Diamondbacks Minor League Recap 8/4/16: Shelby Miller pitches shutout, Ramon Hernandez drives in 6 runs

It's been an awful year for Shelby Miller and the Arizona Diamondbacks, with so many bad memories already this year. However the one silver lining to this is that the talent is still there. It's just a matter of him figuring out how to use it then apply it at the major league level in September. In the first game of a doubleheader, Miller was able to throw a 7-inning complete game shutout of the Bees. Miller allowed only 3 hits and walked only 1 while striking out 8 in that start, throwing 70/92 pitches for strikes and getting 8 ground ball outs. Hopefully he starts to figure it out from here.

Snake Stars
3 Stars: RHP Shelby Miller (Reno) CG, 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K, GS 82
2 Stars: 3B Ramon Hernandez (Hillsboro) 5 for 5, 2B, 2 HR (2,3), 6 RBI, 3 R
1 Star: RHP Billy Buckner (Mobile) 7 1/3 IP, 3 H, 1 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 10 K, GS 83
0 Stars: LHP Jared Miller (Reno) 1 IP, 2 H, 4 R (4 ER), 1 BB, 1 K, 2/2 Inherited Runners Scored

Reno 1, Salt Lake 0: The game was a classic pitcher's duel between disappointing offseason acquisition Shelby Miller and the Bees' Tony Scribner. Both pitchers threw 7 innings in this doubleheader, so the bullpen wasn't needed. The only run in this game came in the form of a Dan Rohlfing solo homer in the 3rd inning. From there, Miller took over and at one point retired 10 hitters in a row before a 7th inning walk. Another key point in the outing for Miller was not allowing more than 1 baserunner an inning. The only time he was in any sort of trouble was in the 4th inning after allowing a leadoff double to Kaleb Cowart, but a great play by Kyle Jensen at 1B got the out at home on a safety squeeze attempt.

Reno 3, Salt Lake 9: Things did not go as well for the Aces in the 2nd game of the doubleheader, as starter John Omahen got knocked around. The Aces were able to take a 3-1 lead thanks to a 3rd inning homer by Kyle Jensen. However in the bottom half of the inning, things got ugly quick as Omahen imploded. Omahen allowed the tying runs to score and then replaced him with Jared Miller, who allowed a go-ahead grand slam to put the Aces in a 7-3 hole. Two of those runs were charged to Omahen, so he got pinned with the loss despite leaving the game when it was tied. Miller was only able to get 3 outs, as he allowed another homer in the game and left a runner on base. That runner wound up scoring on Yuhei Nakaushiro's watch, as that made it a combined 9 runs allowed between Omahen and Miller. The offense at that point, was unable to score any more runs in the game.

Mobile 2, Chattanooga 1: The game started off as a pitcher's duel between Stephen Gonsalves and Billy Buckner. Neither pitcher gave in for the early going of the game, trading zeros over the first 4 innings. The Baybears were able to scratch across a run in the 5th when Oscar Hernandez hit a slow grounder that scored Todd Glaesmann from 3rd. The way Buckner was pitching, it looked like that one run was enough although Buckner allowed back-to-back hits with 1 out in the 8th to put runners on the corners. Summoning Joey Krehbiel out of the bullpen, the Lookouts were able to get the equalizing run across on a sacrifice fly although the runner at 1st was caught advancing for out #3. The game would remain tied until the 10th, when a bizarre play wound up winning the game for the Bears. With two outs and runners at 2nd and 3rd, Glaesmann struck out but the ball got by the catcher and allowed Chad Oberacker to score the winning run on a walkoff strikeout.

Visalia 7, Inland Empire 5: Justin Donatella started off nicely, allowing just a single run over the first 5 innings of the game. Trailing 1-0, the Rawhide scored two in the first with a solo HR by Victor Reyes followed by a triple and a walk before an errant pickoff throw allowed Austin Byler to score from 3rd. The Rawhide scratched across runs in the 3rd and 5th innings with RBI singles from Victor Reyes and Marty Herum, each of them plating Colin Bray who would reach 3 times and score each time. Things got crazy in the 6th when a throwing error on a potential inning-ending double play resulted in 2 runs scoring. After Donatella was lifted, Gabriel Moya uncorked a wild pitch that tied the game at 4. Instead of getting an inning-ending double play, the Rawhide finished the inning tied at 4, which is unacceptable. The Rawhide did get those runs back in the 8th inning following a scoreless appearance from Andrew Chafin, who faced the minimum after picking off a runner that wound up reaching on an error. Cameron Gann pitched the 9th and managed to end the game although he did allow a run to score.

Kane County 6, Beloit 1: The Cougars won a rain-shortened 5-inning game. Even though the game was short, the level of execution was superb overall. The offense pounded out 10 hits and walked 3 times, converted that into 6 runs overall. The scoring started in the 3rd, when Stryker Trahan drove in Luis Alejandro Basabe followed by a double play that scored the 2nd run. In the 4th, Basabe hit a 2-run double that scored Sergio Alcantara and Matt Railey that doubled the lead to 4. Not to be outdone, Gerard Hernandez launched his 3rd homer of the year to make it a 6-0 game. The offensive outburst made Emilio Vargas a winner, who pitched well in the game. Vargas allowed only 3 baserunners over 5 innings, striking out 10 for a game score of 71.

Hillsboro 9, Everett 4: Offensively, it was the Ramon Hernandez show at the plate. Hernandez went up to the plate 5 times, got hits in all 5 ABs, drove in 6 (franchise record) and scored 3 times. That performance included a 3rd inning Grand Slam that gave the Hops a 5-0 lead. The game also included 2 RBIs from Connor Owings and 2 walks from Marcus Wilson, who always seems to get on base at least twice a game these days. The early offensive outburst was enough for Bo Takahashi, who allowed 2 runs over 5 innings, walking 2 and striking out 1. The Hops once again blew the game open in the 7th, scoring 3 times in that inning. From there it was smooth sailing for the team, as they cruised to an easy victory.

Missoula 1, Grand Junction 4: The game started off as a low-scoring affair, with Alex Gouin able to limit the damage through the first 5 innings despite a traffic jam on the bases. Trailing 2-0, Ryan January was able to drive in his fellow catching prospect Jose Herrera with a single to make it 2-1. The game was in reach until sloppy execution by Luis Castillo on the mound and Kyle Smith at first allowed 2 runs to score. With two outs, Gouin walked a batter after a long AB and allowed a single to center until CF Logan Soole bobbled the ball and allowed the runners to advance 90 feet. The error would prove costly as Castillo balked in a run and allowing the trail runner to advance to 3rd. That preceded a fielding error by Smith, that allowed another run to score. That's even sloppier than the 6th inning in the Visalia game. Unfortunately, the bats were not there to clean up for the bad play as the team struggled to string together hits to start any potential rallies.