Yakima took the opening game of their three-game divisional playoff series with Boise 5-4 in comeback fashion. The Bears struck first in the top of the first on a walk and a throwing error to lead 1-0. Starter Blake Perry got through the first three innings unscathed but a triple, two walks and a grand slam gave Boise a 4-1 lead in the 4th. Perry walked the next batter and Manager Audo Vicente decided to turn it over to his strong bullpen right then and there. It proved to be a good decision. In the 6th the Bears scored three to tie it on an RBI double by Joseph Loftus followed by two walks, a hit batter and a passed ball. The Yakima bullpen delivered in a big way shutting out Boise the rest of the way on 3 hits with 8 strikeouts. They got the go-ahead run in the 9th on a Daniel Poma single and a Kevin Medrano double. Enrique Burgos had to deal with a runner on third with one out in the bottom of the 9th and then struck out the final two hitters to seal the win. Game 2 is scheduled for tonight with Derrick Stultz on the mound. Yakima ace Daniel Watts is on schedule to pitch Game 3 if necessary or Game 1 of the championship series if they close it out tonight.
Snake Stars
3 Stars: Joe Martinez, Reno 7 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 1 HR, 5 K, 1 ER
2 Stars: Sean Jamieson, South Bend 3 for 5, 2 R, 2 DBL, 2 RBI, 1 SB
1 Star: Conrad Flynn, South Bend 5 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 4 K, 0 ER, W (1-1)
0 Stars: Gerson Montilla, Visalia 0 for 5, 1 K
Game summaries after the jump.
Triple A: Reno 2 Tucson 1. Joe Martinez was outstanding allowing just one run over 7 innings on 3 hits and a walk while striking out 5. Jensen Lewis pitched a shutout 8th to preserve the 1-1 game and Jonathan Albaladejo notched a shutout 9th to get the win. Reno scored in the 1st inning on a leadoff double by Adam Eaton followed by an RBI single from A.J. Pollock. They didn't score the game-winner until the bottom of the 9th in walk-off style when Tyler Bortnick delivered a 2-out single to right that scored Wladimir Sutil who doubled ahead of him. Reno picked up free agent catcher Chris McMurray to fill Konrad Schmidt's spot who was called up to the big leagues as part of the team's roster expansion.
Double A: Mobile 3 Mississippi 2. Bradin Hagens made his 2nd start since being promoted from Visalia and it was a pretty good one. He surrendered a 2-run homer in the first but then followed that up with 4 innings of 1-hit ball. The Bay Bears trailed 2-1 entering the 8th when the heart of the order delivered 2 runs to take the lead 3-2. Evan Frey singled, Chris Owings doubled, Alfredo Marte hit a sacrifice fly and Matt Davidson doubled. Bryan Woodall shut out the Braves in the 8th and 9th to earn the win. Frey, Owings, Marte and Davidson each went 2 for 4 with Owings delivering 2 doubles and Davidson 1.
High A: Visalia 4 @ Stockton 5. Andrew Chafin started in the Rawhide's final game of the season and he was very good with a no-hitter going through 5 innings. He couldn't quite keep it up when he surrendered a 2-run homer in the 6th following an error, and a solo home run in the 7th. He completed 7 innings and struck out 7 while walking 3. Unfortunately the bullpen couldn't maintain the 4-3 lead as Seth Simmons gave up a solo homer in the 8th, and Patrick Schuster took the loss in the 9th on a pop-up triple off Gerson Montilla's glove and a walk-off single. Tyson Van Winkle had a big night going 3 for 4 with 2 doubles and Carter Bell went 3 for 4 with 1 double.
Low A: South Bend 9 @ Great Lakes 0. Conrad Flynn threw 5+ innings of shutout baseball in the Silver Hawks' final game of the season. He allowed 4 hits and a walk while striking out 4. Relievers Kaleb Fleck, Kable Hogben and Matt Sample shut out Great Lakes the rest of the way to preserve the shutout. The offense delivered 15 hits with Eric Groff, Sean Jamieson and Kerry Jenkins leading the charge with 3 hits each. Jamieson's night included 2 doubles, 2 RBI and his 30th stolen base.
Short Season A: Playoffs Game 1. Yakima 5 @ Boise 4. See writeup above.
Rookie: Missoula 8 @ Great Falls 2. In a must-win game in the Osprey's drive for the playoffs both the pitching and hitting came through as needed. Karl Triana delivered his best start in over a month with 5 shutout innings on 4 hits and 3 walks with 5 strikeouts. Rudy Flores did the most damage with a pair of singles and 4 RBI. Jake Lamb continued his torrid end-of-the-season tear with 2 doubles and 2 runs scored. Socrates Brito clubbed his 4th homer of the year. Missoula still controls its own destiny and has another must-win game tonight against Great Falls before finishing the season at home with 2 games against division leader Billings. They cannot afford to lose tonight because if Billings wins tonight they will clinch the division on the tie-breaker. So a win tonight and a 2-game sweep of Billings is what we'll be looking for to get Missoula into the playoffs.