The Dodger minor league teams split the day with 3 wins in 6 games, but the good news is that the one team that really needed the win, the Loons, got a victory and are now close to clinching a playoff spot.
Minor League Player of the Day – Alfredo Silverio - 5 for 5, 1 HR, 2 2B's, 2 RBI's, 1 Run. Silverio has been a little bit under the radar this season, but a huge game on Friday got his OPS above .900 which should get him noticed. After finishing 2010 on fire, the 24 year old has carried that momentum into 2011 and is re-establishing himself as a legitimate Dodger prospect.
AAA – The Isotopes were involved in a high scoring game on Friday, and when the final tally was taken Albuquerque had beaten the Iowa Cubs 13 to 10. John Ely came within an out of throwing a complete game, but the crazy thing is that he gave up 12 hits and 9 runs in this game so it's not like he was impressing anyone. He did have 8 strikeouts, however, and only walked 1 batter. Adam Dedeaux allowed a couple of hits and a run, but he was able to get the last out of the contest to preserve the victory. With 16 hits in this game, it's pretty obvious that several Tope hitters had standout night's at the plate. Trayvon Robinson crushed his 15 homer of the year to put him within 2 of his career high, while Jamie Hoffmann also hit one out and recorded 3 RBI's. Justin Sellers and Ivan De Jesus both had 3 hits a piece, and Eugenio Velez hit a triple and drove in 3 runs.
AA – The Lookouts collected 14 hits on Friday night, but a heartbreaking 8th inning cost Chattanooga the game as they lost to the Tennesee Smokies (Cubs) 7 to 6. Allen Webster had an interesting start as he blazed through the first 4 innings, but he ended up allowing 2 homers and 3 runs while striking out just 1 batter in 5 innings of work. Josh Wall and Cole St. Clair held down the fort for the next two innings, but things got ugly in the 8th when Shawn Tolleson took the mound. Tolleson gave up a double and a single to start the inning, then Brian Cavazos-Galvez made an error which cost his team a run. Shawn struck out the next two batters and would have been out of the inning had it not been for the error, but that was not to be as he then allowed a 3-run homer to pick up a blown save and the loss. As you may have guessed all 4 runs against Tolleson were unearned, so his sparkling season ERA is still intact. Not to be overshadowed in this loss is the huge game at the plate that Alfredo Silverio had. He went 5 for 5 with a homer and 2 doubles, but despite leading the league in triples he could not manage one on this night as he finished a 3-bagger shy of the cycle. BCG had a couple of doubles, while Scott Van Slyke went 2 for 5 with a double and a RBI. Finally, Kyle Russell had his first poor game in a while as he went hitless in 5 at bats and struck out 3 times.
HiA – There wasn't much to cheer about for Quake fans on Friday as Rancho Cucamonga lost to the Stockton Ports (A's)10 to 4. Starting pitcher Jon Michael Redding had his worst outing of the season as he lasted just 4 innings and gave up 6 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks. Luis Vasquez came out of the bullpen and made just his 8th appearance of the year, and allowed a couple of unearned runs on 3 hits. The lone bright-spot of the night was Ethan Martin, who threw a hitless inning of relief despite walking one batter. At the plate, Nick Buss extended his hit streak to 8 games and had his 3rd multi-hit game in a row with 3 base knocks in 4 at bats. J.T. Wise went 2 for 4 with a double and a RBI, while Angelo Songo doubled and drove in 2 runs.
LoA – The Loons reduced their magic number for a playoff spot to 2 on Friday with a 7 to 2 victory over the Fort Wayne TinCaps (Padres). Garrett Gould had another quality start for Great Lakes, allowing just 2 runs (1 earned) over 6 innings while striking out 6 and giving up just 4 hits. The win was the 7th of the year for Gould, and it lowered his season ERA to 1.54 which is good for 2nd place in the Midwest League. Bret Montgomery permitted just 1 hit over the final 3 innings as he recorded his 1st save of the year. At the plate, Jonathan Garcia continued his torrid hitting with a RBI single in the 2nd inning and a homer in the 8th. For Garcia, the long ball extended his homer streak to 4 games and gives him 12 jacks for the year. Preston Mattingly also hit a homer in the game, a 3-run bomb, while Steven Domecus and Joe Becker both went 2 for 4.
DSL Game 1 – The Dominican Dodgers were shutout in first game of their double-header against the Cardinals 2 to 0. There wasn't really anything notable about this game, except that Dodger pitchers threw all 6 innings without recording a strikeout.
DSL Game 2 – The Dominican Dodgers made up for quiet early game with a 10 to 1 pounding of the Cardinals in the nightcap of the double-header. 19 year old Adrian Roso led the way with a single and 2 doubles and 3 runs scored, while Jorge Reyes went 2 for 4 with 3 RBI's. On the mound, the 6'5" Samuel Taveres picked up the win with 2.1 perfect frames, and Edison Bock, who just turned 17 years old, made his professional debut with 2 K's in an inning of work. Fellow 17 year old Simon Binns also threw a shutout inning to end the game, and for the season he has given up just 1 earned run in 5.1 innings.
Albuquerque Isotopes Box Score (AAA)
Chattanooga Lookouts Box Score (AA)
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Box Score (HiA)
Great Lakes Loons Box Score (LoA)
Dominican Dodgers Box Score Game 1 (DSL)