With a bunch of early games (thank heavens for Sundays!), I ought to be able to wrap up this report by dinnertime, schedule it for tomorrow morning, and actually consider going out tonight! Score!!! Unfortunately, all four full-season affiliates down on the farm suffered losses. With such meager results, it was pretty depressing trying to to find a performance to make the SotD. It's more like the "passable MiLB performance of the day" award.
Snakelet of the Day:
Evan Frey (Triple-A): 3-5, 2B, 2 R
Triple-A: Reno 6, Colorado Springs 7. (-) Things were looking good early for the Aces. Reno collected 12 hits on the night, with doubles from Tony Abreu, Frey, and Cody Ransom to lead the way. Left-hander Tom Layne continued what has been a surprisingly effective year for him in the Aces rotation, giving up two runs in seven innings of work with a 3:2 K:BB ratio and collecting 10 ground-outs. Layne now has a 4.91 ERA in 18 games with Reno, in spite of a 33:29 K:BB ratio, but a 17:9 ratio in his last six outings, spanning 25.2 innings. Unfortunately, Kra-Kam Mickolio came on and ruined everything, allowing 5 innings in a single inning, walking three and allowing three hits, though he did strike out two.
Double-A: Mobile 0, Birmingham 6. (-) Just an all-around mediocre day for the BayBears. Things started off roughly on the mound, as Kyler Newby surrendered three home runs in his 6.1 innings of work, allowing six runs, all earned, with a 1:1 K:BB ratio. Newby's probably best-served for relief work, but I doubt he'll be moved back to the 'pen and probably will be a minor-league filler type like Kevin Mulvey for the next couple of years before riding off into the sunset. A bit of a shame, really, considering the good peripherals he put up out of the bullpen in 2010. Offensively, Marc Krauss hit a triple for Mobile, though the club managed just six hits in the game. A.J. Pollock singled twice, Jacob Elmore singled and walked, and... Your Daily Goldschmidt: Paul went 1-3 with a double and a walk after starting the day 0-2, showing that even a disappointing day from Goldie is still actually a pretty good day.
Hi-A: Visalia 2, Rancho Cucamonga 6. (-) A rare tough night on the mound from Tyler Skaggs, who only got through four innings of work. Skaggs allowed six hits, three walks, and four runs while K'ing five, raising his season ERA to a still-impressive 3.51. Visalia managed just four hits at the plate, all of which were singles, making it surprising that the Rawhide even managed to scratch across two runs.
Low-A: South Bend 1, Peoria 5. (-) The Silver Hawks bats were kept incredibly quiet, managing just five hits - all singles - and one walk against the Chiefs. Mike Freeman had a two-hit game, though he also made an error in the field. The recipient of a tough-luck loss was Patrick Schuster, who was very solid for South Bend. Schuster threw six innings and struck out five, giving up four hits, no walks, a hit-by-pitch, and three runs, though just two were earned. Michael Bolsinger had an uncharacteristic bad day out of the bullpen, giving up two runs in his lone inning of work on two hits and two walks with a strikeout.
DSL: The DSL squad had a day off, resuming action tomorrow morning.