Aaron Blair is movin' on up, with the pitching prospect being promoted to Double-A Mobile, and will make his debut for them on Sunday. Blair has been a strikeout machine this year, starting off with 44 in 35.2 innings for South Bend, and adding 81 in 72.1 innings in High-A with Visalia. His ERA was above four at both stops, but he held opposing hitters to an overall .231 average, and there's a reason he was our #4 prospect on John's mid-season update. It'll be interesting to see how he handles the jump to a higher standard of opposing hitters.
Snake Stars
3 Stars: Trevor Mitsui, Missoula 4-for-5, 3 R,, DBL, TPL, HR (5), 4 RBI
2 Stars: Brandon Jacobs, Visalia 2 for 3, 3 R, 2 HR (13), BB, 4 RBI
1 Star: Nick Baker, Hillsboro 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K
0 Stars: Tyler Bolton, Missoula 5 IP, 10 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, W(!) (3-1)
Triple-A: Reno 5, Tacoma 7. Andrew Chafin's struggles since his promotion continued, as he lasted only 4.1 innings this evening, and gave up six runs on six hits and a walk, with two strikeouts, pushing his ERA with Reno to 6.17. Jess Todd worked three impressive relief innings, with four K's and one hit. DH Blake Lalli got three hits for the Aces, 3B Garrett Weber had a double, a single and scored a run, and CF Roger Kieschnick finished a triple short of the cycle. He scored twice and drove himself in, getting his tenth homer among his three hits, but the home side's record fell to 52-47 with the loss.
Double-A: Mobile 7, Chattanooga 2. The BayBears jumped out with a three-run first, and that was as close as the Lookouts got the rest of the way. A solid outing by Bradin Hagens, who took a shutout into the eighth, before appearing to tire, giving up two of the four hits he allowed, including a two-run homer. He walked three and struck out four, improving to 8-4. CF Evan Marzilli went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and a walk, SS Nate Samson had two hits and a walk, and LF Zach Borenstein had two hits. All three men stole a base, Mobile swiping five on the night, 1B Tom Belza getting the other two.
High-A Visalia 14 Lancaster 9. Spenser Arroyo got a cheap W, despite allowing six runs in five innings, on seven hits and three walks, giving up two long balls but evening his record at 5-5. He benefited from a healthy dose of run-support, led by DH Brandon Jacobs, who homered in consecutive innings, to give him 13 on the year. 3B Brandon Drury also went deep, his 17th of the season, while SS Raul Navarro had a pair of triples and drove in four runs, but also made a trio of errors, giving him 15 on the season. C Ronnie Freeman got his first home-run in the ninth, and 1B Rudy Flores had three hits.
Class A: South Bend 6, Burlington 3. The Silver Hawks beat the Bees, despite being outhit 9-6. 3B Fidel Pena did much of the damage in his first game since being sent down from Visalia, with a three-run homer (#8 overall) in the second, and added an RBI triple later; LF Chuck Taylor doubled and had a solo shot, #2 for him this year. Starter Brent Jones got his first win, scattering six hits and a walk over five innings of work, striking out six and being charged with three runs, all earned. The bullpen worked four scoreless, striking out six, Will Locante striking out two of three batters faced before Silvino Bracho picked up his 18th save.
A short: Hillsboro 1, Tri-City 2. A good start from Nick Baker was for naught, as the Hops were held to six hits, all singles. Baker allowed three hits and no walks over his six innings, with eight strikeouts, allowing a solo home-run to lead off the fifth, which tied the game at one. Kyle Anderson allowed a run in the seventh, and took the loss as a result. 3B George Roberts had two of Hillsboro's hits, with RF Jordan Parr and DH Elvis Soto each reaching base twice on a hit and a walk. The sides combined to go 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position, the Hops' run scoring on a double steal, Parr taking home-plate and 2B Steve Nyisztor stealing second.
Rookie: Missoula 12, Grand Junction 9. A pair of ugly pitching starts, the two here combining to allow 16 runs on 21 hits in 8.1 innings. The Osprey's Tyler Bolton got the W, despite giving up 10 hits, a walk and seven runs in five, with five K's, as the home offense exploded for 17 hits. 1B Trevor Mitsui got the hard parts of the cycle out of the way, with three extra-base hits by the end of the fourth, including homer #5, then reached on an error and, finally, singled with one out in the eighth to complete it. LF Justin Williams had four hits, driving in and scoring a pair, and CF Dane McFarland had his third homer, a solo shot.
AZL: D-backs 3, Cubs 2. Felipe Perez and a trio of relievers combined to blank the Cubs for eight innings tonight. Perez worked three innings on two hits and a walk, and was followed by Rodrigo Takahashi, who struck out four on one hit and two walks over his three frames. However, in the ninth, Cody Clark allowed two runs before stranding the tying run at third. The D-backs managed only three hits, one by the rehabbing Jordan Pacheco, who also walked twice. He played 2B this evening, and is 2-for-9 with two walks and two RBI in his three games to date. SS Isan Diaz had his second home-run