Minor League Player of the Day – Joe Winker - 3 for 6, 1 HR, 4 RBI's, 1 Run. Winker hasn't done a whole lot so far for the Loons, but on Tuesday he played a big part in their victory as he smacked a grand slam. Even still he's batting just .239 and is still adapting to his new position of first base as he already has 5 errors on the young season.
AAA – Down 8 - 0, the Isotopes rallied to cut the deficit to 3, but at the end of the day Albuquerque came up short and lost to the RedHawks (Astros) 8 - 5 to halt their win streak at 7. There isn't much to write about this game in the early going as the offense was quiet until the 8th. At that point Joe Becker drove in 3 with a bases clearing double, then in the 9th Scott Van Slyke went yard for the 4th time this year. On the mound it was John Ely who suffered the loss after allowing 5 runs (4 earned) and 7 hits over 4.1 frames. Francisco Felix gave up 3 more runs in his 2.2 innings of work, but the one bright spot was the fact that Wil Ledezma struck out all 3 batters he faced.
AA – The Lookouts scored 5 first inning runs, then had to hold on in Tennessee for a 7 - 5 victory over the Smokies (Cubs). Matt Magill continued his Jekyll and Hyde season, this time with a solid 7 inning outing which saw him allow just 1 run on 5 hits. Red Patterson came into the game in the 8th with the scored at 7 - 2, but after giving up a few hits and he allowed a bases clearing double was removed from the game. Of course Shawn Tolleson came in and struck out the next batter to get out of the jam, then finished off the game by allowing a single in the 9th but nothing else as he earned his 4th save of the year. The offense was led by J.T. Wise who had a perfect afternoon, going 3 for 3 with a walk, a double, and 2 RBI's. Jake Lemmerman went 3 for 4 and drove in a run to make up for an error he made in the field, and Matt Wallach had a pair of singles to raise his average to .323.
HiA – The JetHawks did most of their damage in a big 4th inning as Lancaster (Astros) doubled up the Quakes 6 to 3. Starter Andres Santiago was on the mound for that one big inning and in total gave up 5 runs on 11 hits, although he did strike out 7 in his 5 innings of work. Jon Michael Redding made his first appearance of the year for Rancho in relief (after getting demoted from AA) and allowed just 1 runs on 2 hits in 3 frames. The offense was relatively limited in this game with the only real damage coming on a solo homer by Austin Gallagher and a 2-RBI double by Chris Jacobs in the 9th.
LoA – The Loons exploded for 11 runs on Tuesday and had a big lead going into the 9th, then had to fight off a big comeback by the Bees to secure a 11 - 9 victory over Burlington (A's). Joe Winker had the big hit in this game as he crushed a 4th inning grand slam, and he also had a pair of singles. James Baldwin also had another solid game as he went 2 for 4, but was ejected for arguing balls and strikes. The most impressive part of the Loons lineup was the bottom half, as the 6 - 9 hitters (Noel Cuevas, Pedro Guerrero, Jan Vazquez, and Kevin Taylor) combine to go 11 for 20 in this game, although only 1 of those hits went for extra bases (a Guerrero triple). On the mound it was starter Gustavo Gomez who picked up the win by going the minimum 5 and allowing 4 runs (2 earned) on 9 hits, then Juan Noriega followed with w shutout frames. Juan has now started his career with the Dodgers by tossing 29 scoreless innings, an impressive feat for sure. Lefty Eric Eadington is the reliever that let the Bees get back in the game as he gave up 5 runs in just 1.2 innings of work, but Yimi Garcia was able to come in and close the door for his 3rd save of the season.
Coming up – Only 3 games scheduled for tomorrow as the Isotopes have the day off. It's Nathan Eovaldi's turn in the rotation for the Lookouts after an abbreviated start last week, while the Quakes will likely send Angel Sanchez to the mound. For Great Lakes it looks like it will be Arismendy Ozoria's who starts the Loons' first home game in over a week.
Minor League Transactions - AAA: Alex Castellanos was placed on the DL with a strained hamstring and Joe Becker was promoted from Rancho. Also as we all know Michael Antonini was promoted to LA, but the corresponding minor league move has not yet been announced. HiA: CJ Retherford was added to the roster to make up for the loss of Joe Becker, who was mentioned above.
Albuquerque Isotopes Box Score (AAA)
Chattanooga Lookouts Box Score (AA)
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Box Score (HiA)