Injury comebacks are all the rage, as Marco Luciano is back with a team (but not on the field yet), and Vaun Brown hit his first extra base hits since his return from injury.  But on the downside, Sacramento starter Keaton Winn went down with an apparent injury in his start.

Let’s start these Quick-Notes with some player movement!

The big news is that Marco Luciano is back, and in Double-A Richmond!  Luciano wasn’t in the lineup for Tuesday’s game, but hopefully he’ll be back in games very, very soon.

Other moves include Tyler Fitzgerald, who’s been getting better and better every season, and has two seasons of 20+ home runs, and this year has greatly improved his batting average, moving up to Sacramento.  Reliever LHP Erik Miller also went from Richmond to Sacramento, replacing Cole Waites, who got a MLB callup.  Miller, a trade acquisition in the offseason in return for Yunior Marte, has a 0.87 ERA  with 15 strikeouts to four walks in 10.1 innings.

Moving up to Richmond from Eugene is right-handed reliever Spencer Bivens, who has a 3.60 ERA after six games in High-A, with 20 strikeouts to four walks in 15.0 innings.

AAA: Las Vegas 2, Sacramento 1

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Sacramento Notes:

  • Sacramento lost a bit of a pitcher’s duel, falling 2-1 to Las Vegas with both teams getting seven hits.  Las Vegas catcher Tyler Soderstrom knocked in both of the Las Vegas runs, first off of starter Keaton Winn, the second off reliever Tanner Andrews after Winn was lifted due to getting hit by a line drive.  Sacramento got one back in the 4th on a Colton Welker double, but that was all the team would get get.
  • It ended up being a tough game for starter Keaton Winn, who left early after getting hit by a line drive.  He gave up two runs in just 2.1 innings on three hits and one walk, while striking out four before being pulled after a line drive hit him.  The ball struck him on his lower right leg, near or on his ankle.  Winn would walk off under his own power with a slight limp  It’s the shortest outing of Winn’s season (6 appearances), and he now has a 5.79 ERA with a .316 batting average allowed, with 19 strikeouts to 10 walks in 18.2 innings.
  • Reliever Melvin Adón struck out three without allowing a baserunner in 2.0 innings.  Adón now has 21 strikeouts to 13 walks in 14.2 innings, and has shaved his ERA down to 4.30 from it’s high of 9.00 on April 15th.  
  • Reliever Ryan Walker went a scoreless inning, giving up just a hit with no walks or strikeouts.  Walker now has a 1.08 ERA after ten games, with 16 strikeouts to five walks in 16.2 innings of work.
  • At a new position, Casey Schmitt was playing second, going 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, and a stolen base.  It was Schmitt’s first pro game at any level playing second base.  He’s played 18 games at shortstop and nine at third base.  Schmitt has a batting line of .308/.336/.385.
  • Playing shortstop for just the third time was Ford Proctor, who went 2-for-4 with two singles.  After 26 games, Proctor has a batting line of .205/.368/.241 with only three doubles for his extra bases.  
  • Colton Welker started at third base, and finished the game at first.  Welker went 1-for-4 with a double, his second of the season.  12 games into his season, he’s got a batting line of .294/.429/.353 with eight walks and five strikeouts, and only two doubles.
  • As DH, Patrick Bailey finally picked up his first Triple-A hit, going 1-for-2 with three walks.  It was Bailey’s fourth game with Sacramento, and he’s 1-for-11 with five walks and two strikeouts.
  • Darin Ruf had his first rehab game, going 0-for-3 with a walk.  It was Ruf’s first game action since going down on April 23rd against his old team.

AA: Richmond 6, Altoona 2

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Richmond Notes:

