The Diamondbacks affiliates went 1-2 and overall had a lot of bad and mediocre performances. No stars for this recap as there weren’t any outstanding performances. Although one noteworthy performance is the Reno Aces’ perfection of small ball, despite playing in one of the most hitter-friendly environments in professional baseball. The Aces only had 7 baserunners and scored 4 of them. The team had 1 extra base hit (leadoff double by Ronnie Freeman in the 3rd) and received 2 free bases while stealing one on their own, each play having a large impact on the scoreboard.
Reno Aces 4, Albuquerque Isotopes 3: Braden Shipley gave up 3 early runs, but settled in for 6 solid innings. Shipley gave up 9 hits and 1 walk while striking out 2. Trailing 3-0 in the 3rd, the Aces played small ball with sacrifice flies scoring runs in the 3rd and 4th inning. In the 6th, Christian Walker blasted out a game-tying solo shot against Jeff Hoffman. From there, TJ McFarland delivered a scoreless 7th and Jimmie Sherfy a scoreless 8th. The Aces once again resorted to small ball to manufacture their 4th and decisive run. Sherfy went out for the 9th to save his own win and did so, with 4 strikeouts and no walks in his 2 innings. What’s most impressive that the Aces somehow managed to convert 5 hits and 1 walk into 4 runs without a hit with a runner in scoring position and not too many gifts from the opponent (1 wild pitch, 0 errors, 1 stolen base).
Jackson Generals Off Day: Taylor Clarke will be on the mound for the Generals tomorrow and will be coming off an impressive Opening Day start.
Visalia Rawhide 0, Lake Elsinore Storm 2: The Rawhide hitters were limited to 2 hits and 4 walks for the game and Justin Donatella was chased from the game in the 5th inning. Donatella allowed 2 runs in 4 2⁄3 innings, although he exited in a 1-0 game, striking out 6 and walking 4. It looks like he’s hit a speed bump in his development after handling the California League well in the 2nd half of 2016. Matt McPhearson and Colin Bray reached twice, but their teammates never really did much with it as the Rawhide went 0 for 6 with RISP.
Kane County Cougars 1, Cedar Rapids Kernels 6: The Cougars undefeated streak ended at 5 as bad situational pitching and bad defense led to a 3-run first inning against Bo Takahashi. Takahashi allowed 5 runs (2 earned) in 5 innings, allowing 6 hits and walking 1 with 5 strikeouts. Unfortunately the 5-0 hole was too much for the Cougars to come back from, as the team mustered up only three hits. Anfernee Grier had two of them, including a double and a stolen base in the game while scoring the Cougars’ only run.