There may have been no sweep - nowhere close - for the Diamondbacks, but their minor-league teams started May on the right foot. They won all four games, which I think is a first for 2011, when they've all played. Quite the offensive day, as we scored 36 runs, conceding 24. .
Snakelet of the Day:
Josh Ford (Double-A): 4-for-5, two 2B, 3B, 2 R, 2 RBI
Josh Ford (Double-A): 4-for-5, two 2B, 3B, 2 R, 2 RBI
Triple-A: Reno 10, Tacoma 8. Starter Kyler Newby couldn't get through three innings, allowing six hits, four walks and four runs in 2.2 frames, but the Aces offense scored six runs in the fifth. Each of their outfielders, RF Collin Cowgill, CF Cole Gillespie and RF Dave Winfree had two hits and a walk, as did DH Andy Tracy. Gillespie and C Robbie Hammock drove in two apiece. Tom Layne got the W after replacing Newby, holding the Rainiers to one run in 3.1 innings of relief, on three hits and a walk. Rafael Rodriguez worked a scoreless eighth, the only Aces pitcher to avoid allowing a run.
Double-A: Mobile 6 @ Birmingham 4. The BayBears jumped out early, scoring three times in the top of the first inning, but then watched as the Barons chipped away. After six inning, Birmingham were 4-3 up, but it was Mobile's turn to fight back. They evened things in the seventh, and a Dan Kaczrowski ground-out and A.J.Pollock single each drove in a run. C Josh Ford went 4-for-5 with three extra-base hits. Despite starting off with a run-scoring balk, Leyson Septimo got the W with 1.2 scoreless and Bryan Shaw got the save for zeroes in the eighth and ninth. Your Daily Goldschmidt: Paul had a quiet game, going 1-for-4 with a walk.
High-A: Visalia 12, Modesto 7. After letting the Nuts score three in the top of the fourth to take the lead, the Rawhide responded with a seven-spot, batting around. They took advantage of some Modesto wildness, as four of the runners who scored reached base on three walks and a HBP, but 3B Bobby Borchering also had a three-run homer. 1B Matt Davidson had the same in the previous inning, and had a three-hit night; DH Kyle Greene, C Rossmel Perez and CF Keon Broxton all reached base three times. Eric Smith had a shaky start - seven runs in 6.1 innings - though only four were earned.
A-ball: South Bend 8, Great Lakes 5. The Silver Hawks hadn't scored more than five runs in almost three weeks, so this 16-hit pounding was quite an outburst. SS Zach Walters, 3B Matt Helm and CF Ender Inciarte each contributed a trio of hits to that total, while 1B Yazy Arbelo cranked his sixth ball out of the park and also reached safely three times. He and Walters each drove in three against the Loons. David Holmberg started for South Bend, and went five innings, allowing four runs on five hits a walk. Reliever Brian Budrow earned the W, with two scoreless innings, part of four zeroes from the Silver Hawks 'pen.