The big news early in the day yesterday was that Allen Webster was promoted to AA, but a couple of big offensive performances last night by Kyle Russell and Angelo Songco got most of the attention last night.
Minor League Player of the Day – Angelo Songco - 5 for 7, hit for the cycle, 4 RBI's, 4 Runs. Needing a triple for the cycle with 2 outs in the 9th, Songco hit a long drive over the center fielder's head to complete the feat. Songco had a good April, but he has really taken off in the month of May with a .340 average, 5 homers, and a .973 OPS.
AAA – The Isotopes allowed the Sky Sox (Rockies) to score a run in the 8th and the 9th to tie the game, but Albuquerque mounted a 2 out rally in the 10th with singles by Dee Gordon, Casey Blake, and a walk off job by Eugenio Velez to capture the 7 to 6 victory. For Blake it was his first hit of the night in 6 at bats, but for Gordon it was his 2nd and for Velez his 3rd. Trent Oeltjen also continues to hit and went 3 for 5 with a double and a RBI. Tim Redding got the start and allowed 4 run in 6 innings, then Travis Schlichting and Francisco Felix each allowed a run in 2 innings of work.
AA – Kyle Russell has really become the man this week as he had another huge game in the Lookouts 12 to 4 win over the Huntsville Stars (Astros). Russell went 3 for 5 with 2 more homers and yet another double as he drove in 4 runs for the day. Over the last 10 days, Kyle has a .405 average, 9 doubles, 4 homers, and a 1.423 OPS. Scott Van Slyke broke out of a mini slump as he also had a big day; going 4 for 5 with a homer, a double, and 2 singles. The last standout offensive performance belonged to Brian Cavazos-Galvez, who played 1st base in this game and went 2 for 5 with a RBI and a double. Starting pitcher Will Savage picked up the win in this game despite allowing 7 hits and 4 runs in 6 innings. Joey Newby threw 2 innings of scoreless relief, then Josh Wall had his 5th consecutive scoreless outing in the 9th.
HiA – Hopefully Eric stayed for the entire 3 hours and 42 minutes of this game because the Quakes scored 20 runs in the final 3 innings to beat the Lancaster JetHawks (Astros) 25 to 9. The 25 runs were a franchise record for Rancho, and the team got at least one hit from every player in the lineup. The big game, however, belonged to Angelo Songco who went 5 for 7 and hit for the cycle. You can read more about his day above, but I should mention that according to Eric, Songco's home run was crushed. Other homers for the Quakes belonged to Austin Gallagher, Blake Smith (his 11th), Griff Erickson, and Tony Delmonico. Youngster Noel Cuevas finished a homer shy of the cycle in his 3 for 5 night, and showed that he can play center field. You'll really have to look at the boxscore to see the full extent of the offensive damage. Not to be forgotten on a big offensive night was the effort by Ethan Martin, who took over in the 2nd after Blake Hawksworth threw a scoreless inning, then threw 5 shutout frames of his own. He walked the first 3 batters he faced in the 7th and then Javy Solano served up a grand slam to the first batter he faced, but overall it was a solid effort for Martin, who also picked up 7 K's.
LoA – The Loons had just 2 hits in this game as they wasted a solid performance from Garrett Gould and lost to the Dayton Dragons (Reds) 7 to 1. Gould threw 6 innings and struck out 8 while allowed just 1 earned run, but 2 unearned runs also scored against him on a Blake Dean error. Bret Montgomery gave up 7 hits and 4 runs over the final 3 frames. The only Great Lakes hits in this game came from Casio Grider (single) and Leon Landry (double).
Albuquerque Isotopes Box Score (AAA)
Chattanooga Lookouts Box Score (AA)
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Box Score (HiA)