Diamondbacks Minor League Recap 4/17/19: Better Late than Never

The Diamondbacks Minor League affiliates combined to go 3-0. The Aces game got postponed due to inclement weather and two of the three wins took late rallies to seal the deal.

Here are the stars of last night’s games:

3 Stars: Visalia RHP Josh Green 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 3 K, W (1-1)
2 Stars: Visalia RF Anfernee Grier 2 for 3, 2B, BB, 2 SB, 2 R
1 Star: Visalia SS Jancarlos Cintron 3 for 4, 2B, BB, RBI, R
0.5 Stars: Kane County C Jose Herrera 2 for 4, 2 2B, 4 RBI
0 Stars: Kane County 1B Andy Yerzy 0 for 4, 4 K

(AAA) Reno Aces vs. Albuquerque Isotopes Postponed due to Inclement Weather

(AA) Jackson Generals 7, Tennessee Smokies 6: Emilio Vargas struggled with the big inning in the third inning, where the third out proved to be elusive. After loading the bases and giving up a sac fly for the first out, Vargas got the 2nd out of the inning before things went south. A 2-out single followed by a 3-run homer turned what could have been a limited damage inning to a big inning. For the total game, it was 5 runs on 5 hits, 1 walk, and 3 strikeouts in 5 innings. Marcus Wilson started off the scoring with his first AA homer, a solo shot in the 2nd. Jackson turned the tables in the top of the 7th, in which the first six hitters of the inning got on. Jazz Chisholm walked, Drew Ellis singled, Ben DeLuzio walked, Jeffrey Baez hit a 2-run single, Andy Young reloaded the bases with a single, then Pavin Smith hit out a 2-run double. A fielding miscue loaded the bases for the third time, in which the Generals (6-6) converted two of those baserunners into runs without getting a single hit (force out at 2B and sac fly). Atkinson was shaky in the bottom half of the inning, but got three outs with the lead intact. The bullpen from that point forward was lights out to seal it.

(A+) Visalia Rawhide 3, Modesto Nuts 1: Anfernee Grier showcased why he was a Top 40 draft pick just three years ago with an impressive display of power and speed. Grier reached base 3 times, stole a pair of bases, and scored 2 of the 3 Rawhide (10-4) runs. After a double, he stole 3rd and scored on a throwing error for the first Visalia run. Yoel Yanqui drove in Jancarlos Cintron, who reached 4 times, in the 4th and Cintron drove home a run in the 7th. Josh Green took the modest run support and made it stand up with 6 innings of 1-run ball. Junior Garcia got the next 6 outs and West Tunnell got the final 3 outs for the save.

(A) Kane County Cougars 5, Burlington Bees 4: Sloppy defense put the Cougars (8-6) behind the 8-ball, as the team committed 4 errors. Jose Herrera hit his first 2-run double in the 2nd inning to score Eduardo Diaz and Alek Thomas to give Kane County a 2-1 lead in the 2nd. Unfortunately things went haywire in the 4th when Justin Lewis allowed a go-ahead 2-run homer. Kenny Hernandez came in and pitched the next 3 ¹⁄₃ innings in relief and Wesley Rodriguez had a scoreless 9th to set up a come from behind win. With one out, the Cougars loaded the bases on a single and 2 walks before Jose Herrera’s 2nd 2-run double tied the game and put the winning run at 3rd. Jorge Perez would single that runner home with an infield chopper for the winner.