Would have had this one up last night, but I succumbed to seeing the midnight premiere of The Hangover Part II. South Bend's action was postponed yesterday, to be made up in a double-header today. Mobile must have noticed this, because it more than made up for the missing innings by playing a 25-inning double-header (remember: double-header games in the minors are supposed to last seven innings). Mobile swept their double-header, Reno won their game in dominating fashion, and Visalia was out-gunned due to an eighth-inning bullpen collapse (sound fermilier?).
Snakelet of the Day:
Cody Ransom (Triple-A): 2-3, 2B, HR, 2 BB, 1 K, 3 RBI, 2 R
Triple-A: Reno 7, Round Rock 2. Ransom cranked his 12th home run of the year to go with his 11th double, and his season line now stands at .299/.382/.611, for an impressive .993 OPS that actually doesn't appear to be BABIP-inflated (see: Burroughs, Sean). If Burroughs is unable to pick up the pinch-hitting slack at the big-league level, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the team call upon Ransom, who has seen time in the major leagues in each of the last four seasons, to take Burroughs' place. Cole Gillespie was the other main offensive contributor for the Aces with a three-hit game, including a double, a walk, and a stolen base. On the mound, right-hander Matt Torra was exceptional, throwing seven innings and surrendering just two earned runs on seven hits, a homer, and a pair of walks while striking out six.
Double-A (Game 1): Mobile 8, Jackson 0. In the first "half" of the double-header, it was all Mobile from the get-go. Mobile took the lead in the bottom of the first, then cemented it by putting up crooked numbers in the third and fourth innings. Pat Corbin threw 5.2 shutout innings with a 6:3 K:BB ratio, while the BayBears accumulated 12 hits in the first five innings in spite of striking out eight times in that span. Ollie Linton had three hits, A.J. Pollock had a pair of knocks and a stolen base, and Ryan Wheeler had a single and a double. Your Twice-Daily Goldschmidt: Paul provided the initial fireworks for the Mobile offense, crushing a two-out solo homer in the first inning, his 16th shot of the year.
Double-A (Game 2): Mobile 5, Jackson 4 (18 innings). This one got weird, as Mobile mustered just a single run through the first seven innings. Meanwhile, starter Bryan Henry was solid for Mobile, throwing five innings and surrendering just a single run with six strikeouts and two walks, then reliever Bryan Woodall threw two scoreless innings to take things into extra innings. In extras, Ryan Cook threw three fabulous innings of relief, followed by two innings of work from Clay Zavada. The teams matched each other for another ten innings, trading runs in the 12th - Zavada's second inning - before the position players started to take the mound. For Mobile, Jacob Elmore surrendered two earned runs in two innings on a pair of solo home runs, followed by two scoreless innings apiece from Taylor Harbin and Dan Kaczrowski. Jackson didn't have to throw a position player on the mound until the bottom of the 18th inning, but third baseman Chris Savastano would surrender an unearned run in two-third of an inning to walk it off for Mobile. Offensively, Mobile collected 16 hits, including A.J. Pollock's second homer of the year, while four Mobile bats collected doubles. Your Twice-Daily Goldschmidt: In the night-cap, Goldschmidt went 2-7 with a double, a walk, and a pair of strikeouts.
Hi-A: Visalia 12, Stockton 14. Visalia's offense exploded early, plating two in the first inning, seven in the third inning, and another two in the fifth inning to give the Rawhide a commanding 11-3 lead. The offensive thunder came from Chris Owings, who had four hits, two doubles, and a hit-by-pitch, David Nick, who had four hits and one double, and Raoul Torrez, who had a double and a home run to drive in five. On the mound, though, Trevor Harden had a shaky start, throwing 6.2 innings and surrendering seven runs, five earned on seven hits, five walks, and three homers with five strikeouts. The worst of the damage, though, came from relievers Christopher Odegaard and Victor Capellan in the eighth inning, as the pair surrendered seven runs in the frame to blow the lead and put Stockton up two to stay.