The Diamondbacks Minor League affiliates combined to go 5-2 last night. Here are the stars from last night’s game.
Hot Bats:
Jackson LF Kevin Medrano 3 for 5, 2 RBI, R
Hillsboro C Ryan January 3 for 3, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, 2 R
Missoula C Zachery Almond 3 for 4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
Missoula 1B Zack Shannon 3 for 4, HR, 3 RBI, 3 R
AZL Dbacks 3B David Garcia 3 for 4, 2B, R
Quality Starts:
Jackson RHP Jon Duplantier 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 5 K, GS 63, W (5-1)
Hillsboro RHP Ryan Weiss 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, GS 68
Missoula RHP Erin Baldwin 5 IP, 1 H, 1 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 3 K, GS 64, W (3-2)
Reno Aces 1, Tacoma Rainiers 11: The Aces pitchers mightily struggled in this game. Neftali Feliz allowed 5 runs in 3+ innings and bullpen poured gasoline on the fire. Braden Shipley allowed 2 runs in 1 2⁄3 innings, Randall Delgado 1 run in 2 1⁄3 innings, and Alex Young 3 runs in the 8th. Ildemaro Vargas clubbed a solo homer for the Aces’ only run.
Jackson Generals 6, Tennessee Smokies 2: Jon Duplantier took the ball and turned in an average game for his standards with 6 innings of 2-run ball with 5 K’s. He and Keegan Thompson, who might also write for this page between starts, engaged in a ferocious pitcher’s duel with both pitchers allowing only 2 runs in 6 innings. The Generals opened the game up against the Smokies bullpen with the go-ahead run in the 7th and 3 insurance runs in the 8th. Jason Morozowski did the damage in the 8th with a 3-run homer. Scoreless outings by Miguel Aguilar and Yoan Lopez closed the game out.
Visalia Rawhide 3, San Jose Giants 13: Cole Stapler got hit hard in the 5th inning, overall surrendering 7 runs in 4 2⁄3 innings to put Visalia way behind the 8-ball. Pavin Smith had an RBI double and Adam Walton homered in the 5th. Mason McCullough melted down in the 8th as he gave up 6 runs while recording no outs.
Kane County Cougars 9, Peoria Chiefs 6: A 6-run 3rd inning blew this game open for Kane County although things got a bit interesting late. Ryan Grotjohn and Jose Caballero hit home runs in that 3rd inning, the former being a 3-run homer and the latter a 2-run shot. Cole Bartlett allowed 4 runs in 6 innings, which is manageable overall considering the length and the game being virtually over after the 3rd.
Hillsboro Hops 10, Eugene Emeralds 1: Ryan Weiss was perfect in 4 innings, striking out 4 of the 12 hitters he faced. Hillsboro hitters immediately staked him to a lead with 2 runs in the bottom of the first. The Hops blew the game open with a 3-run 5th and poured it on by scoring 5 times in the final 3 trips to the plate. Ryan January was a homer short of the cycle, which is impressive considering he did not start the game behind the plate. Kenny Hernandez allowed 1 run in 4 innings and Wesley Rodriguez pitched a scoreless 9th. Geraldo Perdomo reached 3 times and scored all 3 times.
Missoula Osprey 12, Grand Junction Rockies 4: Erin Baldwin allowed just 1 run on 1 hit in 5 innings with 3 strikeouts. His battery mate, Zachery Almond, provided him a big lead early with a 2-run homer in the 1st. Almond would homer again in the 5th, giving Missoula a 4-1 lead at the time. Blaze Alexander clubbed a 2-run homer in the 6th and Zack Shannon homered in the 7th before a 5-run 8th put the game away.
AZL Dbacks 4, AZL Giants Black 1: Levi Kelly pitched 2 scoreless innings before giving way to Alex Valdez, who allowed 1 run in 4 innings to get the win. The Dbacks scored 3 times in the 4th and again in the 5th to take a commanding 4-0 lead. Kevin Watson Jr. drove in 2 runs. Bradin Hagens, Juan Araujo, and Ryan Ricci each pitched scoreless innings to close out the game.