The Diamondbacks Minor League Affiliates combined to go 4-2 yesterday. The Reno Aces had the day off. Here are some of the stars from last night’s games:
Hot Bats:
Hillsboro C Andy Yerzy 3 for 3, BB, HBP, 2 RBI, R
Quality Starts:
Jackson RHP Taylor Widener 7 2⁄3 IP, 3 H, 1 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 9 K, GS 78
Kane County RHP Brian Shaffer 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 2 K, GS 61, W (7-5)
AZL Dbacks RHP Luis Frias 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K, GS 71
Paper Bag of Shame:
Visalia RF Jason Morozowski 0 for 4, Golden Sombrero
Missoula RHP Trent Autry 0 IP, 3 H, 2 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 0 K
Jackson Generals 2, Biloxi Shuckers 1: Pitching prospects Taylor Widener and Trey Supak were both dealing, as they both pitched into the 8th inning and only allowed 1 run. Widener allowed just a solo homer in 7 2⁄3 innings, walking 1 and striking out 9 to bounce back from two subpar outings. The Generals were able to scratch an unearned run thanks to great baserunning by Ben DeLuzio plus Shucker errors. Tommy Eveld came in got the last out of the 8th after Widener got the 2nd out of the inning on his 102nd pitch (71 strikes). Eveld retired all 4 hitters he faced to set up a 9th inning walkoff bid. Domingo Leyba singled with 1 out and after Rudy Flores was hit by a pitch, Marty Herum hit a walkoff single to plate pinch runner Jose Vinicio.
Visalia Rawhide 2, Lancaster Jethawks 8: Solo home runs by Pavin Smith and Ramon Hernandez was the only form of offense for Visalia. Cole Stapler got bodied one of the worst pitcher environments in the Cal League, allowing 6 runs in 6 innings on 9 hits, 1 walk, and 4 Ks. The Visalia offense was unable to take advantage of 5 walks, mostly due to striking out 13 times in the game. Pavin Smith reached 3 times, walking twice on top of that solo homer.
Kane County Cougars 8, South Bend Cubs 5: A low scoring game quickly developed into a rout as Kane County scored 7 times between the 4th and 6th innings. Yan Sanchez started things off with a 2-run homer that gave Kane County a 2-1 lead in the 4th. Yoel Yanqui and Luis Silverio each had 2 doubles and 2 RBI at the plate. Brian Shaffer was efficient, needing only 70 pitches to complete 5 innings before being lifted. Things got a little interesting in the 9th as Lane Ratliff allowed the first 3 to reach after pitching 3 solid innings followed up by Breckin Williams allowing all 3 inherited runners to cross the plate before recording the final out.
Hillsboro Hops 6, Vancouver Indians 3: Hillsboro opened up by scoring 5 times in the first 3 innings of the game and basically cruised from there. Quality basestealing was on display as Hillsboro stole 4 bases in 5 tries and the situational hitting was there early. Tra Holmes doubled, singled, walked, and was 1 for 2 in stolen base attempts. Matt Mercer allowed just a single in 2 innings of work and Ryan Miller pitched a scoreless inning behind him to pick up the win. Andy Yerzy was 5 for 5 in reaching base with 3 singles, a walk, and getting hit by a pitch.
Missoula Osprey 3, Idaho Falls Chukars 8: Missoula pitching was not very good in this game, allowing 14 hits while walking 5 which is a recipe for disaster. Wilfry Cruz allowed 4 runs in 4 innings and was lifted after the offense cut the deficit in half to 4-2. Trent Autry came in the 5th and faced 5 batters while getting no outs, which is why he gets the Paper Bag of Shame. Luis Castillo came in and managed to pitch out of a bases loaded and no outs situation thanks to a double play ball on a comebacker to the mound. After cutting the deficit down to 6-3, there wasn’t much more the offense could do to make a dent in the score.
AZL Dbacks 3, AZL Indians Two 2: Luis Frias allowed just a double and a pair of walks in 5 scoreless innings as he struck out 7. Despite getting 6 walks, the Dbacks were unable to get the hits with RISP. Frias was able to make a 1-0 lead hold up, but the Indians plated two in the top of the 7th off Ezequiel De La Cruz to take a 2-1 lead. The Dbacks responded with 2 runs of their own in the bottom half to quickly re-take the lead. Blaze Alexander and David Garza had RBI singles in the frame. Alek Thomas was also pretty solid at that game with 2 hits and 2 walks in 5 plate appearances.