There were quite a few good performances on Sunday as the Lookouts, Quakes, and Raptors combined to score 28 runs. In minor league transaction news, Ethan Martin has been called up to AA, Red Patterson has been promoted to HiA, and Greg Wilborn has been demoted to LoA.
Minor League Player of the Day – Jake Lemmerman - 2 for 5, 1 HR, 1 2B, 4 RBI's, 1 Run. Lemmerman hasn't really made a lot noise this season, but he has been consistently solid which has led to his .285 average and .812 OPS. Since the 2nd half started, however, Late Night has been on a bit of a tear with 2 homers and 7 RBI's over the past two days.
AAA – Jerry Sands hit another homer on Sunday, but it wasn't enough as the Isotopes lost to the Cubs 8 to 3 and extended their losing streak to 5 games. For Sands it was his 4th homer in the last 3 days (and 5th in 5 days) and it increased his AAA OPS to 1.120. There wasn't really much else in terms of offense other than Justin Sellers going 2 for 3 and Russell Mitchell hitting a RBI ground rule double. Starting pitcher Randy Keisler struggled through 5 innings as he allowed 6 runs on 9 hits. Travis Schlichting came into the game in the 7th and saw his ERA increase to 7.88 by giving up a couple of runs, and Jon Link allowed 2 runs to reach base but neither of them scored.
AA – Chattanooga endured a one hour rain delay on Sunday and defeated the Jacksonville Suns (Marlins) 7 to 2. Coming off his All Star appearance starter Will Savage threw a good game, allowing just 4 hits and 2 runs over 6 innings. Next on the mound was Josh Wall who tossed an inning of shutout relief and also had a surprising double at the plate. In his last 10 appearances (15 innings), Wall has an ERA of 1.20 and a batting average against of .212. Shawn Tolleson came in for the 8th and loaded the bases on 2 hits and a walk, but he was able to get out of the jam unscathed. At the plate, Scott Van Slyke led the way by going 3 for 4 with a double and a RBI, and Travis Denker homered for the second game in a row. Alfredo Silverio hit yet another triple, his lead leading 12th of the season, and collected a couple RBI's.
HiA – The Quakes put together an all around great game on Sunday as they grounded the Lancaster JetHawks (Astros) 13 to 1. Rancho had 13 hits, and 8 of them went for extra bases led by Jake Lemmerman who doubled and crushed his 6th homer of the season in route to 4 RBI's. Angelo Songco, Griff Erickson, Austin Jackson, and Ramon Jean all also had a double for the day, while Rafael Ynoa picked up a couple of two-baggers. Speaking of Rafael's, Rafael Furcal didn't have a extra base hit but did go 2 for 3 with a walk and scored 3 runs as the team's DH. On the mound, Arismendy Ozoria threw a gem through 6 shutout innings as he allowed just 4 hits while striking out 5. Josh Walter had 4 K's in 2 innings of relief, and newcomer Daniel Carela, who was last in the Mets' organization, allowed the only run of the game.
LoA – The Loons played a pretty boring game on Sunday as they lost to the Lugnuts 6 to 1. Great Lakes only had 5 hits in this game, and Leon Landry had 3 of them as he tripled and singled twice. For Landry it was 3rd multi-hit game in a row, so hopefully he's turned the corner. Garrett Gould started the game but was a bit wild in his first appearance since the All Star game, walking 4 and allowing 5 hits in just 4 innings of work. In total Gould gave up 3 runs (2 earned) and struck out just 1. Andrew Pevsner allowed a run in 2 frames with 3 K's, and Ryan Acosta gave up a couple of unearned runs over the final 2 innings of the game.
Rookie Ogden – The Raptors cruised through 7 innings, then held off a late attack by the Ghosts as Ogden slipped by Casper 8 to 7. Brandon Martinez started the game and was quite effective, allowing just 6 hits and 2 runs in a season high 7 innings for the Raptors. He struck out 4 and allowed just 2 hits after the 2nd inning. Joel Lima was the relief pitcher that allowed the Ghosts to get back in the game as he gave 4 runs (2 earned) while recording just 1 out, but Carlos De Aza came in and got out of the 8th inning jam. In the 9th Casper hit a solo homer against Aza to pull within one, however the next batter singled and then was thrown out trying to steal 2nd to end the game. The Raptors had another big game offensively as the banged out 3 homers and 14 total hits. James Baldwin had one of those homers, his 3rd in as many days, and also doubled to increase his average to .433. Matt Kirkland and catcher Andrew Edge had the other two bombs, while Scott Schebler went 2 for 4.
Rookie Arizona – The Arizona Dodgers lost to the Cubs 8 to 2 in a pretty uninspiring game for the good guys. Starter Luis Mesa struck out 6 batters in just 4 innings, but he also allowed 3 runs on 7 hits. He was followed by 5 relievers, and 3 gave up runs while all of them allowed at least 1 baserunner. At the plate Alex Santana and Tae-Hyeok Nam both doubled, while Delvis Morales and Joe Winker both had 2 hits apiece. Stefan Jarrin also doubled to collect his 1st professional hit, but he also made 3 errors in the field at 2nd base.
DSL – The Dominican Dodgers defeated the Red Sox 8 to 3 as Dodger pitching limited the opponents to just 3 hits. The 6'3" Giordanny Chavez started the game and went 5 innings while allowing just 2 hits and 1 earned run. His bullpen was a bit wild, but they gave up just 1 more hit over the final 4 innings. A pair of 19 year old outfielders had big days at the plate as Abinaer Soriano went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI's and finished a homer shy of the cycle, while Greg Pena homered, singled, and scored 4 runs. Shortstop Faustino Oguisten also stood out with 2 hits and a couple of RBI's.
Albuquerque Isotopes Box Score (AAA)
Chattanooga Lookouts Box Score (AA)
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Box Score (HiA)
Great Lakes Loons Box Score (LoA)
Ogden Raptors Box Score (Rookie)
Arizona Dodgers Box Score (Rookie)