The Diamondbacks Minor League affiliates combined for a 1-3 record. A pair of D-backs relievers on the 40-man roster would start a rehab assignment with Reno, with their final

Top Prospect Performances

Amarillo RHP Slade Cecconi: 5 IP, 7 H, 4 R (2 ER), 1 BB, 6 K, 85 pitches (56 strikes)

Rehab

RHP Luke Weaver: 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 K, 43 pitches (24 strikes)
RHP Keynan Middleton: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 12 pitches (6 strikes)

AAA: Reno Aces 0, Tacoma Rainiers 7

Statcast

Tyler Gilbert’s start lasted just ²⁄₃ of an inning, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits, 2 walks, and 2 strikeouts, lasting 41 pitches before needing to be parachuted out of the inning. Blake Workman would take care of the next four hitters, with three going down on strikes. Down just 2-0 at that point, it was time to get a pair of relievers a rehab appearance. Luke Weaver went first, allowing 1 run over 2 innings after not being on a mound in nearly 8 weeks. Keynan Middleton would pitch a scoreless 6th inning and would be the only reliever after Workman to throw a zero. The pitchers on the Reno roster did not fair well, with Mack Lemieux (5th), Ryan Weiss (7th), Caleb Baragar (8th), and Kevin Ginkel (9th) each giving up a run in their respective innings. The hitting wasn’t much better as Reno had only 5 singles and 2 walks offensively while striking out 10 times.

For the two rehabbing pitchers, Luke Weaver sat 91-96 on the fastball throwing the pitch 27 times while throwing 6 cutters, 6 change-ups, and 4 curveball. Command was not sharp in this game as his change-up got hit around a bit. Keynan Middleton had better results, as while he was 50-50 on strikes the 6 strikes were either a called strike, swinging strike, or an out. Both pitchers could probably use another rehab appearance with Reno before sending them back out to deal with Pittsburgh or Cincinnati.

AA: Amarillo Sod Poodles 5, Midland RockHounds 9

Midland starter Ryan Cusick was scratched, which meant Amarillo was dealing with the entire Midland bullpen the entire way. Early offense permeated the game, as both teams would be tied 4-4 after the 3rd inning. The 1st inning saw Ti’Quan Forbes single home Jorge Barrosa for Amarillo (22-26) to take a 1-0 lead. After Slade Cecconi had a rough 3rd inning, in which his own throwing error would cause 3 runs to score, Amarillo hitters answered with their own 3-spot in the bottom half of the inning. Jarge Barrosa drove in 2 with a double to left and Blaze Alexander reached on a forceout to drive home the tying run. Cecconi would surrender 4 runs in 5 innings, with only 2 of them earned, with one walk and six strikeouts. He was able to shake off that error to put up two more zeros and give his team a chance to win, leaving with a lead.

There was a bit of drama in this game, as Forbes would be plunked twice in this game with the first one resulting in a benches-clearing incident. In the 3rd, Forbes would take a 96 MPH to the back which resulted in Forbes needing to be restrained by the home plate umpire as he and pitcher Wandisson Charles were exchanging not so pleasant words. This may or may not have stemmed from Tuesday’s game in which Forbes watched a long home run that tied that game in the 7th inning and it upsetting RockHounds catcher Kyle McCann, who had a few words to say to Forbes before and after he rounded the bases.

Amarillo would take the lead in the 4th thanks to another fastball hitting Forbes above the shoulders. This game with the bases loaded and a full count, so I doubt that one was intentional. The play resulted in the pitcher Chase Cohen and then RockHounds manager Bobby Crosby when he argued the ejection.

Unfortunately, that would be it from a run scoring standpoint and the bullpen after Cecconi got rocked. Austin Pope would get tagged for 2 runs in the 7th and Junior Garcia caughed up 3, as the pair collectively surrendered 5 runs on 3 home runs. Ty Tice would get the final 5 outs, but the damage had already been done.

High A: Hillsboro Hops 3, Tri-City Dust Devils 2 (F/11)

Hillsboro (25-21) would outlast Tri-City in extra innings, pulling ahead with some late offense and finishing things off in 11 innings. Luke Albright had a solid starting line of 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 K, but found himself trailing 2-0 after Tri-City scored two runs off him in the first. Albright and the bullpen would deliver ten scoreless innings the rest of the way.

It wouldn’t be until the 9th inning before they’d step on the plate. A.J. Vukovich led off the inning with an opposite field double before scoring on Tim Tawa’s single to left. A walk and a sacrifice bunt would put the tying and winning runs in scoring position. Danny Oriente hit a ground ball to 3B that resulted in a fielding error and Adrian Del Castillo scoring from 3rd. Oriente stole 2nd to take the double play out of order, but Hillsboro couldn’t capitalize with a strikeout and a ground out closing out the inning. The bottom half of the 9th got a bit tense, but Kyle Backhus was able to pitch around a walk and a hit batter to put up a zero and send us to Manfred Rules Baseball.

Hillsboro would have a golden chance to take the lead in the 10th. A single and a wild pitch would give them 2 runners in scoring position with no outs, but because this is the D-backs organization neither scored. Liu Fuenmayor wouldn’t even allow a chance for Tri-City to score in the 10th, blowing away the first two hitters on strikes before getting a flyout to close the inning. The 11th inning went a bit better, as a groundout to 2B and a single would score Hillsboro’s Manfred Man. Ryan Bliss, who drove in the eventual winning run, would then get caught stealing 2nd and that prevented them from putting up more. Hillsboro decided that Fuenmayor was so good in the 10th to send him back out there for the 11th. Once again he retired the side in order and Tri-City’s Manfred Man never advancing beyond 2nd.

Low A: Visalia Rawhide 2, Inland Empire 66ers 3

A well-pitched game that Visalia (15-33) came out on the wrong end of. Avery Short allowed just 2 runs in 5-plus innings, allowing 3 hits, walking 2, and striking out 4. Three Visalia errors didn’t help, but the pitchers were able to pitch around them. The Rawhide would score two early runs, as Deyvison De Los Santos doubled home a run in the first and Wilderd Patino delivered a sacrifice fly in the 3rd.

Early on, it looked like Short was in a groove, with no hits in the first four innings. Trouble found him in the 5th as the first batter of the inning ended the no-hitter and shutout bid with one swing of the bat. Short was able to pitch through the 5th, but would not retire any of the three hitters he faced in the 6th. Eric Mendez was able to get out of the inning with no further damage to keep it a tie game. Inland Empire would take the lead in the 8th off Jhosmer Alvarez. A pair of singles followed by a sacrifice bunt would put two runners in scoring position. An infield hit to short would score the go-ahead run, but SS prospect Juan Corniel was able to cut down the runner from 2nd on the play to limit the damage. Visalia had a nice chance to tie things up in the 9th, after Wilderd Patino led off the inning with a single and stole 2nd but the following hitters were unable to cash in.