All four Dodger minor league affiliate picked up wins on Saturday, and there was plenty of offense to go around with 38 runs scored for the day.
Minor League Player of the Day – Trayvon Robinson - 3 for 4, 1 3B, 5 RBI's, 1 SB. Maybe I'm a little biased because I saw this performance in person, but anyway you look at it Robinson had an excellent day on Saturday. The 3 RBI triple was a long fly ball to a deep part of right-center, and he really just looked locked in all game long.
AAA – The Albuquerque offense started off the day slow, but eventually put on a show for me in a game they won 12 to 8 against the New Orleans Zephyrs (Marlins). I was in attendance at this game, and will have a more detailed post about my experience within the next few days, but what I can tell you here is that Trayvon Robinson looked great at the plate. Robinson went 3 for 4 with 5 RBI's, including a bases clearing triple in the 7th that really solidified the win for the Isotopes. Jaime Hoffmann also went 3 for 4, although all of his hits were singles, while Corey Smith and Jay Gibbons had two singles apiece. Russ Mitchell had the only Tope homer in the game, a line drive shot to left. Starter Alberto Bastardo was sharp early and had 7 strikeouts in the game, and was able to pick up the win despite allowing 9 hits and 4 runs in the middle innings. Merkin Valdez threw two innings of one-hit relief, and Ramon Colon made the game seem a lot closer than it really was by giving up 4 runs in the 9th.
AA – Chattanooga starter Nate Eovaldi continues to impress as he allowed just 1 unearned run over 5 innings in the Lookouts 8 - 5 victory over the Carolina Mudcats (Reds). Eovaldi struck out 4 and allowed 4 hits, but also walked 3 which led to his high pitch count by inning #5 (96 pitches). Cole St. Clair was excellent in relief, facing just 1 batter over the minimum in 2 innings to lower his ERA to 0.96 for the season, and Javy Guerra threw a hitless 9th. At the plate, Pedro Baez hit his 1st homer of the season and singled twice in what was probably his best game of the young season. Scott Van Slyke also stayed hot with a double and a triple in 4 plate appearances.
HiA – Rancho Cucamonga erupted for 15 runs on 21 hits to give starter Allen Webster plenty of support in the Quakes 15 - 4 victory over the Modesto Nuts (Rockies) on Saturday. Griff Erickson led the attack in terms of hits with 4 base knocks in 6 at bats, picking up 2 doubles and 3 RBI's in the process. Jake Lemmerman, Angelo Songco, and Tony Delmonico all had 3 hits apiece and combined for 4 doubles and 7 RBI's. Blake Smith hit the only homer of the night, but also recorded the Golden Sombrero with 4 K's. Webster scattered 5 hits over 7 solid innings, allowing just 1 run and striking out 5. It was his second 7 inning/5 hit performance in a row, so he's really heating up after a couple of mediocre starts at the beginning of the season. Reliever Andres Santiago was greeted with 3 runs in his season debut, and Javier Solano allowed 1 hit in a shutout 9th.
LoA – The Loons were down 2 to 1 after 6 innings, but the team clawed back for a run in the 7th then won the game on a walk-off single by Jessie Bosnik in the 9th for a 3 to 2 win over the Dayton Dragons (Reds). The big hit for Bosnik was definitely the highlight of the 3rd baseman's young season as he is hitting just .156 for the year. Other than that the offense was pretty quite, with catcher Michael Pericht picking up the other two RBI's on a double and groundout. Great Lakes pitching was solid all night, with starter Red Patterson working around 4 walks to allow just 2 runs over 5 innings. Pete Budkevics was outstanding in relief, allowing just a single hit while striking out 4 over three innings of work. That lowered his ERA to 1.38 and his batting average against to .182 for the season. Shawn Tolleson picked up the win in relief with a perfect 9th, although he only picked up one strikeout in the process.
Albuquerque Isotopes Box Score (AAA)
Chattanooga Lookouts Box Score (AA)
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Box Score (HiA)