Dbacks MiLB Round-Up 8/24: JWill Coming On

Justin Williams was threatening the .400 line back in Missoula, though without a lot of power but that still earned him a promotion to South Bend. Things started out a little slow there but he has really started to crank it up in the last week or so. And yesterday he delivered a big 3-run home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Silver Hawks the victory. He's hitting .400 in his last 7 games with 2 home runs and 9 RBI. He just turned 19 last week and may find himself in Visalia at the tender age of 19 next year. This kid keeps looking more and more like the real deal.

Snake Stars
3 Stars: Andrew Barbosa, Visalia 6 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 9 K, 0 ER, W (6-2)
2 Stars: Anthony Banda, South Bend 6 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 R, 0 ER
1 Star: Mitch Haniger, Mobile 3 for 4, 1 BB, 2 DBL, 3 RBI
0 Stars: Jamie Westbrook, South Bend 0 for 4, 3 K

AAA: Reno 5 Omaha 4. Andrew Chafin had an effective start going 6 innings allowing 3 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks with 3 strikeouts. All 3 runs he allowed were in the first inning. Kevin Munson and Jake Barrett pitched clutch shutout innings of a tie game in the 8th and 9th innings respectively. They won in walk-off style on a sacrifice fly by Danny Dorn in the bottom of the 9th. Mike Jacobs hit a 2-run homer and Andy Marte delivered a solo shot Nick Ahmed went 2 for 4.

AA: Mobile 5 Huntsville 4. Aaron Blair had another good outing allowing 2 runs over 6 innings on 4 hits and a walk while striking out 4. The bullpen robbed him of a win when Jimmie Sherfy gave up a pair of runs in the 7th. But Ryan Court hit a game-tying homer in the bottom of the 8th that sent the game into extra innings where they won it in the 11th on a Mitch Haniger RBI single. Haniger had a nice game going 3 for 4 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI. Brandon Drury went 2 for 4 with 2 walks and Argenis Diaz added a pair of singles.

A+: Visalia 8 @ San Jose 0. Andrew Barbosa was overpowering once again striking out 9 Giants hitters during 6 shutout innings. Barbosa is pitching as well as ever and should be ticketed for Mobile shortly, though maybe not with the season nearing its end. Rudy Flores continued to pound the ball going 2 for 4 with a 2-run homer and 4 RBI. He's up to 26 homers on the year. Socrates Brito hit his 10th home run in a 2 for 4 game and Raul Navarro contributed 3 hits.

A: South Bend 6 West Michigan 3. Justin Williams delivered a big 11th inning 3-run homer to make the Silver Hawks a winner as his bat is really heating up of late. Anthony Banda continued to pitch well with 6 strong innings surrendering just 1 unearned run on 2 hits. The bullpen was a little shaky allowing runs in the 7th and 9th that gave Michigan the lead. The Hawks tied it in the 9th when Andrew Velazquez led off with a double and scored on Joe Munoz' sacrifice fly, which led to J Will's heroics.

A-: Hillsboro 4 Spokane 7. Jared Miller gave up a pair of runs in both the first and second innings and they were chasing their tail the rest of the game. Jordan Parr hit a solo home run in the 2nd and Elvin Soto hit a 2-run shot in the 6th, but it wasn't enough.

R: Missoula - Rained Out

AZL: Dbacks 5 Giants 1. Brad Keller pitched 6 strong innings allowing 1 run on 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out 7. If you recall Keller started the season in Missoula where he got hit pretty hard. He is pitching much better since he arrived back in Phoenix. The Pioneer League can be a really tough to place to pitch and I expect they'll try him with Hillsboro in the Northwest League next year and see if he can't advance from there instead of through Missoula. Alvaro Rondon, Gerard Hernandez, Raul Santana and Yorman Garcia each had 2 hits.