Chafin had had his share of struggles since coming up from Double-A, with a 6.17 ERA over 11 starts for the Aces. But perhaps, today was a good sign as he allowed only an unearned run over 7.2 innings in Salt Lake, on six hits and no walks. Chafin struck out four, and continued to do rather better away from home than in Reno: His ERA on the road after this start dropped to 2.75, while his ERA in Aces Ballpark is 8.10. There have been false dawns before - he threw eight shutout innings in Albuquerque, his last road start on June 28 - so we'll hope this one is more sustainable.
Three stars: Andrew Chafin, Reno 7.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, W (4-4)
Two stars: Grant Heyman, Hillsboro 3 for 5, 2 R, DBL, HR (4), 5 RBI
One star: Yorman Garcia, Hillsboro 3 for 4, 2 R, DBL, 4 RBI, SB
No stars: Mike Lee, Mobile 3 IP, 11 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, L (6-5)
Triple A: Reno 4 @ Salt Lake 1. 2B Jordan Pacheco drove in the go-ahead run with no outs in the eighth, scoring Mike Freeman who had hit a leadoff triple. RF Roger Kieschnick and 3B Andy Marte also had RBI in the decisive three-run inning. As noted above, Andrew Chafin had a solid start, but so did Wade LeBlanc for the Bees. Chafin was lifted with two outs in the eighth, Will Harris retiring one batter before Jake Barrett picked up his fourth save. DH Garrett Weber had two hits and a walk for Reno, while C Bobby Wilson doubled and singled, driving in the Aces' first run with a fourth-inning double.
Double-A: Mobile 4 @ Pensacola 8. This one was over almost before it had started, as the Blue Wahoos (no, really - that's what they're called) almost batted around before making their first out. It took Michael Lee nine attempts to retire a batter, and by the time he did so, the BayBears were 7-0 down. The bullpen held it together, allowing one run over five innings in relief, with two shutout innings from Seth Simmons. Mobile got on the board in the third inning, as 3B Jake Lamb, hit his 14th home-run of the year, a three-run shot. 2B Tom Belza reached base four times, with a double and three walks, scoring twice.
High-A: Visalia 7 @ High Desert 6 (11). The Rawhide came back from four down to force extras, then an RBI walk to CF Breland Almadova scored the go-ahead run in the 11th. Spenser Arroyo worked six innings, giving up five earned runs on 10 hits and a walk, with three strikeouts, and Joihnny Shuttlesworth threw three shutout innings of one-hit relief, before Enrique Burgos converted his 20th save. 3B Brandon Drury, RF Socrates Brito, C Jose Queliz and LF Alex Glenn had three-hit nights, Glenn also stealing a base, with every other Visalia starter bar DH Raul Navarro having two hits, as they had 21 in total. 1B Rudy Flores hit his 18th home-run of the year and fourth in four games.
Class A: South Bend off day
Short A: Hillsboro 13 @ Vancouver 3. The Hops took advantage of six errors by the Canadians, but also pounded out 13 hits of their own, with LF Grant Heyman falling a triple short of the cycle, driving in five runs, including a two-run homer, his fourth. RF Yorman Garcia drove in four, with three hits and a walk, and also stole a base, though was also picked off. Nick Baker improved to 3-0 with six competent innings, scattering nine hits but walked none and struck out five, being charged with three earned runs. The Hops bullpen then finished things off with three hitless innings of relief.
Rookie: Missoula 4, Orem 8. Tyler Bolton struggled early, giving up five runs in the first three innings, but gutted it out to last 5.2 in the end, though allowed 12 hits and a walk with seven strikeouts. The resulting hole proved just too much for the Osprey, who stranded 13 base-runners on the night. They did manage to pull to within one after seven, before Jerry Solis gave up four hits, including two home-runs, in a three-run eighth. 2B Fernery Ozuna and LF Justin Williams each had a trio of hits, the latter driving in a pair of runs.
AZL: D-backs 5, White Sox 7. A rough ninth inning for Anthony Bazzani, who faced seven batters and retired only two, coughing up a lead and taking the loss in a three-run ninth. After Felipe Perez allowed four runs in 2.2 innings, the bulk of this one was pitched by Rodrigo Takahashi, who worked 5.1 scoreless innings, on two hits and no walks with three strikeouts. LF Matt McPhearson had two hits, drove in a run and stole his 16th base. There were also two hits for 2B Henry Castillo and SS Jacob Cordero, the latter also walking.