As if in protest to the Diamondbacks activating Geoff Blum, Ryan Wheeler posted yet another big day at the plate highlighted by a grand slam in the 5th inning leading the Aces to a come-from-behind win. He added a pair of doubles for good measure. I know it's hard to contain excitement for anything that happens on offense in the PCL, especially when Josh Bell goes 5 for 8 in his first two games back after struggling against big league pitching. But Wheeler just keeps posting statement game after statement game. He'll get his chance soon enough. One of the negatives about Josh Bell returning to Reno is it pushes Wheeler off badly-needed time at 3B to work on his "supposedly poor defense." Around the minors all 6 teams won with some gaudy offensive performances combined with solid pitching across the board, except for Charles Brewer and Taylor Siemens that is.
Snake Stars
3 Stars: Ryan Wheeler, Reno 3 for 5, 3 R, 2 DBL, 1 HR (13), 5 RBI (81)
2 Stars: Matt Davidson, Mobile 2 for 3, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 HR (17), 3 RBI
1 Star: Gerson Montilla, Visalia 3 for 6, 2 R, 2 HR (7), 6 RBI
0 Stars: Bobby Borchering, Visalia 0 for 5, 3 K
Game summaries after the jump.
Triple A: Reno 15 Las Vegas 8. After getting behind 7-1 through 5 innings, the Reno offense exploded for 14 runs in the 5th through 7th innings. The highlight was Ryan Wheeler's grand slam in the 5th as he compiled his 81st RBI of the year to lead all of AAA. Charles Brewer started and was the victim of four long balls and 8 earned runs in 6.1 innings. Josh Bell had 3 more hits and 3 more RBI in his second game back. Konrad Schmidt and Taylor Harbin also had 3 hits apiece.
Double A: Mobile 6 Mississippi 2. Matt Davidson continued his way back from a prolonged slump with a 2-hit night that included a 3-run homer in the 7th that blew open a close game. Chase Anderson was outstanding with a 5-inning, 1-hit effort (a solo home run) with 4 Ks. They should start extending him now that he's pitched his 4th game after missing a month from mid-May to mid-June. Mark Krauss had 2 hits, a double and an RBI and now has his average over .300. Yazy Arbello hit his 6th homer of the year.
High A: Visalia 13 Inland Empire 12. The Rawhide battled back from deep deficits on 3 separate occasions and finally won it in the 10th on an Ender Inciarte walk-off single that scored Keon Broxton. Gerson Montilla was the big star as he hit a 3-run homer in the 6th to cut the lead to 10-9, then another in the bottom of the 9th with 2 outs to erase that 3-run deficit. He had 6 RBI for the game. Raoul Torres added a 3-run shot of his own. Ender Inciarte had 4 hits including the game winner in the 10th. Taylor Siemens had a completely forgettable start and the relievers weren't much better.
Low A: South Bend 6 Lansing 5. The Silver Hawks won in extra frames on a walk-off single by Raul Navarro in the bottom of the 10th. Jake Barrett had his first rough outing as a pro when he surrendered a game-tying 3-run homer in the top of the 9th with 2 outs to tie the game at 5. Tyler Green started and pitched 6 solid innings allowing 2 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks before Barrett threw away the victory. Kerry Jenkins had 2 hits and 2 RBI including his 1st home run of the season.
High Rookie: Yakima 7 Spokane 3. A good outing by Cuban Alexander Carreras gave the offense plenty of time to get going in a 7-3 win. Carrerras finished 6 innings and allowed just 4 hits and 3 walks resulting in 2 earned runs, more than good enough to earn the victory. The Bears featured a balanced offensive attack with Josh Parr and Mark Ginther the only hitters with multiple hits.
Low Rookie: Missoula 5 Billings 2. The offense arrived just in time with 3 runs in the 7th and another in the 8th to blow open a well-pitched game by both clubs. Jared Ray started and overcame a spat of wildness by pitching out of a few jams early on. Ty Linton had 3 hits including a double and a triple. Jake Lamb hit a 2-run shot in the 7th and Michael Perez connected on a solo shot.