Minor League Player of the Day – Kyle Cofield (AA) - 3 IP, 1 Hit, 0 Walks, 0 Runs, 1 for 1, HR. Cofield did it with his arm and his bat on Monday as he threw 3 innings of solid relief, then also crushed a solo homer. And the hit wasn't a fluke for Kyle as he is now hitting .750 for the season.
AAA – The RedHawks (Astros) not only had twice as many hits as the Isotopes, but they also had twice as many runs in a 8 - 4 victory over Albuquerque. Every pitcher who threw for the Topes expect for Sean White (who came out of the bullpen in this game) allowed at least one run, with starter Angel Castro tossing just one inning and permitting two scores. Geison Aguasviva gave up 5 hits and 2 runs, while Kelvin De La Cruz got the loss after allowing 2 hits, 4 walks, and 3 runs. Rusty Ryal's double was the only extra base hit for the offense, while Jeremy Moore went 2 for 4 with a RBI. Elian Herrera reached base in all 5 of his plate appearances as he had two singles and walked 3 times.
AA – Starter Onelki Garcia struggled on the mound and the Lookouts offense couldn't get much going in a 5 - 3 loss to the Braves. Garcia threw just 2 innings and allowed 4 runs (3 earned) on 6 hits, although he did strike out 4. Kyle Cofield followed with 3 frames of 1-hit then Chris Reed became the latest starting pitching prospect to throw in relief and he gave up a solo homer in his inning of work. Michael Thomas tossed a scoreless frames later in the game to lower his ERA to a sparkling 0.69. At the plate the aforementioned reliever Cofield actually homered for Chattanooga, while Rafael Ynoa and Angelo Songco both doubled. Joc Pederson mirrored his game from Sunday by going 1 for 3 with a walk and a stolen base.
HiA – Hanley Ramirez doubled and played 6 innings at shortstop for the Quakes but that wasn't enough as Rancho fell to the 66ers (Angels) 4 to 3. Despite the loss things got interesting in the bottom of the 9th as the Quakes, who had already scored once in the inning, had runners on 1st and 3rd and one out and their hottest hitter up in Jonathan Garcia. The fly ball hit by Garcia wasn't quite deep enough to be of the sacrifice variety, however, as Casio Grider was thrown out at home to end the game. The only other offensive highlights were Noel Cuevas and Chris Jacobs each going 2 for 4. On the mound Lindsey Caughel allowed just 2 runs through 7 innings, but got touched up for a couple more in the 8th and ended up with the loss. James Campbell tossed a perfect inning of relief in the defeat.
LoA – As I've already written many times this year, the Loons offense struggled in a 2 - 1 loss to the Lugnuts. Great Lakes had just 3 hits in this one, all singles, and Corey Seager had the only RBI on a based loaded fielders choice. Despite the loss starter Jharel Cotton threw a good game as he made it all the way into the 8th inning and allowed just 4 hits and 2 runs while striking out 8. Luis Meza gave up just 1 hit in 1.2 innings of relief.
DSL – The Dominican Dodgers have yet to score a run this season as they were shutout by the Royals 3 - 0 in their second game of the season. The offense actually had just one hit in this game, a single by Samuel Ortiz in the 4th inning. Other than that the Dodgers had just two other runners reach base, one on a walk and one on an error. On the mound Welington Serrano threw well as he allowed just 3 hits and 1 earned run over 4 innings. Mario Querales threw two hitless frames of relief and struck out 3, while Franklin Perez was perfect in his inning of work.
Coming up – The Loons have the day off on Tuesday, but everyone else will be in action. Andres Santiago takes the mound for the Lookouts, Jarret Martin will throw for the Quakes, and the Isotopes starter is TBD.
Minor League Transactions – AA: Bobby Coyle returned to the Lookouts to take over the open outfield spot on the roster. LoA: The Loons demoted three of their teenagers on Monday as infielder Jesmuel Valentin and pitcher Jonathan Martinez were sent back to extended spring training, while Miguel Sulbaran was moved to the Ogden roster. That made room on the team for the much older Joe Winker and Jose Capellan.
Albuquerque Isotopes Box Score (AAA)
Chattanooga Lookouts Box Score (AA)
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Box Score (HiA)
Great Lakes Loons Box Score (LoA)