AAA: Las Vegas 10, Sacramento 7

Top Lines

RF Drew Robinson: 2-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 2B (1), 1 HR (1), 1 BB, 1 SO
C Chadwick Tromp: 2-3, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 HR (1), 1 BB
1B Jason Krizan: 1-4, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 HR (1), 1 BB
3B Mitchell Tolman: 1-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR (2), 1 SO

SP Anthony Banda: 3.2 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO, 2 HR
RP Kervin Castro: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 2 SO
RP Gregory Santos: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 1 HR

I mean…I can’t even hit paste on that tweet without a tear rolling down my cheek.  Drew getting back to even playing baseball is incredible.  To be in Triple-A even more so.  His first game saw him strike out all four times he came up.  And now this, less than a week later.

And, he did it in his hometown in Las Vegas.  In the ballpark he spent time practicing in, deciding to pursue a comeback to baseball.

How can you not be romantic about baseball?

It’s almost as if nothing else happened in this game.  But, there is one more highlight to share.

Wow.

Other Notes:

  • Robinson’s home run was one of four home runs and five straight hits in the second inning for the Cats.  Jason Krizan led things off with his first home run of the year.  Justin Bour followed with a single, and then Chadwich Tromp hit a 2-run home run.  That was followed by Robinson’s home run, and then Mitchell Tolman followed that with his second home run of the season.
  • Bryce Johnson had an 0-fer, breaking the 5-game hitting streak he had to start the season.  He’s still batting .565, so he’s doing okay after this game.
  • Anthony Banda got into his second game of the season, and struggled a bit giving up six earned runs on 7 hits.  He only walked one, which was an improvement after walking six in 4.1 innings in his first game, but this time he was hit hard.
  • Without giving up a hit, Kervin Castro gave up two runs for the second game in a row.  He came into the game with two out in the fourth, walking the first two batters he faced before getting a groundball to end the inning.  He stayed in for the fifth, alternating between strikeout and walk two times before being lifted.  Both runs would score, because…
  • Gregory Santos came in to relieve Castro with two on and two out, and he gave up a home run to the first batter he faced.  Between San Francisco and Sacramento, Santos has given up four home runs, matching his previous season high of four which he gave up in 34.2 innings in 2019…in Low-A Augusta.  He’s done it in 6.1 innings so far this season.

AA: Richmond 5, Harrisburg 3

Top Lines

LF Jacob Heyward: 2-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 2B (1), 1 HR (1), 2 SO
3B David Villar: 2-4, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 HR (3), 1 SO

SP Sam Long: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 SO
RP Ronnie Williams: 3.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, 1 HBP
RP Patrick Ruotolo: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 1 HR

Jacob Heyward got into his first game of the season finally, and he seemed eager to get on the board.  The 25-year old put Richmond on the board in the first inning with his first home run of the season, and broke open the game’s big inning with a RBI double, which led David Villar’s 2-run single and put Richmond up 4-1 in the third.  For Heyward, it was a big answer to a rough 2019 season, in which he hit .211/.362/.348 at mostly Double-A.  

Other Notes:

  • Sam Long’s second start of the season went a touch better, giving up just a run after he gave up three in three innings in his first start.  At least through his first two starts, Long’s had some problems with giving up hits, currently a little more than a hit per inning, while he’s previously been able to keep that rate well under a hit allowed per inning.
  • David Villar’s early season tear continues, as he’s now gotten three home runs in seven games.  He had 13 in 113 games in 2019 with San Jose.  He’ll be due to pass that total in early June at this pace.
  • Patrick Ruotolo allowed his first hit of the season in his fourth game.  And, since it was a home run, it ended up being his first run of the season as well.  

High-A: Scheduled Day Off

PK Park in Eugene is being used by the University of Oregon, which is why the Emeralds played a doubleheader on Monday (what’s usually going to be an offday for High-A), as the “home” team up in Hillsboro.  The Hops and Ems will continue their series with the Emeralds making their actual home debut on Thursday.

Low-A: San Jose 5, Stockton 1

Top Lines

CF Luis Matos: 1-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 HR (1), 1 SO
RF Alex Canario: 1-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR (1), 2 SO
DH Casey Schmitt: 1-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR (2), 1 SO
LF Armani Smith: 2-4, 1 RBI, 1 SO

SP Ryan Murphy: 4.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 11 SO, 1 WP
RP Chris Wright: 1.1 iP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 SO

As San Jose went out on the road, it appears the home run seal has been broken for the Giants, as two top prospects had their first home runs, and on the other side, a huge outing for last year’s 5th round pick.  First, the mound, where Ryan Murphy was spectacular.  He struck out 11 of the 16 batters he faced, walking just two and giving up just one hit.  That set the stage for some big breakouts at the plate.

Alex Canario took the reins first, with his first home run of the season in the second inning.

That was later followed by Luis Matos, who hit an absolute bomb to deep left field for a 2-run shot, his first of the season.

Other Notes:

  • The Giants flipped Matos and Luciano in the batting order.  Luciano had spent much of the first series as the leadoff hitter, with Matos batting second.  Matos flipped over to the leadoff spot, and got the home run.
  • Alex Canario’s home run broke an 0-for-8 streak over his previous two games.
  • The game reached an unusual delay, as the lights went out at Banner Island Ballpark with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning.  The game was eventually finished, however.