Diamondbacks Minor League Recap 5/29/19

The Diamondbacks Minor League affiliates combined for a 3-2 record. Jackson ended up splitting a double header and there were a couple of shutout wins.

Here are the stars from last night’s game:

☆☆☆ Jackson RHP Sam Lewis 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K, W (2-1)
☆☆ Visalia RHP Matt Mercer 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 K
☆ Jackson 2B Andy Young 4 for 5, HR (5), HBP

(AAA) Reno Aces 7, Albuquerque Isotopes 6: Braden Shipley struggled with the long ball, surrendering 3 homers over 5 innings, but also struck out 8 and walked 4. The two teams went back and forth offensively with the Aces matching blow for blow. A 2-run homer by Leyba put Reno on the board in the first and a 4th inning blast by Wyatt Mathisen tied the game up at 4. Ben Taylor would surrender two more runs in the 7th to put Reno behind 6-4. The score remained that until the top of the 9th, when Aces manager Chris Cron was ejected for arguing about the strike zone. It obviously worked, as Reno was able to jump on a couple of errors to take the lead. Marty Herum would tie the game on 2-run single through the right side and a fielding error allowed the winning run to score. Kevin Ginkel, who came in the 8th, stayed in the game and proceeded to strike out the side in order to save his win. Ginkel retired 6 of the 8 hitters he faced on strikes, which is always a great way to close out a game.

(AA) Jackson Generals 3, Chattanooga Lookouts 4: Bryan Valdez turned in a mediocre outing, allowing 4 runs in the first three innings but also provided some length as he went 6 innings. The offense tried to keep pace, but the scoring was all finished in the third. Andy Young had 3 hits, including a double, and was hit by a pitch (here is my shocked face) in his 4 trips to the plate.

(AA) Jackson Generals 4, Chattanooga Lookouts 0: The Generals would come back to win Game 2 with the tried and true strategy of not letting the other team score. Sam Lewis was fantastic with 6 shutout innings with no walks and 7 strikeouts on the day. Andy Young once again provided the muscle offensively, this time going yard. Pavin Smith added an RBI double and a walk and Ben DeLuzio scored 2 on a single plus an error from the CF.

(A+) Visalia Rawhide 2, Inland Empire 66ers 0: Matt Mercer had a nice bounceback outing, shutting down the 66ers over 5 innings with 7 K’s and 3 walks. He did not pick up the win due to the lack of offensive support. The bullpen picked up right where Mercer left off, adding four more innings to the shutout. The offense was able to scratch across a pair of runs in the bottom of the 7th. Mark Karaviotis and Luis Alejandro Basabe had RBI singles in the inning, which was enough thanks to the stellar pitching.

(A) Kane County Cougars 2, Peoria Chiefs 5: The game started off nicely for Kane County, as Jose Herrera homered in the first and Keshawn Lynch drove in a second run with a sac fly in the second. Jackson Goddard also looked excellent early on, posting zeros in the first four innings. Goddard allowed a single and a double, with a throwing error from LF Joe Gillette allowing a run to score. That would end Goddard’s night at 4 ²⁄₃ innings with just the unearned run while striking out 6 and walking 2. The bullpen, on the other hand, was a mess as Bryan Menendez and Wesley Rodriguez surrendered 4 runs in the 6th. Despite getting three walks in the late innings, the offense could not mount any rallies to make a dent in this game.