The Dodger minor league affiliates scored 3 wins on Thursday, including the second straight walk-off victory for the Loons.
Minor League Player of the Day – Griff Erickson - 2 for 4, 1 HR, 1 2B, 2 Runs, 1 RBI. It was a tough decision between Erickson and Trent Oeltjen because they had similar nights, but in the end I chose Griff if only because he spent the game behind the plate. The homer was only Erickson's 3rd of the season, but he has 13 doubles and a strong OB%.
AAA – The Isotopes used a balanced hitting attack and solid pitching to put down the Redbirds (Cardinals) 5 to 4 on Thursday. Tim Sexton made his 3rd start in AAA and again threw very well, allowing just 2 runs over 5 innings of work. Merkin Valdez then took over in relief and walked 4, but Randy Keisler helped get Valdez out of the jam with minimal damage. Jon Link pitched the final 1.2 innings to pick up the save, although he made things interesting by allowing a run and striking out the final batter of the game with the tying run at 3rd base. At the plate the Topes had 11 hits, and 7 went for extra bases. Trent Oeltjen had a double and a homer while AJ Ellis collected a couple of two-baggers. Marcus Thames also got into the extra-base hit action as he doubled and had 2 RBI's in his 5th rehab game.
AA – Starter Nate Eovaldi didn't have his best stuff on Thursday, and neither did his bullpen as the Lookouts got beat by the Barons (White Sox) 8 to 6. Eovaldi wasn't bad by any means and he struck out 6, but he did allow 4 runs (3 earned) on 5 hits and 2 walks through 6 innings of work. Justin Miller then imploded in the 7th as he gave up 4 more runs to put the game out of reach for Chattanooga. At the plate, Alfredo Silverio went 2 for 4 with 2 RBI's and amazingly recorded his 9th triple of the season. Corey Smith also picked up a couple of RBI's with a double.
HiA – No need for me to summarize the Quakes game as Eric was in attendance and already posted his recap last night.
LoA – The Loons had only one hit through 7 innings, but the home team was able to stage another late inning comeback as Great Lakes buzzed the Bees (A's) 4 to 3. Michael Pericht hit the team's first home run since 5/23 in the 8th inning, then in the 9th Bobby Coyle, who had just been re-activited by the team, crushed a line drive gapper between right and center that scored Casio Grider from third and Preston Mattingly all the way from first. The winning hit gave the Loons a walk-off victory for the second consecutive day. Bret Montgomery made a spot start and fared alright, giving up 5 hits and 3 runs in 4 innings of work. Mike Drowne then threw 2 innings of shutout ball, and the newest Loon Ryan Acosta worked around 5 hits over the final 3 frames to record the win.
DSL – Postponed
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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