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With few highlights to focus on last night, I thought it a good time to talk a little about our Goldy Parachute Insurance, Kila Ka'aihue, who is currently mashing the ball for Reno and holding down first base. Kila's no spring chicken and he's been around the block a few times including a couple of chances to earn a major league job. Unfortunately it hasn't quite worked out for him as he has that common curse of being a very good AAAA player. He's currently hitting .333 with 7 homers, 30 RBI and a 1.002 OPS. The problem for Kila is he's done that before in the minors and not been able to translate that success to the major leagues. His best major league stretch was in 2010 when he hit .217 with 8 homers and a .702 OPS in 200 plate appearances for Kansas City. The other problem is he plays first base exclusively, meaning there's only one way he's getting called up. And I don't think I really need to utter out loud what that way would be. In any case, he's a nice insurance policy that could come up and give you some clout for a short stretch should the need arise. Let's hope we don't need him.
All three minor league teams in action last night lost. Reno fell when Charles Brewer tossed 5 shutout innings but surrendered a crooked number in the 6th. Anthony Meo's wildness cost him yet again in a close 4-3 loss. And Visalia lost a 13-inning squeaker to a walk-off home run.
Snake Stars
3 Stars: Kyle Winkler, Visalia 5 IP, 7 H, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 ER
2 Stars: Brett Lorin, Mobile 2 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K
1 Star: Garrett Webber, Mobile 2 for 4, 1 DBL
0 Stars: Jon Griffin, Mobile 0 for 4, 2 K
Triple A: Reno 2 Omaha 6.Charles Brewer was dealing through 5 innings of a pitcher's duel as he entered the 6th inning with a 1-run lead. But then 4 consecutive singles and a home run in the 6th was his undoing, and the offense had no answer. Brad Snyder and Tuffy Gosewisch went 2 for 4. Juan Rivera had an RBI double. Adam Eaton went o for 3 and is now 3 for 28 (.107) since starting his rehab. It's not out of he realm of possibility that Eaton could get optioned back to Reno for a more extended period if he needs more time to get things squared away. it's not like they have to worry about burning any option years.
Double A: Mobile 3 @ Chattanooga 4. Anthony Meo started and continues to walk people. He ended up pitching 6 decent innings but 4 walks and a home run let in 4 runs over the first 2 innings and the offense was only able to manage 3 runs in response. Brett Lorin had 2 perfect innings in relief to keep it close. Ender Inciarte went 2 for 4 with a run scored, and Garret Webber went 2 for 4 with a double.
High A: Visalia 2 @ Inland Empire 3.This one wasn't settled until the 13th inning when Seth Simmons surrendered a walk-off home run with 1 out. It was Simmons' 3rd inning of work. Kyle Winkler started and was pretty good, though he only went 5 innings allowing 1 earned run on 7 hits and a walk. Gerson Montilla led the offense with 3 hits and a run scored while Jake Lamb contributed a double and 2 RBI.