There Lookouts had an off day so there were only 3 games on tap for Dodger affiliates, and the teams were able to pick up wins. A ton of Dodger prospects had big days, so let's get right to it.
Minor League Player of the Day – Dee Gordon - 4 for 6, 1 2B, 4 runs, 1 SB. There were several players who were considered for this award, but at the end of the day it's tough to ignore a 4 hit/4 run night. When you add a stolen base to the mix, I had to give this award to Gordon. This performance was especially important because it came on the heels of Furcal's injury, so maybe it will help ease some of the pain for Dodger fans.
AAA – The Isotopes crushed the Iowa Cubs at home on Tuesday in an 18 to 3 shellacking. Almost everyone contributed at the dish, but a lot of the damage came from the big three offensive prospects on the team: Jerry Sands, Dee Gordon, and Trayvon Robinson. Sands continued his torrid pace as he jacked yet another homer - his 4th in as many days - and added a double for good measure in route to 5 RBI's. Gordon had by far his best game of the young season as the recorded 4 hits, scored 4 runs, and stole his 5th base to boot. Robinson only had 1 hit, but it was a big 3 run bomb. In addition to the prospects' big days, Trent Oeltjen also came up big with a homer and 4 RBI's, while veteran Juan Castro went 3 for 4 with 4 runs scored. Lost in all the scoring of the night was the fact that starting pitcher Dana Eveland quietly had a solid outing. He he went 7 strong innings and struck out 5 while allowing just 3 runs.
AA – Off Day
HiA – Matt Magill made his first start of the 2011 season a memorable one as he did not allow a hit until the 5th inning, and ended up allowing just that 1 hit through 6 innings of work. Keep in mind that Magill allowing just a .194 batting average against over a full season last year, so he is again is proving to be very difficult to hit. The only thing that could have made Matt's night better would be if he improved his strikeout to walk rate for the night (he had 3 of each), but that's just getting nit-picky. After Magill left the game the Storm (Padres) scored two in the 8th against Robert Romero, but Steven Ames was able to preserve the win with his 2nd save of the season. Blake Smith continued to break out his slump with a 2-run homer and a single, and Tony Delmonico also picked up two RBI's on a 6th inning double.
LoA – The Loons played a matinee special on Tuesday in West Michigan, and absolutely cruised for 7 innings behind the solid start of the Red Patterson. Patterson worked 6.1 innings and allowed just 4 base-runners (3 hits, 1 walk) while striking out 5. He gave way to Logan Bawcom in the 7th who easily finished off the inning, but then in the 8th the Whitecaps rallied for 2 runs against Bawcom and 1 more against Bret Stickel which left Great Lakes trailing 3 to 2 heading into the 9th. Unfortunately the Loons were set down quietly in the 9th and ended up with the loss in a game that took just 2 hours and 14 minutes to play. The 9th inning wasn't the only time the Loons were quiet at the plate as the team only had 4 hits on the day - none coming after the 4th inning. The only real offense of the day came from Nick Akins, who hit a 2-run shot for his first homer of the season. Leon Landry continued to struggle and is hitting just .083 for the season after another 0 for 4 performance.
Albuquerque Isotopes Box Score (AAA)
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Box Score (HiA)
Great Lakes Loons Box Score (LoA)
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