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The Diamondbacks Minor League affiliates combined for a 2-2 record, with Reno and Amarillo picking up the wins. Tommy Henry was the only top prospect to take the mound last night.
Top Pitching Performance: Nothing worth mentioning
Top Hitting Performances: Reno CF Daulton Varsho, DH Andy Young, RF Matt Lipka, and SS Cam Duzenack - Each getting 3+ hits, 2+ RBI, 2+ runs scored
AAA: Reno Aces 16, Las Vegas Aviators (OAK) 4
The Aces made sure to quickly wrap this game up, scoring 10 runs before completing the 4th inning and in 7 of their 9 trips to the plate. 8 of 9 starters recorded at least a hit and run scored in this game. Reno would pound out 19 hits, 11 going for extra bases, and 5 home runs. Daulton Varsho, Drew Ellis, Bryan Holaday, Cam Duzenack, and Andrew Young all went yard in this game. Varshjo and Young would both finish a triple short of the cycle in this game.
On the pitching side, Reno ended up going to a bullpen game. No pitcher exceeded more than 2 innings, although Carlos Navas pitched to two batters in the 3rd before being relieved for Matt Gage who picked up the win. Las Vegas would scratch a few runs off the middle portion of the bullpen, but I’m hardly going to criticize when the batters did to Vegas what the University of Arizona baseball team did to Ole Miss at the plate on Sunday. The closest score was 12-3 after 6 innings.
CF Daulton Varsho: 3 for 6, 2B, HR (6), 2 RBI, 2 R
DH Andrew Young: 3 for 6, 2B, HR (5), 3 RBI, 2 R, 1 K
AA: Amarillo Sod Poodles 6, Midland Rock Hounds (OAK) 4
Tommy Henry took the mound and had a pretty mediocre start. Henry gave up 3 runs on 6 hits, 2 walks, and 4 strikeouts. Ultimately he would fall one out short of getting the win in this start as Brill came in to get the final out in the 5th. After inducing a groundout, the Amarillo offense went back to the dugout where they erupted for a 5-run bottom half.
A pair of singles put runners on the corners with 1 out for Osvaldo Abreu. Down 3-1 at the time, Abreu bunted a ball past the pitcher that allowed Dominic Fletcher to score from 3rd. A 2-out walk to Jake McCarthy would then load the bases for Stone Garrett, who promptly crushed a ball to left-center for a grand slam to take a 6-3 lead.
Levi Kelly would come in with a lead, and would ultimately hold it, but struggled to find the strike zone yet again (15 walks to 8 strikeouts in 7 IP this year) as he would walk 4 batters in the 7th to force a run home. Chester Pimentel came in with 2 outs and would strike out 3 of the 5 hitters he faced, allowing just a single in the 8th inning. Brandyn Sittinger would close out the 9th with no drama as he set the side in order with 2 going down on strikes.
CF Jake McCarthy: 0 for 3, BB, R
RF Dominic Fletcher: 1 for 3, R
SS Geraldo Perdomo: 0 for 3
High A: Hillsboro Hops 1, Eugene Emeralds (SFG) 5
Typically it’s been Conor Grammes taking the starts with Kenny Hernandez piggybacking, but they flipped the script in this game. Hernandez would give up 4 runs (1 earned) in 5 innings, although he got completely screwed by his own defense in the 1st and 3rd innings. The first run was a result of a passed ball on a strikeout and an interference error by the shortstop Blaze Alexander would contribute to the Emeralds’ 3rd runner to score. Ricky Martinez would provide the only offense for Hillsboro with a 3rd inning solo shot.
SS Blaze Alexander: 3 for 4
RHP Conor Grammes: 2 1⁄3 IP, 3 H, 1 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 3 K
Low A: Visalia Rawhide 2, Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (LAD) 10
Visalia got smashed in this game as the pitching and offense faltered in this game. Austin Pope got hammered for 11 hits and 9 runs in just 4 innings. Visalia didn’t show much offensively in this game until the 9th, when Sheng-Ping Chen was hit by a pitch and doubled to 3rd by A.J. Vukovich. Both would ultimately score, but that was putting lipstick on a pig. That inning accounted for 40% of Visalia’s hits and 25% of the baserunners in this game.
3B A.J. Vukovich: 1 for 4, 2B, R, 2 K