With the Bay Bears having the day off, the other three of Arizona's aaffiliates were on the road, and the results were mixed. Two of the three went down to defeat, though both kept their game close. The most exciting contest was the sole victory, where Visalia edged San Jose, courtesy of an extra-inning homer. It's to that game we turn for our honored player, even though he did not feature in the decision.
Snakelet of the Day:
Andrew Chafin (High-A): 8 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 11 K
Triple-A: Reno 4 @ Sacramento 5. One bad inning undid Barry Enright: three of the four hits he allowed came in one inning, but one was a grand-slam off the bat of Chris Carter. That's the guy we got from the White Sox for Carlos Quentin, and subsequently traded to Oakland in the Dan Haren trade. Enright also walked Manny Ramirez with the bases-loaded in the five-run inning, but struck out 10 in seven innings. CF Adam Eaton, 2B Jake Ellmore and DH Mike Jacobs each had two hits, and the Aces outhit the River Cats 13-4. But their comeback fell just short, Ellmore grounding out to end the ninth, with the tying run on second.
Double-A: Mobile Bay Bears: off day.
High-A: Visalia 2 @ San Jose 1. Eric Groff homered with one out in the top of the tenth to break a 1-1 tie, and Bo Schultz got out of a hellish mess in the bottom half to preserve the win for the Rawhide. The sides exchanged single runs in the sixth, but that was all the damage Andrew Chafin suffered as Visalia starter. He allowed only three hits over eight innings, with one walk and 11 strikeouts. SS Michael Freeman, CF Archie Gilbert and DH Garrett Wener each had a hit and a walk. Schultz got the W for two innings of relief, but had men on second and third with no outs in the tenth, before striking out back-to-back hitters and getting a ground-out that ended the game.
A-ball: South Bend Silver Hawks 4 @ Great Lakes 6. The Silver Hawks took the lead 4-3 in the top of the fifth, and clung to that lead until the eighth, when Willy Paredes, in his second inning of work, couldn't hold it, allowing three runs on three hits and a walk. South Bend did get the tying run in scoring position with one out in the ninth, but couldn't get the hit they needed. Starter Jesse Darrah lasted only two innings, but Keith Hessler retired all 12 batters faced in relief, three by strikeout. 3B Ryan Court went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI.