Sorry that I couldn't even get this written before a night game, but I spent last night camping in New Buffalo, Michigan at the Warren Dunes and had no access to the internet. I would have informed someone that I could have used a fill-in, but I didn't think of it until I got there, and, well, I was camping... my phone was reduced to being a nice flashlight for our game of Euchre. Thankfully, it's just a short post-season report to write up, so I've managed to throw it together while trying to act like I almost care about the Notre Dame football game as much as I care about the D-backs.
Rookie-level Missoula finally joined in on the post-season action, but the three D-backs affiliates who reached the playoffs went just 1-2 on the day. Nonetheless, it was a pretty encouraging day for some of the system's top prospects. For instance, take these performances from a pair of the system's top-20 prospects:
Snakelets of the Day:
Jarrod Parker (Double-A): 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R (2 ER), 6:0 K:BB, HR, 8:1 GO:AO
Tyler Linton (Advanced-Rookie): 1-1, HR, R, 3 RBI, 2 BB
Triple-A: Reno 2, Sacramento 5. (2-1) The RiverCats avoided the sweep with a three-run seventh inning off of reliever Esmerling Vasquez, who had been sent out for his second inning of work. Starter Kevin Mulvey pitched well in five innings, allowing a pair of runs with a 3:1 K:BB ratio. Reliever Michael Bolsinger pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning, striking out one - pretty impressive for someone who was called up to the Aces for the postseason from Low-A South Bend. The Reno bats scored on a pair of solo home runs from Cole Gillespie and Andy Tracy, while Ryan Langerhans added a double but didn't score.
Double-A: Mobile 7, Birmingham 5. (1-1) Right-hander Jarrod Parker took the mound trying to even things up for the BayBears in their series against the Barons, and did his job. JP gave up just two runs in six innings, posting a stellar 6:0 K:BB ratio with an 8:1 GO:AO ratio to boot, though he did allow a solo home run. After posting a 2.96 ERA and 48:17 K:BB ratio over his last 10 regular-season starts, spanning 54.2 innings, this was a spectacular start to Parker's post-season run. With Parker's command and control looking as sharp as ever, it's looking more and more likely that we'll see him in the big leagues out of the bullpen for a few innings of experience after Mobile's post-season run ends.
The Mobile offense notched just a single extra-base hit, a double from Ryan Wheeler, but didn't need any more power to overcome the Birmingham pitchers. Mobile collected 11 hits and six walks overall, including a three-hit day from Daryle Ward. Wheeler added a single and a walk, Marc Krauss had a pair of singles and was hit by a pitch, Ollie Linton singled and walked three times, and Jacob Elmore singled and walked twice.
Advanced-Rookie: Missoula 3, Great Falls 8. (0-1) The Missoula offense was led by top prospect Ty Linton, who showed flashes of his immense offensive potential with a three-run home run and two walks in his three plate appearances. Unfortunately, Linton was the only bat in the lineup to do much of anything, as the rest of the lineup reached base just six times on three singles and three walks. The pitching staff struggled, too, beginning with starter Taylor Siemens, who gave up three runs through his five innings to begin the game. Anthony Meo followed with an inning of work but got beat around, giving up two runs on a hit and a pair of walks, while striking out one. Seth Simmons gave up three more runs in 1.1 innings despite four strikeouts, one of which was allowed to score by Matt Sample, who pitched the final two-thirds of an inning.