Just when we were starting to wonder what was up with prospects Andrew Chafin and Bobby Borchering, both put in Saturday efforts that might help calm some of those concerns, particularly Chafin. After four consecutive awful outings prior to the California League All Star break, there was some head-scratching going on about what was happening with Chafin. The concern even reached the point of wondering if he was hurt. But after an excellent outing last night, it seems what he needed most was a rest. Other than pitching 1 inning in the All Star Game Chafin hadn't started a game in two weeks. He tossed a dominating 5 shutout innings while allowing just 3 hits and a walk and striking out 7. To say he really needed that would be an understatement. Borchering helped out his starter by hitting a pair of 2-run homers, his 17th and 18th of the year. He is 2nd in the league in home runs and 3rd in RBI. The problem however is he's 5th in the league in strikeouts and a K-rate of 28.5% isn't going to get him a ticket to Mobile, much less The Show. There were a handful of special pitching performances yesterday with Brett Lorin, Blake Perry and Andrew Barbosa all having noteworthy outings.
Snake Stars
3 Stars: Andrew Barbosa, Missoula 6 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 13 K, 0 ER
2 Stars: Blake Perry, Yakima 9 IP, 3 H, 0 BB, 5 K, 1 ER
1 Star: Andrew Chafin, Visalia 5 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 7 K, 0 ER
0 Stars: Ryan Wheeler, Reno 0 for 2, 2 K
Game summaries after the jump.
Triple A: Reno 2 Las Vegas 7. Not much to report in this one as the Aces continue to scuffle of late. Joe Martinez pitched okay in allowing 5 runs over 7 innings. But the bats couldn't get anything going off veteran minor league pitcher Andrew Carpenter. Joe Patterson gave up 2 more runs and has hurt his chances of getting called up again with 2 poor relief outings in a row. The offense had only 4 hits with Geoff Blum getting 2 of them.
Double A: Mobile 2 @ Huntsville 0. This one was all about starter Brett Lorin and Mobile's outstanding bullpen. Lorin pitched a stellar 6 shutout innings on 3 hits and a walk. Eury De La Rose pitched a perfect 7th, Matt Gorgen took care of the 8th, and Evan Marshall closed it out in the 9th for his 16th save. Marshall is sporting a sparkling 1.65 ERA but his peripherals aren't quite as attractive with 17 Ks in 27 innings and a .250 BAA. But he knows how to get people out. Chris Owings accounted for all the scoring with a 2-run homer in the 7th, his 2nd for Mobile and his 13th on the year. Evan Frey went 3 for 5 with a double and Matt Davidson had a couple of singles and a walk to hopefully begin a climb out of his recent slump. Alfredo Marte still hasn't played since June 23.
High A: Visalia 6 @ Stockton 1. A big sigh of relief for Andrew Chafin as a 2-week rest was just what the doctor ordered. He pitched a dominating 5 shutout innings with 7 Ks, allowing just 3 hits and a walk. Bobby Borchering showed up on offense with a pair of 2-run blasts in back-to-back innings to give Chafin all the runs he needed. Jonathan Griffin, Raywilly Gomez and Garrett Webber each contributed a pair of singles.
Low A: South Bend 2 Dayton 9. One of the few poor starting performances was put in by Jesse Darrah as he surrendered 9 hits and 2 home runs for 7 earned runs in just 4 innings of work. Alex Capaul did a nice job in relief with 4 shutout innings, but it was too little, too late. The Silver Hawks offense managed just 4 hits with Eric Groff the lone bright spot with a double and 2 RBI.
High Rookie: Yakima 6 Tri-City 1. Starter Blake Perry had perhaps the best outing of his professional career with a complete-game victory in which he allowed just 3 hits and a single earned run while striking out 5. Perry started the year in South Bend but got hit pretty hard there and was demoted to Yakima to see if he can get it together. He's still just 20 so this was a huge step to start working his way back into the long-term prospect conversation. Daniel Poma had 2 hits and a big bases-loaded triple in the 8th to blow open a close game. Jimmy Comerota and Kevin Medrano each had 3 singles in the game.
Low Rookie: Missoula 10 Billings 5. You've probably seen the last of starter Andrew Barbosa in Missoula as he was dominating again for the 3rd straight time starting his professional career. All he did was strike out 13 in 6 shutout innings. In 16 innings over 3 starts Barbosa has yet to allow a run and has only surrendered 4 hits with a whopping 24 strikeouts. I expect him to pitch next in South Bend if not Visalia. He's a 24-year-old rookie who missed 2 college seasons to arm injury. He needs to move up into his age bracket and soon. Michael Perez went a perfect 3 for 3 with a walk and 3 RBI. He now has 13 RBI in his first 9 games and is touting a 1.109 OPS. Missoula has 8 regulars or semi-regulars hitting .300 or better.