The Dodger affiliates were on track to sweep the day with wins, but then the perfect day was ruined by some reliever named Kuo. This was the second day in a row that he'd given up runs and now has an ERA of 20.25 for the Quakes, so we'll see how long he lasts in the organization.
Minor League Player of the Day – Brian Cavazos-Galvez - 3 for 5, 1 HR, 2 2B's, 3 RBI's, 2 runs, 1 SB. BCG had some competition for this award, but the 3 extra base hits put him over the top. It was Brian's first impressive game of 2011, and hopefully it's a sign of things to come.
AAA – The Isotopes exploded for 10 runs in the first 4 innings on Tuesday, then held on for a 13 to 8 win over the Zephyrs (Marlins). Albuquerque's potent offense was power by an unlikely source as catcher Damaso Espino collected 4 hits (all singles) and drove in 5 runs. 6 other Topes players had RBI's in this game including pitcher Dana Eveland. Other offensive stars were Jamie Hoffmann, who went 3 for 4 with a couple of double, and Trayvon Robinson went 2 for 5 to extend his hitting streak to 13 games. On the mound, Eveland had another solid outing and has not allowed more than 3 runs in any of his four starts this year. Scott Elbert, however, struggled in relief as he walked one and allowed 3 hits (including a homer) in route to giving up 3 runs.
AA – The Lookouts were involved in a back and forth game on Tuesday, and eventually rallied for 4 runs in the 9th to come away with the 10 to 6 victory over the Mudcats (Reds). The game actually started off as a bit of a pitchers duel, with Chris Withrow showing excellent stuff through 5 innings of work. Withrow had 9 strikeouts through 5, and had only given up 2 hits and a single walk. Unfortunately things went sour in the 6th for Chris as he allowed the first 4 batters of the inning to get on base. Even still, he was in line for the win until Cole St. Clair came in and allowed a few more runs to score which were Withrow's responsibility. Except for Josh Wall, the rest of the pitching was solid for Chattanooga which helped them secure the victory. Josh Lindblom picked up 3 K's and the win while throwing two perfect innings, although he faced just 5 batters because he entered the in the 8th with a man on and picked him off. There was plenty of offense for the Lookouts in this game, although most of the damage was done by just 3 batters who had 9 of the team's 12 hits. Kyle Russell hit a homer for the 2nd consecutive day and had 2 singles, while Jaime Pedroza went 3 for 5 with 2 doubles. Brian Cavazos-Galvez had the best day, though, with 3 extra base hits and 3 RBI's. BCG had two doubles, and hit his first home of the season in the 8th.
HiA – The Quakes were cruising along with a one run lead through 7, but an unlikely pitcher blew the lead in the 8th and Rancho ended up losing to the Lancaster JetHawks (Astros) 3 to 2. After 7 strong innings from Jon Michael Redding, in which he allowed just 1 run and 6 hits, Hong-Chih Kuo came in and promptly gave up gave up 4 consecutive singles and the lead. In all seriousness I'm not sure what this means in terms of his timetable for returning to the Dodgers, but my guess is that it will really depend more on how he looked on the mound. Steven Ames came in and stopped the bleeding with 1.2 strong innings, but the Quakes offense wasn't able to muster up any offense after the 4th inning and had just 5 hits in the game. Jake Lemmerman had two of those hits to stay hot, while Tony Delmonico drove in both runs with a single.
LoA – Great Lakes jumped out to an early 5 run lead over the Lancing Lugnuts (Blue Jays), then held on for a 5 to 3 victory for the team's 3rd win in a row. Similar to Withrow, Loons starter Tim Sexton was very sharp for 5 innings before tiring in the 6th. Sexton had allowed just 2 hits through 5 shutout innings, then gave up 3 runs in the 6th. Tim still picked up the win, however, because the Great Lakes bullpen was excellent. Bret Montgomery struck out 4 in two perfect innings, then Shawn Tolleson had another ho-hum outing with 2 strikeouts in route to his 8th save. Tolleson has now thrown just about the equivalent of a complete game (8.2 innings), and has 21 strikeouts. He's also allowed just 3 hits and has not given up a run. At the plate, outfielder Bobby Coyle had his first big game of the season as he drove in 3 runs with a homer and 2 singles. Blake Dean also had a nice game with 4 singles in 5 at bats.
Albuquerque Isotopes Box Score (AAA)
Chattanooga Lookouts Box Score (AA)
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Box Score (HiA)
Great Lakes Loons Box Score (LoA)
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