Diamondbacks Minor League Recap 4/18/19: T.J. McFarland begins rehab assignment

The Diamondbacks Minor League affiliates combined to go 4-1, with Reno splitting their doubleheader. T.J. McFarland also began his rehab assignment and it went well for the injured lefty as he cruised to a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout and a pair of groundouts.

Here are the stars from last night’s games:

3 Stars: Kane County LHP Franklyn Soriano 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K, W (2-0)
2 Stars: Reno 1B-3B Kevin Cron 4 for 6, HR (5), BB, 2 RBI, 2 R
1 Star: Jackson CF Marcus Wilson 2 for 5, 2B, HR (2), 2 RBI, 2 R
0 Stars: Visalia DH Renae Martinez and Kane County 2B Eddie Hernandez 0 for 4, 3 K

(AAA) Reno Aces 6, Albuquerque Isotopes 3 (F/7): Kevin Cron opened up the scoring with a 2-run homer, his 5th, in the first to give Reno (5-8) a lead they’d never relinquish. The Aces put up a good second act with a clinic of executing with RISP to put 3 more runs on the board to go up 5-0. Jon Duplantier was unhittable, but also struggled to throw strikes as he allowed a run on a wild pitch on a walk. Albuquerque would claw back to make it 5-3 on a 2-run homer in the 5th, but that’s all they would score as the Reno bullpen was nails the final three innings. T.J. McFarland pitched a 1-2-3 5th followed by a scoreless 6th by Rubby De La Rosa then Jimmie Sherfy finishing up the 7th for the save.

(AAA) Reno Aces 2, Albuquerque Isotopes 4 (F/7): The Aces (5-9) liked the 2-run first inning offense, so they decided to copy that plan. Yasmany Tomas hit a 2-run double to score Domingo Leyba and Kevin Cron to put Reno up 2-0. Unfortunately, the bats went cold after that as Reno managed only one hit after the Tomas double, a Cron single. Vinny Nitoli allowed 4 runs in 4 innings for the Aces and took the loss. Alex Young pitched 2 scoreless innings despite putting 4 runners on base with walks.

(AA) Jackson Generals 16, Tennessee Smokies 8: Jackson (7-6) took the lead immediately in the first with a 2-out, 2-run homer by Jazz Chisholm. They would later add two more runs in the 5th with RBI doubles by Galli Cribbs Jr. and Jeffrey Baez to take a 4-1 lead into the bottom half of the frame. The wheels came off for Sam Lewis, who would allow 2 runs to score in the inning while recording only one out in the inning and leave 2 runners on. Lucas Luetge allowed both runners to score, which put Jackson in a 5-4 hole going into the 6th. It all lasted of 4 hitters as Drew Ellis’ RBI double tied the game at 5-5. After a failed attempt to cut down the go-ahead run at home, the Generals had a RBI single by Jamie Westbrook, RBI groundout by Baez, then a 2-run homer by Pavin Smith to take a 10-5 lead. They would score 4 more in the 7th and Marcus Wilson capped the scoring with a 2-run homer in the 8th.

(A+) Visalia Rawhide 5, Lancaster Jet Hawks 4: Justin Vernia made the start for Visalia (11-4) and allowed only an unearned run over 4 innings despite surrendering 8 hits. He walked none and struck out 5 in the start, which help limit the damage. A barrage of doubles hit by Yoel Yanqui, Mark Karaviotis, and Jake McCarthy allowed the Rawhide to take a 4-0 lead after the first. The Rawhide would tack on a very needed insurance in the 6th thanks to Lancaster defenders forgetting how to catch a baseball. With a 5-1 lead in the 9th, the Rawhide sent out Cole Bartlett but he was only able to get 1 out and had to be lifted after giving up 3 runs and putting the trying run on base for Matt Brill. Brill wasted no time putting out the fire as he struck out the first man he faced and then induced a groundout to 1B for the final out.

(A) Kane County Cougars 2, Quad Cities River Bandits 0: Kane County (9-6) came out on top of a pitcher’s duel that saw Franklyn Soriano pitch 5 no-hit innings. He allowed only two baserunners on a walk and a HBP for the game. All the runs in the game came in the top of the 2nd when Jose Herrera and Jorge Perez hit back-to-back RBI singles after it looked like they were going to waste a leadoff double by Zachery Almond. Erin Baldwin came in and allowed 4 hits, two of them of the infield variety, in 2 ²⁄₃ innings, but did not issue any free passes while striking out 3 and got some help from Chester Pimentel in the 8th. Pimentel induced a flyout to escape a bases-loaded jam in the 8th and cruised through a 1-2-3 9th inning for the save.