Diamondbacks Minor League Recap 8/21/16: Offense on the farm

The Diamondbacks Minor League system had lots of offense today. Only the AZL affiliate did not score 6 or more runs, although they didn’t give up any runs either. Scoring outbursts going top to bottom of 9, 11, 6, 9, 6, 12, and 2 runs from the affiliates. Some of those games had solid pitching performances as well.

Snake Stars

3 Stars: 1B Kevin Cron (Mobile/AA) 2 for 4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, BB, 2 K
2 Stars: RHP Wei-Chieh Huang (Hillsboro/A-) 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 9 K, W (2-1)
1 Star: 2B Paxton De La Garza (Missoula/Rookie+) 2 for 5, GS (1), 6 RBI, BB, 1 K
0 Stars: RHP Jimmie Sherfy (Reno/AAA) ¹⁄₃ IP, 3 H, 4 R, 1 BB, BS (2), L (1-3)

AAA: Reno Aces 9, Sacramento River Cats (SF) 11: The Aces came out of the wrong end of a slugfest, as their bullpen melted down last. Billy Buckner got lit up, allowing 11 hits and 6 runs over 6 innings. The offense was there to bail him out thanks to big games from Kyle Jensen and AJ Pollock, both collecting 3 hits in 5 ABs. Pollock drove in 3 and Jensen drove in 2, one coming on a solo HR. Trailing 7-4 in the 8th, the Aces scored 5 runs to take a 9-7 lead. Unfortunately, Sherfy was unable to lock this game down and had his second blown save. Sherfy allowed 4 runs to score, 3 coming on a Travis Ishikawa homer. The Aces bats were unable to come back in the bottom of the 9th.

AA: Mobile Baybears 11, Biloxi Shuckers (MIL) 6: The Baybears spanked Angel Ventura to the tune of 8 hits, 6 for extra bases, and 3 leaving the park. They wasted no time, as they plated 3 in the first to take a 3-0 lead. Edgar Garcia was shaky, but lasted 5 innings and won thanks to his unrelenting offense. Kevin Cron smashed out two homers and drove in 3. Jamie Westbrook had 3 hits to go with a walk and 3 runs scored and Travis Denker hit a 3-run homer and walked. Zac Curtis struck out 4 in two perfect innings, picking up the save as he entered in an 8-6 game.

A+: Visalia Rawhide 6, Modesto Nuts (COL) 4: Joel Payamps didn’t have a spectacular outing, but managed to go 7 innings and was the beneficiary of 6 runs of support. He allowed 4 runs, but didn’t walk a hitter while striking out 5. The Rawhide strung four consecutive single tallies from the 2nd-5th inning to take a 4-3 lead. Regis hit his first homer in the Cal League and Bray hit his 8th as part of that attack. In the 6th, the Rawhide plated two huge insurance runs to take a 6-3 lead. Nick Baker and Gabriel Moya struck out 5 of the 6 hitters they faced to close things out.

A: Kane County Cougars 9, Quad Cities River Bandits (HOU) 3: The Cougars offense exploded for 9 runs in the middle innings, 6 coming in the 6th inning. Fernery Ozuna hit his 6th homer of the year in the 5th and Luis Alejandro Basabe hit a 2-run homer in the 6th. Five Cougars had multi-hit games and Ramon Hernandez had 3 hits and 3 RBI. Unfortunately that long 6th inning may have gotten starter Carlos Hernandez rusty, as he allowed 3 runs to score in the bottom of the frame. Overall, very solid day for him as he struck out 7 in 6 innings and was rather cruising until that final inning. Keegan Long had to get 7 outs in 2 innings, but did so and Julio Perez finished with a 1-2-3 9th inning.

A-: Hillsboro Hops 6, Spokane Indians (TEX) 2: Guessing from the box score, you couldn’t tell that the Indians pitcher was flirting with a no-hitter. Luis Veras broke up the no-hit bid with a 5th inning single after making this amazing catch against the fence down the LF line. After the no-hit bid was gone, the Hops scored two runs in the 6th, 7th, and 8th inning to take a 6-1 lead. Top three hitters in the order had 2 hits a piece and drove in 3. The Hops out-executed their opponents, going 4/4 in steals and punching out 11 hitters vs. 2 walks while going 4 for 12 with RISP. Wei-Chieh Huang pitched 5 innings of 1 run ball in relief of Mack Lemieux, who allowed 1 run in 4 innings. Huang punched out 9 Indians.

Rookie+: Missoula Osprey 12, Billings Mustangs (CIN) 8: HOLY OFFENSE!!! Both teams exchanged big innings early on, with the Mustangs scoring 4 in the first and the Osprey answering with 6 in the top of the 2nd. The ball was flying out of the yard as the two teams combined for 7 homers, with the 3 Osprey homers coming with men on base. The Osprey went 7 for 14 with RISP and stole 3 bases in a game where they had a combined 23 walks plus hits. Tanner Hill and Pedro Marquez each hit 2-run shots while Paxton De La Garza added a 2nd inning Grand Slam. De La Garza drove in 6 in the game.

Rookie: Dbacks 2, Reds (CIN) 0: Even though the focus was on offense for the recap, this game had more of a pitcher’s duel. Wesley Rodriguez started off with a scoreless first that had 1 strikeout and 1 walk, followed up by two scoreless from a rehabbing Ethan Elias. Alex Gouin pitched the majority of the game, going 5 ²⁄₃ scoreless and struck out 3. The offense came in the form of a pair of Andy Yerzy sac flies. Jeremiah Muhammed and his 0.32 ERA got the last out to pick up the save.