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Minor League Player of the Day – Jerry Sands (AAA) - 4 for 5, 1 HR, 2 RBI's, 1 Run. Sands has been on fire as of late, and over his last 10 games he has a crazy OPS of 1.452. Not only is he ready for a September call up, but he is looking to take over the 1st base job for the rest of the 2012 season.
AAA – Jerry Sands is doing his best to make it back to Los Angeles as his big night helped the Isotopes get by the 51's (Blue Jays) in a 6 - 4 win. Sands went 4 for 5 with 3 singles and his 21st homer of the season, driving in 2 runs in the process. Josh Fields also took one deep, while Matt Angle went 3 for 4 with a double and a run batted in. It should also be noted that Tim Federowicz and Elian Herrera both had a single and double. On the mound Fernando Nieve had a subpar game as he allowed 6 hits and 6 walks over 5.1 innings which resulted in 4 runs, but his bullpen was great which resulted in the win. Ramon Troncoso recorded the win with 1.2 innings of 1-hit ball, while Josh Wall picked up his league leading 21st save of the year with a scoreless 9th.
AA – The Mississippi Braves edged the Lookouts 8 to 7 on Saturday behind 14 hits. Starter Aaron Miller allowed 7 hits and 3 walks over just 4.1 innings, which resulted in 5 runs. Red Patterson gave up a pair of runs in relief in what turned out to be a poor day for the Chattanooga pitching staff. At the plate the Lookouts collected 13 hits of their own, with 3 of them coming from Jake Lemmerman who went 3 for 4 with a pair of doubles to give him 5 extra base hits over the last 2 days. Nick Buss also had 3 hits including a double, while J.T. Wise went 2 for 3 with a pair of two-baggers and 3 RBI's.
HiA – The Quakes defeated the Storm (Padres) 3 to 2 on Saturday despite getting outhit 7 to 5. Rubby De La Rosa started for Rancho and did not allow a hit over 2 frames, striking out 4 and allowing just 1 walk in the process. Brandon Martinez threw threw the next 5 frames and allowed 1 earned run on 6 hits, then Steve Smith made up for an ugly performance in his previous appearance by striking out 4 of the 6 batters he faced. At the plate Angelo Songco had a big game as he went 2 for 4 with a homer and 2 RBI's, while Bobby Coyle continued his hot hitting with the only other multi-hit game. Nobody else did much of anything although Adam Kennedy did connect on a single in 4 at bats.
LoA – The Loons hit 4 solo homers in the his game, but a bullpen implosion in the 8th and 9th innings cost Great Lakes the game as they lost to the Dragons (Reds) 6 to 5. I watched most of this game and got to see leadoff man Darnell Sweeney show some surprise power as he socked two of the solo blasts. Darnell also singled and walked to finish the day a perfect 3 for 3. Former leadoff man James Baldwin hit another one of the bombs, and then stole 3 bases after he walked twice to give him a league leading 42 swipes. Finally O'Koyea Dickson hit the last homer to give him a big fly for the 3rd day in a row. On the mound lefty Greg Wilborn was excellent as he allowed just 1 hit over 6.2 shutout frames. From there his bullpen lost it as Scott Griggs gave up a couple of runs in his first Midwest League appearance, and then Juan Rodriguez let the Dragons to tie the game by allowing 3 runs in the 9th. Two of those runs scored after Yimi Garcia had already entered the game, however, then Garcia went on to permit a run of his own to blow the save and the game.
Rookie Ogden – Like the Loons the Raptors also hit 4 homers on Saturday, and the good news is that their power outburst actually resulted in a 10 - 9 win over the Rockies. Jesus Valdez and ended the homer barrage as he hit a two-run shot in the 3rd inning, then had the game winning solo shot in the top of the 11th. Tyler Ogle homered in his first game in the Pioneer League, and it was in dramatic fashion as it came with his team down 1 with two outs in the 9th. The biggest news, however, might be that Corey Seager went 3 for 6 and hit his first professional home run. Hopefully this will kick start his bat and get him hitting for the last month of the season. Delvis Morales and Eric Smith also had notable games as they both went 3 for 6 with a pair of doubles. Things didn't go well for starter Matt Laney who gave up 6 runs over the first 1.2 innings, then Michael Drown allowed 3 more runs in the 4th. But after that the rest of the bullpen was dominate as Alan Garcia, Craig Stem, and Gregg Downing all threw 2 innings of shutout ball to finish off the game.
Rookie Arizona –Yasiel Puig smacked a pair of homers on Saturday, the first two of his professional career, but the Arizona Dodgers gave up a stunning 6 runs in the 9th and another 4 runs in the 10th to lose to the Indians 14 to 12. This crazy game started with Jonathan Martinez on the mound and he held his own as he allowed 7 hits and 3 runs over 5 innings while striking out 5. A couple of relievers kept the game in check for the next few frames, but then in the 9th closer Ricky Perez absolutely imploded as he gave up 6 runs on 7 hits. Samuel Taveras then permitted the 4 runs to score in the 10th which was just too much for the offense to overcome. As mentioned already the offense was led by Puig's two homers, while Stefan Jarrin also had a big game as he went 3 for 5 with a double and a long ball of his own. Jacob Scavuzzo gave the Dodgers their 4th homer of the game with a two run blast in the 10th, but it just wasn't enough.
DSL – Suspended due to rain
Coming up – Allen Webster throws for the Lookouts on Sunday, while Ross Stripling and his 0.45 ERA will take the mound for the Raptors. Duke von Schamann is the scheduled starter for the Loons, and Will Savage will toe the rubber for the Isotopes.
Minor League Transactions – HiA: Despite his blown save on Saturday, Yimi Garcia was promoted to the Quakes. LoA: James Campbell (2012 12th round pick) was promoted to the Loons 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)