Diamondbacks Farm Round-Up 9/7: Playoff Opener Edition

Reno started their playoff action yesterday, and, to my admitted surprise, absolutely dominated the Sacramento RiverCats in game one of their five-game set.  The rest of the full-season affiliates have yet to start their playoff action, but Reno wasn't the only team in action on Wednesday.  Rookie-level Missoula and the Pioneer League didn't get the message about the season ending, as the Osprey began a two-game regular-season set against Great Falls yesterday, which they'll finish up today before the playoffs begin tomorrow.

Snakelet of the Day:

Angel Berroa (Triple-A): 3-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI

Triple-A: Reno 7, Sacramento 4.  (1-0)  The pitching staff did a great job in this one, beginning with a nice outing from starter Zach Kroenke.  Kroenke delivered just 5.1 innings of work, but gave up three runs, just two of which were earned, while posting a 5:2 K:BB ratio and 6:3 GO:AO.  Kroenke gave way to Kyler Newby, who gave up a solo home run in his 1.1 innings on the mound, but then Kam Mickolio and Mike DeMark combined to work 2.1 scoreless frames to close out the game.  The Aces bats took care of the rest, headlined by a two-homer day from Angel Berroa, both off of Sacramento starter Graham Godfrey, to plate three runs (he also drove in a fourth run with a single).  Ryan Langerhans added a single, a pair of walks, and an eighth-inning home run off of former D-back Jordan Norberto, while Cole Gillespie doubled twice and Cody Ransom doubled once.  Right-hander Barry Enright takes the mound in game two against Sacramento starter Tyson Ross.

Advanced-Rookie: Missoula 5, Great Falls 4.  (41-34)  Both starting pitchers in this one gave up four runs in their outings, and both exited the game before the start of the fifth inning.  To be fair to Osprey starter Dexter Price, a pair of those runs were unearned, but that does nothing to excuse his unsightly 1:5 K:BB ratio.  However, the bullpen came on and shut down the Voyagers the rest of the way, headlined by a perfect 2.1 innings from Seth Simmons, who struck out five of the seven batters he faced, giving him a fantastic 61:20 K:BB ratio on the year in a mere 35.2 innings of work.  The offense received a pair of doubles, one apiece from Tom Belza and Roidany Aguila, while Jon Griffin had a three-hit day.  The deciding blow came in the eighth inning, when Fidel Pena singled to lead things off, then stole second base.  Aguila singled, but Pena could only move up to third on the play.  The opposing pitcher wound up throwing a wild pitch to the very next batter, and Pena scored what proved to be the deciding run in a game dominated by each team's relief corps.  On a final, super-exciting note, Archie Bradley is expected to start tonight's contest against Great Falls, the Osprey's regular-season finale.