Top prospect Archie Bradley is definitely putting it all together down the stretch in his first real professional season. Yesterday he posted one of his best outings of the year with 6 shutout innings on 4 hits, 2 walks and 9 strikeouts. Over his last five starts comprising 25 innings Bradley has struck out 41 batters. I know I've been preaching a lot about Bradley lately but it's easy to do when he pitches so well. David Holmberg also took the mound last night and he wasn't quite as good, but he also struck out 9 and walked 2 over 6 innings. However, he surrendered 8 hits including 2 home runs to let in 4 runs, 3 earned. I'm most encouraged by his increasing strikeout totals. He has 25 Ks over his last 26 innings. When he first got to AA his K totals took a dip but now they're working their way back up which is a very good sign for his future.
Snake Stars
3 Stars: Archie Bradley, South Bend 6 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 9 K, 0 ER, W (11-5)
2 Stars: Jose Jose, Yakima 2 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 3 K, 0 ER (0.92 ERA)
1 Star: Jake Lamb, Missoula 2 for 5, 1 R, 2 DBL, 1 RBI
0 Stars: Jake Barrett, South Bend 1 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 3 ER
Game summaries after the jump.
Triple A: Reno 6 @ Tacoma 5. A good come-from-behind win for the Aces as starter Charles Brewer dug them an early 5-0 hole. Brewer got through 6 innings and allowed 5 runs (4 earned) on 6 hits and 2 walks, so it wasn't a horrible effort. The offense woke up in the 5th inning by plating 5 featuring RBI singles from Adam Eaton, Taylor Harbin and Mike Jacobs. Then Josh Bell capped it off by stealing home. Konrad Schmidt went 3 for 4 and Jonathan Albaladejo recorded his 22nd save.
Double A, Game 1: Mobile 2 Jackson 4. David Holmberg started and wasn't stellar but he was still pretty decent with 4 runs allowed (3 earned) on 8 hits and 2 walks while striking out 9. The offense couldn't bail him out though as they could only manage RBI singles from Matt Davidson and recently acquired Matt Mangini.
Double A, Game 2: Mobile 4 Jackson 3. Derek Eitel had an outing a lot like Holmberg's minus the strikeouts. But this time the offense came through with just enough. Eitel got through 5 innings and allowed 3 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks. Brent Clevlen went 2 for 3 with 2 RBI and Matt Davidson added another RBI single, as did Alfredo Marte. Kevin Munson pitched a shutout 9th for his 3rd save.
High A: Visalia 0 @ San Jose 8. The Rawhide clearly are in a mental funk after losing 5 of 6 to Modesto and falling well back in the 2nd half playoff race. Willy Paredes got beat up pretty good to the tune of 7 runs in 5+ innings and the offense produced as many hits as they had errors...three .Keon Broxton had 2 of the 3 hits, both singles, and has raised his average to .260.
Low A: South Bend 6 @ Bowling Green 3. Archie Bradley was terrific and this game was never in doubt. On offense Chris Ellison went 3 for 5 and Ryan Court went 2 for 4 with an RBI. Jake Barrett had another poor outing as he allowed 3 runs in the 9th in mop-up duty. Barrett probably has one eye on the off-season as he clearly needs a rest. He's allowed 9 runs over his last 5 innings. Newly acquired SS Sean Jamieson is heading to South Bend to play SS and they could use one as they've been relying on light-hitting Josh Parr and Niko Gallego. Jamieson brings more than either of those two but not much more. He's strictly organization filler and not a legitimate prospect.
Short Season A: Yakima 8 Boise 7. This is a fun team in Yakima and they have to be considered a live entry in the Northwest League playoffs. Known more for their pitching they engineered a come-from-behind win with a resurgent offense last night when they scored 6 runs over the final three frames for a walk-off win in the 9th. Steven Rodriguez was the hero on consecutive days when he drove in the game-winner in the 9th with a single. Cody Wheeler posted another good but short start with 1 run allowed in 3 innings. Austin Platt was fairly awful as he surrendered 6 runs over the next 3 innings. Michael Lang delivered the big blow with a game-tying 2-run homer in the 8th.
Rookie: Missoula 9 @ Ogden 15. There was a lot of bad pitching by the Osprey in this one that even 9 runs couldn't overcome. Jared Ray, Patrick Smith and Michael Blake all got roughed up and ruined an early 9-5 lead. Five Osprey hitters had 2 hits led by Jake Lamb with 2 doubles and Evan Marzilli with a single, a double and 2 RBI.