Diamondbacks Farm Round-Up 4/16: Unfair Edition

I feel pretty bad for the Lansing Lugnuts lineup. Sure, Lansing managed to win their contest against South Bend on Monday by a score of 3-0, but they also had to face Archie Bradley. Frankly, it's pretty unfair for them to be going up against a guy whose easy mid-90's fastball is his second-best pitch. Archie showed just how unfair it was, in fact, by throwing five no-hit innings against the Lugnuts, punching-out eight and inducing the rest of his outs on the ground. As long as Archie is at Low-A - and it might not be long - I think we can expect him to be regularly-featured in this part of the Farm Round-Ups...

Snakelet of the Day:

Archie Bradley (Low-A): 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 8:2 K:BB, 9:0 GO:AO

(Don't ask me how this adds to 5 IP...)

Triple-A: Reno , Sacramento . (-) The story of this one was former D-backs top prospect Jarrod Parker taking on some of his former mates with the River Cats, and Parker had a stellar outing. Many D-backs prospect followers have long gained an affinity for Parker, and certainly want him to perform well, even if it comes back to haunt Arizona to some extent. Parker's final line on the day: 6 IP, 6 H, 1 R (1 ER), 7:2 K:BB, 1 HR, 6:3 GO:AO. The lone blemish for Parker came at the hands of 2011 Double-A teammate Ryan Wheeler, who cranked a homer off of JP in the top of the second inning. Equally as impressive as Parker was Reno starter Chris Jakubauskas, who worked seven innings and allowed two runs, although just one was earned, while striking out three and walking two.

Double-A: Mobile 7, Montgomery 8. (8-4) Man, Matt Davidson is on some kind of tear. Another day, another six total bases for Davidson, who went 2-5 with a double and his first home run of the season, a three-run shot in the seventh inning. The offense certainly wasn't the problem here, as Adam Eaton reached base four times, Alfredo Marte had two hits, including his third home run of the year, and a total of five hitters had multi-hit days.

Unfortunately, the pitching didn't hold up to their end of the bargain, beginning with a rough outing from right-hander Charles Brewer. Brewer worked 5.1 innings for the BayBears and gave up six runs (five earned) while striking out three and walking one, but the big problem was the eight hits - including a two-run home run - that Brewer surrendered. After 2.2 scoreless innings combined from Eury De La Rosa, a wild Yonata Ortega, and Matt Gorgen, the game was put in the hands of Evan Marshall to close things out. Unfortunately, Marshall blew the save, and with the bases loaded and one out, the BayBears defense was unable to complete a double play, allowing the Biscuits walked it off.

Hi-A: Visalia 2, Rancho Cucamonga 4. (6-5) Cuban left-hander Alexander Carreras made his second US start in this contest, after throwing 5.2 scoreless innings in his first outing. Carreras wasn't quite as sharp, allowing three runs in 5.1 innings on six hits, a homer, and a walk. Carreras struck out just three batters, a steep drop from the eight he whiffed in his US debut. The Visalia bats were led by shortstop Chris Owings, who homered and doubled in three at-bats and has come on strong in his last few games. Repeating Hi-A but still just 20 years old until August, improvement must be seen from Owings, though it's not imperative that he dominate the Cal League. Michael Freeman also had two hits, including a double.

Low-A: South Bend 0, Lansing 3. (5-6) You've got to feel for Archie for this one - heck, you've got to feel for that entire South Bend pitching staff. Five no-hit innings, leave with the game tied 0-0 and no chance at a win. The Silver Hawks have yet to hit a home run through 11 games, and have scored two or fewer runs in six of their games. Sunday's singles-heavy 10-run outburst aside, the Silver Hawks have scored 22 runs in 10 games. The Silver Hawks struck out 16 times in this one, with Marc Bourgeois' double being the only extra-base hit of the game. Piggyback "starter" Tyler Green finished off the day in relief of Archie with three innings of relief, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits and two walks while striking out two.