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The Isotopes were the only Dodger minor league affiliate to win on Monday, getting a strong performance out of Will Savage. Also be sure to read the Minor League Transactions as the bottom of this post for some surprising news regarding the Quakes roster.
Minor League Player of the Day – Michael Thomas - 2 IP, 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 5 K's. Thomas picked a good day to put on a show as nobody else in the system really had a standout day. The 2011 35th round pick has put together a great season so far, allowing just 4 hits in 10 innings, and hopefully the lefty will continue to shine for the Loons.
AAA – Albuquerque starter Will Savage continues to defy the odds in the Pacific Coast League as he put together another strong performance and led the Isotopes to a 3 - 2 victory over the RedHawks (Astros). Savage tossed 6 strong innings as he allowed just 2 runs on 5 hit, and he now leads the PCL with 4 victories. Lefty Derrick Loop struck out 3 and gave up just 1 hit in his two innings of work, then Scott Rice solidified the victory by recording his 4th save of the year. The Albuquerque offense had 8 hits in this game, and 5 of them went for extra bases including the first homer of the year for leadoff man Elian Herera; a two run shot which proved to be the game winner. Tim Federowicz had a nice game as he went 2 for 3 with an RBI double, while Jerry Sands also doubled and walked in 4 plate appearances.
AA – The Lookouts and Smokies played bonus baseball on Monday as their game lasted 12 innings, but Chattanooga came out on the losing end as they fell to Tennessee (Cubs) 5 to 4 on a walk off single. Starter Aaron Miller didn't have his best stuff as he allowed 4 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks over 5 frames, while striking out just 2. His middle relief kept the Lookouts in the game, however, as Javier Solano, Blake Johnson, Geison Aguasviva combined to throw 6 shutout innings. Unfortunately Aguasviva wasn't as lucky in his 3rd inning of relief as he allowed a walk, a sac bunt, and a single to lose the game. The red-hot Blake Smith paced the Chattanooga offense once again with a homer, a double, a stolen base, and 2 RBI's. Nobody else did a whole lot except for Pedro Baez and Rafael Ynoa who also had two hits apiece.
HiA – Garrett Gould found out the truth about Lancaster the hard way as he got knocked around by the JetHawks in an 8 to 4 loss. Gould battled through the 30 mph winds and managed to strike out 7 in just 3 innings, but he also got pounded for 6 runs and put the Quakes in a hole they couldn't climb out of. The Rancho bullpen was pretty good in relief, and included a hitless inning from Juan Rodriguez who lowered his ERA to 1.23. The Quake hitters couldn't use the strong gusts to their advantage as nobody hit the ball out of the park, although the team did collect 4 doubles. Michael Pericht had one of those two-baggers which drove in 2 runs, as did Nick Akins who went 2 for 4 with an RBI.
LoA – Two out of the three Loons' pitchers had a tough day on Monday, and the result was a 8 - 4 loss to the Bees (A's). Starter Matt Laney got touched up for 5 hits and 5 runs over 4 innings, walking 3 and striking out 2. Reliever Jason West allowed his first 3 runs of the season in his 2 innings of work, but Michael Thomas turned some heads by striking out 5 of the 6 batters he faced. At the plate James Baldwin had a solid game as he went 2 for 3 with a walk, an RBI, and 2 stolen bases. Justin Boudreaux also had two hits, including his first double of the season.
Coming up – Tuesday will be a relatively light day when it comes to starting pitching prospects as there isn't really an elite hurler in the scheduled group. John Ely will go for the Isotopes, and Matt Magill will try to rebound from a tough outing last time around for the Lookouts. The Quakes scheduled starter is still TBD but it looks like it will be Andres Santiago, and Gustavo Gomez will take the mound for the Loons.
Minor League Transactions - AAA: Matt Angle has been placed on the DL with a strained hamstring, and Derrick Loop has been added to the roster for the 2nd time this season. HiA: In somewhat of a head scratching move, both Joc Pederson and Jonathan Garcia have been assigned to the Ogden Raptors (although this is just a holding ground for now), while Alexis Aguliar and former NFL safety Jarrad Page have been added to the Quakes' roster.
Albuquerque Isotopes Box Score (AAA)
Chattanooga Lookouts Box Score (AA)
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Box Score (HiA)