Diamondbacks Minor League Recap 8/31/2021

The Diamondbacks Minor League affiliates combined for a 1-3 record.

AAA: Reno Aces 4, Sacramento River Cats 6

Both teams went bullpen heavy in this game, as the two teams combined to use 14 pitchers for a 9-inning game. Reno quickly fell behind in this game, giving up 3 early runs and never recovering from there. Reno’s offense struggled to put innings together offensively, as they were limited to only one extra base hit for the game despite putting 12 runners on base via hit or walk. Despite falling behind early, the deficit was 3-2 entering the 5th. That’s where the Reno bullpen crapped the bed.

In the 5th, Matt Gage would pitch an inning and give up a run without forcing the other team to swing the bat thanks to a pair of walks and a double steal that included a steal of home by Mauricio Dubón. After a scoreless 6th inning by Stefan Crichton, Jesus Liranzo got whacked by two home runs in the 7th, which allowed Sacramento to take a 6-2 lead. Reno would put something together in the 8th, as the first three hitters recorded hits to score a pair of runs. That was it for Reno offensively, as 5 of the next 7 hitters would strike out including the final two hitters representing the potential tying run.

AA: Amarillo Sod Poodles 9, San Antonio Missions 4

Bryce Jarvis made his return from the injured list and looked good in the three innings he pitched, allowing just 1 hit and 1 walk with 5 strikeouts over 3 impressive innings. Amarillo’s offense continued to ramp up pressure on San Antonio’s pitchers, scratching across runs in the first two innings before putting up a 3-spot in the 4th. The big blow was Dominic Canzone’s 2-run homer, which made it a 4-0 game at the time. Canzone would reach base three times and score three runs in this game as the main sparkplug of the offense.

Even as San Antonio tried to get close in the game, Amarillo had an answer. After the Missions took advantage of a Dominic Fletcher error in right field to score a pair of runs in the 5th, Amarillo would score the next four runs of the game. Buddy Kennedy had an RBI single in the 7th and Ryder Jones put the game out of reach with a 3-run homer in the 8th that put the Sod Poodles ahead 9-2. San Antonio would put up a couple runs in the 9th off Tyler Jones, but the game had since been long over anyway.

High A: Hillsboro Hops 5, Eugene Emeralds 6

This was a game the Hops are going to regret letting slip out of their grasp, as they had a 5-3 lead entering the 9th inning. Most of the scoring happened early, as the first 8 runs of the game were scored off the team’s respective starter. Walston looked human in this game, allowing 3 runs on 4 hits while recording only 1 strikeout, as while he didn’t have his best stuff he pitched well enough for the offense to pick up the lead.

Hillsboro’s offense was up to the task early in the game, recording 9 hits and 5 runs in the first 4 innings of the game. Tristin English cranked out a 2-run homer in the 1st to open up the scoring. Hillsboro would build a 3-1 lead in the 2nd after Axel Andueza’s RBI double and would rebuild their 2-run lead in the 5th. Nick Dalesandro doubled home Cam Coursey and would score on Leodany Perez’s single later in the inning.

As mentioned at the top of this section, the score was 5- going into the 9th. Things fell apart immediately, as Nick Snyder was unable to hold the lead. Snyder walked the leadoff man and with 1 out would surrender a game-tying 2-run homer to Jairo Pomares, which was his 2nd long ball of the night. After the go-ahead run reached base on a single, Snyder would commit a balk and then allow a double for Eugene to take the lead. In the bottom half of the 9th, English would reach on a 2-out single, but that’s as far as he got in the inning as A.J. Vukovich fouled out to first for the final out.

Low A: Visalia Rawhide 0, San Jose Giants 7

This game was one big oof, as Visalia literally did everything they could to lose this game. The team went hitless in 7 tries with RISP, left 12 runners on base, allowed 6 batters to reach base without swinging the bat (5 walks, 1 HBP), and committed two errors in the field. That’s all I have to say about that.