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The Diamondbacks minor league affiliates combined to go 2-1 with the Jackson Generals taking an off day.
Snake Stars:
3 Stars: Kane County CF Eduardo Diaz 4 for 4, 2 3B, HR (1), 4 RBI, 3 R
2 Stars: Visalia RHP Riley Smith 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R (1 ER), 3 BB, 5 K, GS 66
1 Star: Visalia DH Daulton Varsho 1 for 3, solo HR, BB
0 Stars: Reno RHP Braden Shipley 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 3 K, BS (1), L (2-4)
Reno Aces 3, Fresno Grizzlies 4: The Aces (19-27) relied on the long ball for offense with a solo shot from Kevin Cron and a 2-run blast from Anthony Recker. For most of the game, it was enough for Kris Medlen, who allowed 2 runs (1 earned) over 5 innings despite not dominating the Grizzlies lineup. Joey Krehbiel was more impressive with 4 Ks in 2 hitless innings. After an ugly start to the year, Krehbiel has been dominant for the Aces bullpen the last 10 games (1.59 ERA, 9 H, 4 BB, 2 K in 15 1⁄3 innings). Braden Shipley came in for a 6-out save, but only got 3 outs before getting walked off on when his control suddenly disappeared in the bottom of the 9th.
Visalia Rawhide 3, Inland Empire 66ers 2: Visalia’s (25-20) offense struggled for the larger part of the game, but were able to hit when it mattered. Riley Smith pitched well despite no run support when he was in the game with only 1 run allowed in 6 innings with 5 Ks. Daulton Varsho smacked out a solo homer in the 6th to tie the game at 1. Unfortunately that didn’t last long as the 66ers took the lead in the 7th off Robby Sexton. In the 8th, a Pavin Smith RBI single tied the game and Ramon Hernandez drove in the winning run on a chopper to the SS, ruled a hit, as the first and only four hitters of the bottom of the 9th reached base by hitting or getting hit. Kevin Ginkel was credited for the win after a 1-2-3 top of the 9th with 2 Ks. Ginkel despite being older than the Cal League has dominated with a 35/2 K/BB ratio and 0.90 WHIP in 23 1⁄3 innings for the Visalia bullpen.
Kane County Cougars 8, Cedar Rapids Kernels 7: Facing off against last year’s #1 overall pick Royce Lewis and the Kernels lineup, Jeff Bain got torched in the 3rd inning and overall allowed 7 runs in 5 2⁄3 innings. Kane County immediately countered with a 5-spot of their own, highlighted by an Eduardo Diaz 3-run homer. Diaz would go on to add 3 more hits, including 2 triples (which ended up costing him a cycle, but I’d rather see him hustle the extra 90 feet anyway). Diaz had been previously struggling against Midwest League caliber pitching, so seeing a breakout game for him was huge. Checking on the other members of the 2015-16 international class, Gabriel Maciel went 1 for 4 with a walk and Jazz Chisholm had the day off.