AAA: Sacramento 4, Reno 3

Top Lines

3B Jason Krizan: 4-5, 2 R
C Joey Bart: 2-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 HR (5), 1 BB, 1 PB (3)
LF Joe McCarthy: 2-5, 1 R

SP Caleb Baragar: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO
RP Anthony Banda: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO
RP Yunior Marte: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO
RP John Brebbia: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO, 1 HR

Too many Giants pitchers on the roster?  Two rehabbing pitchers got into this game, with a bit of a wild ride for one.  Caleb Baragar made his first appearance since May 28th with the big league Giants, and he looked like he didn’t miss any time. John Brebbia, meanwhile, made his appearance later in the game in the 8th.  He struck out the side, but not until after giving up a home run to blow the lead.  That would only allow him to get the win, however.

The teams had traded runs early on mistakes, as the first Sacramento run came in on a wild pitch in the first, and Reno’s first run came in the second on a passed ball.  Down 2-1 in the seventh, Joey Bart hit a 2-run home run to give the River Cats a 3-2 lead.  After Reno’s home run off Brebbia tied the game in the eighth, Mitchell Tolman brought home the winning run in the top of the ninth with a triple.

Other Notes:

  • Joey Bart hit his second home run in as many days, giving him five on the season.  Bart is batting .358/.411/.642 this year, although he has 20 strikeouts in 73 plate appearances.  He’s helped by a .452 batting average on balls in play.
  • After today’s 4-hit game, Jason Krizan is batting .429 in June (12-for-28), but has yet to collect an extra-base hit.
  • Anthony Banda bounced back nicely from his last start, when he gave up seven runs.  Banda has a 5.87 ERA over seven appearances in Sacramento this season.

AA: Richmond 4, Harrisburg 0

Top Lines

CF Heliot Ramos: 1-3, 1 R, 1 2B (8), 1 BB
LF Vince Fernandez: 1-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR (5)
PH Sandro Fabian: 1-1, 2 RBI, 1 2B (3)
C Andres Angulo: 1-4, 1 RBI, 2 SO

SP Trenton Toplikar: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 1 HBP
RP Raffi Vizcaino: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO
RP Joey Marciano: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO
RP Jose Marte: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO

The way this game looked early on, you might not have expected it to end up being a shutout for the Squirrels, but it did.  Starter Trenton Toplikar gave up a pair of singles in the first inning, en route to giving up more hits (6) than the entire Squirrels offense, but he didn’t give up any extra base hits.  He kept getting stronger, finishing his stint with two strikeouts looking in the sixth.

The offense, meanwhile, got either the extra-base hits, or hits at the right time, or both, to hold up their end.  Vince Fernandez finally broke the scoring open with a home run in the fifth, a solo shot.  Andres Angulo got an RBI single in the sixth.  Sandro Fabian then came in to pinch hit with runners on second and third, and hit a double to knock both runs in.

Other Notes:

  • Trenton Toplikar had been progressively giving up more runs over his last four appearances, topping out at five runs in his last start, until this one.  The 6.0 innings were the most he’s thrown in an inning, the previous high being 4.0 innings in a relief appearance before he moved into the rotation.
  • Vince Fernandez hit his second home run in as many games after not hitting one over 13 games, giving him 5 on the season.
  • Heliot Ramos hasn’t been showing up much in these lines lately, and had been without an extra-base hit over his previous eight games.  He was lining balls all over the diamond.  But he has four walks to just five strikeouts in seven games this month.
  • Joey Marciano’s strong season continues, with two more strikeouts giving him 19 on the season in 14.1 innings, with five walks and five hits allowed.  The only run he’s given up is off of a home run.
  • The month started for Jose Marte with him giving up four runs, the first four of his season.  Since then, he’s struck out four of the five batters he’s faced.  Combined between Eugene and Richmond, he’s struck out 23 in 11.0 innings, with just two walks.

High-A: Everett 8, Eugene 6

Top Lines

SS Simon Whiteman: 2-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR (1), 2 BB, 2 SB (16), 1 CS (2)
1B Sean Roby: 0-1, 3 R, 4 BB, 1 SO
LF Logan Wyatt: 1-3, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 SO
DH Jacob Gonzalez: 1-2, 1 R, 2 BB

SP Conner Nurse: 4.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 4 SO, 1 HR, 1 WP
RP Bryce Tucker: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 2 SO
RP Chris Wright: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO

Eugene came up just short out of a wild game.  A literally wild game.  Both teams threw 11 walks, each.  The fact that the Emeralds collected only six hits led to that loss.  Eugene’s only extra-base hit came from one of the unlikeliest sources, with Simon Whiteman leading off the game with his first pro home run.  But the AquaSox bounced back immediately, tying the game in the bottom of the first and soon taking the lead with six more runs for a 7-2 lead.

Other Notes:

  • Simon Whiteman is batting .391/.516/.565 in June, with the home run being just his second extra-base hit of the month and just his fifth of the season.  
  • Conner Nurse continues to struggle, giving up a season high in runs.  Nurse has given up a home run in every start except one this season.  He’s struck out 26 batters in 27.2 innings, but walked 14.
  • Sean Roby has struggled much of the season, but collected a bunch of walks in this one.  The 4 walk game gives him 11 on the season, against 22 strikeouts in 75 plate appearances.

Low-A: San Jose 7, Stockton 5

Top Lines

RF Alexander Canario: 3-4, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR (3), 1 SB (6)
2B Brett Auerbach: 3-4, 1 R, 4 RBI, 1 HR (1), 1 SO, 1 CS (2)
LF Armani Smith: 2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI

SP Prelander Berroa: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 SO
RP Justin Crump: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO
RP Clay Helvey: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO

San Jose and Stockton traded blows in a wild seventh inning, but that left both teams where they started; with San Jose ahead by two.  In that inning, Alexander Canario led things off with a single, and stole a base ahead of a walk.  Ricardo Genovés singled to load the bases.  That set the stage for Brett Auerbach to hit a Grand Slam.  That turned a 3-1 lead into a 7-1 lead for San Jose.  

In the bottom half of the inning, Jorge Labrador loaded the bases on free passes, with two walks and a hit batter.  Relieved by Austin Reich, who gave up a 2-run double and a 2-run single.  That left the score back to a 3-run difference.

Other Notes:

  • Brett Auerbach broke a 3-game hitless streak with his 3-hit game, and his first pro home run was a memorable one.  I hope he doesn’t expect a grand slam every time.
  • Alexander Canario has had a good first week of June, batting .318/.385/.500, and got his first home run of the month.  So far for June, he has three walks to three strikeouts.
  • Prelander Berroa notched a season-high with eight strikeouts, and now has 30 strikeouts in 20.2 innings with 15 walks.
  • Armani Smith picked up his second home run of the season, and now has a batting line of .333/.367/.556 on the season.
  • Clay Helvey’s four strikeouts put him up to 22 strikeouts in 16.1 innings, with 10 walks.