Diamondbacks Minor League Recap 7/17/16: Anthony Banda picks up first AAA win

It's been a bit of a rough patch for Anthony Banda since his promotion to AAA. A couple rough outings to start there followed by allowing a go-ahead HR in the future's game to a Top 5 prospect in all of baseball. However, things took a turn for the better as he was able to control the Oklahoma City Dodgers lineup in the thin air of Reno. He allowed just 2 runs in 7 innings, struck out 5 and walked only 1. Those are the results you take every time and hopefully he becomes a part of the MLB rotation in the near future, he's pitched very well in the Diamondbacks organization since the 2014 deadline.

Snake Stars
3 Stars: LHP Anthony Banda (Reno) 7 IP, 5 H, 2 R (2 ER), 1 BB, 5 K, W (1-2); 1 for 2, RBI
2 Stars: RF Mitch Haniger (Reno) 2 for 4, 3B, 2-R HR (12), 3 RBI
1 Star: RHP Kai-Wei Lin (AZL Dbacks) 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 9 K, W (2-3)
0 Stars: SS Jack Reinheimer (Reno) 0 for 4, 3 K

Reno 6, Oklahoma City 2: As listed above, the Aces got a very good start out of Anthony Banda. They also gave him early run support, scoring 4 times in the first 3 innings. The offense was paced by Mitch Haniger, who was the other piece in the Gerardo Parra trade to Milwaukee, who hit a triple and a 2-run homer as part of a 3 RBI game. Haniger is knocking hard on the door to the majors, hitting .363/.431/.685 in 145 PA for the Aces. For those skeptical, Haniger hit .294/.407/.462 with a strikeout rate below 20% in Mobile, so I do think he'll fare better than Peter O'Brien at the MLB level. On a side note, Chris Owings' rehab is progressing well as he went 1 for 2 with a pair of walks and a pair of runs scored. The bullpen was able to close things out with a pair of scoreless innings.

Mobile 6, Chattanooga 5: Taylor Clarke scuffled a bit in this start, although there were also a lot of positives to take out of it. Clarke allowed 5 runs, but was able to go 7 innings and allowed only 2 free passes (both HBP) overall. It was just one of those games where the other team was able to string together hits a couple innings. The offense rewarded Clarke's perseverance with a win as they were able to stage a late comeback. Domingo Lebya hit a 2-run double in the 5th to make it 3-2 at the time. In the 7th, Todd Glaesmann homered to shrink the deficit to 5-3 and set up the 8th inning. With two outs, Westbrook drew a walk that started the rally. After a pitching change, David Peralta was hit by a pitch and Travis Denker walked to load the bases for Rudy Flores. Flores cranked a ball to the left-center gap to unload the bases and give the Baybears a 6-5 lead. Joey Krehbiel and Matt Stites set down all 6 hitters they faced to seal the victory.

Visalia 9, Bakersfield 3: This game was closer than the final score suggests. The Rawhide got a solid start from Markus Solbach, who allowed 3 unearned runs (2 of them scoring after he left the game) thanks to 4 errors in the field. Those defensive miscues robbed Solbach of a win and unfairly caused Nick Baker to blow a save. However, they more than made up for it at the end of the game. The hitters took their frustrations out on Isaac Sanchez, scoring twice in the 7th for what would be the game-winning runs. After a scoreless 8th by Gabriel Moya, the offense blew the game open with a 4-run 9th inning. Marty Herum paced the offense with 3 hits and 3 RBI in the game, 3 other hitters had multi-hit games.

Kane County 5, South Bend 8: Jose Almonte got jumped for 6 runs in 2 2/3 innings, although a pair of errors by Raymel Flores didn't help as only 3 of the 6 runs were earned. The offense would respond with a 4-run 3rd inning to make it 6-4, but the offense couldn't muster up a comeback. Austin Mason allowed 2 runs in the 8th that pushed the game out of reach, although the Cougars countered with a run to make it 8-5. Colin Bray reached base 3 times with a hit and a pair of walks while stealing 2 bases.

Hillsboro 0, Everett 1: There wasn't much offense in this game, as both teams would combine for 7 hits and 25 strikeouts. The Hops had their chances as they had 4 chances with RISP and stranded 5 runners. It didn't help that the Hops struck out 15 times in the game, 10 of them coming in the first 4 innings. The pitching held up as they got solid outings from Bo Takahashi, Trevor Simms, Kevin Ginkel, and Colin Poche.

Missoula 3, Idaho Falls 11: The Osprey fell behind 2-0 after the first, but were able to score 3 in the 3rd to take a brief 3-2 lead. The lead would not hold up as Connor Grey got ambushed for 6 runs in 5 innings, although the bullpen took a close game and let it slip away with Gabe Gonzalez allowing 4 runs in the 8th. Eudy Ramos doubled twice and drove in 2 while Ryan January added an RBI single in that 3rd inning.

AZL Dbacks 5, AZL Indians 2: The Dbacks jumped on former #1 overall pick Brady Aiken for 4 runs in 2 2/3 innings. They were able to collect 6 hits off of him and set the tone for the game. Kai-Wei Lin also did his part as he allowed 2 runs (1 earned) in 6 innings, striking out 9 hitters. Chad Oberacker and Paxton De La Garza paced the offense with multi-hit games. Oberacker had 3 hits and De La Garza had 2 RBI. The bullpen delivered 3 scoreless innings to close things out.