There is nothing official, but Yasiel Puig was in the stands in Rancho on Sunday so the thought is that he'll be joining their roster. Hopefully that's the case because he has already dominated the Arizona Rookie League so he's looking for a new challenge.
Minor League Player of the Day – Paul Hoenecke (Arizona) - 2 for 2, 1 HR, 1 2B, 1 Run, 2 RBI's. There were three players who had a double and a homer on Sunday, but only Hoenecke did it in just two official at bats while reaching base in all of his plate appearances. The big game bumped his season average to above .400 and his OPS to above 1.100.
AAA – The Isotopes handed Trevor Bauer his first AAA loss as Albuquerque defeated the Aces (Dbacks) 7 to 5. The usual suspects headed the offensive attack as Alex Castellanos went 3 for 5 with a double and a solo homer, and Jerry Sands hit a two-run bomb for the second game in a row. His 23rd jack of the year now ranks him 3rd place in the PCL. Scott Van Slyke went 2 for 5 with a double, while Tony Gwynn was held hitless in his Isotope debut but walked 3 times. On the mound Blake Johnson lasted just 3.2 innings and gave up 2 runs, while Scott Rice got the win with 3 innings of relief (despite allowing 2 runs of his own). Josh Wall allowed 3 hits and a run in the 9th, but he ended up recording his league leading 23rd save of the year.
AA – Chris Reed threw past the 3rd inning for just the second time since June 4th, but unfortunately he had a rough outing as the Lookouts lost to the Blue Wahoos (Reds) 7 to 3. Reed made it through 4 frames on Sunday, but he gave up 6 hits, 2 walks, and 4 runs to record the loss. Andres Santiago allowed two runs to score in his second AA appearance, while Eric Eadington permitted the final run to cross the plate during his two innings of work. Chattanooga was pretty quiet at the plate as Brahiam Maldonado's double and homer were the team's only extra hits. Jake Lemmerman and Griff Erickson both walked twice, but the bad news is that they have matching .234 batting averages.
HiA – The Quakes were down by one after 8 frames, but they scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the 9th to pull off a 5 - 4, walk-off victory over the Storm (Padres). Jonathan Garcia, who had doubled earlier in the contest, tied the game in the 9th with a RBI single, then two batters later the rarely mentioned Charlie Mirabal stroked a hit into left field which won the game. The only other notable performances at the plate were two more hits for Bobby Coyle and a 2 for 4 effort from newcomer Gabriel Suarez which resulted in a pair of RBI's. Starter Garrett Gould had a "quality start" as he allowed 3 runs over 6 innings, but that didn't tell the whole story as he gave up 5 hits and walked 4 while striking out 5. Steve Smith allowed 1 run over two frames, while Yimi Garcia struck out the side in the 9th to record his first California League win.
LoA – The Loons put together a mini rally in the 9th, but it wasn't nearly enough as Great Lakes lost to Lansing (Blue Jays) 10 to 6. James Baldwin hit a 2-run homer in the final frame and Joe Winker had a RBI double, but that was pretty much it for the offensive highlights in this game. The only other notable hit came from Scott Schebler as he had a 2-RBI triple in the very first inning. On the mound Raydel Sanchez suffered his 7th loss of the year after allowing 7 hits and 5 runs over just 4 innings, although 3 of those runs were unearned. Joel Lima had one of his worst performances of the year as he allowed 5 more runs in relief, while the lone pitching bright spot was a pair of no-hit innings from Juan Noriega.
Rookie Ogden – Off day
Rookie Arizona – The 1st place Arizona Dodgers continued their quest for the league crown as they defeated the Brewers 4 to 1 on Sunday. Starter Zachary Bird had solid game despite 4 walks as he struck out 7 over 5 frames and allowed just 1 run. Jackson Mateo was excellent in relief as he hurled 3 innings of 1 hit ball, then Sean O'Connell picked up his first save of the year with a scoreless 9th. Paul Hoenecke had the big game at the plate as he was a perfect 2 for 2 with a double, a homer, and 2 walks. Jacob Scavuzzo also had two hits including the team's only other extra base knock, a double, while Jesmuel Valentin went 0 for 4 and saw his average drop to .211 for the year.
DSL – Off day
Coming up – The Lookouts and Quakes have the day off, but everyone else is in action on Monday. John Ely will throw for the Isotopes, while Gustavo Gomez is the scheduled starter the Loons. As of now, everyone else is TBD.
Minor League Transactions – AAA: Tony Gwynn was activated, but Bobby Abreu was put on the DL with a right ankle sprain. HiA: As mentioned above there is nothing official, but Yasiel Puig will probably be joining Rancho soon. Also, Jarret Martin is finally healthy and has been added to the Quakes roster, while Jon Michael Redding was placed on the temporary inactive list.
Albuquerque Isotopes Box Score (AAA)
Chattanooga Lookouts Box Score (AA)
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Box Score (HiA)
Great Lakes Loons Box Score (LoA)