It was a bad day to be a pitcher - on either team - in a game involving a minor-league affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks yesterday. The Mobile and Visalia offenses were the only offenses involved in any of the four minor-league games played by an affiliate of the organization to score fewer than five runs yesterday, with a combined 54 runs across the four contests. With so many runs crossing the plate, there were bound to be a couple of outrageous performers in the system to choose from, so there are a pair of particularly exciting offensive lines from yesterday's action.
Snakelet of the Day:
Randy Ruiz (Triple-A): 2-5, HR, GS, 2 R, 7 RBI, 2 K
Ender Inciarte (Low-A): 4-4, 3 2B, 3 R
Triple-A: Reno 8, Fresno 10. (5-10) The Aces were facing off against former D-backs starter Yusmeiro Petit, which of course can only mean one thing: home runs were to follow. That was exactly the case, as Petit surrendered a grand slam in the fifth inning to Ruiz (though the runs were unearned), Ruiz's first bomb on the night, giving Reno a 5-2 lead after five. However, the Aces would suffer the seventh inning from hell, as three pitcher - starter Tom Layne, reliever Bryan Woodall, and reliever Jason Lane - combined to allow eight runs in the inning on nine hits, two of which were doubles, to put the game well out of reach, even after Ruiz's second shot, a three-run blast in the ninth.
Double-A: Mobile 2, Montgomery 6. (9-6) The BayBears offense had a rough day, with doubles from Alfredo Marte and Marc Krauss as the only extra-base production of the night and two-hit days from Marte, Matt Davidson, and Brett Clevlen as the only multi-hit days in the lineup. That offensive output wasn't enough to put starter Patrick Corbin in position for a win, despite his solid outing of 7 IP, 7 H, 2 R (2 ER), 9:2 K:BB. Further, reliever Matt Gorgen came on in the eighth inning and coughed up this game, allowing four runs - three earned - while recording just one out for Mobile, walking two and allowing two hits before being replaced by Taylor Sinclair, who finished the inning off (while admittedly allowing two inherited runners from Gorgen to score).
Hi-A: Visalia 1, Rancho Cucamonga 5. (6-8) Reliever Takashi Saito made his first minor-league rehab appearance in this game, throwing a scoreless first while walking one and allowing a hit. "Starting" for Visalia after Saito departed with Anthony Meo, who was a bit of Jekyll and Hyde act. Meo allowed two runs (one earned) in five innings, surrendering just two hits and striking out eight, but also walking four and hitting another batter. Leading the way at the plate for Visalia were Chris Owings and Keon Broxton, who each recorded two-hit days with a walk (yes, Owings drew another walk!).
Low-A: South Bend 12, Beloit 10. (7-7) Man, this game felt like it would never end. There was a total of 31 hits combined between the two clubs to go with five walks, two hit batters, and five errors. Yeah, it was a brutal game. The only hitter in the South Bend lineup to not record a hit was lead-off hitter Chris Ellison, with Inciarte clearly leading the way with his spectacular line above. Also doubling in this contest were Bobby Stone, Tom Belza, and Matt Helm. This game was clearly all about offense, although it's worth noting that Seth Simmons did a nice job in relief with 2.2 scoreless frames, and D.J. Johnson locked things down with a scoreless ninth.
On the bright side, I got to watch Twins top prospect Miguel Sano hit a 420-foot home run (this is neither hyperbole nor some strange allusion to the date, people) to left, and the produce race was epic (featuring four ND students I vaguely know who had been partaking heavily in the Cove's Thirsty Thursday $1 beer promotion). Produce Race Round-Up: There was a four-produce pile-up around the second base turn, corn body-slammed carrot WWF-style between second and third before taking off his costume's corn head and throwing it at tomato, and a mysterious hot dog came out of the stands and speared tomato as he was rounding third and heading for home in the lead. I honestly can't tell you who won, because I was too busy hunched over in laughter. Low-A baseball, everybody.