Minor League Player of the Day – Zach Lee (AA) - 6 IP, 3 Hits, 0 Runs, 6 K's. It seems like Lee wins this award every time he take the mound now a days, and deservingly so as he has allowed just 3 total runs over his last 4 starts which spans 24 innings. After a rough start in AA Zach now has his ERA down to 4.25, which is actually lower than his earned run average when he was with the Quakes.
AAA – The Isotopes finally clinched their division on Sunday and will be headed to the Pacific Coast League playoffs after a 6 - 5 win over the Storm Chasers (Royals). Starter Cole St. Clair gave Albuquerque the pitching performance they needed as he fired 4 innings of 2-hit ball, and while the recently signed Tim Corcoran gave up 5 runs in the 6th, the offense was able to battle back and the rest of the bullpen held Omaha scoreless. Erick Threets got the win with 2.2 shutout frames, and Josh Wall recorded his 28th save of the year. The Topes' offense scored single runs in each of the first four frames, then after falling behind they added a pair of late runs on a Trent Oeltjen double and a Josh Fields sac fly which turned out to be the game winner. Scott Van Slyke went 3 for 4 with a double, while Dee Gordon also had 3 hits and stole a pair of bases.
AA – Zach Lee pitched another great game on Sunday as the Lookouts shutout the Barons (White Sox) 7 - 0 in a tune up for the playoffs. Lee allowed 3 hits over 6 innings for the second straight game, striking out 6 and walking 2. Steve Smith followed with 2 hitless frames, then Geison Aguasviva completed the shutout with a perfect 9th. At the plate Blake Smith seems ready for the post season as he smacked a pair of doubles, while J.T. Wise drove in 3 with a two-bagger of his own. Rafael Ynoa tripled, and Nick Buss reached base 4 times via two singles and a pair of walks.
HiA – The Quakes just can't seem to clinch that elusive post season birth as their 10 - 5 loss to the Blaze (Reds) leaves them in a tie with Lake Elsinore for the final wild card spot with just one game to play. Should both the Quakes and Storm win (or both lose) in Monday's season finale I'm not sure what the tie breaker will be, although my guess is that there will be a one game playoff between the two teams. Getting back to this one, starter Garrett Gould got roughed up early to the tune of 6 runs in just 2.2 innings, and that obviously helped set the tone for the Rancho loss. Eammon Portice and Bret Montgomery allowed 4 additional runs over the final 5.1 frames, which made the Quakes 9th inning rally pretty meaningless. Chris Jacobs and Jonathan Garcia were both part of that late outburst as Jacobs crushed a 3-run bomb (his 17th) and Garcia socked a solo shot, but again it was all for naught. The only other significant performance came from Pedro Baez who went 3 for 4. One final note is that Rancho played this game without the services of Joc Pederson (elbow) and Yasiel Puig (hamstring), and I'm not sure of their status for Monday's contest.
LoA – The Loons continued their late season surge on Sunday as they walked off with a 4 - 3 win over the Silver Hawks (Dbacks). James Baldwin was the hero in this one as his bases loaded single in the bottom of the 9th plated the winning run, and if I remember correctly I believe this was at least his second walk-off hit of the year. Joe Winker homered earlier in the game and Darnell Sweeney drove in a pair, but that was really it for the offense as they managed just 5 hits in the victory. Raydel Sanchez was solid on the mound as he gave up just 2 runs over 5 frames despite allowing 10 base runners, while Daniel Carela was perfect in the 9th and was rewarded with the win.
Rookie Ogden Game 1 – The Raptors swept their double header on Sunday, starting with a 6 - 0 win over the Owls (Angels). Lindsey Caughel actually threw a complete game shutout for Ogden in this one, although this was only a 7 inning affair due to the multiple games being played. In that time Caughel allowed 4 hits and walked just 1, while striking out 4. At the plate Jesus Valdez knocked in a game high 2 runs with a pair of singles, while Paul Hoenecke, Bladimir Franco, and Malcolm Holland all doubled.
Rookie Ogden Game 2 – As mentioned above the Raptors also won the second game of their double header, time time beating the Orem (Angels) 7 to 3. Ross Stripling was given a little big of a longer leash as he threw a season high 4.2 innings, although he finally allowed some runs as Owlz plated two against him. Jason West got the win in relief despite giving up a run, while Owen Jones was perfect in the final frame. Catcher Austin Cowen had a big game as the plate as he went a perfect 2 for 2 with a double and 2 RBI's, while Kevin Thompson drove in 3 with a pair of singles. Paul Hoenecke had a double himself and plated 2 additional runs, and finally Jeremy Rathjen went 2 for 4 and was the final player to have a multi-hit game.
Rookie Arizona – Season over
DSL – Season over
Coming up – The regular season concludes for the full season clubs on Monday, and the Quakes will rest their playoff hopes on 2012 3rd round pick Onelki Garcia who will be making his professional debut. Derrick Loop will pitch the final regular season game for the Isotopes, while the rest of the starters haven't been announced.
Minor League Transactions – AAA: The Dodgers signed a RHP named Lorenzo Barcelo out of the Mexican League and he was assigned to the Isotopes. AA: Andres Santiago was activated from the inactive list. HiA: Onelki Garcia was officially added to the Quakes roster, Chris Jacobs was activated from the DL, and Brandon Martinez was placed on the disabled list.
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 - Game 1 (Rookie)