Richmond swept a doubleheader on Wednesday, powered by two big pitching performances and home runs by Carter Aldrete and a huge one by Marco Luciano gave the Squirrels two big wins.  Elsewhere, Joey Bart looked like he was back in a groove, and Victor Bericoto and Diego Velasquez each had big days.

AAA: Sacramento 9, Sugar Land 5

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Sacramento Notes:

  • Sacramento pounded the Sugar Land bullpen to win this one going away.  The Space Cowboys were up 5-3 after six innings, but Sacramento scored two in the 8th to tie the game, and then added four more in the 9th to win the game.
  • No-longer-rehabbing Joey Bart began to get his groove back.  Bart was 2-for-4 with a strikeouts, and two doubles, his first two in Triple-A.  Since returning to Sacramento, he’s 5-for-30 (.167) with two doubles, and zero walks to 13 strikeouts.
  • Right fielder Clint Coulter was 3-for-5 with two doubles of his own, giving him 11 on the season.  Coulter now has 11 doubles to go to six home runs, with 18 walks to 38 strikeouts.  He’s got a batting line of .258/.354/.421.
  • Bryce Johnson was 3-for-6 with two strikeouts and all singles leading off and back in center field.  In 11 games at Sacramento, Johnson has a batting line of .326/.408/.465, with three doubles and a home run.
  • The team’s other double was by Isan Díaz, who was 2-for-4 in limited duty as the DH.  It was just Díaz’s fifth game of the season and second since returning from his most recent injury that happened in late May.  The double was his first of the season, but it goes with two home runs.
  • Shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald went 2-for-5 with a walk.  His Sacramento batting line is .311/.388/.492 with five doubles, one triple, and five home runs in 29 games at the Triple-A level.
  • Starting pitcher Drew Strotman gave up five runs in 4.1 innings, on seven hits and three walks, with two home runs allowed.  He has five strikeouts.  Strotman’s ERA bumped back up to 6.92 after this game.  He’s got 34 strikeouts to 28 walks in 39.0 innings.
  • The best reliever for Sacramento was Phoenix Sanders, striking out three without allowing a baserunner in 1.2 innings of work.  Sanders still has a 11.42 ERA as a River Cat through eight games.  He has seven walks to eight strikeouts, in 8.2 innings.

AA: Doubleheader

Game 1: Richmond 5, Bowie 1 (7 Innings)

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Game 2: Richmond 2, Bowie 0 (7 Innings)

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Richmond Notes:

  • Two excellent pitching performances gave the Squirrels the sweep in this game.  In Game 1, Mason Black threw four scoreless innings to lead the way for the win, as Marco Luciano and Carter Aldrete each hit home runs to make it an easy win.  In Game 2, it was Kai-Wei Teng, going five scoreless innings as Richmond got the close win.
  • Mason Black put together his second straight strong start, going four scoreless inning both times, this time allowing just two hits and a walk with four strikeouts.  With those two games, Black has lowered his ERA from 5.89 to 4.84 on the season.
  • Kai-Wei Teng is starting to put tother better starts, but this is Teng’s first appearance without allowing a run since his start on May 5th.  He allowed no runs, just three hits and one HBP while striking out five.  On the season, he has a 4.75 ERA now, with 68 strikeouts to 20 walks in 47.1 innings.  Teng got the win, and he is the first starter to earn a win for Richmond this season (as the entire organization generally has put strong limits on starting pitchers so they don’t reach the five inning qualifying level for wins).
  • Marco Luciano had a great day, going 2-for-3 in each game, totaling a 4-for-6 day with a double and an absolute monster of a home run with a walk.  It puts Luciano somewhat safely over the Mendoza Line, as he jumped from a .193 average to .216.  He now has nine home runs and seven doubles in 35 games.  Check out this highlight to see how crazy this home run was.
  • Carter Aldrete went just 1-for-6 combined over the day, but the one was a home run, which is his second in as many days (even if that’s three games in two days).  Aldrete now has eight home runs to go on 11 doubles over 55 games this season, and has a batting line of .245/.298/.420.
  • Catcher Brandon Martorano only played in Game 2, going 2-for-3 with a double.  It’s Martorano’s first multi-hit game since coming back from injury in early June, and for that matter, the entire season.  He’s batting .178/.296/.289 on the season in Double-A with two doubles and one home run in 14 games.

