Minor League Player of the Day – Rusty Ryal (AAA) - 4 for 7, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI's, 3 Runs. Ryal had the benefit of playing two games on Wednesday, but he was solid in both of them which earns him this award. For the, however, the 30 year old has an OPS of just .710 which is very uninspiring for a corner infielder playing in the PCL.
AAA Game 1 – The Isotopes pounded Omaha (Royals) in the first game of their double header on Wednesday 11 to 3. The Albuquerque offense did almost all of their damage in the 3rd inning when they scored 9 of their runs, with 3 of them scoring on back to back doubles by Nick Buss and Matt Angle. Rusty Ryal also doubled and finished the game with 2 RBI's, while Tony Gwynn went 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored. Starter Matt Magill threw just 42 pitches over 2 innings to presumably save his arm for Sunday, although during his short outing he did allow 2 runs on 2 hits and 3 walks. Geison Aguasviva picked up the slack and win in relief with 3.2 innings of 1-hit ball, then Kelvin De La Cruz preserved the big lead by getting the final 4 outs
AAA Game 2 – Albuquerque had their win streak snapped at 7 as they fell to the Storm Chasers (Royals) 2 to 1 in the second game of their double header. Despite the loss the Isotopes pitching was excellent for the first 5 innings as starter Sean White tossed 4 shutout frames while allowing just 2 hits, then Red Patterson followed with a scoreless inning. In the 6th, however, Josh Wall walked a batter then gave up a 2-run homer and so he was charged with the blown save and the loss. The offense didn't help much in this one and Rusty Ryan was the only one to do any damage as he went 2 for 3 with a homer.
AA – Zach Lee breezed through his first two innings on Wednesday, but after that he really got roughed up as the Lookouts fell to the Smokies (Cubs) 7 to 2. Lee, who lasted just 4 innings, gave up 4 doubles and a homer over his final two frames and in total permitted 6 runs to score. One bit of good news is that Onelki Garcia threw 2 shutout innings of relief, striking out 3 and extending his scoreless streak to 7 frames in a row. At the plate Osvaldo Martinez led the team with 3 singles while Brian Cavazos-Galvez had an RBI double which was one of just two extra base hits for the Lookouts in this game. Joc Pederson went 0 for 3 as his average fell below .300, but he walked twice and stole his 20th base of the season.
HiA – All star break
LoA – All star break
DSL – The Dominican Dodgers lost to the Royals again on Wednesday, this time in a 8 - 3 defeat. 18 year old Dodger starter Miguel Urena fell to 0 and 4 for the season after he allowed 5 hits and 3 runs over 3.1 frames, then a a trio of relievers each gave up at least one run out of the bullpen. At the plate there wasn't much action outside of Luis Rodriguez's performance as he went 2 for 3 with a double and a walk. 16 year old Michael Medina drove in 1 of the runs with a single and is hitting .250 for the season, while another significant off-season international signee, 17 year old Ariel Sandoval, went 0 for 4 and is struggling with a .115 average.
Coming up – Thursday marks the start of busy season for minor league reports as all 7 Dodger minor league affiliates will be in full swing. Scott Barlow is going to be the opening day starter for the Ogden Raptors, while the Arizona Dodgers haven't announced who will start on Thursday. Rob Rasmussen will take the mound for the Isotopes, Chris Reed will throw for the Lookouts, and the Loons and Quakes starters are still TBD.
Albuquerque Isotopes Box Score - Game 1 (AAA)
Albuquerque Isotopes Box Score - Game 2 (AAA)
Chattanooga Lookouts Box Score (AA)