It was not a good night for the Dbacks' Minor League affiliates overall...other than Reno winning as always. Patrick Corbin battled his way through 12 hits allowed in 6.1 innings in Reno last night, but he walked none, struck out 4 and held Tucson to 4 runs (3 earned) on his way to his 3rd victory in his last 4 starts. Mobile was no-hit by Cincinnati prospect Daniel Corcino and a reliever, though David Holmberg pitched very well himself. Andrew Chafin was awful for the 4th time in a row in a Visalia beat-down, and it's time to start worrying about him. South Bend was the victim of a great pitching performance against them as well in a 6-0 loss. And Yakima lost again to start their season 0-2. On a bright note, Stephen Drew played for the third game in a row and went 2 for 4 with a run scored and a walk.
Snake Stars
3 Stars: A.J. Pollock, Reno 3 for 5, 1 R, 1 TPL, 3 RBI
2 Stars: David Holmberg, Mobile 5 IP, 6 H, 1 BB, 6 K, 1 ER
1 Star: Konrad Schmidt, Reno 3 for 5, 1 R, 1 DBL, 3 RBI
0 Stars: Andrew Chafin, Visalia 3 IP, 3 H, 6 BB, 2 HR, 4 K, 6 ER
Game summaries after the break.
Triple A. Reno 9 Tucson 4. Patrick Corbin fought well through 6.1 innings of work though he allowed a whopping 12 hits on the night and got the team into an early 3-0 hole. He didn't walk anyone and he struck out 4, so by PCL standards it was an effective outing. As always the Reno bats came to the rescue to make Corbin a winner. They scored 8 runs in the 5th through 7th innings to turn a close game into a route. A.J. Pollock had a good night with 3 hits in five at bats including a triple and 3 RBI. Konrad Schmidt also contributed 3 hits of his own including a double and 3 RBI. Stephen Drew had a pair of singles and a walk. Jake Elmore had 2 doubles and an RBI and Rusty Ryal had a pair of hits with a double and an RBI.
Double A: Mobile 0 @ Pensacola 6. The Bay Bears were no-hit last night by Patrick Corcini and Wilkin De La Rosa. Corcini pitched 8 of the 9 innings before being lifted due to pitch count. David Holmberg made his second Mobile start and was very solid. He only went 5 innings but he allowed just 1 run on 6 hits and a walk. He struck out 6. No hitting stars obviously. The team did collect 4 walks.
High A: Visalia 3 @ Stockton 11. Andrew Chafin has officially hit the skids and last night was just as bad if not worse than his last 3 bad starts. He only made it through 3 innings and he continues to pile up the walks with 6 more last night to go with 3 hits (two of which were home runs) and 6 earned runs. Chafin seems to have completely lost his command and he's walking them in bunches followed by meatballs down the middle that are getting hammered. Chafin might need a short break to work things out on the side. Hitting notables were Keon Broxton and Garrett Webber who each went 2 for 4 with a solo homer. It was Broxton's 8th and Webber's 4th.
Low A: South Bend 0 West Michigan 6. The Silver Hawks bats were totally silenced by Tiger lower-level prospect Kyle Ryan as they managed only 2 hits all night in an ugly 6-0 loss. Starter John Pedrotty was not very good again as he gave up 6 earned runs via 8 hits, 2 walks and 2 home runs in 5 innings of work. One bright note was relief pitcher Kaleb Fleck who pitched 2 scoreless innings with 3 Ks. Fleck was a free agent signee last September after missing the entire 2011 college season with an injury. He's said to throw in the mid-90s and in his first two relief appearances has performed very well. He was getting some serious scouting interest prior to his 2011 injury. Looks like a decent signing and someone to keep an eye on.
High Rookie: Yakima 2 @ Eugene 5. Not much to write about in this one as the Bears managed just 5 hits on the night to go with some middling pitching to produce a 5-2 loss. 2012 20th round pick Jacob House got his 1st professional hit, as did 2012 free agent signee Shaun Cooper, who played last year for the University of Utah.