9/5/10 Minor League Report – Loons Win their 90th Game of the Year, 66ers lose their 89th

AAA – How tough must it have been for John Lindsey and Russell Mitchell to play in this game after learning that they were going to be promoted to the Dodgers on Monday?  Well it must have been at least somewhat difficult because they went a combined 1 for 7 in this game.  But in all seriousness, I am extremely happy for each of these players, especially for Lindsey, because they really deserved a shot after putting up such amazing numbers this season.  I know that they are playing a very hitter friendly league, but even still they are going up against AAA pitchers who are generally pretty good.  Also, it does the Dodgers no harm to bring them up, so I didn’t see a reason why not to.  Getting back to Sunday’s game, the Isotopes held on for a 3 to 2 victory a day after being eliminated from the playoffs.   Starter Edgar Gonzalez allowed just 1 earned run over 7 innings while striking out 8, and the bullpen finished off the game with 2 shutout innings.  Despite racking up 10 hits in this game, nobody really did much of note as 9 of the 10 hits were singles. 

AA – A couple of weeks ago, somebody had mentioned that Chris Withrow was going to be shut down early in order to preserve his arm.  Obviously that didn’t happen, and while Withrow had been pretty good in his last 2 outings, this final start proved to be one start too many.  Chris didn’t get out of the first inning as he gave up 7 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks.  James Adkins and Mario Alvarez weren’t much better out of the bullpen, and the offense did next to nothing as the Lookouts lost the game 13 to 2.  The one bright spot of the night, however, is that reliever Justin Miller finished his great season very strong by throwing 4 shutout innings. 

High A – The 66ers losing streak reached 4 games on Sunday after a 10 to 3 loss to Modesto.  I guess at least you can say Inland Empire was pretty consistent this year as they spent most of the season in last place.  They are the complete opposite of the Great Lakes Loons, and with a loss in their final game tomorrow can reach the 90 loss plateau.  In this game, the 66ers were victimized by 4 errors which led to 5 unearned runs.  Jon Michael Redding picked up the loss by allowing 4 runs in 5 innings, and Geison Aguasviva wasn’t very good as he gave up 4 hits while recording just 3 outs.  Luckily for Aguasviva, however, all 3 of the runs he allowed were unearned.  Inland Empire did get 10 hits in this game, but they were spread among 8 players and nobody really stood out. 

A – The incredible season continued for the Loons on Sunday as they won their 90th game against just 48 losses.  I believe their .652 winning percentage is tops among all minor league teams in baseball, which is definitely something to brag about.  It will also help them in the postseason as they have obviously clinched home field advantage throughout the Midwest League Playoffs (which begin on Wednesday).  Getting back to the game on Sunday, the offensive leader was again Brian Cavazos-Galvez who went 3 for 5 with his 16th homer and 2 RBI’s.  Despite missing the last 4 games with a wrist injury, Brian picked up right where he left off as he finished a triple shy of the cycle.  Christian Lara also had a big game with 4 hits, and J.T. Wise knocked in 2 runs to continue his outstanding week.  On the mound, starter Ryan Christenson had one of his best games a Loon as he allowed just 5 hits and 2 runs over 6.2 innings.  After 1.1 innings of strong relief from Steve Smith, Steven Ames threw a perfect 9th for his 16 save.

Rookie Ogden – The Raptors extended the club’s franchise record on Sunday with their 44th win of the season.  After winning the division crown in the first half, Ogden is a win away from clinching the 2nd half division title and is having almost as impressive of a season as the Loons.  Nathan Eovaldi was actually the starter in this game and threw 5 innings.  He appears to be fully healed from his oblique injury as he allowed just 3 hits and 1 earned run while striking out 4.  Reliever J.J. Whetsel tried to give away the game by allowing 5 runs, but Derek Cone got the final out of the game to seal the 11 to 7 victory.  The Raptors banged out 17 hits in this game, including 4 from Bobby Coyle and 3 from Leon Landy.  Nick Akins hit his 15th homer while with Ogden, and Jonathan Garcia went 2 for 4 with a couple of doubles. 

Rookie Arizona – Season over

DSL – Season over

Albuquerque Isotopes Box Score

Chattanooga Lookouts Box Score

Inland Empire 66ers Box Score

Great Lakes Loons Box Score

Ogden Raptors Box Score

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