Not a bad day for Dodger minor league teams as there were a couple of shutouts and a couple of late inning victories.
Minor League Player of the Day – Mike Thomas - 4 IP, 7 K's 1 Hit, 0 Walks. Outside of a rough outing last week, the 22 year old Thomas has been impressive in his professional debut. His ERA is 1.31 in his last 10 appearances, and overall the lefty has 34 K's in 22.2 innings.
AAA – Starter Tim Sexton had another one of those games as the Isotopes lost to the Rainiers (Mariners) 12 to 4. Sexton allowed 8 hits and 6 runs in just 3 innings, and was followed by David Pfeiffer who was touched up for 4 more scores. Despite the loss Albuquerque crushed 2 homers, including a 430 foot shot to center by John Lindsey. Jay Gibbons connected on the other tater, and A.J. Ellis went 2 for 3.
AA – Postponed
HiA – A walk-off single by Late Night Lemmerman capped a solid comeback for the Quakes as Rancho cracked the Modesto Nuts (Rockies) 5 to 4. The good guys had only scored 1 run through 7 innings, but in the 8th they scored a pair on a single by Angelo Songco and a double by Tony Delmonico. Then in the 9th, the Quakes loaded the bases with 2 outs and that is when Lemmerman came through with the big hit. One other offensive note is that the recently demoted Jaime Pedroza (who has got to be disappointed that he has returned to the California League after a 2.5 year hiatus) reached base 3 times with a single and 2 walks. On the mound, Andres Santiago had a good game as he allowed 5 hits and 2 runs while striking out 7 in 6 innings. Freddie Cabrera and Steve Smith both allowed a run in relief, but they still managed to help their team get the win.
LoA – The Loons extended their win streak to 5 games on Thursday with a 1 to 0 shutout of the Lake County Captains (Indians). Speaking of steaks and shutouts, the Loons pitching staff has not allowed a run in 19 innings. Greg Wilborn started and tossed 5 scoreless frames, allowing 5 hits and K'ing 6. Brett Montgomery continued the fun with 3 shutout innings, then Scott McGough finished off the win with his 4th save. The Great Lakes offense was actually out-hit 8 to 5, and all of their base knocks were singles. Steve Domecus went 2 for 3, while newest Loon Charlie Mirabal recorded the only RBI with a bases loaded walk.
Rookie Ogden – The Raptors and Ghost were tied after 9, but Ogden manufactured a run in the top of the 10th and got by Casper (Rockies) 4 to 3. Joc Pederson was the catalyst in this game despite going 0 for 1 at the plate as he walked twice, had a sac fly, and scored the eventual winning run after getting hit by a pitch. O'Koyea Dickson went 2 for 4 and even stole home, while Noel Cuevas knocked in the winning run. Despite the win, one Raptor hitter had a tough night at the plate as James Baldwin went 0 for 5 with 5 K's for the platinum sombrero. Starter Brandon Martinez threw a solid game as he allowed just 3 hits over 5 innings while striking out 5. Yimi Garcia followed with 3 innings and struck out 4 while giving up 1 run, then Matt Shelton picked up the win and lowered his ERA to 1.10 with 2 hitless frames.
Rookie Arizona – 2011 35th round pick Mike Thomas was masterful on the mound as the Arizona Dodgers shutout the Indians 6 to 0. Thomas only threw 4 innings, but he struck out 7 and allowed only 1 base-runner. A whole slew of non-drafted free agent signees finished off the win and combined to give up just 3 more hits. At the plate, Chris O'Brien went 3 for 4 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI to lead the offense. Joe Winker and Devin Shines also drove in a couple of runs each to round out the scoring.
DSL – Postponed
Albuquerque Isotopes Box Score (AAA)
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Box Score (HiA)
Great Lakes Loons Box Score (LoA)
Ogden Raptors Box Score (Rookie)