There were just three games for Dodger minor league affiliates on Wednesday as Albuquerque had the day off, and all three teams came out winners. Several Dodger hitting prospects had good games, and one of the more intriguing pitching prospects had an interesting night.
Minor League Player of the Day – Angelo Songco - 2 for 3, 1 HR, 2 walks, 2 runs. Songco barely beat out Kyle Russell for this award, and earned the top spot because he reached base 4 times and hit his first homer of the year. Songco has also been heating up as of late because after starting the season very slow, his average is now up to .284 for the season.
AAA – Off day
AA – The Lookouts rode the strong pitching of Will Savage and the timely hitting of the suddenly hot Kyle Russell to a 5 to 1 victory over the Mudcats (Reds). Savage cruised through 6 innings of work, giving up just 2 hits while striking out 5 to pick up his 2 win of the season. The bullpen was equally as impressive as Justin Miller, Javy Guerra, and Mario Alvarez each pitched shutout innings, allowing one hit each. Russell did most of the damage on offense with a couple of doubles, a single, and 3 RBI's. It was Kyle's second consecutive 3 hit night, and it suddenly increased his average to .290 and his OPS to .901 for the season.
HiA – Rancho Cucamonga erupted for 9 runs in the first three innings, then were able to coast through the rest of the night as the Quakes ended up grounding the JetHawks (Astros) 11 to 6. Angelo Songco and Travis Denker both had two hits and three RBI's on the night, with Songco's jack being his first of 2011. Ramon Jean also collected three RBI on three singles, while Late Night Lemmerman went 2 for 5 with a double. Rancho's starting pitcher Ethan Martin had an interesting night as he struck out 9, but also walked 6. Martin ended up making it through the required 5 innings to pick up the win, and gave up 4 runs in total on 5 hits. For the season, Ethan has a K/9 of 13.75, but his WHIP is 1.87, his FIP is 5.46, and his ERA is 7.64. It's still April and the strikeout rate is impressive, but he's going to have to show better control and limit the damage against him if he wants to make it up to AA at some point in his career.
LoA – Down early in the ballgame, the Loons came storming back for 6 runs in the final four frames to loosen the Lugnuts (Blue Jays) 6 to 4 on Wednesday. Great Lakes appeared to use the piggy back method in terms of starting pitchers in this game as Ryan Christenson only threw 3 innings, then fellow starter Derek Cone threw the next 3 frames. Cone was the more effective of the two as he allowed just 1 run on 3 hits, although Christenson did strike out 4 in between allowing his 3 runs. After Raul Burgos threw 2 shutout innings, the Loons gave Shawn Tolleson the day off as Pete Budkevics came in to pick up the save. Leon Landry was a spark-plug at the plate today and on the base-paths as he went 3 for 5 and stole 2 bases. Catcher Steve Domecus also had 3 hits to raise his batting average to .353 for the season. Finally, Jonathan Garcia recorded his first extra base hit in more than a week when he doubled in the 5th inning.
Chattanooga Lookouts Box Score (AA)
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Box Score (HiA)