Dbacks MiLB Round-Up 8/23: Velazquez Returning to Form

Andrew Velazquez has had quite the season. First he breaks one of the most esteemed records in baseball with the 73-game on-base streak. Then he immediately goes into a tailspin that threatened to undo some of the good he did in the first 3-1/2 months of the season. It's with some relief to report that he's really found his groove again over the last few weeks hitting .359 over his last 10 games and more importantly he's stealing bases again. He's up to 49 now. I'm sure he hit a bit of a mental roadblock there but it should prove to have been a good experience that he was able to push through it and get his game back on track. heady stuff for someone who just turned 20.

Snake Stars
3 Stars: Andrew Velazquez, South Bend 4 for 5, 1 BB, 2 R, 1 RBI, 2 SB (49)
2 Stars: Nick Ahmed, Reno 3 for 5, 1 R, 1 HR (3), 1 RBI
1 Star: Braden Shipley, Mobile 5 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 ER, W (1-1)
0 Stars: Lucas Harrell, Reno 4 IP, 3 H, 8 BB, 3 R, 2 ER, L (6-4)

AAA: Reno 7 Iowa 10. Lucas Harrell had trouble finding the plate with 8 walks in 4 innings but he wasn't the only problem. Jess Todd gave up 2 runs, Willy Paredes gave up 3 runs, and Bo Schultz gave up 2 more. The offense did battle but couldn't overcome all that. Nick Ahmed had 3 hits including his 3rd homer. Garrett Webber had 2 hits with a double and a walk. Rehabbing Chris Owings was 2 for 4 playing second base and A.J. Pollock played center field and went 1 for 4 with 2 RBI.

AA: Mobile 5 Huntsville 1. Braden Shipley made his first appearance in 11 days and was pretty good allowing just a solo home run over 5 innings. He gave up 3 hits and walked 1 while striking out 2 on 65 pitches. Brandon Drury had 2 doubles and an RBI while Dallas Tarleton was 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI.

A+: Visalia 2 @ San Jose 4. Spencer Arroyo had a pretty fair start allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 6 hits over 6+ innings while striking out 6. That 666 wasn't good enough as the offense had just 4 hits. Alex Glenn had a triple and a walk in the anemic effort.

A: South Bend 7 @ Lansing 3. The Hawks scored 6 times in the second inning and were never threatened after that. Ryan Doran was decent surrendering 3 runs (2 earned) in 5 innings of work. He struck out 6 and walked just one. Andrew Velazquez looks to be back on track as he went 4 for 5 with a walk and 2 stolen bases. Four relievers combined for 4 shutout innings of relief led by Silvino Bracho who struck out the side in the 9th in spite of giving up a couple of hits. Fidel Pena had 3 hits and the trio of Joe Munoz, Justin Williams and Daniel Bowman each had 2.

A-: Hillsboro 5 Spokane 4. This one took 11 innings as both teams scored 3 runs early and 1 run late. They won it in walk-off style when Pedro Ruiz hit a 2-out double in the bottom of the 11th and Zach Esquerra promptly singled him home. Austin Platt was fair going 6 innings allowing 3 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks. Rob Wort pitched the 10th and the 11th to get the win. The Hops had 12 hits with Pedro Ruiz doing the most damage with 2 doubles, a walk, an RBI and 2 runs scored.