  • A couple of big innings set the Squirrels off for a win to start off their series with Altoona.  Carter Williams and Ismael Munguia had RBI hits in the 4th inning to put Richmond up 2-1, and then a 3-run home run by Riley Mahan hit a 5th inning 3-run home run that broke up a 2-2 tie, and would be all the Squirrels would need to win the game.
  • Riley Mahan’s 3-run home run was the highlight of a 2-for-4 performance.  After 15 games, Mahan is batting .250 (14-for-56) but has five doubles and four home runs for a .554 slugging percentage.
  • Left fielder Ismael Munguia was 2-for-4 with a walk, a double, and a steal.  That’s Munguia’s second double and fourth steal of the season.  Munguia is batting .275, but after 20 games, has just two doubles and two home runs for a .375 slugging percentage.
  • Luis Matos had his first 4-hit game of the season, all singles, going 4-for-5 with two steals.  It’s the 8th time over four seasons that Matos has reached the 4-hit plateau.  Matos has a .284/.391/.378 batting line now, with four doubles and one home run.
  • Playing third, Brett Auerbach went 1-for-3 with a walk and his second double of the season.  It’s been a slow start for Auerbach, as the hit broke a 4-game hitless streak, and he’s batting .162 after 18 games.  
  • Starting pitcher Carson Seymour gave up just one run on five hits and a walk in 3.1 innings, striking out three.  It’s the least amount of runs Seymour has given up in a start this season, and tied for the most strikeouts.  Seymour has a 4.50 ERA and 10 strikeouts to 12 walks in 18.0 innings on the year.
  • Blake Rivera gave up his first walks of the season, going 1.1 innings, and allowing two walks with a hit while striking out 1.  Rivera still has a 0.00 ERA after seven games, and has 12 strikeouts to two walks in 8.1 innings.
  • Reliever Evan Gates didn’t allow any baserunners in his 1.1 innings, striking out one.  Gates has three saves in his seven appearances, and a 1.86 ERA with 11 strikeouts to six walks in 9.2 innings.

High-A: Eugene 11, Spokane 6

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Eugene Notes:

  • Eugene used a huge breakout inning to win this game, scoring eight runs in the 5th inning to lead to an 11-6 victory.  The huge rally was highlighted by home runs from Ghordy Santos and Grant McCray, as all of the rally in the inning happened with two outs, and gave the Ems an easy win.
  • Grant McCray picked up his second home run, but still isn’t getting many hits, as he went 1-for-5 with three strikeouts but got that big fly.  McCray now has two doubles, two triples, and two home runs and a batting line of .152/.280/.304.
  • The other home run belonged to Ghordy Santos went 1-for-3 with a walk, and his third home run.  The three home runs are Santos’ only extra-base hits in 12 games this season, as he’s gone 5-for-34, with a .147 batting average and .412 slugging percentage.
  • Shortstop Aeverson Arteaga led the team in hitting, going 3-for-5 with two doubles.  Santos has a batting line of .213/.310/.360 with six doubles, a triple, and a home run with ten walks to 23 strikeouts.
  • Right fielder Victor Bericoto was 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles.  Through 18 games, Bericoto has a batting line of .279/.351/.456 with four doubles, a triple, and two home runs with eight walks to 17 strikeouts.
  • Also picking up a pair of hits was designated hitter Logan Wyatt, going 2-for-5 and picking up a double.  Wyatt has a batting line of .257/.353/.446 after 119 games, hitting five doubles and three home runs, with 11 walks to 25 strikeouts.
  • It was a bit of a tough day for Carson Ragsdale, who gave up three runs in 4.0 innings on five hits, with four strikeouts.  Ragsdale now has a 3.48 ERA, but still has 30 strikeouts to three walks in 20.2 innings of pitching.

Low-A: San Jose 9, Modesto 1

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San Jose Notes:

  • San Jose was firing on all cylinders as they beat Modesto and moved into a tie with them to lead their division at 14-8.  Led by Hayden Birdsong and Jack Choate, the Giants pitching staff allowed just one run with 14 strikeouts and allowed just two walks.  Meanwhile, Vaun Brown had two doubles to help lead the offense to a 9-1 win.
  • Vaun Brown got his first extra-base hits of the year three games into his rehab, with two doubles on a 2-for-5 with with two strikeouts, and added in his third stolen base.  Brown is now 7-for-15 (.467), with a total of four strikeouts but no walks yet.
  • Tanner O’Tremba was 2-for-5 with a triple and a double.  The 15th round pick now has five doubles and a triple after 16 games, leading to a .281/.406/.404 batting line.
  • Designated HItter Alexander Suarez was 1-for-3 with a walk and a bases-loaded triple of his own, his third of the season.  Suarez now has three doubles and three triples, but no home runs, after 16 games.  He has a batting line of .281/.339/.439 on the year.
  • Shortstop Diego Velasquez led the Giants with hits by going 3-for-5 with his sixth double and his second stolen base.  Velasquez now has three straight games with multiple hits, and has a 10-game hitting streak.  He now has a batting line of .324/.402/.451 through 18 games.
  • Starter Hayden Birdsong went 4.0 shutout innings, striking out seven with three hits, two walks, and a HBP allowed.  Over his last three starts, Birdsong has allowed just one run in 10.2 innings on a total of eight his and five walks with 19 strikeouts.  He has a 2.30 ERA on the year.
  • Reliever Jack Choate allowed just one run in 4.0 innings, on only three hits, a HBP, and no walks with six strikeouts.  Choate now has just a 1.56 ERA on the year with a 0.87 WHIP, with 31 strikeouts to five walks allowed in 17.1 innings