Minor League Player of the Day – Tyler Ogle (AAA) - 3 for 3, 1 BB, 4 RBI's - This award came down to Ogle and 2012 3rd round pick Onelki Garcia who was excellent in his professional debut on Monday, but I'm giving it to Ogle as he drove in all 4 runs for the Isotopes on Labor Day by going a perfect 3 for 3. Tyler started the 2012 season on fire for the Arizona Dodgers, and while he struggled with the Loons and Raptors he finished the year with an OPS of 1.021.
AAA – The Isotopes finished their 2012 regular season by tying another franchise mark, as their 4 - 3 win over the Storm Chasers (Royals) gave the club their 80th victory of the season. Catcher Tyler Ogle made the most of his AAA debut as he went a perfect 3 for 3 and drove in a game high 4 RBI's, while Tony Gwynn and Scott Van Slyke both doubled for the club's only extra base hits. Elian Herrera had a pair of singles, as did Dee Gordon who played the entire game at shortstop. Starting pitcher Derrick Loop threw just 2 innings in this contest and gave up an unearned run despite throwing 2 hitless frames, then the recently signed Lorenzo Barcelo permitted a pair of runs to score in his 3 innings of work. Francisco Felix fired 3.2 scoreless frames of relief despite allowing 6 base runners, while Scott Rice got his 9th save of the year by recording the final out of the game.
AA – Chattanooga was lucky that Monday's contest was a meaningless game as the playoff bound Lookouts lost to the Barons (White Sox) 5 to 1. The offense seemed to go through the motions in this one as the club collected just 4 hits in this game. Jan Vazquez's double was the only extra base knock, while Nick Buss had the only other "highlight" as he singled, stole two bases, and scored a run. On the mound Andres Santiago lowered his Southern League ERA to 2.77 as none of the 3 runs he allowed over 4.2 innings were earned, but he did get a bit lucky as he gave up 5 hits and 4 walks. Red Patterson was also victimized by errors as he permitted a pair of unearned runs, while Jose Dominguez continues to impress after his surprise promotion as he finished the season with 1.2 perfect innings and a pair of K's.
HiA – The Quakes just weren't meant to make the post-season in 2012 as their 7 - 4 loss to the Blaze (Reds) sent the club home for good. Rancho just barely missed clinching a playoff spot in the 1st half, then after controlling their own destiny in the 2nd half they just couldn't get it done as their Monday loss combined with a Lake Elsinore win meant that the Quakes just missed out on the final wild card spot. Starter Onelki Garcia, who was making his professional debut in a pressure packed situation, couldn't have been any better as he struck out 4 of the 6 batters he faced over two perfect innings. Angel Sanchez, who has struggled all season, continued the trend as he gave up 5 hits and 3 runs over the next 3 frames to record the loss. Juan Noriega (0.1 frames) and Jordan Roberts (2.2 frames) also had a tough time in relief as they each permitted 2 runs to score. At the plate Rancho put together a rally in the 9th to get somewhat close, which was led by a Pedro Baez homer, but it came to no fruition. Pratt Maynard did his best to keep his club in the game as he went 3 for 4 with a pair of RBIs, while Gabriel Suarez's double was the only other extra base hit for the Quakes.
LoA – After playing well over the past few weeks, the Loons fell flat in their final game of 2012 as they were shut out by South Bend (Dbacks) 9 to 0. The Great Lakes offense, which overall had a poor season as they combined to hit a league low .238 as a team, stayed true to its form in this contest as the club managed 6 singles. Two of those hits came from Darnell Sweeney, who ended the campaign with a .291 average, and one came from James Baldwin who also stole a base and finished the year with a league high 53 swipes. Jackson Mateo was called up from Arizona to start this game and he struggled a bit as he gave up 5 hits and 3 runs in his Midwest League debut. James Campbell and Jordan Hershiser allowed a run each in relief, while Geoff Brown was charged with the final 4 runs of the game.
Rookie Ogden – The Raptors had just 3 hits on Monday, but they somehow managed to pull out a 4 - 3 win over the Owlz (Angles). Jeremy Rathjen had the big hit for his team as his 3-run homer in the first provided most of his club's runs, while a couple of wild pitches by Orem provided the other score. Delvis Morales's double was the Raptors' only extra base hit. Carlos Frias was solid on the mound for Ogden as he fired 6 solid innings, allowing 6 hits and just one unearned run. Travis Jones made his Pioneer League debut and also gave up an unearned run, while Alan Garcia got his 3rd save of the year with a perfect 9th.
Rookie Arizona – Season over
DSL – Season over
Coming up – Tuesday will be the quietest game of the year for the Dodger minor league clubs as Luis Meza and the Raptors will be the only ones to play. The Isotopes postseason will start on Wednesday, while the Lookouts don't have their first playoff game until Thursday.
Minor League Transactions – LoA: Jackson Mateo was called up from Arizona and made the start for the Loons in their season finale.
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)
Minor League Central - Daily Dodger Recap