Dbacks MiLB Round-Up 8/21: Bolsinger hit in face

Scary stuff at Aces ballpark this evening, as starter Mike Bolsinger had leave the game with two outs in the second inning, after being hit in the face with a line-drive off the bat of Iowa Cubs' second-baseman, Jonathan Mota. There has not yet been an update on his condition, but we sincerely hope there is no severe damage. It's a reminder that, while the rewards may be smaller in the minor leagues, the risks of unfortunate accidents are no less.

Snake Stars
3 stars: Blayne Weller, Visalia 5.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 13 K
2 stars: Brent Jones, South Bend 5 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, BB, 6 K, W (4-2), CGSO
1 star: Andy Marte, Reno 2 for 4, 2 R, DBL, HR (17), 2 RBI, OF assist
0 stars: Merkis Montero, AZL D-backs 4.2 IP., 5 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, L (2-1)

Triple-A Reno 7, Iowa 2. After Bolsinger's unfortunate early exit, Mark Serrano pitched a solid emergency outing, allowing one run over 4.2 innings on five hits and a walk, with six strikeouts. 2B Garrett Weber picked up three of the Aces nine hits, with 3B Andy Marte clubbing his 17th home-run of the year as well as doubling, driving in and scoring twice. The box-score shows Danny Dorn starting at catcher for Reno, but I'm pretty sure that's as much BS as Blake Lalli starting at SS! Anyway, Dorn - wherever he played - double, tripled and walked, and RF Zach Borenstein hit his 7th AAA homer, #15 overall.

Double-A Mobile 3, Mississippi 4. Archie Bradley started for the BayBears and it mostly went well. That meaning, except for a three-run third, which included back-to-back-to-back walks by Bradley. He went five innings, allowing three runs on five hits and those three walks, with six strikeouts. Mobile had scored three runs in the first., but managed only four hits and no runs the rest of the way. SS Argenis Dias picked up three hits and a walk, also scoring a run, with 2B Gerson Montilla getting two hits. Seth Simmons threw two scoreless innings of relief, but in his second inning, R.J. Hively allowed the go-ahead run and took the loss.

High-A Visalia 5, Ranco Cucamonga 3. Previously this year, I've recapped a Blayne Weller no-hitter and another outing where he fanned 16. It was more of the same tonight, as 13 of the 17 outs he recorded were by the K, allowing one run on two hits and two walks in 5.2 innings. It got ugly as the bullpen took five attempts for the final out in the sixth, but the rest of the Visalia relievers threw three hitless innings from there, Enrique Burgos getting his 28th save. CF Breland Almadova had three singles, with 3B George Roberts and 2B Ryan Gebhardt getting two each. DH Steve McQuail hit his sixth home-run for Visalia, and 14th overall.

Class A Soutn Bend 2 @ Lansing 0 (5). Silver Hawks stater Brent Jones was credited with a relatively easy complete-game shutout, as the contest was called after the minimum five innings due to rain. He allowed five hits and a walk, striking out six, improving to 4-2 with a 2.45 ERA as a result. There wasn't much time for offense, but South Bend did enough, getting an RBI groundout from LF Fidel Pena, and an RBI single from 2B Jamie Westbrook. Westbrook also picked up another hit, and RF Justin Williams tripled and scored.

A short Hillsboro 4, Spokane 2. Marcus Solback allowed one earned run over seven innings, on six hits with no walks and three strikeouts, and that was just good enough for the Hops. CF Jordan Parr doubled and singled, while 1B Zach Myers tripled, driving in a run and scoring a pair. DH Kevin Cron and RF Steve Nyisztor each reached base twice, on a single and a walk, Nyisztor also stealing a pair of bases. Mason McCullough struck out the side in the eighth, albeit around a pair of walks. Zac Curtis came in for the ninth and also fanned three, around a hit and walk, lowering his season ERA to 0.75, now with 37 strikeouts in 24 innings.

Rookie Missoula @ Billings postponed. The game was rained out and will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Friday.

AZL D-backs 0 @ Cubs 6 (7). After a couple of solid outings in the Arizona Rookie League, with a 1.80 ERA in ten innings, Merkis Montero hit a bump tonight. He had to be lifted in the fifth and being charged with six runs (five earned) on five hits and two walks, the bulk of the damage coming in a four-run fifth. Scooter Price worked 1.1 innings of scoreless relief, but one out into bottom of the seventh, the heavens opened and that was it. The D-backs managed only three hits, no walks, and made a pair of errors, so the rain was likely a kindness.