The Dodger affiliate split the four games played on Sunday, with both Class A teams capturing the wins. The Loons provided the excitement of the day the team accumulated 12 runs and both both Jonathan Garcia and Steven Domecus homered twice. Speaking of Garcia, I've been trying to think of a nickname for him for a long time now, but I been drawing blanks. The best I can come up with is Jon Gone, so I'm taking suggestions.
Minor League Player of the Day – Jonathan Garcia - 3 for 5, 2 HR's, 1 2B, 3 RBI's. Garcia followed up his 7th inning homer on Saturday with two more homers and a RBI double in his first three at bats on Sunday. For those keeping score at home, that was four straight extra base hits for Garcia and 14 total bases in 4 at bats. Seems like the cold weather of the Midwest League isn't much of a factor for the Puerto Rico native.
AAA – Tim Redding didn't get any closer to guaranteeing his $750,000 major league contract as he got pummeled for 9 earned runs in 4 innings of work in the Isotopes 9 to 6 loss to the Storm Chasers (Royals) on Sunday. Redding did strike out 5, but allowed 3 walks and 4 extra base hits in his disappointing start. Jon Link stepped up big time for the Albuquerque bullpen in his new role of long reliever and kept the game close as he pitched 3 innings of shutout ball, striking out 4 in the process. However the Topes offense was unable to overcome the early deficit as they were shutout for the final 4 innings. Jerry Sands continued his hot start with another homer and has at least one hit and one RBI in each of his first four games in AAA. Sands also has a .813 slugging percentage in the early going. Dee Gordon reached base twice and did his thing as he stole two bases, while Jamie Hoffmann had his 2nd multi-hit game in a row and had 2 RBI's.
AA – The Lookouts built up a 5 to 2 lead through 6 innings behind a strong performance from starter Nate Eovaldi, but the bullpen unraveled and Chattanooga lost to Tennessee (Cubs) 8 to 5. Eovaldi wasn't amazing, but he held the Smokies to 5 hits and 2 runs over 5 innings, while striking out 4. David Pfeiffer was the first man out the bullpen and got through the 6th without a problem, but he ran into trouble in the 7th and left with the bases loaded. Josh Lindblom came in and promptly allowed a grand slam, and also struggled in the 8th when he allowed another run. Given that Lindblom came in to pitch in the 7th and threw two innings, I'm not exactly sure what his role will be on this team. It was assumed that he'd be the Lookouts closer, but it's a little unclear. At the dish the Lookouts scored 5 runs on just 6 hits, and the big offensive performance of the day came from Alfredo Silverio who hit back to back triples in the 5th and 6th innings. Jaime Pedroza also had two hits, including a double.
HiA – Jon Garland made a rehab start for the Quakes on Sunday, and according to his interview on Dodger Talk after the game he said he felt great. He threw 4.2 innings when he reached his pitch count of around 80 pitches, and then threw a simulated inning in the bullpen. Garland allowed 3 runs on 6 hits, but it didn't really care about the results and was just trying to get back into game shape for his return. He said he really hopes to return to the rotation on April 15th. Steve Smith picked up the win in relief by allowing just 1 run over three innings, and Steve Ames picked up his 1st save of the season with 1.1 perfect innings and 2 K's. The 6-4 win over the 66ers (Angels) was paced by the Quakes 6 runs on 12 hits. After a 4 hit day on Saturday, Austin Gallagher had two more base knocks on Sunday and scored 2 runs. Rafael Ynoa and Ramon Jean also collected two hits each, while Griff Erickson went 3 for 4 with a double and RBI. Jake Lemmerman and Angelo Songco both went 0 for 4 and continued to struggle with batting averages below .120, while Blake Smith tried to break out of his early season slump with a double and a walk.
LoA – After scoring just 8 runs in their first 3 games, Great Lakes exploded for 12 runs on Sunday to double up the Lake County Captains (Indians). As mentioned above both Jonathan Garcia and Steven Domecus homered twice, the first round of jacks coming in the back to back fashion in the 2nd inning. Domecus was the Dodgers 9th round pick last year out of Virgina Tech and is sharing the catching duties for the Loons this year. He's not known as a power hitter, but he could turn out to be a solid prospect in a system that is short on catchers. 2nd baseman Casio Grider also had a big night with two doubles and a triple in a 3 for 3 effort, and Leon Landry picked up his first two hits and RBI's as a Loon. Ryan Christenson was the Great Lakes starter and picked up the win with the required 5 innings of work. He worked around 8 hits and a walk and gave up 3 runs. 2010 31st round pick Derek Cone, who signed at last year's deadline for $150K, made his first appearance of 2011 and allowed 3 runs in 3 innings.
Albuquerque Isotopes Box Score (AAA)
Chattanooga Lookouts Box Score (AA)
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Box Score (HiA)