Minor League Player of the Day – Duke von Schamann (LoA) - 8 IP, 4 Hits, 1 BB, 1 Run, 2 K's. Despite some strong offensive performances in the Quakes game, I'm giving this award for Duke after another good outing. The sinker ball pitcher has been outstanding since signing as a 15th round pick earlier this year, and Thursday was his best game to date. While his strikeout numbers are very low, you have to remember that's not his game as he thrives off the ground ball.
AAA – The Isotopes played their third one-run game in a row on Thursday, but this time they came out on the losing end as Albuquerque was defeated by the Express (Rangers) 3 to 2. After a pair of exciting extra inning contests, this game was much more calm as there were no late heroics. The Topes' offense had just 6 hits, with two of them coming from Ivan De Jesus who socked his first homer of the season. Trent Oeltjen also had a pair of base knocks including a triple, while Alex Castellanos doubled and stole a base. Starter Will Savage lasted 7 frames on the mound and didn't walk a batter, but he did allow all 3 runs on 8 hits. Erick Threets threw a perfect inning of relief while recording a K.
AA – Allen Webster did in fact make his start for the Lookouts on Thursday, but he wasn't able to lead them to victory as Chattanooga fell the Barons (White Sox) 6 to 5. Webster was stingy with the hits in this start as he allowed just 3 base knocks over 6 frames, but he was pretty generous with the walks as he issued 5 free passes. The end result was 3 runs scored against him, but two of those runs were unearned thanks to a C.J. Retherford error. Javy Solano ran into some trouble in the 8th, and Steve Ames was unable to provide any relief out of the bullpen as he allowed a two-run homer which resulted in the blown save and the loss. At the plate, Jake Lemmerman had his first good game in a long time as he went 2 for 4 with a double and his 4th homer of the season. Griff Erickson continued his hot hitting of late with a double and a single, while Rafael Ynoa continued his hit streak with two more base knocks to increase his batting average to .308.
HiA – The Quakes exploded for 14 runs on Thursday as they defeated the 66ers (Angels) by 10 to halt their losing streak at 5 games. The big offensive outburst came without the aid of a home run, but the team did combine for 19 hits. Joc Pederson led the way with 4 singles and a couple of runs batted in, while Charlie Mirabal fell a homer shy of the cycle while driving in 3. Austin Gallagher and Bobby Coyle both had 3 hits and a RBI, and Scott Wingo only had one single but reached base 3 times, drove in a pair, and scored 3 runs. Starter Garrett Gould probably hoped for a better stat line as he allowed 4 runs on 6 hits over 6 innings, but overall he wasn't all that bad as he struck out 7 and didn't issue a walk. The bullpen trio of Bret Montgomery, Steve Smith, and Ryan O'Sullivan pitched an inning each and none of the three gave up as much of a hit.
LoA – Great Lakes scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the 9th, but it wasn't quite enough as the Loons got burned by the Dragons 3 to 2. The good guys were actually facing a two-hit shutout heading into the final frame, but a walk to Jesus Arredondo and a two-run homer by Darnell Sweeney, his second in as many games, brought the Loons to within one. That was as close as they would get, however, as the next three batters went down to end the game. Outside of Sweeney's homer there was literally no offense in this game, but starter Duke von Schamann deserves some recognition as he allowed just 4 hits and 1 run over 8 strong frames. The right hander only struck out two, but that's OK because the sinker baller got most of his outs via the ground ball. Matt Shelton gave up the games' other two runs on a hit and two walks.
Rookie Ogden – Off day
Rookie Arizona – Off day
DSL – The Dominican Dodgers lost a high scoring affair on Thursday as they fell to the Indians 16 to 10. The Dodgers were actually held to just 1 run through 6 innings before coming up with a big 7 run outburst in the 7th. Even still there weren't many impressive offensive numbers as Claudio Tejeda's double and Jesus Perez's triple were the only extra base hits. A couple of other players had multi-hit games but nobody worth mentioning, especially since Josmar Cordero is still missing from the lineup. As you can imagine the Dodger pitching staff got hit pretty hard, with stater Luis De Paula talking the loss after allowing 6 runs (4 earned) over 3.1 innings. He was followed by four different relievers who all gave up at least a pair of runs.
Coming up – Everyone plays on Friday, including Zach Lee who will look to get back on the right track for the Lookouts. Stephen Fife is still the scheduled starter for the Isotopes but we all know that won't happen, while Angel Sanchez and Arismendy Ozoria will throw for the Quakes and Loons, respectively.
Minor League Transactions – HiA: Jonathan Garcia was suspended for throwing his bat in the direction of an umpire, while Steve Smith was activated from the DL.
Albuquerque Isotopes Box Score (AAA)
Chattanooga Lookouts Box Score (AA)
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Box Score (HiA)
Great Lakes Loons Box Score (LoA)