Without much excitement yesterday, I thought I'd give a little rundown on all our teams' standings and playoff possibilities. Reno has the second-best record in the PCL at 59-40 and leads their division by 9 games. The playoffs are looking good. Mobile won their division in the first half and has already qualified for the playoffs. They are 12-15 in the second half. Visalia did not qualify for the playoffs in the first half with a 31-39 record. They are 15-12 in the second half, 1.5 games out of first. They'll probably need to win the second half to make the playoffs. South Bend did not qualify for the playoffs in the first half. They are 12-14 in the second half and 3 games out of a playoff spot. They need to get hot. Yakima clinched their first half championship with a 20-14 record and a 5-game lead with 4 games left. Missoula is 14-16 and 6 games out in the first half race. They'll need to make something happen in the second half. The AZL Dbacks are 9-13 and 7 games out of a playoff spot.
Snake Stars
3 Stars: Alfredo Marte, Reno 3 for 4, 1 BB, 2 R, 1 HR (18), 2 RBI
2 Stars: Matt Helm, South Bend 3 for 5, 2 R, 2 DBL, 1 HR (8), 3 RBI
1 Star: Charles Brewer, Reno 6.2 IP, 7 H, 1 BB, 6 K, 2 ER, W (5-6)
0 Stars: Chris Owings, Mobile 0 for 5, 3 K
Game summaries after the jump.
Triple A: Reno 4 @ Tucson 3. Charles Brewer had his second consecutive solid outing as he got through 6.2 innings allowing 2 runs on 7 hits and a walk while striking out 6. After a couple of rocky starts a few back Brewer has settled back down. He can't be totally counted out yet as a possible big-league starter. A balanced 10-hit attack was just good enough with only Taylor Harbin getting multiple hits. Jensen Lewis picked up his 4th save with Albaladejo hanging out with the big boys.
Double A: Mobile 6 Pensacola 8. This back and forth affair didn't feature much good pitching and Pensacola eventually scratched out 2 runs late for the win. Alfredo Marte refuses to cool off with another big 3 for 4 game including his 18th home run. Mark Krauss hit his 15th home run and added three walks. Davidson went 0 for 4 with two Ks. Wasn't someone yacking about his hitting streak? Jinx!
High A: Visalia 1 @ Modesto 4. Just six measly singles from the offense wasn't nearly enough to offset a below average start from Taylor Siemens, who allowed 4 runs on 8 hits in 6 innings. Michael Freeman had 2 more hits, his third consecutive multi-hit game, and Ryan LaPensee added 2 of his own.
Low A: South Bend 5 Burlington 7. J.R. Bradley started and got knocked around in the 4th inning but was okay the other 4 innings. His final line was 5 innings pitched, 6 hits, 2 walks, 4 earned runs and 5 strikeouts. At least the strikeouts are encouraging, something Bradley hasn't done much of this year. Matt Helm did his best to keep his team in it with a big 3 for 5 night with 2 doubles, a home run and 3 RBI.
Short Season A: Yakima 3 Everett 5. A couple of defensive errors took the luster off what should have been another really good outing by starter Daniel Watts. Watts finished with no earned runs allowed but still surrendered 3 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks in 5 innings, while striking out 4. Blake Forslund gave up 2 runs in the 7th to take the loss. Shaun Cooper and Joseph Loftus paced the offense with a couple singles each.
Low Rookie: Missoula 1 @ Grand Junction 3. Jared Ray was pretty darned good on the mound but the offense couldn't give him enough help. Ray completed 7 strong innings allowing just 4 hits which led to 3 runs (2 earned). The offense did get a few on base with 7 hits and 3 walks, but 2 double plays combined with 0-6 hitting with RISP led to just 1 run. Rudy Flores and Daniel Pulfer each went 2 for 4.
AZL Rookie: Dbacks 3 @ Indians 8. Takashi Saito started for the third time at the rookie level and tossed his third consecutive shutout inning, though this time instead of getting 2 Ks he allowed 2 hits. Saito may be getting closer to rejoining the major league club. I'd say another week or so after going to somewhere like Reno first. Austin Platt came on behind Saito and was pretty awful, allowing 8 runs in 2+ innings. The offense had just 5 hits with Trahan getting a double (and another passed ball).