Snake Stars:
3 Stars: Reno RHP Frank Duncan 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 4 K, GS 71, W (5-4)
2 Stars: Visalia RHP Bo Takahashi 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 3 K, GS 65, W (3-2)
1 Star: Kane County RHP Emilio Vargas 5 2⁄3 IP, 5 H, 3 R (3 ER), 1 BB, 11 K, GS 58
0 Stars: Kane County bullpen 2 1⁄3 IP, 8, 11 R (11 ER), 4 BB, 1 K
Reno Aces 4, Las Vegas 51s 1: Frank Duncan kept the 51s at bay for 7 innings, using his sinker to record 11 ground outs in 7 innings. He also recorded a hit and scored on Ketel Marte’s 4th homer of the year, the first time Marte has recorded homers in back to back games this year. Offense wasn’t overwhelming, but were opportunistic to put up 4 runs despite only having 3 ABs with runners in scoring position all game. The bullpen took over from there with Erik Davis and Jimmie Sherfy pitching scoreless innings with 2 strikeouts apiece.
Jackson Generals 5, Chattanooga Lookouts 6: Brad Keller once again turned in a short start, getting knocked around for 4 runs (3 earned) on 6 hits in 4 2⁄3 innings. Keller has been scuffling a bit at the AA level lately, which makes me concerned that the level is too advanced for him. The bullpen behind him did a great job of keeping the lead in the 5th with strong outings from Yuhei Nakaushiro and Daniel Gibson. The Generals took a 5-4 lead in the 9th, but Joey Krehbiel had a meltdown with 3 hits, two for doubles, for the walkoff loss.
Visalia Rawhide 1, Inland Empire 66ers 0: Despite another bad outing from the offense, they did enough to win, barely. Bo Takahashi was wild, but effective with 6 scoreless innings despite walking 5 hitters and only striking out 3. In the top of the 6th inning, Sergio Alcantara drew a leadoff walk and scored with the help of a pair of wild pitches. The next two pitches for the Rawhide were not wild, with Cameron Gann and Mason McCullough combining to punch out 3, the latter doing so in a 1-2-3 8th inning. Bud Jeter came in the 9th ,doing his best Fernando Rodney impression of putting up traffic on the bases before closing things out and looking unspectacular while doing it.
Kane County Cougars 5, Quad Cities River Bandits 14: As you can probably tell from the top of the recap, Emilio Vargas was good and the bullpen was embarrassingly bad. The team did get a 4-hit performance from Anfernee Grier and Marcus Wilson hit a single in 4 ABs. Ramon Hernandez and Jose Herrera, who’s been swinging the bat better of late, drove in 2 runs each.