As you can see from the title, the Quakes clinched a playoff spot with their big win on Tuesday. The Loons also won but they didn't gain any ground on the 1st place Lugnuts so they are still 2 games back with 5 left to play.
Minor League Player of the Day – Blake Smith - 3 for 3, 1 HR, 5 RBI's, 3 Walks, 2 Runs. Smith tied Trayvon Robinson for the Dodger organization HR lead at 14, and reached base in all 6 of his plate appearances. It's amazing what a day like this will do to your OB% and OPS.
AAA Game 1 – The Isotopes got shut down in the 1st game of their double header on Tuesday as Oklahoma City (Astros) blanked Albuquerque 2 to 0. Old friend Wesly Wright got the spot start for the RedHawks and was outstanding as he gave up just 1 hit in 4 innings. In total the Topes only had 4 hits in the 7 inning game, although 2 of them did come from the red hot Trayvon Robinson. Russ Mitchell's double was Albuquerque's only extra base hit. Starting pitcher Tim Redding fared OK as he allowed 6 hits and 2 runs over 5 innings, but he still picked up his 7th loss of the season.
AAA Game 2 – The Isotopes went down quietly in game two of their double header as Albuquerque lost to Oklahoma City 5 to 3. The offense again had just one extra base hit, although this time it came from starting pitcher Joey Newby. Jerry Sands had an RBI single but struck out 3 times, while Trayvon Robinson walked twice and K'd twice. On the mound Newby allowed 4 runs on 5 hits in 5 frames, then Ian Snell made his Dodger organization debut by allowing a homer during his inning of work.
AA – Off day
HiA – The Quakes clinched a first half playoff spot in style on Tuesday as they erupted for 19 hits in a 17 to 9 victory over the 66ers. 7 of the 9 players in the Rancho lineup had multi-hit games, including Rafael Ynoa who had 4 singles and scored 3 runs. Angelo Songco went 2 for 5 with a triple and 3 RBI's, while Austin Gallagher and Noel Cuevas both had identical lines of 2 for 5 with a double, 2 runs scored, and 2 RBI's. The huge game, however, belonged to Blake Smith who hit his 14th homer, had a perfect day at the plate, and collected 5 RBI's. Josh Walter got the spot start and held strong for 4 innings, then Greg Wilborn picked up the win in relief despite allowing a couple of runs in 3 innings. The one negative for the night was that Ethan Martin gave up 3 hits and 3 runs in one inning of work, although the good news is that he didn't walk a batter and struck out 2.
LoA – The Loons and Captains combined for just 7 hits on Sunday, but Great Lakes was able to make better use of their base knocks as they defeated Lake Country 3 to 1. Jonathan Garcia had the big hit of the night, a homer into the wind of left field. It was his 9th big fly of the year, but his first since May 6th. Blake Dean's double was the only other extra base hit for the Loons, while both Christian Lara and Joe Becker collected the team's other RBI's. Starter Angel Sanchez had yet another strong outing, allowing just 1 run on 2 hits and 3 walks through 6 innings. The extremely low number of hits allowed is what really stands out for Sanchez so far as he has allowed a batting average against of just .126 through 26.1 innings. Relievers Bret Montgomery (2 IP) and Logan Bawcom (1 IP) finished off the 2-hitter with 3 innings of hitless ball, striking out 4 in the process (all by Montgomery) and allowing just 1 walk (by Bawcom).
DSL – The Dominican Dodgers beat the Astros 5 to 1 behind outstanding pitching. Jackson Mateo went 5 innings and allowed just 1 run, then Samuel Taveras threw the final 3 frames and did not allow a hit while striking out 4. At the plate, Jonathan Linares went 3 for 4 with 2 doubles, and Arce Rodriguez collected 2 RBI's with a single and a double. The other Dodger runs scored on the Astros' 7 errors in the field.
Albuquerque Isotopes Box Score (AAA) Game 1
Albuquerque Isotopes Box Score (AAA) Game 2
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Box Score (HiA)
Great Lakes Loons Box Score (LoA)
Dominican Dodgers Box Score (DSL)
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