Three wins out of four for the Diamondbacks farm teams, and the loss was by a single run, so a good day's work all round. We outscored the opposition almost two-to-one, by a margin of 23-12. And on a night when the major-league team showcased a brilliant performance by their starting pitcher, it seems only fair to give the award to an almost as good performance in the minors.
Snakelet of the Day:
David Holmberg (A ball): 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 12 K
David Holmberg (A ball): 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 12 K
Triple-A: Reno 6, Fresno 2. Kyler Newby left one out too early to get the W, but had a solid outing, throwing 5.2 innings and allowing two runs on four hits and three walks. Daniel Stange got the final out of the sixth, and was rewarded with the decision as the Aces broke a 2-2 tie with two in the seventh and two more in the eighth: Jordan Norberto and Rafael Rodriguez retired the final seven Grizzlies. CF Collin Cowgill went 3-for-4 with a walk, driving in the go-ahead runs with a two-run double in the seventh. 3B Andy Tracy reached twice, with a hit and a walk, and LF Wily Mo Peña had a pair of RBI.
Double-A: Mobile 7, Jackson 5 (12). The BayBears outlasted the Generals, Mark Krauss breaking a 5-5 tie with an RBI single in the 12th inning. Mobile starter Wade Miley had kept Jackson off the board for five frames, facing only one batter over the minimum, two singles being partly negated by a double-play. However, Bryan Woodall gave up four hits to the four batters faced in the eighth, and all four ended up scoring as Jackson came back to force extras. 1B Ryan Wheeler had two hits and drove in three runs. Paul Goldschmidt Watch: The first-baseman reached four times tonight, doubling and drawing three walks. He has 18 walks and only 12 K's.
High-A: Visalia 9, Bakersfield 3. First the good news: Mike Belfiore allowed only two hits in his three innings this evening. Now, the bad: he walked eight (assuming it's not another box-score glitch!) of the eighteen batters faced, though only three runs scored off Belfiore. However, the Rawhide bullpen of Taylor Sinclair, Christian Beltre and Victor Capellan one hit the Blaze over six shutout innings. The offense also had their hitting shoes on: 3B Bobby Borchering had a home-run and a double, 2B David Nick contributed a pair of doubles, C Rossmel Perez and CF Adam Eaton each had two-hit nights, and LF Jon Owings drove in three runs.
A-ball: South Bend 1, Bowling Green 2. David Holmberg was a very unlucky loser this evening. Two errors on throws to second by C Ramon Castillo, making his debut at the position (he's a converted 1B), each led to an unearned run, so Holmberg got the L. He allowed only four singles and one walk over seven innings, striking out 12; the 19-year old lefty has struck out 25 in 22 innings, with seven walks. But he got no support from the offense, outside of CF Keon Broxton's two singles and and RBI triple by RF Chris Jarrett, as the Hot Rods pitchers proved every bit as effective - and crucially, their defense fractionally more reliable.