Horner Lays Down the Law at Home Plate

Jim Horner might have been chasing crooks instead of fly balls this summer. An Academic All-American as a criminal justice major at Washington State, Horner almost applied for a job with the U.S. Marshal’s Office before the season.

“But I’ll always have time to go for a 9-to-5 job,” he said. “I figured I’d give baseball some time to pan out.”

So far, so good.

Since being called up from Wisconsin during the all-star break, Horner has played in the outfield and at catcher. He is batting .333 and hit two home runs against Rancho Cucamonga on Wednesday.

“There’s better pitching here [in the California League] because they find a weakness on you and keep going after it until you adjust,” he said. “I’ve just been lucky a few times and gotten good pitches.”

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Karl Thompson must have had a really rough night’s sleep. Newly arrived from double-A Memphis, Thompson awoke one morning last week with a sore shoulder and, though he has played twice at designated hitter, he has been unable to throw. The catcher will be examined by a doctor Monday.

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Tonight’s Game: Bakersfield Blaze (Bill Malloy, 2-4, 4.07) at JetHawks (Damaso Marte, 1-6, 5.10), 5 p.m.