Chase Anderson had another impressive performance yesterday with 6 shutout innings on 5 hits and no walks while striking out 7. After missing almost all of last year with a strained flexor tendon in his throwing elbow that did not require surgery, Anderson has been on a steady march to reestablishing himself as a legitimate Dbacks pitching prospect. He has missed a few starts this year but he's now up to 93 innings on the season and should end up somewhere between 125 and 150. That would give him a good foundation for next season where he'll probably start at Mobile with an eye toward getting to Reno. On the season Anderson has a 2.61 ERA, 86 strikeouts and a very good 3.6 K/BB ratio. He's not in the Skaggs/Corbin/Bauer class by any means but he is a legit prospect with a decent chance of making his way into the second half of a big league rotation. Losing all of last year was a major setback as he is already 25 years old, so he'll need another good year next year and more importantly show that he can stay healthy and make his way into the 175-200 IP category. Then he might be a candidate for big league duty which by then will make him 26-27. His margin for error is a little on the small side.
Snake Stars
3 Stars: Chase Anderson, Mobile 6 IP, 5 H, 0 BB, 7 K, 0 ER, W (4-3)
2 Stars: Matt Helm, South Bend 3 for 4, 1 BB, 2 R, 1 DBL, 3 RBI (69)
1 Star: Pedro Ruiz, Missoula 4 for 5, 2 R, 1 DBL, CS
0 Stars: Josh Bell, Reno 0 for 4, 3 K
Game summaries after the jump.
Triple A: Reno 0 @ Tacoma 2. Joe Martinez had one of his best outings in a while but it went for naught as the offense was shut down by Hector Noesi who spent the first half of the season in the Seattle Mariner rotation. Martinez threw 6 shutout innings on 2 hits and 2 walks with 5 Ks. Sam Demel followed Martinez with the score still tied at 0-0 but after a scoreless 7th he surrendered a 2-run homer in the 8th. The Aces offense managed just one hit, a single by Adam Eaton, who also walked and stole his 42nd base.
Double A: Mobile 5 Pensacola 2. Chase Anderson was terrific and the offense and bullpen were good enough to make his effort stand up. The offense had only 6 hits but made them count with Brent Clevlen striking the big blow on a 3-run homer in the bottom of the 8th. Good thing because Evan Marshall had another rough inning when he allowed a 2-run homer in the 9th. Chris Owings added 2 hits and a walk.
High A: Visalia 3 @ Modesto 10. Following the heartbreaking loss the day before Visalia came out flat in another crucial contest with Modesto and now trail them by 4 games. They have one more important game today that they desperately need to win to get back within striking distance for the playoffs. Anthony Meo did not have a good start lasting just 4 innings and allowing 7 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks, though he did strike out 6. Ryan LaPensee knocked a double and a triple and Gerson Montilla went 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI. Yazy Arbelo was given a chance to play 1B yesterday and had two fielding errors.
Low A: South Bend 11 @ Bowling Green 10. We're not used to seeing South Bend involved in a slugfest but that's what they did yesterday and came out on top by a run. Starter Andrew Barbosa wasn't very good nor were relievers Alex Capaul and Kable Hogben. But the offense produced a monster 10-run inning in the 6th, which should have been enough on its own to win the game, but BG scored 4 in the 7th to tie it. The Silver Hawks scratched out an unearned run in the 9th for the game-winner. Matt Helm had a 3 for 4 night with a double and 3 RBI. Ryan Court chipped in with 3 hits and Kaleb Fleck pitched the 9th for his 3rd save.
Short Season A: Yakima 0 Spokane 9. The vaunted Yakima pitching didn't show up yesterday as starter Blake Perry and reliever Kyle Owings surrendered a combined 9 runs, though only 5 of them were earned. The offense produced only 5 hits with Kevin Medrano and Jacob House each getting a pair of singles.
Rookie: Missoula 9 Idaho Falls 8. A back-and-forth slugfest in this one as a 5-run 6th helped the Osprey eke out the 1-run win. Starter Karl Triana was the victim of a couple of long balls in his 5-inning outing. He allowed 5 runs on 4 hits and a walk with 7 strikeouts, but two home runs helped keep him out of the winner's circle. The offense had 16 hits with Pedro Ruiz leading the way with 4 including a double. Rudy Flores went 3 for 5 with 3 runs scored and his first professional home run. Alex Glenn, who was recently called up from the AZL Dbacks presumably to fill in for an injured Evan Marzilli, went 2 for 3 and hit his first home run for Missoula in just his 2nd game.
AZL Rookie: Dbacks 2 Reds 5. Starter Geordy Parra wasn't good but he wasn't horrible either as he allowed 3 runs over 5 innings on 8 hits and a walk. The offense did next to nothing with only 3 hits. Stryker Trahan had one of the hits and an RBI.