Not that he's destroying minor league pitching or anything, but he's doing enough that one has to wonder if Brandon Drury is going to get the call to try his hand at second base for the Dbacks in the not-too-distant future. He was promoted to Reno a week ago and is hitting .333 in 6 games with a good OBP. Not to mention he's been playing second base full time and with Chris Owings' struggles this season, eloquently highlighted here by Jim a few days ago, one does have to wonder.
Snake Stars
3 Stars: Daniel Palka, Visalia 4 for 5, 2 R, 1 DBL, 1 HR (14), 1 RBI
2 Stars: Jeferson Mejia, Hillsboro 5 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 8 K, 1 ER
1 Star: Ryan Doran, Kane County 5 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 0 ER, W (1-0)
0 Stars: Ariel Hernandez, Hillsboro 2/3 IP, 3 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 2 ER, BS, L (0-1)
AAA: Game 1. Reno 8 Fresno 0. The Aces beat up on Mark Appel and cruised to an easy win behind stellar pitching by Gabriel Arias. Arias spun a 7-inning complete game shutout on 5 hits and 2 walks. The offense jumped on Appel early with the bottom of the order doing all the damage. Number 7 hitter Garrett Webber went 2 for 2 with a walk, a triple and 2 RBI. Number 8 Blake Lalli went 2 for 3 with a double and 2 RBI, and number 9 Cody Ransom hit a 3-run homer in the second inning.
AAA: Game 2. Reno 2 Fresno 1. The doubleheader sweep was mostly due to the pitching of Justin marks who went 6 strong innings allowing one run on 5 hits with 3 strikeouts. Kaleb Fleck closed it out for his 5th save. The offense only had 5 hits but it was enough with Todd Glaesmann's 2 singles and Nick Evans' 12th home run.
AA: Mobile - Rained Out
A+: Visalia 7 @ High Desert 5. The Rawhide got out to a 4-0 lead early, lost the lead by the 7th, and rallied with 3 in the 8th on Alex Glenn's 3-run homer to steal the win. Blayne Weller started well but got knocked out in the 6th as J.R. Bradley followed and surrendered the early lead. Bud Jeter and Nick Sarianides did the job in the 8th and 9th innings to seal the win. Daniel Palka had a huge night going 4 for 5 with a double and his 14th home run. Alex Glenn drove in 4 runs amd Mitch Haniger had a double and a triple.
A: Game 1. Kane County 2 @ Peoria 0. In the first game of a doubleheader Ryan Doran led the way with 5 shutout innings followed by shutout relief innings from Luis Ramirez and Zac Curtis, who earned his 14th save. The offense pounded out 12 hits but just 2 runs led by Chuck Taylor's 3 for 4 night. Ryan Hutchison had 2 hits with a double and an RBI and Michael Perez went 2 for 3 with a double.
A: Game 2. Kane County 6 @ Peoria 3. A 4-run 5th inning blew open a close game as the Cougars completed the 2-game sweep. Trot Marks started and went 3 innings allowing one run on 3 hits. Tom Jameson followed with 2 perfect innings and 2 strikeouts to earn the win. Colin Bray drove in 3 runs with a double and a sac fly while Marty Herum added a pair of sac flies. Ildemaro Vargas went 3 for 4 with a double and Cody Regis added a pair of singles.
A-: Hillsboro 3 @ Vancouver 4. The Hops were in position to win until reliever surrendered 2 runs on 3 hits in the bottom of the 9th for the walk-off loss. Jeferson Mejia started and had one of his best games going 5 innings allowing one run on 4 hits and 2 walks with a whopping 8 strikeouts. Sergio Alcantara went 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI and is hitting .345 for the Hops after struggling mightily in 20 games for Kane County.
R: Missoula 7 Billings 9. The Osprey battled in a back-and-forth affair but lost it late when the bullpen struggled. Dallas Newton started and allowed 4 runs on 6 hits over 4 innings. The rest of the pitching wasn't too good either. Francis Christy drove in 3 runs on a pair of singles and Raymel Flores went 3 for 3 with a walk and a double.
AZL: Dbacks 4 @ White Sox 5. The Dbacks got out to a 3-0 lead but couldn't hold on. Emilio Vargas started allowing 3 runs on 5 hits over 4 innings. Luis Castillo added 4 innings of one-run ball to keep it close but the offense couldn't rally. Michael Branigan led the offense going 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI.