Braden Shipley had probably his best outing of the year on Sunday when he struck out 10 over 7 shutout innings allowing 5 hits and 2 walks. In four California League starts Shipley has 34 strikeouts in 25 innings and sports a 2.82 ERA with a .236 BAA. The walks are just a tad high at 10 but it's still a very good K/BB ratio of 3.4. Both Aaron Blair and Shipley have settled into the Cal League fairly quickly and are pitching as well or better than any other duo in the league. They are both likely destined for Mobile sometime before the season is out.
Snake Stars
3 Stars: Braden Shipley, Visalia 7 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 10 K, 0 ER, W (1-1)
2 Stars: Dustin Martin, Mobile 3 for 5, 1 R, 1 DBL, 1 HR (3), 2 RBI
1 Star: Grant Heyman, Hillsboro 3 for 4, 1 R, 1 HR (1), 1 RBI
0 Stars: Mike Cetta, Hillsboro 2/3 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 5 ER, L (0-1)
AAA: Reno 5 Colorado Springs 9. Trevor Cahill made his second start for Reno and was a little better than last time. He got through 4.1 innings allowing 2 runs on 2 hits and 3 walks while striking out 4. He faced off against former Dback farmhand Brett Tomko who wasn't too special himself though the Reno relief corps was pretty awful allowing 7 runs over the last 4+ innings. Alfredo Marte went 3 for 5 and scored three runs while Andy Marte went 2 for 3 with an RBI. Danny Dorn hit a 3-run homer on his way to 4 RBI.
AA: Mobile 12 @ Montgomery 6.The Bay Bears offense had it going cranking out 17 hits and 8 runs. Surprisingly none of those hits were by Jake Lamb. Dustin Martin went 3 for 5 with a double, a homer and 2 RBI. Evan Marzilli went 4 for 5 with an RBI and a stolen base. Sean Jamieson had 2 hits including a double and 4 RBI. Other multi-hit guys included Tom Belza, Raywilly Gomez, Jon Griffin and Mark Thomas. Michael Lee was the beneficiary going 5.2 innings allowing 5 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out 6.
A+: Visalia 2 San Jose 1. Braden Shipley was masterful in a classic pitcher's duel. Shipley tossed 7 shutout innings with a whopping 10 strikeouts. The offense was provided courtesy of 2 solo home runs by Raul Navarro and Rudy Flores.
A: South Bend 3 @ Lake County 6. The Silver Hawks defense was mostly to blame making half of the runs allowed to be unearned. Hector Hernandez allowed 5 runs in all (just 2 earned) in 6 innings with 2 strikeouts. All 3 South Bend runs were scored in the 9th inning due mostly to 3 walks. Chuck Taylor went 2 for 3 with a double.
A-: Hillsboro 3 Vancouver 5. Starter Scott Schultz was sharp again as the 10th round pick continues to be stretched out in his conversion from college reliever to professional starter. He tossed 4 shutout innings on 1 hit and 1 walk with 2 strikeouts. Unfortunately a disastrous 8th inning courtesy of Hops reliever Mike Cetta led to 5 runs. 6th round pick Grant Heyman went 3 for 4 with his 1st professional home run to lead the offense. Taylor Ratliff went 3 for 4 and Pedro Ruiz went 2 for 3.
R: Missoula 2 Helena 6.Brad Keller made his second start and wasn't as sharp as his opening start but his defense was pretty bad as 4 of his allowed runs were unearned. Keller was yanked after 4 innings and did strike out 4. Converted outfielder Wagner Mateo pitched 2 perfect innings with 3 strikeouts. Matt Railey went 2 for 4 with a double.
AZL: Dbacks 11 Cubs 15. Not much pitching in this one as the Dbacks fell in 11 innings 15-11. The Dbacks offense wasn't the problem as they racked up 11 runs on 15 hits led by Isan Diaz and Ismael Pena who had 3 hits apiece. Dallas Newton was okay allowing 4 runs on 4 hits with 5 strikeouts. But Kurtis Kostuk and Zachary Wasserman were pretty bad allowing 11 runs over the final 6 frames.