High-A: Eugene 11, Spokane 7

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Eugene Notes:

  • Eugene survived one big inning and scored two of their own to win a high-scoring game.  The Emeralds were up 4-2 after three innings, but Spokane hit a grand slam as part of a 5-run 5th inning to go up 7-4.  But Eugene responded with three runs in the 6th to tie the game back up, and then four runs in the 8th to take the lead and the win.
  • First baseman Victor Bericoto went 4-for-5 with two doubles.  The game breaks Bericoto’s streak of home runs in each of his last three games, but he’s 8-for-15 with three home runs and two doubles over the last four games, with two walks and three strikeouts.  Overall this season, he’s batting .316/.368/.555, with 12 doubles, a triple, and 12 home runs on the year.
  • Catcher Adrian Sugastey went 3-for-5 with a double, his eighth of the season.  It’s Sugastey’s first 3-hit game since May 17th.  Sugastey has been struggling a bit in June, but still has a batting line of .268/.297/.390 over 41 games, with eight doubles and four home runs.
  • The only Eugene home run belonged to Edison Mora, who went 1-for-5 with a strikeout.  It’s Mora’s fourth home run of the season, with two each in San Jose (over 19 games) and in Eugene (in 18 games).  At High-A, Mora is batting .148/.212/.328.
  • Right fielder Carter Howell went 1-for-3 with two walks and a triple.  The triple broke a three game hitless streak, as Howell’s batting average has dipped down to .260 after it had been in the .300s last week.  Howell now has one double and three triples in 13 games at High-A, with seven walks to 11 strikeouts.
  • Starting pitcher Nick Sinacola gave up two runs in 4.0 innings, on three hits, two walks, and a HBP, with three strikeouts.  Sinacola now has a 5.16 ERA over 13 games, with 60 strikeouts to 16 walks in 45.1 innings.
  • Making his High-A debut was Will Kempner, going a scoreless inning, allowing a hit and a walk with one strikeout.  Kempner had a 4.67 ERA in San Jose, with 29 strikeouts to 15 walks in 27.0 innings, working mostly in relief recently.
  • Closer Tyler Myrick struck out two in the 9th inning, though it wasn’t a save situation.  Through 21 games, Myrick now has a 0.87 ERA, with 22 strikeouts to four walks in 20.2 innings.

Low-A: Rancho Cucamonga 11, San Jose 7

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San Jose Notes:

  • Unlike the rest of the farm, San Jose’s bullpen was the one that collapsed leading to this loss.  The Quakes had a 7-3 lead after six innings, but doubles by Reggie Crawford in the 7th and Diego Velasquez in the 8th helped San Jose tie the game going into the 9th.  But there, Rancho Cucamonga scored four runs to easily take the win.
  • Diego Velasquez was the leading hitting for San Jose, going 2-for-5 with a double and a home run.  After getting hit on the knee, Velasquez has returned for four games, going 6-for-17 (.353) with a double and two home runs, and no walks to four strikeouts.  His batting line sits at .328/.430/.459.
  • Andrew Kachel was 2-for-4 with a walk and his own double.  After 43 games, Kachel has 14 doubles, a triple, and three home runs.  His batting line is at .299/.396/.459 on the year.
  • Matt Higgins moved from first base to left field in the game, going 2-for-3 with a double and two walks, but also made an error at first base.  That gives Higgins 12 doubles to go with one triple and seven home runs, and has 23 walks to 49 strikeouts.
  • Designated Hitter Reggie Crawford was 1-for-4 with a strikeouts, and hit a double.  After eight games, Crawford is batting .250/.278/.563 with two doubles and one home run.
  • Starter Gerelmi Maldonado struck out eight in 4.0 innings, giving up just one HBP and one hit, though it was a solo home run.  Maldonado now has 48 strikeouts to 24 walks in 40.0 innings, and has a 3.60 ERA after 12 games.

ACL: ACL Giants Black 4, ACL Padres 0 (7 Innings)

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ACL Giants Black Notes:

  • Third baseman Elian Rayo went 2-for-3 with a strikeouts, and hit his first home run of the summer.  After eight games, Rayo is 6-for-22 (.273) with the home run as his only extra base hit.  He has four walks to 10 strikeouts.
  • Left fielder Guillermo Williamson was 1-for-3 with a double, his second of the season.  That gives him two doubles to go with three home runs over eight games.  His early batting line is .320/.393/.760.
  • Right fielder Cesar Quintas was 2-for-2 with a walk.  After eight games, Quintas is 10-for-19 (.526) with a double, and eight walks to only two strikeouts for a .710 OBP.
  • Shortstop Ryan Reckley went 1-for-3 on the day with a single.  He’s 6-for-28 on the summer so far after eight games, with one double, and four walks to 10 strikeouts.
  • It was a great game for Wilkelma Castillo, who went 5.0 scoreless innings, striking out eight while giving up only one hit and two walks.  That was Castillo’s first start of the season at either the ACL or earlier in the Northwest League.  He has 15 strikeouts to two walks in 11.0 innings, with a 0.82 ERA.
  • Making his first appearance in the ACL was Melvin Adón, going 2.0 scoreless innings, allowing four hits, but no walks and getting no strikeouts.  Adón last appeared in Triple-A just on June 10th, when he gave up three runs.  Adón had an 8.78 ERA in 21 appearances at Triple-A before the move.

ACL Orange and DSL: Scheduled Day Off