Minor League Player of the Day – Michael Pericht - 4 for 4, 1 HR, 1 2B, 3 RBI's, 2 Runs. Pericht was a big reason why the Quakes won on Friday as he smacked a 2-run homer in the 8th, and as had an RBI double in the 9th to cap his perfect day at the plate. Over his last 10 games, the big catcher is hitting .351 with a 1.279 OPS.
AAA – Starter Michael Antonini was outstanding on Friday, but the Isotopes offense couldn't help him out as Albuquerque got shutout Tacoma (Mariners) 4 to 0. Antonini allowed just 3 hits over 6 innings and struck out 8, and the only run he allowed was on a solo homer. Cole St. Clair followed with a hitless frame, but Shawn Tolleson had a tough time in his AAA debut as he gave up 3 hits and 3 runs. All three of the Isotopes' hits were singles coming from 3 different hitters, so really there was nothing notable about the offense.
AA – Aaron Miller followed Ethan Martin's near-no hitter with 5 innings of 2-hit ball, but the Lookouts couldn't muster up any offense against Trevor Bauer and his relievers in a 6 - 1 loss to the BayBears (Dbacks). Despite giving up just 2 hits Miller did allow a pair of scores on a 2-run homer, and he struck out 4. Blake Johnson allowed 3 more runs in relief, although 2 were unearned thanks to a Rafael Ynoa fielding error. Ynoa tried to make up for his defense by having the only multi-hit game for Chattanooga, while Blake Smith drove in the lone run with a RBI double.
HiA – The Quakes scored 9 runs over the final 2 frames to win a wild 13 - 11 game over the Mavericks (Mariners) in the High Desert. Austin Gallagher (5 RBI's) and Michael Pericht (3 RBI's) did most of the damage in the later innings as Gallagher smacked a grand slam in the big 8th inning and Pericht followed with a 2-run homer of his own. Pericht also doubled earlier in the game, and finished the contest by going a perfect 4 for 4. Leon Landry was another Rancho hitter to have a good night as he went 2 for 5 to increase his batting average to .357. On the mound Angel Sanchez had another rough outing as he gave up 7 runs 6 earned) on 8 hits over 6 innings, including 3 homers. Craig Stem was perfect in his 2012 debut, while Eric Eadington got out of a jam in the 9th to record his first save for the Quakes.
LoA – Juan Noriega has been outstanding so far in his time with the Dodgers, but on Friday he had his worst outing since joining the organization as he gave up 3 runs in the 8th which resulted in a 5 - 2 win for West Michigan (Tigers). With the game tied at 2, Noriega entered the game then promptly gave up a walk and 3 hits, including a 2-run triple, and that's what doomed Great Lakes. Up until that point the Loons pitching staff had been pretty solid as starter Arismendy Ozoria allowed 2 runs over 6 frames, and Raydel Sanchez tossed a perfect inning in the 7th. Great Lakes was lucky to even be in this game as the offense managed just 3 hits for the contest, with just one base knock coming after the 1st inning. Scott Schebler made his hit count as he crushed his 2nd homer of the year, while Kevin Taylor went 2 for 4 with a triple and scored the only other run of the game.
Coming up – Zach Lee will highlight the Saturday pitching matchups as the will take the mound for the Quakes. Matt Magill will start for the Lookouts, while Jarret Martin will try to maintain his league lead in strikeouts for the Loons. The Isotopes starter will be Fernando Nieve as he'll replace the recently DL'ed Mike Parisi's.
Minor League Transactions – AAA: Ryan Tucker was placed on the DL with a strained right shoulder and Joe Becker was added back to the roster to replace Justin Sellers. HiA: Jarrad Page has rejoined the Quakes while the struggling Tyler Henson was actually promoted to AAA (mostly due to necessity). LoA: Joel Lima was added to the Loons roster to replace the recently promoted Eric Eadington
Albuquerque Isotopes Box Score (AAA)
Chattanooga Lookouts Box Score (AA)
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Box Score (HiA)