Finally, an outing by Archie Bradley in which we can take some solace. It had been six starts since Bradley pitched a game in which he walked 2 or less batters, and just as importantly he mustered up a bunch of strikeouts tallying 8 for the night. He did give up 2 runs on 4 hits in 5 innings but it was certainly a positive step for the young right-hander. His success will ultimately come down to how well he can develop his command of the strike zone. It's a given that opposing hitters can't hit him as they're only doing so at a paltry .163 clip, which is elite level stuff. Let's hope he can build on that over his next few starts. Our other top prospect Tyler Skaggs had his second start at AAA and he had pitched 3 shutout innings before the first of two rain delays cut his night short. And in case you didn't know, I still love Ryan Wheeler. He only earned our 3 Snake Stars Award for the night...again.
Snake Stars
3 Stars: Ryan Wheeler, Reno 3 for 5, 1 R, 2 DBL, 1 HR (14), 4 RBI
2 Stars: Yazy Arbello, Visalia 3 for 4, 2 R, 1 DBL, 2 HR (7), 2 RBI
1 Star: Kyle Owings, Yakima 6 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 5 K, 0 ER, W (1-1)
0 Stars: D.J. Johnson, Visalia 1/3 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 3 ER, BS, Loss
Game summaries after the jump.
Triple A: Reno 8 @ Col Springs 1: Tyler Skaggs took the hill for his 2nd AAA start and as has happened to him several times this year, his outing was cut short by rain. I'm actually assuming it was the rain delay that caused his short stint but he also might have been held back to be ready for the Futures Game on Monday. He went 3 innings and allowed 2 hits and a walk while striking out 3. Conrad Flynn took over for Skaggs and threw 4 shutout innings of his own. Ryan Wheeler set a club record for RBI before the All Star Break with 4 more in his 3 for 5 night that included 2 doubles and a home run. He now has 87. That's a good season for most guys. A.J. Pollock had 3 hits out of the leadoff spot and scored twice. Cole Gillespie hit his 9th homer of the season and Mike Jacobs his 7th.
Double A: Mobile 1 @ Montgomery 9. Not a good night for the Bay Bears as Gaby Hernandez was knocked around again and the offense managed just 5 hits in the blowout loss. The good news of the night was the return to the lineup of Alfredo Marte who served as the designated hitter and promptly hit his 15th home run of the year. He is scheduled to play in the Futures Game on Monday as well. Matt Davidson went 0 for 4 with a strikeout and Bobby Borchering went 0 for 3 with a walk and 2 strikeouts. He has 1 hit in his first 12 Double A at bats, that being a solo home run.
High A: Visalia 5 @ Lancaster 6. The Rawhide was cruising through 6 with a 5-1 lead but the bullpen had a meltdown that cost them the game. Yazy Arbello was the big bat that helped build the lead with two solo home runs. Closer D.J. Johnson was the primary bullpen culprit when he surrendered 3 singles, a walk and a double giving Lancaster the walk-off come-from-behind win. Keon Broxton had 2 singles, a walk and his 11th stolen base. He's making a little progress of late having struck out just 6 times in his last 45 at bats.
Low A: South Bend 3 @ Dayton 4. Archie Bradley had a very respectable outing finally as he went 5 full innings while allowing 2 earned runs on 4 hits and just 2 walks, and he struck out a whopping 8 hitters. He left the game with the lead but the relief corps couldn't hold it. The Silver Hawks had just 5 hits with 2 coming off the bat of Kerry Jenkins including a double.
High Rookie: Yakima 4 @ Spokane 1. Kyle Owings got his first professional start after 6 relief outings and was simply stellar with 6 shutout innings and only 2 hits allowed. The right-handed free agent signee struck out 5 and walked none. The offense did just enough as Jimmy Comerota had 2 hits and 3 RBI. Wagner Mateo started again at 1B and went 1 for 5. Shaun Cooper tied a Yakima record with 4 walks.
Low Rookie: Missoula 9 @ Great Falls 2. A second consecutive solid outing by Colombian Karl Triana was instrumental in the Osprey's 9-2 win. He pitched 5 innings and allowed 2 runs on 2 hits and 2 walks. The offense exploded in the middle innings with 9 runs in the 4th and 5th. Jake Lamb had 3 hits with 2 doubles, Evan Marzilli had two hits with a double, Michael Perez had 2 hits with a triple, Breland Almadova had 2 hits with a double, and Tyler Bream had 2 hits with a double. The offense had 6 doubles and a triple on the night.
AZL Rookie: D-backs 7 Angels 10. Lots of offense but not much pitching in this one. 2012 11th-round pick Ben Eckels started but got knocked around as he only got through 3.2 innings yielding 6 runs (5 earned) on 6 hits and 2 walks. He did strike out 8 though so there is some positive to take from the outing. SS/2B Andrew Velazquez just keeps hitting as he had 3 more hits including a double and 2 RBI. The New York City native is hitting .404 to start his professional career and he also stole his 8th base in 11 games. Stryker Trahan had 2 hits in 5 at bats and notched 2 more RBI. Alex Glenn and William Castillo also had a pair of hits each.