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Minor League Player of the Day – Stephen Fife (AAA) - 7 IP, 4 Hits, 0 BB's, 1 Run, 12 K's. Fife went on a strikeout barrage and fell just 1 K short of the Albuquerque punch-out record as he dominated in his return to AAA. After posting a season high of 7 K's prior to Sunday's start, the right hander seemed to use the motivation of the big leagues to strike-out way more batters than he ever had in his minor league career.
AAA – The Isotopes broke out the big bats again on Sunday as they clubbed the Cubs 9 to 5. Trent Oeltjen had another big game as he doubled and connected on his 3rd homer in two days, scoring 3 runs in the process. Alex Castellanos, playing 3rd base in this contest, went 3 for 5 with a two bagger, a homer, and 3 RBI's, while Tim Federowicz and Matt Angle both had two hits including a double and a RBI. Stephen Fife used the motivation of a big league start to put together his best minor league outing of the year as he allowed just 4 hits and 1 run over 7 innings while striking out a career high 12 batters. It was actually the first time that he has recorded double digit strikeouts. The recently signed Erick Threets gave up 3 runs in relief, but Angel Guzman put away the game with his 2nd save despite allowing a run.
AA Game 1 – This was the completion of Saturday's suspended game, and after a wild finish the Lookouts walked off with a 12 to 11 victory over the Smokies (Cubs). We already discussed the first 7 innings of this game yesterday, including Zach Lee's rough outing and the homers by Kyle Russell and Blake Smith, so we'll pick up in the 10th which is where the craziness started. Tennessee scored a pair of runs in the top of the frame against Red Patterson and seemed poised to win the game, but Rafael Ynoa responded with a two run single in the bottom of the inning to keep the game tied. The Smokies scored another run in the top of the 11th against Patterson to re-take the lead, but the Lookouts again answered back with another two run single, this one a walk-off job by C.J. Retherford.
AA Game 2 – The Smokies (Cubs) got their revenge against the Lookouts in Sunday's regularly scheduled game as Tennessee doubled up Chattanooga 8 to 4. Starter Ethan Martin got off to a solid start in this game as he allowed just 2 runs over the first 5 frames and struck out 7, but in the 6th he tired a bit and gave up 4 more runs which resulted in his worst outing of the year (in terms of runs allowed). Luis Vasquez gave up two more runs in the dreaded 6th inning, and that was all it took to lose the game. Chattanooga generated four runs of offense at the plate on Sunday, but nobody really stood out as the highlights were a 2 for 4 game out of C.J. Retherford and a pair of RBI's out of Griff Erickson.
HiA – The Quakes were swept by the JetHawks (Astros) after a 4 - 3 loss on Sunday. Starter Jon Michael Redding absorbed the loss after issuing 6 walks and allowing 5 hits and 4 runs, but the bullpen was solid in the loss as Bret Montgomery and Eric Eadington combined for 3.1 scoreless innings. Rancho only 4 hits on the day and Scott Wingo's double was the only extra base knock. Jan Vazquez and Joc Pederson both singled and had the team's only RBI's.
LoA – The Loons scored 3 runs over the final two frames to pull out a 10 - 7 win over the Snappers (Twins). O'Koyea Dickson is getting hot again as he extended his hit streak to 10 games with a double and a big 9th inning homer, and overall he knocked in 3 runs. Joe Winker had a team high 3 hits including a double and scored 3 runs, while Scott Schebler and newcomer Gabriel Suarez both collected a pair of singles. Starter Arismendy Ozoria had a rough game as he allowed 5 hits and 5 runs over just 3 innings, then Juan Noriega gave up 2 more runs over the next 3 frames. From the there bullpen held strong, however, including 1.2 hitless innings from Yimi Garcia which resulted in his 13th save.
Rookie Ogden – The Raptors fell 6- 5 as Carlos Frias was not able to replicate his recent success. Frias gave up all six runs in 5.1 framees, but the good news is that new father Derek Cone threw two perfect innings of relief. Pat Stover led the offense with two hits, including his first professional home run, while Devin Shines went 2 for 5 with a double. On the other hand Corey Seager went 0 for 4, and Alex Santana made his 14th error of the season (but went 2 for 3 at the plate).
Rookie Arizona – The Dodgers lost 4 - 1 to the Brewers with no notable performances. Starter Zachary Bird struggled to find the plate as he issued 4 walks over 2.2 innings, but he may have been effectively wild as he also struck out 4 and allowed just 1 earned run in the loss. Jackson Mateo gave up 2 runs in relief, but Aris Angeles and Kazuya Takano finished the game with 4.1 hitless frames to lower their respective ERA's to 0.96 and 1.74. Jesmuel Valentin singled and now has a modest five game hitting streak, and so far the eighteen year old shortstop is having a solid campaign with more walks then strikeouts.
DSL – Off day
Coming up – Monday will be a relatively quiet day as both the Quakes and the Lookouts the day off. For the teams that will be playing, John Ely will start for the Isotopes, while Raydel Sanchez and Jake Hermsen will take the mound for the Loons and Raptors, respectively.
Minor League Transactions – Rookie: Lindsey Caughel was assigned to the Raptors from the Arizona Dodgers, while Matt Reckling went from Ogden to Arizona. Also Josh Henderson, one of the last draft picks to sign, was assigned to Arizona.
Albuquerque Isotopes Box Score (AAA)
Chattanooga Lookouts Box Score - Game 1 (AA)
Chattanooga Lookouts Box Score - Game 2 (AA)
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Box Score (HiA)
Great Lakes Loons Box Score (LoA)
Ogden Raptors Box Score (Rookie)