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Peanuts acquire Downing

• South Georgia Peanuts manager Wally Backman traded for Ramon Downing of Charlotte County.

Paul Dehner Jr.

ALBANY — With the loss of Jon Zeringue to the Oakland Athletics, South Georgia Peanuts manager Wally Backman looked around for someone to replace the departed slugger’s bat in the lineup.

He didn’t have to look far — just across the diamond, to be exact.

As Charlotte County was swept out of town Saturday, Backman held infielder Ramon Downing behind. The Peanuts skipper pulled a sign-and-trade of Celson Polanco, a pitcher previously in the Houston organization, and acquired the switch-hitter Downing from the Redfish.

Downing was in the starting lineup at second base Monday.

He led the Redfish with 24 RBI and 10 doubles while hitting .279.

“I really think the kid can swing the bat,” Backman said. “Losing Zeringue the way we did, having to have someone that could step into the five-hole where Jonny was at, I think Ramon can do that.”

It’s easy to see why Backman thinks so, considering the 23-year-old Dominican hit .341 with two home runs and 10 RBI in 12 games against the Peanuts this season.

Downing played for two seasons in the Diamondbacks organization but couldn’t hit consistently.

Though still wearing red shorts underneath his new blue and yellow Peanuts T-shirt Monday, Downing was also happy to have made a jump from the cellar-dwelling Redfish to the first-place Peanuts.

“I just want to play baseball and everywhere you play you want to play hard,” he said.

“You know you’ve got pressure. On a losing team you go out and do your job, but on a winning team, you have to do way more because of expectations.”

SEND IT IN JEROME

A new face has popped up around the Peanuts clubhouse.

And it it is hard to miss.

Jerome Gamble, a 6-foot-2 hurler who throws 97 mph, is working out with the team and Backman expects to have him signed very soon.

“His stuff is big-league quality,” Backman said. “It’s there.”

Gamble spent most of his career with the Boston organization, reaching the Double-A level. He has been dogged by injuries since being drafted in the fourth round in 1998. He’s had Tommy John surgery and also had his rotator cuff cleaned.

He has 356 strikeouts in 400 minor league innings.

The Cubs have shown the most interest and primarily want to see him make a few starts to be assured his health issues have been cleared.

If healthy, however, Gamble would be unlikely to last through four or five more starts before being picked up.

WE’RE GOING STREAKING

Both center fielder Jasha Balcom and catcher Nick Prosise took five-game hitting streaks into Monday’s game. Prosise tied a season-high hit streak of six games with a base hit in the fourth inning.

Balcom’s season-high was a 13-game hit streak.

PAPER CUTS

Peanuts starter Dumas Garcia continues to be on the inactive list due to minor paperwork issues.

He is scheduled to start Wednesday, and Backman anticipates him being on the mound.

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