Diamondbacks Minor League Recap 5/3/19: Coors Field effect hits the minors

The Diamondbacks Minor League affiliates combined to go 3-1 last night. Offense was the theme in these games as the three winning clubs scored 16, 7, and 8 runs. Apparently the Coors Field effect was turned on for those games.

Here are the stars from last night’s games:

3 Stars: Visalia RHP Matt Mercer 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K, W (1-0)
2 Stars: Jackson LF Jamie Westbrook 4 for 5, HR (6), BB, 3 RBI, 3 R
1 Star: Jackson SS Jazz Chisholm 2 for 5, HR (6), BB, 3 RBI, 2 R
0 Stars: Jackson RHP Emilio Vargas 1 ²⁄₃ IP, 8 H, 6 R (6 ER), 1 BB, 2 K

(AAA) Reno Aces 2, Sacramento River Cats 8: Troy Scribner’s first start with the Aces was a classic Scribner outing with 3 runs on 6 hits over 5 innings with 1 walk and 1 strikeout. Unfortunately a leaky bullpen and cold offense did him in. Reno scratched across runs in the 3rd and 6th, but got only as close as 3-2. Braden Shipley allowed 1 run in the bottom of the 6th and Alex Young got blasted in the 7th for 4 runs to put this game out of hand.

(AA) Jackson Generals 16, Tennessee Smokies 9: The game was played in Tennessee, but based on the score it looked like a Coors Field game. Jackson opened up the game with the death by a thousand paper cuts approach for 6 runs in the top of the first. Emilio Vargas got into the action with a run-scoring hit himself. Unfortunately Vargas was not as good on the mound as he got blasted for 6 runs in the 2nd inning before being lifted for Lucas Luetge with 2 outs and the score 7-6. The Jackson offense continued to pound on, scoring in the first 5 innings and putting up 14 runs over that span. Jazz Chisholm hit a solo homer in the 4th and Jamie Westbrook added a 2-run homer in the 5th. The bullpen was shaky with 3 runs allowed in the 6th-8th innings, but that may be a function of score and not wanting to walk people. In fact, Jackson used infielder Galli Cribbs Jr. as their pitcher in the 9th inning while leading in a 16-9 game.

(A+) Visalia Rawhide 7, Inland Empire 66ers 2: Matt Mercer finally figured things out, pitching 6 dominant innings with no runs allowed on just 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out 8. A caught stealing and 2 double plays allowed Mercer to only face 1 hitter over the minimum. On the offensive side of the ball, the Rawhide used small ball and hitting with RISP to plate a run in the second and two in the third. The big blow came in the 5th in the form of a Renae Martinez 3-run homer that blew the game open 7-0. Justin Vernia pitched the final 3 innings to pick up the save and gave up 2 runs on a throwing error by 2B Luis Alejandro Basabe with 2 runners in scoring position.

(A) Kane County Cougars 8, Lakeland County Captains 5 (F/10): Ryan Weiss turned in a solid start with 3 runs allowed in 6 innings on 6 hits, no walks, and 2 strikeouts. Kane County would erase that deficit with a 3-run 4th inning thanks to a big home run by Buddy Kennedy, his first of the year. After falling behind 4-3 when Buddy Kennedy made a poor throw to 2nd trying to get the final out of the inning, Zachery Almond tied things up in the 8th with a sac fly. That sent the game into extras, where the Kane County offense took advantage of miscues by Captains reliever Manuel Alvarez. After a single scored the free runner, an error by Alvarez allowed Hernandez to score from 1B and the hitter, Eduardo Diaz, get to 3rd. A wild pitch on Ball 4 and an infield hit with runners on the corners were the final two runs for Kane County. Lakeland County scored their free runner a sac fly following defensive indifference, but that’s all they got as Chester Pimentel struck out the final 2 hitters.