5/17/10 Minor League Report – Bastardo is Brilliant, Miller is Marvelous, but Lindblom is Lousy

AAA – In 4 innings of work in Salt Lake City, Josh Lindblom allowed 6 hits, 6 walks, and 5 runs.  I’m really starting to wonder about Lindblom, as his ERA is now 6.05, and his WHIP is 1.82.  As I’ve already said 100 times this season, he really should be a relief pitcher.  I really think the biggest problem is his mentality going into a game and the fact that he knows he has to pace himself instead of going all out for a single inning.  Anyways, despite Lindblom’s poor performance the Isotopes stayed in the game and actually tied the game in the top of the 9th on Xavier Paul’s double.  Unfortunately, Brent Leach literally threw the game away in the bottom of the 9th when he made a poor pickoff attempt and allowed the winning game to score.  Paul ended up going 3 for 5 to raise his average to .388, and John Lindsay who leads all of minor league baseball in batting average, actually saw his average fall despite going 2 for 5.

AA – Alberto Bastardo was brilliant in Mobile Alabama as he held the Bay Bears hitless through 6 innings before allowing a double with one out in the 7th.  Bastardo’s overall linescore for the day ended up as 7 innings pitched, 1 hit, 2 walks, and 7 strikeouts, all on 98 pitches.  It was obviously Bastardo’s best start of the season, and lowered his ERA to 4.63.  Jesus Rodriguez and James Adkins were able to keep the shutout intact by pitching one scoreless inning each.  The other big news from this game was that Alfredo Amezaga made his 2010 debut.  Playing shortstop, Amezaga went 2 for 2 with a walk and a RBI.  If he can prove that he’s healthy, he may find himself in LA at some point this season.  The other offensive leaders of the game were Eduardo Perez and Scott Van Slyke.  Perez went 2 for 4 with 2 RBI’s and has quietly accumulated a 9 game hitting streak.  Van Slyke, who hadn’t had a hit in a week, broke out of his mini slump by going 2 for 3.

High A – Aaron Miller pitched a great game, allowing just 4 hits and 1 walk over 7 innings, while striking out 7.  Unfortunately, both his offense and defense let him down and therefore he was stuck with the loss in this game.  His offense let him down because they only managed 2 singles in the entire game, and blew several opportunities with runners in scoring position.  His defense let him down because the Quakes scored two unearned runs on an error and a passed ball.  Paul Koss followed Miller’s outing with 2 shutout innings.  Overall, it was a great game for 66er pitching, and a poor game for everyone else.

A – Off day

Albuquerque Isotopes Box Score

Chattanooga Lookouts Box Score

Inland Empire 66ers Box Score

http://firstinning.com/daily/la

http://www.minorleaguesplits.com/dodgers-recap.html

http://www.minorleaguesplits.com/milb-recap.html