Eugene’s Grant McCray had his biggest home run of the season, with a Grand Slam late to help a blowout win.  But in Sacramento, while getting blown out, the reality of the Giants catching depth was evident.

AAA: Reno 17, Sacramento 3

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Sacramento Notes:

  • Sacramento just got blasted the way Stockton did last night, except without the home runs.  Over the first three innings, Reno got nine hits and six walks to lead to 11 runs, and yet Reno only got four doubles for extra-base hits.  But the real story might the lack of depth at catcher.
  • Catcher Ricardo Genovés, the only healthy regular catcher on the Cats roster, was 1-for-1 with two walks, and got lifted in the middle of the 6th inning.  There did not appear to be any injury, as Genovés singled in the inning, and was running fine in the inning’s final play.  It may have been a move to save his energy in a blowout loss.  Genovés was .269/.370/.372 on the season with 11 walks to 24 strikeouts in 26 games.
    • The Cats put in Ford Proctor at catcher.  It was Proctor’s first game at catcher this season, but he played 56 games there in 2022 (52 with Durham, four with Sacramento after the early August trade), and 58 games there in 2021 in Double-A Montgomery.  He didn’t play professionally at catcher before that, dating back to getting drafted in 2018.
  • Will Wilson was 1-for-4 with his fourth home run of the season.  Three of Wilson’s four home runs have come since May 9th.  He has a batting line of .205/.274/.329 on the year over 43 games.
  • David Villar went 2-for-4 with a double, his first since returning to Sacramento.  Villar is 4-for-15, with a double and two home runs, with three walks to three strikeouts in four games.
  • It was a rough game for starting pitcher Marcus Strotman, who gave up season highs across the board, with six walks and seven hits leading to eight runs allowed in 2.1 innings, striking out one.  His ERA jumped from 5.59 to 8.31 in the game.
  • Reliever Cole Waites put up goose eggs in an inning of work: no runs, no hits, no walks, and no strikeouts.  That’s three straight appearances without allowing a run for Waites since returning from SF.  His ERA is down from 9.31 to 7.11 since then.

AA: Richmond 6, Akron 4

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Richmond Notes:

  • Richmond edged Akron in a close game, winning 6-4.  Akron and Richmond traded leads three times in the span of an inning and a half in the 4th inning.  That held through the 7th, when a pair of walks led to Wade Meckler hitting an RBI single, and a hit batter was followed by a bases loaded walk to Marco Luciano gave the Squirrels a little cushion in the win.
  • Vaun Brown, playing the field for the first time in Double-A, had the biggest hit, going 1-for-3 with a home run, two strikeouts, and getting hit by a batter.  Overall, it’s Brown’s second home run in 11 games.  He’s 2-for-7 in Double-A in two games.
  • Third baseman Hayden Cantrelle was 1-for-1 with two walks and a HBP, and also stole two bases.  Cantrelle has a .229/.408/.344 batting line over 33 games, with 21 walks to 22 strikeouts, and eight steals in as many attempts.
  • Wade Meckler was 2-for-5 with the game-winning single in this game.  In four games at Double-A, he’s gone 7-for-19 with no walks and one strikeout, and has a .368 batting line, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage.
  • Starting pitcher Nick Zwack gave up four runs in 3.1 innings, on five hits and two walks, with a strikeout.  He gave up two home runs in this game.  He’s got a 6.75 ERA with a .305 batting average allowed, striking out 27 with 11 walks in 26.2 innings.
  • Blake Rivera gave up a hit and a walk in 2.0 scoreless innings, striking out two.  Rivera now has a 1.72 ERA with 20 strikeouts to 12 walks in 15.2 innings.

High-A: Eugene 10, Hillsboro 1

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Eugene Notes:

  • This game was close for most of the length, with Eugene scoring two runs in the 1st inning, and Hillsboro getting one back in the 4th.  But in the 7th and 8th innings, Eugene scored four runs in each inning, powered by two 7th inning home runs and a Grant McCray grand slam accounted for all four runs in the 8th.
  • The obviously big hit was by Grand…I mean, Grant McCray, who had a grand slam while going 2-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout, and added a stolen base.  That is McCray’s 7th home run of the season, putting him into a tie for 2nd place on the team.  McCray now has a .215/.323/.417 batting line with 16 steals in 19 attempts.  He also led off the game with a bunt and ended up on third in a fun (for Eugene) sequence.
  • As the DH, Aeverson Arteaga went 2-for-5 with a home run, his third of the season.  Arteaga has a batting line of .201/.291/.360, and has nine doubles, two triples, and three home runs.
  • Third baseman Luis Toribio was 1-for-4 and took the team lead in home runs with his 8th of the season.  Toribio has a batting line of .261/.366/.514 with four doubles and eight home runs, and in 31 games he has 19 walks to 41 strikeouts.
  • Catcher Adrian Sugastey went 2-for-3 with a walk, and stole his first base of the season.  With 26 games under his belt, Sugastey has a batting line of .308/.342/.404, with six walks to 18 strikeouts.
  • Starting pitcher Eric Silva struck out a season-high seven in 3.2 innings, giving up a run on two hits and two walks.  Silva now has 30 strikeouts to 15 walks in 30.1 innings, with a 2.67 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP.
  • Reliever Hunter Dula had a scoreless inning, giving up just two hits and no walks.  Dula has a 1.84 ERA over 12 games, and has 20 strikeouts to four walks in 14.2 innings of work.

Low-A: San Jose 7, Stockton 6 (10 Innings)

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San Jose Notes:

  • San Jose had a late comeback for a extra-inning comeback.  The Giants were down 5-4 going into the 8th inning, but Thomas Gavello had an RBI single to tie the game.  In the 10th inning, the Giants won with two outs, with a 2-out Matt Higgins RBI double, and an Onil Perez RBI single.  The two runs were important, because San Jose gave up a run in the bottom half, but held on to win.
  • Shortstop Diego Velasquez had a strong game, going 2-for-5 with a walk and his 10th double of the year.  Velasquez has a batting line of .308/.395/.431 after 32 games, with ten doubles and two home runs, with 15 walks to 29 strikeouts.
  • Onil Perez was designated hitter, and was 2-for-6 with his fourth double and his sixth stolen base.  The 20-year old Perez has a .350/.448/.463 batting line.  He’s got 13 walks to seven strikeouts.
  • Second baseman Andrew Kachel was 2-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base, and his 5th error.  The game breaks Kachel’s 2-game hitless streak, which was the first time he’d strung two hitless games together on the season.  He has a .288/.373/.423 batting line, with two steals in as many hits.
  • Matt Higgins had a double, going 1-for-5 with a walk and two strikeouts.  Higgins now has seven doubles, along with a triple and five home runs, with 36 strikeouts to 15 walks, with a batting line of .310/.396/.496.
  • Jack Choate took the start, giving up a season-high four runs in 3.0 innings, on a season-high five hits and a walk, with three strikeouts.  Choate’s ERA is up to 2.89, up from 1.80 after his last game.  He’s got 44 strikeouts to 13 walks in 28.0 innings.
  • Daniel Blair had the majority of the innings, going 4.0 scoreless innings in relief, on one hit and two walks, with four strikeouts.  Blair now has a 1.74 ERA with 1 0.97 WHIP, and has 20 strikeouts to nine walks in 20.2 innings.