Visalia's Daniel Palka finds himself on another hot streak with 9 hits in his last 18 at bats including 3 home runs, 3 doubles and 6 RBI. On the season he's sporting an .880 OPS with the main problem being the unsightly number of strikeouts. If he can get those under control he may have a future. Without doing that he's destined to be a AAAA player.
Snake Stars
3 Stars: Daniel Palka, Visalia 3 for 4, 2 R, 1 HR (22), 2 RBI
2 Stars: Marty Herum, Kane County 4 for 5, 1 R, 2 DBL, 1 TPL, 4 RBI
1 Star: Joe Munoz, Kane County 4 for 5, 2 R, 1 HR (5), 1 RBI
0 Stars: Chris Oliver, Kane County 0 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 ER
AAA: Reno - Rained Out
AA: Mobile - Rained Out
A+: Visalia 5 @ Stockton 7. The offense battled back from behind a couple of times but in the end the pitching didn't hold up. Brandon Sinnery gave up 5 runs over 5.2 innings and Joey Krehbiel gave up 2 more in the 8th to take the loss. Daniel Palka had a big game with his 22nd home run and 2 RBI. Kevin Cron hit his 24th and Kevin Medrano added a couple of singles.
A: Kane County 11 Lansing 10. The Cougar offense exploded for 11 runs in the first 4 innings then held on for dear life to secure the win. Marty Herum and Joe Munoz each had 4-hit games with Herum's featuring 2 doubles and a triple and Munoz's including his 5th home run. Jared Miller couldn't take advantage of all the offense allowing 7 runs in 4 innings. The bullpen got things to the 9th intact but Chris Oliver got nobody out and they had to call on super-closer Zac Curtis who got the final 3 outs while clinging to the one-run lead. It was his 28th save.
A-: Hillsboro 6 Vancouver 7. Tyler Mark was less than stellar giving up 4 runs in 4.1 innings. Then Jeferson mejia wasn't much better giving up 3 runs including the key go-ahead run in the 9th. On the plus side he did strike out 7 over those 4 innings. Stryker Trahan led the offense with a double and a home run. Josh Anderson and Sergio Alcantara each added 2 hits.
R: Missoula 6 Grand Junction 5. The Osprey got out to a nice lead with a 5-run third inning but gave that lead up by the the 6th. They rallied for the game winner in the 8th on a Matt Railey double. The highly-touted and talented Railey was playing only his 2nd game of the season. Let's hope he can stay healthy now so we can see what he's got. Anfernee Benitez gave up 4 runs in his 4+ innings and Keegan Long got the win with a clean 8th with 2 strikeouts. Dan Savas picked up his 12th save. Jason Morozowski hit a 3-run homer in the big 3rd inning and Isan Diaz hit his 7th homer in the same inning.