The 2nd half of the Minor League season starts for Kane County, Visalia, and Mobile, which means it's time for promotions. The Diamondbacks had some major promotions today, with LHP Anthony Banda bumping up to AAA Reno along with C Oscar Hernandez and 1B Rudy Flores going to AA Mobile. Banda is the most notable prospect of that group, showing the skills necessary to be a solid #4 starter in the future and the Diamondbacks in need of future pitching past 2016. Banda went 6-2 with a 2.12 ERA and a 84/28 K/BB ratio in 76 1/3 IP. The PCL and the thin air in Reno will force him to further sharpen his command and if he continues his run of success should be on the Diamondbacks 40 man roster after the season.
Snake Stars:
3 Stars: RHP Joel Payamps (Visalia) 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R (1 ER), 3 BB, 8 K, W (2-0)
2 Stars: 3B Eudy Ramos (Missoula) 2 for 4, 2B, 3-R HR (1), 5 RBI
1 Star: 1B Francis Martinez (AZL Dbacks) 3 for 4, 2 3B, BB, 4 RBI, 2 R
0 Stars: RHP Yoan Lopez (Mobile) 1/3 IP, 5 H, 6 R (6 ER), 3 BB, 0 K, L (4-6)
Reno 6, Las Vegas 8: Edwin Escobar struggled mightily on the mound, allowing 7 runs on 11 hits and 3 walks with only 1 strikeout over 5 innings. The Aces struggled to hit in the first 6 innings of the game and quickly fell behind 8-0 in the 7th. From there, the Aces picked up 2 runs in the 7th when Todd Glaesmann hit a 2-run triple to make it 8-2. The Aces would make this a game late, scoring 4 runs in the 8th inning with the big blow coming from Zach Borenstein, who capped the inning with his 5th homer of the year. His 3-run shot made it 8-6, but the Aces were unable to do anything at the plate afterwards. Borenstein went 2 for 3 in the game with that home run and added a single and was hit by a pitch to reach a total of 3 times.
Mobile 5, Birmingham 8: Continuing the bad start theme, Yoan Lopez was terrible. Lopez allowed 5 hits and 3 walks over a third of an inning, with 6 runs coming to score against him. Myles Smith came in and did what he could to stabilize the game with 3 2/3 innings of 1-run ball. The Baybears quickly chipped into the big lead with a 3-run home run from the recently promoted Oscar Hernandez to make it 7-3. The Baybears got an RBI double from Kevin Cron and a solo HR from another player just recently promoted from Visalia in Rudy Flores to make it 7-5, but that's as close as they got. The bullpen kept the Barons at bay for most of the night, but they allowed an unearned run in the 8th when Oscar Hernandez had the worst defensive inning by a catcher since Damian Miller in the 4th inning of Game 3 of the 2001 World Series with two passed balls and a throwing error on a steal attempt.
Visalia 9, Inland Empire 2: The Rawhide picked up their 47th win of the year behind another stellar start from Joel Payamps. Payamps allowed 1 run on 2 hits and 3 walks in 6 innings with 8 strikeouts. The Rawhide jumped on a rehabbing Nick Tropeano with a run in the first, 2 in the 2nd, and a run in the 4th to take an early 4-1 lead. The Rawhide hit 2 doubles and 3 triples, with Chuck Taylor leading the team with 4 RBI. Victor Reyes had 3 hits, which included a triple, and a stolen base. The bullpen closed things out with 3 innings of allowing just an unearned run in the 9th due to an error from the SS Domingo Leyba.
Kane County 1, Clinton 6: The Cougars took a 1-0 when Galli Cribbs doubled then scored on a wild pitch. However, that lead would not last as the Lumber Kings answered with a run of their own in the 2nd off of Alex Young. Young would allow a total of 5 runs (4 earned) over 6 innings on 9 hits although he did post a solid 8 to 0 strikeout to walk ratio. The Cougars struggled offensively, only picking up 5 hits and 1 walk and went 1 for 9 with RISP and no runs after the first inning. Mason McCullough pitched the final 2 innings, giving up an unearned run in large part to his own error on a pickoff attempt. Cribbs was the only batter that got 2 hits in the game, going 2 for 4 with a double.
Hillsboro 2, Vancouver 4: The Hops struggled offensively and defensively in this game, collecting 0 RBI and 2 errors in the field. A couple unearned runs kept them in the game, but they couldn't muster any offense throughout. Starter Tyler Mark allowed 4 runs (3 earned) on 7 hits and a walk in 5 1/3 innings, striking out 7. The bullpen did its best to keep the Hops in the game, facing only the minimum for 2 2/3 innings, but there wasn't a comeback in the cards. Offensively, the only two players that reached base at least twice were Matt Railey (1 for 3, BB) and Luis Veras (2 for 4).
Missoula 7, Billings 6: This game was a tale of two halves. The first half of the game, the Mustangs plated 6 runs off starter Bryant Holtmann over 4 2/3 innings. The bullpen kept the Mustangs off the board for the next 4 1/3 innings while the offense went to work. In the 6th inning, the Osprey plated 4 runs to make it a 6-4 game. Tanner Hill, Billy Endris and Eudy Ramos all hit doubles in the innings. In the 7th inning, the same guys were able to give the Osprey the lead when Ramos' 2nd hit of the day, a three-run homer, gave them the lead. Armed with a 7-6 lead, Gabe Gonzalez finished his final inning of work with a scoreless 8th before giving way to Austin Mason in the 9th. Mason was able to lock down the same and finish a come from behind win.
AZL Dbacks 12, AZL Cubs 6: The Dbacks fell behind 6-1 in the 3rd inning but didn't panic. It started when Max Duval came in the 5th and pitched 3 scoreless innings with 8 strikeouts. The Dbacks were able to chip into the lead with a 3-run 5th inning that made the game 6-4. The Dbacks then used a parade of extra base hits to plate 5 runs in the 7th to take a 9-6 lead that included a home run, two triples, and a double. They made sure that lead held up with 3 more runs in the final two innings to blow the game open late. The big offensive outburst made Duval the winner of the game. Mack Lemeiux and Palmer Betts both pitched 1-2-3 innings to seal the deal, with Lemeiux picking up a pair of strikeouts in his inning.