Snake Stars:
3 Stars: Missoula C Andy Yerzy 3 for 4, 2 HR (3, 4), BB, 4 RBI, 2 R
2 Stars: Reno DH Rudy Flores 3 for 3, HR (2), BB, 2 RBI, 2 R
1 Star: Hillsboro 1B Pavin Smith 4 for 5, 2 2B, RBI, 4 R
0 Stars: Missoula RHP Nestor Ramirez 0 IP, 3 H, 4 R (4 ER), 1 BB, 0 K
Reno Aces 7, Salt Lake Bees 3: After a couple weeks in the bullpen, the Aces turned to Aaron Laffey for a spot start. Laffey provided 4 shutout innings, but due to baseball rules did not get the win. Jared Miller pitched 2 scoreless innings with 3 strikeouts behind him for the win. Rudy Flores had a big game at the plate, reached base in all four plate appearances and hitting a 2-run homer in the 6th inning that made it a 7-0 lead at the time. The Aces bullpen gave up a few runs in mop-up duty, but it was an easy win for them.
Jackson Generals 0, Birmingham Barons 4: For the first time this year, the Generals did not ruin Michael Kopech’s day. Although given the current state of that roster with Domingo Leyba on the DL and Dawel Lugo in the Tigers organization, there isn’t much offense available. Brad Keller gave up 4 runs (3 earned) in 6 innings, taking the loss when the Generals could only muster up 4 hits total.
Visalia Rawhide 9, Inland Empire 66ers 3: The game was close early on, but the Rawhide broke it open late. They scored two runs before Justin Donatella took the mound, although he was providing the offense opportunities to get back quickly and start hitting again with 5 shutout innings. 7 of the 9 Rawhide hitters recorded multi-hit games with Jason Morozowski and Grant Heyman each recording a double and triple in 5 AB. After Donatella left the game, the bullpen was a bit shaky, but they already amassed a 6-0 lead anyway.
Kane County Cougars 3, Lake County Captains 1: In what started out as a pitchers duel, Emilio Vargas and Juan Hillman traded zeros for most of the game. Vargas allowed just 1 run on 3 hits in 6 innings, striking out 5. The Cougars were so happy when Hillman left the game in the 9th inning, they put up a 3-spot against Ryder Ryan. Luis Silverio hit a bases-clearing triple with 2 outs, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. Tyler Mark pitched the last 2 innings, retiring all 6 hitters for the win.
Hillsboro Hops 6, Spokane Indians 5: The Hops had a big walkoff win, despite allowing a 5-run 5th inning when things could have really fallen apart. A lot of that was due to the hitting of Pavin Smith, who had 4 hits and scored 4 runs. Smith is heating up with 14 hits in his last 5 games with 0 strikeouts in that time span. In the 9th inning, Pavin Smith singled and scored on a Camden Duzenack RBI single to tie the game at 5, before Tramayne Holmes singled in the winning run.
Missoula Osprey 7, Ogden Raptors 11: An 11-run 5th inning sank the Osprey in the game. Tyler Vail had been cruising through the game before hitting the wall in the 5th. The bullpen did nothing to help him out as Nestor Ramirez gave up 4 runs without recording an out in the inning. The bad inning overshadowed Andy Yerzy’s best game at the plate as a pro, hitting a pair of 2-run jacks late in the game.
AZL Dbacks 2, AZL Padres 9: The Dbacks pitchers could not stop the big innings from happening, with the Padres putting up a 4 and 3 run inning in the game. The offense wasn’t able to catch up, although catcher Renae Martinez had a 2 for 4 game at the plate with a homer.