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Minor League Player of the Day – Andres Santiago - 7 IP, 3 Hits, 1 Run, 2 BB's, 10 K's. There were a couple of solid candidates for this award on Sunday, but I'm giving it to Santiago. Andres' season has been somewhat erratic as demonstrated by his 5.01 ERA, but he's shown flashes of brilliance including his brilliant performance on Sunday. His season K/9 is now 10.16, and he's still just 22 years old so he's worth keeping an eye on.
AAA – The Isotopes headed into their All Star break on the upswing as they defeated the Express (Rangers) 12 to 10. Everyone in the starting lineup contributed the victory with at least one hit, and three balls left the yard. Trent Oeltjen hit one of those homers and fell a triple shy of the cycle while scoring 3 runs. Brian Cavazos-Galvez also took one deep and finished 2 for 4 with 3 RBI's, while Josh Bard completed the homer barrage with a solo shot. Matt Kemp finished his rehab assignment by going 2 for 4 with a double and a RBI, and Josh Fields had yet another multi-hit game and drove in a run. On the mound, Derrick Loop won his 8th game of the year by allowing 6 hits and 2 runs over 5 innings. Ramon Troncoso gave up a pair of runs in relief, but it was Josh Wall who almost blew the game by allowing 3 homers and 5 runs in the 9th.
AA – The Lookouts made three errors on Sunday and that led to a 5 - 3 loss to the Smokies (Cubs). Zach Lee started this game allowed 6 hits and 4 runs over 5 innings, but only one of those runs was earned due to the aforementioned defensive miscues. Lee only struck out 1, however, and allowed a homer while walking a pair. Wes Roemer and Luis Vasquez finished off the game by giving up two hits and an unearned run over 3 frames. At the plate J.T. Wise hit a solo homer and Nick Buss went 2 for 4 with an RBI, but that was about it for the offensive highlights.
HiA – Andres Santiago threw an outstanding game for the Quakes on Sunday as Rancho defeated the Giants 4 to 1. Santiago allowed just 1 run on 3 hits over 7 strong innings and struck out 10, giving him double digit strikeout totals for the second time this season. Steve Smith fired a perfect 7th inning in relief then Eric Eadington recorded his 14th save with a hitless 9th. At the plate C.J. Retherford had the big hit as he crushed his 20th homer of the season, a 3-run blast. Bobby Coyle also continued his hot hitting with a solo bomb, while Angelo Songco went 2 for 4 in his 2012 California League debut.
LoA – The Loons lost their 3rd game in a row on Sunday as they fell to the Dragons (Reds) 6 to 3. Ralston Cash absorbed the 5th loss of his young season by allowing 3 runs on 5 hits, and he was also very wild as he walked 5. Juan Rodriguez also allowed 3 runs in relief and is really having a tough time in his second go-around in the Midwest League. At the plate Jeff Hunt hit his 2nd homer of the year and also singled, while Pratt Maynard and Jesse Bosnik both went 2 for 4 with a double and a RBI.
Rookie Ogden – The Raptors exploded for 16 hits on Sunday as they crushed the Rockies 13 to 2. Several players in the Ogden lineup played a big role in the win, starting with Eric Smith who went 3 for 5 with a double and a 3-run homer and finished with 4 RBI's. Catcher JJ Ethel had the game's other homer, and it was in fact a grand slam, while Tae-Hyeok Nam broke out of his slump in a big way by going 4 for 5 with a double and 2 RBI's. Ross Stripling had another solid outing on the mound as he did not allow a run over 3 innings, then Kazuki Nishijima provided brilliant relief as he went 5 innings and gave up just 2 hits.
Rookie Arizona – The Dodgers thought they were in for an easy victory after scoring 4 runs in the 8th, but as it turns out they had to hold on for dear life in a narrow 11 - 9 win over the Reds. Victor Araujo started this game for the Dodgers and picked up the win after allowing 4 hits and 2 runs over 5 innings. Lindsay Caughel and Ronny Lugo let the Reds inch back by combining to give up 3 runs in 3 innings, but then in the 9th it was Sean O'Connell who really opened the door as he allowed 4 runs in the 9th. Luckily Ricky Perez was able to come in and stop the bleeding by getting the final two outs, recording his 6th save in the process. At the plate Tyler Ogle increased his league leading OPS to 1.382 with yet another homer, a 3-run blast in the 8th that turned out to be the extra insurance that his team needed. Zachary Babitt also drove in 3 runs with a pair of singles, while Justin Chigbogu had an encouraging game as he went 2 for 3 with a pair of walks.
DSL – Off day
Coming up – The Isotopes are on their All Star break for a few days, but the rest of the teams will be in action on Monday. Ethan Martin and Garrett Gould will highlight the action for the Lookouts and Quakes, while Duke von Schamann and Matt Laney will take the mound for the Loons and Raptors, respectively.
Minor League Transactions – HiA: Angelo Songco was promoted from the Loons while Chris Jacobs was placed on the DL with a left wrist injury. LoA: Great Lakes replaced Songco on the roster with 2012 13th round pick Darnell Sweeney, who was promoted from Ogden.
Albuquerque Isotopes Box Score (AAA)
Chattanooga Lookouts Box Score (AA)
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Box Score (HiA)
Great Lakes Loons Box Score (LoA)
Ogden Raptors Box Score (Rookie)