Fast rising Visalia prospect Andrew Chafin has cooled of late after such a hot start to his professional career and it's mostly his wildness that has cost him. He didn't pitch as poorly as his last start but 8 hits, 4 walks and 4 earned runs in 6 innings is not what we've come to expect from him. He did strike out 8 though so it wasn't all bad news. The ultimate result was a 5-1 loss to Bakersfield. Mobile lost for the 4th time in five tries against Birmingham while South Bend was a winner behind a solid outing from up and down fringe prospect John Pedrotty. Reno had an off day.
Snake Stars
3 Stars: Tom Belza, South Bend 3 for 4, 3 R, 1 TPL, 1 HR (3), 2 RBI
2 Stars: John Pedrotty, South Bend 7 IP, 5H, 1 BB, 4 K, 2 ER
1 Star: Yazy Arbelo, Mobile 3 for 4, 2 R, 2 DBL, 2 RBI
0 Stars: Gaby Hernandez, Mobile 3.2 IP, 9 H, 2 BB, 5 K, 7 ER
Game summaries after the break.
Double A: Mobile 8 Birmingham 11. This was a wild affair as the teams kept trading body blows through the 1st four innings leading to an 8-8 tie after 4. But the Birmingham Bullpen out-dueled the Mobile pen keeping the Bay Bears lineup at "bay" the rest of the way (clever, eh?). Gaby Hernandez couldn't get it done on the hill and he left in the 4th after allowing 8 runs, 7 of them earned. The Mobile bats showed up as Yazy Arbelo had 3 hits, 2 of them doubles, and 2 RBI. Alfredo Marte also had 3 hits and an RBI, while Evan Frey, Mark Krauss and Daniel Kaczrowski notched 2 hits apiece. Top prospect Matt Davidson went 1 for 5 with a double and 3 RBI.
High A: Visalia 1 @ Bakersfield 5. Andrew Chafin started in this one and didn't have one of his better outings. He didn't totally implode though and gave the Rawhide a chance to get back in it, but the bats were mostly silent throughout the game. Chafin did complete 6 innings and struck out 8, but 4 walks and 8 hits led to 4 earned runs and Visalia never threatened to save their star pitcher from his second loss against 3 wins. Another Cincinnati pitching prospect Chad Rogers allowed only three hits through 7.2 innings while striking out 4 to earn the win. Ryan LaPensee collected a couple of singles and Rawilly Gomez hit a solo homer, his 3rd of the year.
Low A: South Bend 5 Great Lakes 4. John Pedrotty pitched 7 solid innings giving up just 2 runs on 5 hits in South Bend's 5-4 squeaker against Great Lakes. The 22-year-old lefty has flashed some good outings over the last year-and-a-half, he just needs to develop some consistency and a little better control and he could keep moving up. OF Tom Belza was the hitting star going 3 for 4 with a triple, homer and 2 RBI. Belza had a nice sophomore season at Missoula last year but he's been only so-so through the first season third at South Bend. He'll need to pick it up a notch if he doesn't want to hit his ceiling in the not too distant future. Willy Paredes earned his 3rd save pitching a scoreless 9th with 2 Ks.