Just another day on the comeback trail for one of the top four pitchers in the system. The team's top prospect for the last two years mowed through a prospect-heavy Jackson (Seattle-affiliated) lineup that featured quality prospects in Nick Franklin, Vinnie Catricala, Francisco Martinez, and Chih-Hsien Chiang. He didn't earn the win, but the numbers were once again impressive:
Snakelet of the Day:
Jarrod Parker (Double-A): 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R (1 ER), 4:0 K:BB, 8:4 GO:AO
Triple-A (12 innings): Reno 8, Tacoma 7. (71-58) Aces starter Gaby Hernandez technically out-dueled opposing starter Luke French, but allowed three runs - two earned - in five innings on the mound, posting a so-so 5:3 K:BB ratio, hitting a batter, and allowing a homer. French, however, coughed up six runs in just four innings, with Reno's bats notching 12 hits off of the Tacoma starter before his exit. Unfortunately, Brian Stokes, Esmerling Vasquez, and Ryan Cook each allowed a run in their appearances out of the bullpen (Cook partially atoned by throwing a scoreless tenth after blowing the save in the ninth), while Tacoma's relief corps was scoreless through five to send the game into extras. Cook and Jeff Bennett combined for three scoreless innings in extras, and the bats finally struck off of Chaz Roe. Back-to-back doubles from Andy Tracy (Tom Layne, of all people, pinch-ran for Tracy) and Ryan Langerhans - whacking his second double of the night against his former club - off of Roe drove in the walk-off run, while Tony Abreu and Cole Gillespie each chipped in doubles for the Aces offense against French. Langerhans finished the game with his two doubles, a single, and a walk.
Double-A: Mobile 4, Jackson 5. (76-50) The game didn't go the way the BayBears wanted it to, but Jarrod Parker was stellar again. He struck out just four batters, but walked nobody, didn't allow a home run, and gave up just five hits and one run in six innings on the mound, posting an 8:4 GO:AO ratio. Parker has been phenomenal since the minor-league all-star break, posting a 2.67 ERA with a 51:21 K:BB ratio in 60.2 innings on the mound, showing improvement in his control after posting a 56:33 K:BB ratio in 61 innings prior to the break, with a 4.87 ERA. Every word coming out of the organization is that they're really happy with the way Jarrod has progressed through 2011, and I see no reason to not remain optimistic about the impact Parker could have in the big leagues. I doubt it will be in 2011, but expect him in Sedona Red early in 2012.
Mobile was led offensively by Daryle Ward, who doubled twice and walked, while Kyle Greene and Ollie Linton each doubled. Ward's line with the BayBears is now .333/.423/.526 with a 7:11 K:BB ratio, and as a left-handed hitter with a history of success in a pinch-hit role and a lot of success in difficult league, I wouldn't be shocked to see Ward brought to the big leagues in September as a bench bat. I doubt he'd get more than a handful of PAs, but you could do a lot worse off the pine and in the clubhouse. A.J. Pollock singled twice and stole second each time, notching his 32nd and 33rd stolen bases of the year with just six times caught stealing, while also hitting a sacrifice fly. Adam Eaton also stole second once, reaching twice via a single and a walk.
Hi-A: Visalia had the day off, with Eric Smith on the mound tomorrow.
Low-A: South Bend 1, West Michigan 2. (60-65) Starter Michael Bolsinger had a heck of an outing, allowing two runs, just one earned run, in seven innings on the mound. Bolsinger struck out five, walked one, and gave up a homer. Bolsinger's ERA dipped to 2.94 with the outing, with a solid 77:24 K:BB ratio in 88.2 innings split between relief and the rotation. The 2010 15th-round pick profiles as a reliever, but is having a great year in his first full-season and saw almost no drop in performance when he moved from the bullpen to the rotation this year. Unfortunately, the Silver Hawks offense did little to help Bolsinger out, with just six hits and one run, with doubles from Marc Bourgeois and David Narodowski.
Short-Season-A (10 innings): Yakima 9, Boise 8. (25-40) Yep, Yakima won a shootout. Not only that, but it won a shootout in miraculous comeback fashion, needing a four-run eighth to tie it to send the game into extra innings, where the Bears worked three walks and a single to score the winning run with no outs in the tenth. The offense was led by a fantastic game from Kerry Jenkins, who had two singles, a triple, a walk, and a stolen base. Jimmy Comerota and Carter Bell each reached base three times while chipping in a double, and Westley Moss and Garrett Weber each singled twice and walked. On the mound to start the game was Alex Capaul, who struggled to miss bats. In four innings, Capaul notched just one strikeout while walking two, giving up two home runs among eight hits allowed. He left the game with six runs charged to him, although half of those were unearned. To his credit, he did post a 9:0 GO:AO ratio.
Advanced-Rookie: Missoula 1, Orem 5. (37-23) The Pioneer League is very hitter-friendly, so notching just a single run in nine innings is pretty uninspiring for Missoula's bats. Jeremia Gomez launched his second home run of the year and Eric Groff doubled, but Missoula only totaled five hits on the day, and no Osprey batter had a multi-hit game. Starter Dexter Price went seven innings, posting a 6:1 K:BB ratio (with one HBP) and 12:2 GO:AO ratio, but a four-run fifth inning was his undoing, including a two run home run to Frazier Hall. Price ended his outing charged with five runs, but one was unearned and his peripherals suggest that he pitched a much better overall game than the ERA suggests.
Low-Rookie: D-backs 7, Cubs 1. (18-32) The offense clearly had a big day, with Jesus Abreu doubling and tripling, Ed Rogers doubling twice, and Wagner Mateo, Pat Donahue, and Socrates Brito each doubling once. Rogers, Donahue, Abreu, and Domingo Soriano had two-hit games, while John Leonard, Brito, Joseph Weik, and Abreu each reached base three times. Starter Ross Gerdeman had an effective day on the mound, giving up just one run in six innings while striking out three and posting an 8:4 GO:AO ratio. The bullpen followed Gerdeman's performance with three shutout innings, striking out four with no walks.