
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Beset by their pitching woes, the Toros went 6-13 in June and sit at 13-19 overall with three games remaining — all on the road against Long Beach — before the All-Star break. The St. George (Utah) Roadrunners (25-14) clinched the South Division's first-half title on Sunday.
"We're excited to put this first half behind us," Tucson second baseman Skip Adams said. "We're excited for a fresh start in the second half."
To try to rectify the pitching problems and bring in fresh arms, the team on Sunday activated Garcia and Tom Wilhelmsen from the inactive list and Toby Nordman from the suspended list, and the Toros deactivated pitchers Jason Jacome, Jason Hanna and Chris Luera.
"It's been inconsistency, having a good game here and having two bad games and just not being aggressive enough," Vosberg said of the overall pitching. "Hopefully, we can get 11 guys in the second half, and they're going to all be more aggressive and just go after people and lay it all on the line."
Johnson acknowledged numerous moves can affect consistency, but he said he wants the 11 best pitchers available.
"The seventh, eighth and ninth inning guys we need to solidify," he said.
Before he was activated, Wilhelmsen, a Tucson High School product, last pitched June 11, but he said he has stayed in shape and worked out daily with other pitchers during the team's recent trip to Canada. He went on the inactive list June 13 to attend his grandfather's funeral in New York.
"I wasn't affected by (the time off) because I was focusing so much on throwing and hitting my spots, and I was rested," Wilhelmsen said.
Even team ace Lorenzo Barcelo has recently slumped, allowing 10 runs in 4 1/3 innings in his last outing. Vosberg said he is working with the former Chicago White Sox right-hander to be more versatile with his pitch selection and be less predictable.
"I have to work better in the count," said Barcelo (4-4, 4.76 ERA). "Mentally and physically, I'm good."
Inside pitch
• The Toros set a Golden Baseball League record for single-game attendance with 9,038 at Saturday's game, league commissioner Kevin Outcalt confirmed.
The previous record was 8,636 on June 30, 2008, in Edmonton.
• Catcher Luis Apodaca returned to the lineup Monday after suffering a cut to his head during a collision at home plate Saturday.
