The Diamondbacks Minor League affiliates combined to go 4-3. Here are the stars of last night’s games:
Hot Bats:
Reno 2B Chris Owings 3 for 4, 2B, 3B, 2 R
Missoula C Zachery Almond 3 for 4, 2B, BB
Missoula 1B Zack Shannon 3 for 5, 2B, 3 RBI
Quality Starts:
Jackson RHP Taylor Widener 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 K, GS 85, W (5-5)
Visalia RHP Connor Grey 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 11 K, GS 91, W (9-8)
AZL Dbacks RHP Michael Gelabert 5 IP, 0 H, 1 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 8 K, GS 71
Reno Aces 4, Las Vegas 51s 10: Matt Koch got rocked for 7 runs in 4 innings. Koch got hit hard, surrendering 9 hits and 2 home runs on the day. The Reno offense wasn’t able to do much despite Chris Owings falling a home run short of the cycle in the game.
Jackson Generals 2, Chattanooga Lookouts 1: Taylor Widener continues his breakout year with 7 shutout innings with no walks and 9 strikeouts. That pushes his scoreless streak to 13 innings over his last 2 starts. The Generals cashed in on a leadoff double by Ben DeLuzio, who stole 3rd before being lifted in the game (injury?). Pinch runner Jose Vinicio scored on a wild pitch. In the 8th, Marty Herum drove in Domingo Leyba with a single for a very critical insurance run. Yoan Lopez allowed a run in the 9th, but nailed the save.
Visalia Rawhide 11, Lake Elsinore Storm 0: In a completed one-sided game, the Rawhide scored 11 runs and held the opposition to just one god-damn hit. Connor Grey struck out 11 in 7 innings and allowed just a 2-out double to Chris Baker. The bullpen pitched 2 perfect innings with 3 Ks, so literally just a double away from a perfecto. The Visalia offense flexed their muscle with home runs by Anfernee Grier, Luis Silverio, and Ramon Hernandez.
Kane County Cougars 1, Peoria Chiefs 4: Despite getting 6 free passes, the Kane County offense struggled to put innings together with an 0 for 10 clip with RISP and 11 left on base. Franklyn Soriano allowed 1 run in the first 5 innings, but allowed the first 3 hitters to reach in the 6th. All 3 runners came around to score, which was the difference in the game.
Hillsboro Hops 3, Tri-City Dust Devils 0: Matt Mercer struck out 4 in 3 innings and the bullpen followed his lead with 6 shutout behind him. Hillsboro would score the first run thanks to a baserunning clinic from notorious base stealer, Geraldo Perdomo, who singled and scored without the benefit of a ball put into play. Perdomo stole 2nd and 3rd before scoring on a wild pitch. Joey Rose added a solo homer in the 3rd and Hillsboro scored another run via wild pitch in the 9th.
Missoula Osprey 7, Orem Owlz 12: Edgar Martinez and Landon Whitson combined to allow 11 runs in the first 3 innings, which put Missoula in a near-impossible hole to climb out of. It certainly wasn’t due to lack of effort as Zack Shannon and Alek Thomas each had 3 RBI. Thomas’ 3 RBIs came on one swing of the bat with his first pro homer being a 3-run shot in the 6th.
AZL Dbacks 2, AZL Padres One 1: Strong pitching carried the Dbacks through this game. Michael Gelabert allowed 1 run on 0 hits in 5 innings with 2 walks and 8 strikeouts. David Garza put the Dbacks on the board with a sac fly in the first. After the game was tied up at 1, Sandy Martinez hit a go-ahead pinch-hit single in the 7th to drive in the eventual winning run. Travis Moths, Liu Fuenmayor, and Ezequiel De La Cruz allowed just 1 hit and struck out 5 in 4 scoreless innings.