AAA: Sugar Land 1, Sacramento 0

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Sacramento Notes:

  • Of course, the big news is that Heliot Ramos started the game, but was removed in the fourth inning.  It was later revealed he was being promoted to the big leagues for Sunday’s game in San Francisco.
  • Raynel Espinal made his Sacramento debut after signing as a free agent in February, striking out seven across 3.2 scoreless innings, with three hits and a walk.  Espinal was working mostly with his low-80’s slider, and a fastball that was 91-94 MPH.  He had a 3.44 ERA working as a starter in Triple-A Worcester for the Red Sox last season.
  • Kervin Castro made his second appearance of the season, and again his control was not sharp, as he walked two but also struck out the side.  He threw his low’80’s curveball nearly two-thirds of the time, with his 92-94 fastball as his secondary pitch, and struck out the first batter he faced on three pitches, all curves.
  • The River Cats offense just didn’t have a good day, and their two best hitters early on got their only two hits.  Luis Gonzalez was 1-for-4, and overall is 6-for-18 on the season.  Ka’ai Tom was 1-for-3 with a walk, and is now 5-for-12 with two walks to two strikeouts.  Both players stand to gain playing time with Ramos in the big leagues.  Tom also turned a double defensively into an out with an excellent throw to help nail a runner at home.

AA: Richmond 9, Bowie 2

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Richmond Notes:

  • This game was tied 2-2 going into the 9th, but Richmond loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the 9th.  After an out, Tyler Fitzgerald and Brandon Martorano each drew bases loaded walks to give Richmond a lead.  But Franklin Labour and Michael Gigliotti broke the game open, with a 2-run Labour double, and a 2-run Gigliotti single.
  • It was a great game for Gigliotti, whom the Giants claimed off waivers late in 2021.  The 2017 4th round pick was 4-for-4 in his first game with the Giants with a home run, and two steals, and had four RBI on the day.
  • Lost in the late-game drama, Kai-Wei Teng had a strong start for the Squirrels, going five shutout innings with two hits, a walk, and six strikeouts.  Teng had an up-and-down year in High-A last season, but finished strong.
  • Will Wilson was an on-base machine in his second game of the year, going 2-for-3 with three walks.  He’s now 3-for-7 on the year, with four walks giving him a .636 OBP so far.
  • Patrick Ruotolo pitched a quiet and quick bottom of the ninth, striking out two of the three batters he faced.

High-A: Everett 10, Eugene 7

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Eugene Notes:

  • Third baseman Casey Schmitt hit his first home run of the season, as part of a 2-hit game, and is 4-for-7 over the first two games with the homer, a double, and a walk.  He hit just .247 with eight home runs in his first pro season with Eugene.
  • Another first home run of the season came for Patrick Bailey for his only hit of the game.  Bailey had nine home runs across 82 games last season.
  • Armani Smith’s home run was his first hit of the year, and it came with two walks in his second game of the year.  He’s coming off a 12 home run season, with eight in High-A over 69 games.
  • Luis Matos picked up his first two hits of the season, and added a stolen base for good measure.
  • Top prospect Marco Luciano picked up one hit, but it was an RBI single as part of a 9th inning rally that ultimately fell short.  He also had trouble with a ground ball for his first error.
  • The starter was Randy Rodriguez, making his first start since 2018.  He allowed a home run after an error for two unearned runs, and had two walks and two strikeouts.  In 2021, he had 101 strikeouts to 23 walks in 62.0 IP.

Low-A: San Jose 3, Modesto 1

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San Jose Notes:

  • Will Bednar made his pro debut, and made an impact.  Five of them, in the worst way.  With a 90-92 MPH fastball, Bednar was wild, hitting Modesto batters five times, and coming close to hitting a few others.  He also walked two, but only gave up one hit and just one run, though he owes reliever Trevor McDonald a drink for help with that.
  • The pitcher who had the most impressive outing was Seth Lonsway, the Giants 6th round pick in 2021.  Lonsway struck out six and walked two in the final four innings, and only gave up a hit just before getting the game’s final out.
  • Garrett Frechette had two hits and a walk for San Jose.  Frechette had struggles starting last year in San Jose, batting .219 with a .268 on-base percentage.
  • Trevor McDonald struck out 3 in 1.1 innings in his season debut.  He took over for Bednar in the 4th with the bases loaded and two out, and also loaded the bases in his own inning, but didn’t allow anyone to score.