The Diamondbacks minor league affiliates combined for a 3-4 record on the day, with Reno, Kane County, and Missoula picking up wins. Here are the stars of yesterday’s slate of games:
3 Stars: Reno DH Yasmany Tomas 3 for 4, 2 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R
2 Stars: Reno C Michael Perez 2 for 3, HR, BB, 3 RBI, 3 R
1 Star: Kane County LF Ryan Grotjohn 4 for 5, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 4 R
0 Stars: Visalia RHP Connor Grey 4 2⁄3 IP, 9 H, 6 R (5 ER), 1 BB, 3 K, GS 27, L (5-5)
Reno Aces 13, Salt Lake Bees 2: The Aces offense bloodied up Angels pitching prospect Griffin Canning with all 9 starters picking up at least one hit in the game. Yasmany Tomas, Rey Fuentes, and Michael Perez each homered in the offensive outburst, the former adding 2 doubles and driving in 4 runs. Supported with the early and often offense, Taylor Clarke turned in another quality start with 7 innings of 2-run ball, allowing 8 hits with no walks and 4 Ks. Clarke is potentially pitching his way into a September call-up with potentially a shot at making a larger impact with the Dbacks next season.
Jackson Generals 4, Pensacola Blue Wahoos 5: Justin Donatella allowed 3 runs in the 2nd inning to put the Generals in an early hole. Back-to-back solo homers by Josh Prince and Jason Morozowski in the 4th cut the deficit to 3-2. However, Donatella once again ran into trouble in the 6th and allowed 2 runs while only recording 2 outs. Jackson would tack on two runs in the 8th to cut it to 5-4, but that’s as far as they got.
Visalia Rawhide 5, Inland Empire 66ers 6: Connor Gray was hammered again, allowing 6 runs (5 earned) on 9 hits with 1 walk and 3 strikeouts in 4 2⁄3 innings. Ramon Hernandez belted out a 3-run homer in the 6th to put Visalia in striking distance, but a 9th inning rally fell short. Steven Souza Jr. took his first rehab game in the Minors after his 2nd stint on the DL related to the pectoral injury and went 2 for 5 with a double.
Kane County Cougars 13, Peoria Chiefs 2: The Cougars opened up the game with a massive scoring barrage, scoring the first 7 runs of the game in the first 5 innings. Ryan Grotjohn started it off with a big 3-run homer in the first inning. Grotjohn would finish with 4 hits and 4 RBIs in the game while Tim Susnara hit 3 doubles and walked. Jayson McKinley allowed 2 runs in 6 innings with 2 walks and 1 strikeout.
Hillsboro Hops 5, Boise Hawks 7: A missed catch error by Francis Martinez opened the door to a 3-run 4th inning (all the runs unearned) for Matt Tabor. Tabor allowed 5 runs (2 earned) in 3 2⁄3 innings on 6 hits, 2 walks, and 2 strikeouts. The Hillsboro offense was stymied for the first 7 frames, but came to life in the last 2 innings, perhaps a bit too late. Andy Yerzy had 3 hits in the loss.
Missoula Osprey 2, Helena Brewers 0: The Osprey scored 2 runs in the first inning thanks to a Zachery Almond single that plated 2 runs. Almond was only credited for 1 RBI on the play, as the Brewers RF was charged with an error. That was all the scoring for the game. Pedro Zorilla struck out 2 in 5 scorless innings and the bullpen continued the theme.
AZL Dbacks 5, AZL Giants Black 7: Matt Mercer’s pro debut was a little shaky with 2 runs (1 earned) in 2 innings with a walk and a strikeout, but that’s not out of the ordinary. Henry Owens pitched around 5 walks in 3 innings with 4 Ks, mostly due to not allowing hits and Brian Ellington a scoreless 6th as part of the rehabbing former MLB pitcher club. Geraldo Perdomo had an RBI triple, walk, and 2 SB, Blaze Alexander went 3 for 3 with a walk, Alek Thomas 2 for 5 with a triple, and Kristian Robinson 1 for 5 with a double. The Dbacks had a 4-2 lead going into the top of the 8th, but things fell apart from there as poor defense and poor pitching in the final 2 frames sunk the Dbacks.