Another congrats to Justin Sellers on his 1st big league home run. I was at the game and was pleasantly surprised at the crowds huge reaction to the local boy, even before he hit the home run.
Minor League Player of the Day – Nick Buss - 3 for 3, 1 HR, 1 2B, 1 BB, 2 Runs. Buss won this award for the second time this week, although his performance on Sunday wasn't quite as impressive as what he did last Monday. Even still Buss had a perfect day at the plate and has been on fire in August, posting a .712 SLG% in the month. He's hit both lefties and right handers well all year, and maybe the light on the 24 year old's prospect status hasn't completely gone out yet.
AAA – The Isotopes built up a 9 - 1 lead, then had to withstand a charging Grizzly to defeat Fresno (Giants) 9 to 8. Jerry Sands, who has struggled on the road this year, had a solid game and fell a homer shy of the cycle while driving in 2 runs. Jamie Hoffmann doubled and had 3 RBI's, while Ivan Ochoa went 4 for 5 and also drove in 2. On the mound Dana Eveland won his league leading 12th game of the year by allowing 7 hits and 3 runs over 7 innings. Reliever David Pfeiffer allowed the Grizzlies to get back into the game as he gave up 4 runs, but Travis Schlichting nailed down the save despite making things interesting by allowing a run of his own in the 9th.
AA – Allen Webster started off strong on Sunday, but quickly fell apart as the Barons (White Sox) two-timed the Lookouts 14 to 7. Webster had 5 punchouts through the first two frames, but then was lit up for 10 hits and 7 runs over the next few innings and was chased from the game in the 4th. Josh Wall followed and gave up 3 runs, as did Javy Solano who had his worst AA appearance of the year. Even Shawn Tolleson allowed a run out of the bullpen, although it was unearned and he struck out the side. At the plate Hector Gimenez had another good game as he went 2 for 5 with a homer, while Scott Van Slyke also singled and took out of the yard (#14). Alex Castellanos connected on the team's 3rd homer of the day and his first as a Lookout, and Late Night Lemmerman went 2 for 5 with a double to collect his inaugural hits of AA.
HiA – The Quakes burned the Blaze (Reds) 5 to 2 behind another solid game from Nick Buss. Buss went a perfect 3 for 3 with a walk, a double, and his 11th homer of the year to give him a 1.240 OPS over the past 10 games. Angelo Songco's double was the team's only other extra base hit, while Rafael Ynoa, Jaime Pedroza, and Wilberto Ortiz collected RBI's. Starter Red Patterson tossed a good game as he allowed just 1 run on 5 hits over 7 innings. Steve Smith got the final 6 outs while giving up a run.
LoA – The Whitecaps (Tigers) broke a 2 - 2 tie in the 9th with a rally against Scott McGough and defeated the Loons 3 to 2. McGough allowed 2 hits and 2 walks which led to the run, and Sunday was the second time this season that he had thrown in back to back games. To be honest I'm surprised that the Dodgers have already let Scott thrown 20 innings as a professional because he'd already endured a full season at Oregon prior to signing (57.2 IP). Getting back to the start of the game, Greg Wilborn gave up 5 hits and a couple of runs over 5 frames while striking out 6, then Pete Budkevics tossed the next 3 innings and did not allow a run. At the dish Casio Grider went 2 for 4 with a triple, and Blake Dean also had a couple of base knocks. Bobby Coyle's double was the team's only other extra base hit.
Rookie Ogden – Off day
Rookie Arizona – The Arizona Dodgers continued in their winning ways on Sunday with a 3 - 2 victory over the Royals. The Japanese combination of Robert Boothe and Kazuya Takano threw the first 6 innings of this game and allowed just 1 run on 6 hits. Daniel Carela gave up a run in relief, but recently signed non-drafted free agent Jason West recorded his 3rd save and extended his scoreless streak to 12.1 innings. On offense the Dodgers had just 5 hits, and Bladimir Franco had the big blow with a 2-run homer in the 7th. Joe Winker drove in the other run with a double and his now hitting an impressive .370 through 32 games.
DSL – 17 year old Jonathan Martinez continues to impress as the Dominican Dodgers won their 4th game in a row with a 6 to 2 victory over the Red Sox. Martinez struck out 6 over 5 innings and allowed just 2 runs on 4 hits. Aris Angeles followed with 3 hitless frames, and Andrew Shellon finished off the victory with a scoreless 9th. Webster Rivas and Abinaer Soriano led the offense as they both went 2 for 4 with a double and 2 RBI's, while Greg Pena also had a 2-bagger and drove in a run.
Albuquerque Isotopes Box Score (AAA)
Chattanooga Lookouts Box Score (AA)
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Box Score (HiA)
Great Lakes Loons Box Score (LoA)
Arizona Dodgers Box Score (Rookie)
Dominican Dodgers Box Score (DSL)
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