Today proved to be opposite day for the Diamondbacks affiliates. The teams that won yesterday lost and vice versa. All four teams are 1-1 after two games.
Here are the stars of last night’s games:
3 Stars: Reno LF Yasmany Tomas 2 for 4, HR (1), 3 RBI
2 Stars: Jackson RHP Emilio Vargas 5 IP, 1 H, 1 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 4 K
1 Star: Jackson 2B Andy Young 3 for 4, 2B
0 Stars: Kane County 1B LT Tolbert 0 for 4, 2 GIDP, 5 LOB
(AAA) Reno Aces 7, Fresno Grizzlies 5: Taylor Widener had a solid AAA debut, allowing 1 run in the first 5 innings with 6 strikeouts before trouble reached him in the 6th. After surrendering hits to the first two hitters of the inning, LHP Robby Scott came in and promptly served up a game-tying homer before getting out of the inning. The Aces (1-1) answered with a 3-spot of their own in the 7th, that included a homerun by Tim Locastro and RBI hits by Yasmany Tomas and Kevin Cron. Tomas also hit a 2-run homer in the 6th that put the Aces up 4-1 at the time. The bullpen was able to make the new lead stand, with Rubby De La Rosa and Jimmie Sherfy retiring the final 6 hitters. Sherfy struck out the last two hitters he faced to get the save.
(AA) Jackson Generals 1, Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 2: Emilio Vargas allowed just 1 run in 5 innings with 1 walk and 4 strikeouts to open up his season. He pitched well enough to win, but unfortunately every Generals (1-1) player not named Andy Young and Marcus Wilson struggled to hit in this game. Young had 3 hits, including a double, and Wilson reached twice via single and walk. The game remained tied at 1 until the bottom of the 12th, when Mason McCullough allowed the free runner to score in his second inning of work. He didn’t pitch poorly with only 1 hit and a 4/0 K/BB in 1 1⁄3 innings.
(A+) Visalia Rawhide 4, San Jose Giants 3: Josh Green pitched well in his Visalia (1-1) debut with 6 hits, 2 runs, and 6 strikeouts in 5 innings. Green exited the game in the 5th staked to a 3-2 lead, but Luis Castillo could not hold the lead. That sent the game into extra innings, where Renae Martinez drove in the winning run with an RBI single. Martinez drove in 3, including a 3rd inning solo homer. Visalia closer Matt Brill struck out 3 in 1 2⁄3 innings for the extra inning win. Martinez and Yoel Yanqui were a two-man wrecking crew: combining for a 3 for 7 clip with 2 walks, 3 XBH, and 4 RBI. Jake McCarthy had another 0 for 4 with 3 K game.
(A) Kane County Cougars 1, Clinton LumberKings 5: Ryan Weiss got knocked around for 5 hits and 2 runs in 3 innings, which put the Cougars (1-1) behind 2-0 quickly. While they were able to scratch across a run in the 2nd, the inability to get XBH or hit with runners on base came back to bite them. Erin Baldwin allowed 2 runs in 2 innings and Wesley Rodriguez allowed 1 run in 3 innings to make the hole deeper. There wasn’t much offense up and down the boxscore, although Alek Thomas drew his 3rd walk in 2 games.