Ahhh, good old Rusty Ryal, a member of one of the worst Diamondbacks teams in history back in 2010. After a stint in Japan he's back with the AAA club and merely hit 2 home runs including a grand slam and 6 RBI. The Aces put up a 10-spot in the 6th inning to return to their winning ways after a slight hiccup on Monday and cruised to a 13-7 victory over Colorado. Visalia had the bats working too and scored 12-runs in a much-needed win after Monday's embarrassment. South Bend was the lone disappointment and while their bats were working, the pitching of Jesse Darrah was not and they lost 9-6. Mobile had a travel day.
Snake Stars
3 Stars: Rusty Ryal, Reno 2 for 2, 3 R, 1 BB, 2 HR, 6 RBI, Grand Slam
2 Stars: Jonathan Griffin, Visalia 3 for 4, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 DBL, 6 RBI
1 Star: Bobby Borchering, Visalia 3 for 5, 2 DBL, 3 RBI
0 Stars: Jesse Darrah, South Bend 4.1 IP, 4 H, 4 BB, 1 HR, 6 ER
Game summaries after the break.
Triple A: Reno 13 @ Colorado 7. After falling behind 6-2 through 5 innings the Reno offense exploded in the 6th for 10 runs, capped off by Rusty Ryal's grand slam, his second homer of the game. Barry Enright started for Reno and was pulled for a pinch hitter in that 6th inning after giving up 6 runs (5 earned) on 5 hits and 2 walks. Reno sent 14 batters to the plate during the melee. Poor Konrad Schmidt made two of the outs in the inning. Jake Elmore had 2 hits and 2 RBI in the game. Ryan Wheeler had 2 hits including a double. A.J. Pollock had 2 hits and scored 3 runs, and Taylor Harbin had a pair of hits including a double and an RBI. Amazingly Adam Eaton went 0 for 5 and lost 9 points off his average to .391.
High A: Visalia 12 Modesto 6. After being embarrassed the day before 19-6, Visalia exacted some revenge on Modesto with a 12-6 beating that was never close. The Rawhide pounded out 19 hits led by Jonathan Griffin and Bobby Borchering in the middle of the lineup who had 3 hits apiece including 4 doubles and 9 RBI between them. The top of the order was just as sharp as Michael Freeman and Ryan LaPensee had 4 hits each (all singles) and scored 6 times total. Anthony Meo started but wasn't anything special as he only made it through 4 innings while surrendering 7 hits, 2 walks and 5 earned runs. On a bright note he did strike out 7. Keon Broxton hit another solo homer, his 7th of the year. Wagner Mateo did play again at first base as Jonathan Griffin was moved to DH. I'm thinking they're just giving him some advanced at bats prior to embarking on his career outside of Salt River Fields. I still expect to see him report to one of the Rookie-ball teams next week. We'll see. He went 1 for 4 with a double.
Low A: South Bend 6 @ Lake County 9. Jesse Darrah started and was holding his own in the contest until the 5th when he couldn't get but one out and Lake County eventually scored 7 to blow it open. Even the eminently untouchable Seth Simmons wasn't immune as he came on in that 5th and poured some of his own gasoline on the fire. DH Fidel Pena went 3 for 5 with a double and an RBI and Gerson Montilla also had 3 singles. Ryan Court had a pair of hits including his first homer of the year.