Diamondbacks MiLB Round-up, 4/30: Visalia sweep again

There's no question who the Minor League Team of the Month was in the Diamondbacks' system: that would be  the Visalia Rawhide, who finished off the month with another sweep, and ended April with a staggering record of 17-4. Also looking good after the first stretch of the season are the Mobile BayBears, who sit at 13-7. However, both the Reno Aces and the Kane County Cougars are below .500, though not disastrously so, both sporting a record of 9-12.

Snake Stars
3 stars: Brent Jones, Kane County - 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
2 stars: Kevin Cron, Visalia - 3-for-4, HR (5), R, 3 RBI
1 star: Daniel Palka, Visalia - 3-for-5, DBL, 3 R, RBI, SB
0 stars: Willy Paredes, Reno - 1.2 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, HBP

Triple-A Reno 2 @ Las Vegas 7. Robbie Ray took a shutout into the sixth inning, but the Aces bullpen was not on their best form. Derek Eitel allowed both runners inherited from Ray to score before getting an out, and Willy Pareded faced fifteen batters, retiring only five of them. Reno scored in the first, on a single by 2B Jamie Romak, but struggled thereafter, though 3B Kevin Frandsen had a pair of hits. Peter O'Brien watch: O'Brien had a rare bad night, going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. Ray ended the night allowing two runs in 5.1 innings, on six hits and two walks, with eight strikeouts.

Double-A Mobile 3 @ Biloxi 1. Brandon Sinnery scattered eight hits and two walks over 5.1 innings, but held the Shuckers to one run, and lowering his season ERA to 1.61. He struck out three before giving way to the BayBears buillpen, who retired all ten batters faced. Seth Simmons stranded two inherited runners and retired four of seven by the K, before Adam Miller picked up the save on a 1-2-3 ninth. All the scoring here came in the first, Mobile's three runs keyed by a two-run single from 1B Rudy Flores. He, SS Raul Navarro and CF Mitch Haniger all had two hits apiece, with the last-named also walking.

High-A Visalia 7 @ San Jose 5. The Rawhide blew a four-run lead, but eventually held on to win. Anthony Banda looked good early, but ended up scattering nine hits over five innings, though walked none and struck out three. After the Giants had come back from 4-0 down to tie it at five after six, the Rawhide took the lead on a single by 3B Kevin Cron, which scored RF Daniel Palka; both men had three hits, Cron including his fifth homer of the year, and Palka stealing his fifth base.. A Domingo Leyba sacrifice fly in the ninth added an insurance run, and Joey Krehbiel notched his third save around a hit in the ninth. CF Breland Almadova reached three times on a hit and two walks.

A-ball Kane County 2 @ Burlington 3. Brent Jones threw six shutout innings for the Cougars, but the bullpen couldn't hold it, allowing a run in the eighth, and in the ninth a two-out, two-strike pop fly landed despite a despairing grab from 2B Fernery Ozuna to score the tying run. The Kane County bullpen stranded walk-off runs for Burlington in scoring position in the 10th, 11th and 12th innings, but with one out in the 13th, Nick Baker gave up the winning hit, the Bees having gone 0-for-15 with RISP before that point. LF Josh Elander and RF Victor Reyes each had two hits for the Cougars, while Jones allowed four hits and two walks, striking out a pair but got a no-decision.