The Diamondbacks Minor League affiliates combined for a 2-2 record
Top Prospect Performances
Visalia 3B Deyvison De Los Santos: 1-4, RBI, 2 K
AAA: Reno Aces 1, Sacramento River Cats 6
Tyler Gilbert struggled with walks, issuing free passes to 5 of the 26 batters he faced in the game, as he allowed 3 runs in 5 1⁄3 innings. Complicating things was a Reno (39-36) offense that struggled to put together at-bats, as they only had 6 hits and 3 walks in the game. Dominic Fletcher’s RBI single in the 3rd inning accounted for the Aces’ only run of the game.
AA: Amarillo Sod Poodles 5, NW Arkansas Naturals 4
Amarillo (34-38) walked off the Naturals in the 9th when Andy Yerzy’s sacrifice fly plated Tim Tawa from 3rd. Kyle Mora started a bullpen game for the Sod Poodles, allowing 3 runs on a wild pitch and two solo home runs in the first three innings. Lefty Dillon Larsen threw three scoreless innings, allowing 1 hit, walked 1, and struck out 2 to stabilize the flow of the game. After 7 innings, Amarillo found themselves trailing 4-0. An amazing play by Jose Curpa at 3B enabled Mack Lemieux to post a zero and perhaps generate enough momentum for the hitters to tie the game in the bottom half of the inning. Take a look and appreciate the defensive skills displayed below:
OOOOHHHHH KAAAYYYYY JOSE. @sctop10 @ESPNAssignDesk
— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) July 1, 2022
Rally cap time, folks. pic.twitter.com/306euuUWpU
After getting shut down for the first seven innings by Naturals starter Angel Zerpa, the Sod Poodles broke through in the 8th. Singles by Yerzy, Ti’Quan Forbes (pinch hit), and Jorge Barrosa loaded the bases for Leandro Cedeno. Cedeno crushed a hanging breaking ball for a tape-measure grand slam out to left center field, with an exit velocity of 106 MPH, to tie the game at 4-4 to become the third resident of Slamarillo after Andy Yerzy and Eduardo Diaz.
Like, gets a key to the city. @learcedeo pic.twitter.com/Cg2CyRfCjJ
— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) July 1, 2022
With the Soddies back in the game, they turned to closer Blake Rogers to give them a scoreless 9th inning. Rogers was more than up for the challenge, retiring the Naturals in order with a strikeout to close out the frame. In the bottom half of the inning, Tim Tawa led off by reaching on a fielding error by Naturals right fielder Seuly Matias. Tristin English’s single moved Tawa up to third base, although English was thrown out at second trying to stretch the hit into a double. That brought up Yerzy to the plate, as he hit a high fly ball that ended up taking Matias a couple steps short of the track.
Thirsty Thursd-eh!
— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) July 1, 2022
Andy Yerzy's walk-off sac fly puts the exclamation point on five runs in the final two innings and the Soddies WALK IT OFF at HODGETOWN!#AMAgicalMoment pic.twitter.com/OkNrjBekSe
High A: Hillsboro Hops 2, Tri-City Dust Devils 8
A rough game for Hillsboro (32-38), as the offense and pitching was dreadful throughout. Starter Scott Randall didn’t last 4 innings, taking the loss after giving up 3 runs in 3 2⁄3 innings. Randall allowed 5 hits, walked 2, and struck out 3. The game wasn’t as lopsided as the final score, but Bobby Ay and Hugh Fisher completely lost the strike zone as the two pitchers allowed 4 runs and walked 6 in the bottom of the 8th. Offensively, the Hops got decent performances at the plate from Ryan Bliss (2-5, RBI), Adrian Del Castillo (1-2, 2B, BB), and Fox Semones (2-4). Unfortunately the rest of the lineup was unable to pick up the slack, as Hillsboro went 2-12 with runners in scoring position in the game.
Low A: Visalia Rawhide 4, Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 2
The Rawhide rode solid starting pitching and a late offensive burst fueled by small ball tactics to take a 2-1 lead in the series. Visalia (24-48) held the Quakes to just two solo home runs, starting with starter Peniel Otano delivering a quality start. Otano allowed 2 runs in 6 2⁄3 innings on 7 hits, 2 walks, and 1 strikeout. The much-maligned bullpen delivered late, as a masterful performance by closer Junior Mieses to escape a bases loaded, 1-out jam in the 8th allowed the Rawhide to hold off the Quakes in this game.
Oscar Santos scored the first run for Visalia with a solo homer to center in the 7th, the first of 3 consecutive innings the Rawhide scored. After falling behind 2-1 after the bottom half of the inning, Sheng-Ping Chen tied the game with an RBI single to score Danyer Sanabria from 2nd. A wild pitch moved Chen to second, opening up an opportunity for Deyvison De Los Santos to take the lead. De Los Santos was up to the task, ripping a single to left to give Visalia the lead for good. Santos scored an insurance run in the 9th, when the Quakes 2B misplayed a ground ball that should have ended the inning. Mieses would allow a leadoff double, but retired the next three hitters to pick up a well-earned save.
Loading comments...