Minor League Player of the Day – Andres Santiago (AA) - 7 IP, 1 Run, 3 Hits, 7 K's. Santiago continued his strong season on Tuesday with great performance, becoming the latest member of the Lookout rotation to turn some heads. Drafted as a 17 year old back in 2007, Andres has made steady progress through the system and in 2012 is definitely having his best year to date.
AAA – The Isotopes held the RedHawks (Astros) to just 4 hits on Tuesday, but they still lost to Oklahoma City 6 to 5. Starter John Ely gave up 3 of the 4 hits and walked just 1, but he was victimized by a pair of long balls which resulted in 5 runs scoring against him. His offense came back and tied the game in the top of the 8th, but Blake Johnson allowed a run in the bottom of the frame and took the loss. At the plate Elian Herrera went 3 for 5 with a pair of doubles and 2 RBI's, but that was about it for the Isotope offense outside of a Josh Fields two-bagger.
AA – A 4 -1 win by the Lookouts over the Generals (Mariners) all but assured Chattanooga of a playoff spot as their magic number officially sits at 2 with 5 games to play. Stater Andres Santiago was outstanding on the mound as he allowed just 3 hits over 7 innings of one run ball, striking out 7 and walking a pair. He recorded the first win of his AA career, and lowered his Southern League ERA to 3.38. Steven Rodriguez then struck out 2 of the 3 batters he faced and he was followed by Steve Ames who blanked Jackson for the final 1.1 frames and recorded his 17 save. The Lookouts only needed a couple of offensive highlights to capture the victory, and really the game was over in the 1st after C.J. Retherford connected on a bases clearing double to put his team ahead for good. Luis Nunez drove in the other run on a solo shot, and he also singled to give him the only multi-hit game of the day.
HiA – The Quakes won their 4th game in a row on Tuesday and took over the wild card lead with a 4 - 2 victory over the Mavericks (Mariners). Austin Gallagher had a big game at the plate as he went 3 for 4 with two doubles and a RBI, while Pedro Baez also had 3 hits including a two-bagger. The big news, however, was that Yasiel Puig hit the first homer of his California League career, and he also singled to increase his average to .386. On the mound Garrett Gould had a strong outing as he allowed just 1 earned run over 6 frames, striking out 4 without issuing a walk. Michael Thomas continued his magical season with 2 innings of shutout ball, then Eric Eadington picked up his 21 save with a scoreless 9th.
LoA – The Loons came from behind on Tuesday to capture a 6 - 5 victory over the Captains (Indians). Birthday boy Joe Winker connected on a solo homer on his special day, and then also doubled in the tying run to finish the day with 2 RBI's. Jeff Hunt joined the celebration with a long ball of his own, while O'Koyea Dickson drove in the winning run with a late double. Starter Raydel Sanchez did his best to keep his team in the game as he allowed 4 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks, while newcomer Geoff Brown recorded the win in relief. Daniel Coulombe picked up the first save of his professional career by getting the final two outs of the game.
Rookie Ogden –The Raptors used a 4-run 9th to double up the Owlz (Angels) 6 - 3 on Tuesday. Justin Boudreaux's second double of the game drove in two of the runs in the final frame, and Ogden also took advantage of a few walks and a few errors to complete their scoring. Jose Capellan was the only other player in the lineup to record an extra base hit (a double), and he also had the team's only other RBI. Starter Carlos Frias put together a good game for the Raptors as he struck out 6 over 5 frames, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits. Jason West got the win with 3 innings of solid relief, then Owen Jones notched his 6th save with a perfect 9th.
Rookie Arizona – The playoff bound Arizona Dodgers lost to the Rangers 9 - 3 as they line up their rotation for the post season. Starter Abdiel Velasquez, who has struggled all season long, was no better on Tuesday as he allowed 3 runs over 2 innings and took the loss. Sean O'Connell played the role of longer reliever in this game and gave up 2 more runs over 4 frames, while Samuel Taveras got touched up for the final 4 runs in just 2 innings. The Dodgers actually outhit the opposition, but all 10 of their hits were singles so they weren't able to do much damage. Webster Rivas and Joey Curletta had two base knocks a piece, but that was about it for the offensive highlights.
DSL – Season over
Coming up – The Arizona Dodgers play their final regular season game on Thursday, while the Lookouts get the day off. Derrick Loop takes the mound for the Isotopes, and he'll continue to push for the playoffs as will Angel Sanchez for the Quakes. Gustavo Gomez will get the ball for the the Loons, and Luis Meza will throw for the Raptors.
Minor League Transactions – AAA: Ramon Troncoso was placed on the temporarily inactive list, while Luis Vasquez 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)
Ogden Raptors Box Score (Rookie)