Of the Diamondbacks 7 main affiliates in the US, 6 of them won last night. The Rawhide, Cougars, and Hops each eeked out 1-run wins in low-scoring games while the Aces, Osprey, and AZL Dbacks cruised to comfortable wins.
Snake Stars
3 Stars: 3B Rudy Ramos (Missoula) 3 for 5, 2 HR (5, 6), 5 RBI
2 Stars: RHP Justin Donatella (Visalia) 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 6 K, W (1-0)
1 Star: RHP Tyler Mark (Hillsboro) 7 1/3 IP, 4 H, 1 R (1 ER), 3 BB, 8 K
0 Stars:
Reno 9, Fresno 4: The Aces bounced back from their worst start of the year to play a very solid game. The Aces jumped out to an early 6-0 lead. Mitch Haniger started the scoring with a solo HR, his 10th in Reno and the first of 3 hits on the day. The Aces scored 3 in the 2nd and Peter O'Brien, who can't hit MLB pitching but certainly AAA pitching, belted a 2-run homer in the 5th. That was more than enough support for Escobar, who pitched better than the final line score will say. He ran into some trouble in the 6th inning and allowed a Grand Slam that made it 6-4. Escobar went 5 1/3 innings, allowed just those 4 runs, but a solid 8/2 K/BB ratio. The Aces plated 3 runs in the 8th to turn ice the game. The bullpen was outstanding with 3 2/3 scoreless innings from Steve Hathaway, Evan Marshall, and Daniel Gibson.
Mobile 3, Pensacola 4: Early on, the Baybears were struggling. A fielding error by Kevin Medrano led to a 3-run homer allowed by Billy Buckner that put the Bears in a 3-0 hole. At the plate, the Baybears struggled to hit Nick Travieso, as they put up just 1 walk and 2 hits over the first 6 innings. After a solo HR made the score 4-0, the Baybears turned the offense up in the 8th inning. After a pair of walks and a hit batter loaded the bases with none out, the Baybears plated 3 with a sac fly and a pair of singles. Travis Denker tried to score the tying run, but was thrown out at the plate to end the rally. The 9th inning was rather uneventful and the Baybears couldn't quite complete the comeback.
Visalia 2, Bakersfield 1: Justin Donatella outdueled Anthony Misiewicz in this game, with Donatella giving up just an unearned run over 7 innings to win in his Cal League debut. He allowed just 4 hits and walked a hitter while striking out 6. The Rawhide fell behind 1-0 thanks to sloppy defense, but were able to answer when Domingo Leyba doubled home Zach Nehrir, who doubled to start the 4th. The game would remain tied until the 7th, when Henry Castillo broke the tie with a game-winning solo homer. Zach Nehrir, Domingo Leyba, and Henry Castillo each had 2 hits and accounted for all of the offense in the game, but good pitching always overcomes underwhelming offense. Cameron Gann and Bud Jeter each pitched scoreless innings to preserve the lead.
Kane County 1, Cedar Rapids 0: The only scoring of the game for both teams was a 3rd inning solo homer from Colin Bray. That was more than enough for the Cougars pitching staff, which allowed only 4 hits for the game and the defense didn't commit any errors to take pressure off the pitching staff. Carlos Hernandez went the front 3 innings and left 1 batter into the 4th inning for unknown reasons. The bullpen took over from there, with two scoreless innings apiece from Austin Mason, Jose Martinez, and Keegan Long. No Cougar batter reached base twice via a hit or free pass.
Hillsboro 2, Tri City 1 (11): It took 11 innings, but the Hops were able to walk off the Dust Devils. The Hops had 9 singles in the game, but weren't able to string them together until the 11th. The Hops grabbed a 1-0 lead when Josh Anderson drove in Anfernee Grier with a sac fly. Tyler Mark would proceed to give that run back in the following inning, but that's all he would allow for the game. Mark pitched 7 1/3 innings, allowing just 1 run on 4 hits, walked 3, and struck out 8. The game remained deadlocked at 1 through the 11th inning, until the offense put it together. The Hops loaded the bases with no outs after a single by Sergio Alcantara, a single by Grier, and a walk to Stephen Smith to bring Josh Anderson to the plate. Anderson would single through a drawn-in infield to end the game and pick up his 2nd RBI of the game. The bullpen was outstanding, allowing no runs in 3 2/3 innings.
Missoula 13, Helena 4: The Osprey decided to have their personal HR Derby contest, belting out 6 homers in the game and ruining Gentry Fortuno's day (Game Score of -16, not a typo). Eudy Ramos, Jazz Chisholm, Luis Silverio, Billy Endris, and Ryan January all homered, with Ramos winning the contest with 2 HR on the day. The early offense was more than enough for Chester Pimentel to cruise through this start and he did solid, allowing 4 runs (2 earned) over 6 innings, allowing 6 hits, walked 3, and struck out 4. Eudy Ramos' 2 homer day gave him 5 RBI, which lead the team for the game. Luis Castillo, Will Lowman, and Dean Jackson each pitched scoreless innings to keep this game at a laugher level.
AZL Dbacks 9, AZL Padres 3: The Dbacks brought their whooping sticks to the hot weather, belting out 18 hits with 7 doubles. Mack Lemeiux started things with 2 scoreless innings followed by a scoreless inning from Josh Smith. The Dbacks picked up 2 runs in the 2nd and 3 in the 3rd to build up an early 5-0 lead that would ultimately hold up. Oliver Polanco went the next 4 innings, allowing just 1 run on 2 hits, walked 3, and struck out 5. Polanco was credited with the win since he was the Dbacks pitcher that cleared the 5th inning. The offense was very productive, with every player that entered the game recording at least one hit in the game. Joey Rose was the only player to get more than 1 extra base hit, picking up 2 doubles as part of a 3 for 5 day at the plate.