The Quakes collected the only Dodger minor league win on Friday as the organization suffered 4 losses. Shawn Tolleson was again outstanding, but he didn't quite get player of they day honors as that award went to Ivan De Jesus. One other minor league note is that the Dominican Summer League season starts today, and I know that is what everyone has been waiting for.
Minor League Player of the Day – Ivan De Jesus - 4 for 5, 2 2B's, 1 run, 1 RBI. De Jesus has been extremely quiet since getting sent back down to AAA, but on Friday he finally had a few extra base hits and led the day with 4 hits.
AAA – Albuquerque pitching was roughed up early as the Isotopes got doubled up by New Orleans (Marlins) 6 to 3. After an outstanding start last time out, John Ely wasn't able to match his previous performance as the allowed 11 baserunners (9 hits and 2 walks) in just 3 innings which resulted in 6 runs being charged against him. His bullpen was able to shut out the Zephyrs for the rest of the game (3 scoreless innings from Randy Keisler and 2 perfect innings from Merkin Valdez), but the offense wasn't able to make up the difference. Ivan De Jesus was a one man show, going 4 for 5 wit 2 doubles, but he couldn't do it alone as only 2 other Topes hitters had hits in this game. Eugenio Velez went 2 for 4 with a double and Trayvon Robinson had a single in 4 at bats.
AA Game 1 – Allen Webster made his AA debut on Friday, and while he had a solid performance the Lookouts were shutout by the Huntsville Stars (Brewers) 5 to 0 in the first game of their double-header. Webster only allowed 2 hits over 5 innings of work and struck out 5, which is an outstanding outing for the 21 year old. The downside of the performance was that he walked 3 other batters and gave up 3 runs which resulted in the loss. Wilkin De La Rosa also made his Chattanooga debut on Friday after his demotion from AAA and allowed 2 runs in 1.2 innings. The Lookouts picked up 6 hits in their shutout, but the only base knock by a legitimate Dodger prospect was a single by Scott Van Slyke.
AA Game 2 – Nate Eovaldi struck out 8 batters for the 3rd straight start and allowed just 2 runs (1 earned) over 5 innings, but his effort wasn’t enough as the Lookouts lost 2 to 1 to the Huntsville Stars (Brewers) and got swept in their double-header. Eovaldi also allowed 5 hits and 3 walks, but his strong start lowered his ERA to 2.84 for the season. Steven Ames threw an shutout inning in relief and struck out 2, while Josh Lindblom tossed a perfect frame and K'd 1. At the plate, Brian Cavazos-Galvez played 1st base again and went 2 for 3 to collect half of his team's hits. Elian Herrera had the only extra base hit, a double, while Scott Van Slyke drove in the only run with a single.
HiA – The Quakes hit four more home runs on Friday as they grounded the Lancaster JetHawks (Astros) 9 to 6. JT Wise had the big 3 run blast in the 5th inning and drove in 4 total runs for the day, while the unlikely combination of Rafael Ynoa and Ramon Jean both hit solo shots in the 9th to put the game out of reach for good. Tony Delmonico hit the other homer and also crushed a triple to give him 7 total bases for the day. Andres Santiago got the start for Rancho and despite allowing 9 hits, walks, and 4 runs over 6 innings he was able to pick up the win. Robert Romero gave up a few runs in relief, but Shawn Tolleson was terrific again as the closed out the game by striking out 4 of the 6 batters he faced for his 13th total save of the season.
LoA – The Loons lost yet again on Friday in a 5 to 1 defeat to the Dayton Dragons (Reds). Great Lakes had 7 hits in the game, 2 of them coming from Jonathan Garcia who doubled and tripled. These were Garcia's first extra base hits in over 10 days, so hopefully it will help break him out of his slump. Casio Grider also tripled and went 2 for 5 on the day. Gustavo Gomez was the starting pitcher and was seeing 3's, allowing 3 hits, 3 walks, and 3 runs. He did buck the trend, however, by striking out 5 batters in 4 innings of work. 3 relievers combined to allow 2 runs over the final 4 innings of work.
Albuquerque Isotopes Box Score (AAA)
Chattanooga Lookouts Box Score (AA) - Game 1
Chattanooga Lookouts Box Score (AA) - Game2
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Box Score (HiA)