Minor League Player of the Day – Aaron Miller (AA) - 4.1 IP, 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 8 K's. Miller has made the most out of his new long reliever role, but his performance on Wednesday was his best by far as he picked up the slack for his struggling starter by throwing 4.1 effective and efficient innings. The 8 strikeouts give him a season K/9 of almost 11, and opposing batters are hitting just .171 against him.
AAA – Off day
AA – The Lookouts were involved in a wild game on Wednesday, but unfortunately they were on the wrong side of a walk-off as Chattanooga fell to the Suns (Marlins) 12 to 9. The most interesting part of this contest was that the score was actually tied at 5 after 8 innings, but in the 9th there were an incredible 11 runs scored. The Lookouts probably thought they had the game wrapped up after they plated 4 runs in the top half of the inning thanks to a 3-run homer Miguel Rojas and a solo shot by Blake Smith, but low and behold the Suns responded with 7, including a walk-off 3 run homer. Prior to the 9th Joc Pederson had already extended his hitting streak to 17 games, while J.T. Wise had gone 2 for 5 with a double. On the mound was a mixture of good and bad as starter Onelki Garcia couldn't find the plate and walked 5 in 2.2 frames which resulted in 3 runs, but then Aaron Miller came in to dominate. Miller punched out 8 batters in 4.1 innings of relief and allowed just 2 hits, giving the team a big lift. Unfortunately the rest of the bullpen had a rough night as Eric Eadington couldn't get anyone out in the 8th, and then Ryan Acosta allowed 4 of the 5 hitters he faced to reach base in the 9th. Greg Infante tried to close the door, but he failed miserably as he walked in a run, gave up a 2-run double, then served up the big fly that ended the game.
HiA – The Quakes game on Wednesday was the opposite of the wild AA contest I just described as Rancho fell to the 66ers (Angels) 2 to 1. Neither side provided much offense in this one, although Scott Schebler crushed his 3rd homer of the year and Jonathan Garcia connected on a couple of doubles to increase his average to .290. Quakes starter Ross Stripling was very solid in his 6 innings of work as he fanned 6 batters and allowed just 1 run on 3 hits. He left with the game tied, and while James Campbell picked up the loss in relief, it wasn't his fault as the winning run scored on a fielding error by Darnell Sweeney (his 11th miscue of the season).
LoA Game 1 – The Loons put on an offensive show in the first game of their double header on Wednesday as Great Lakes blasted the Silver Hawks (Dbacks) 13 to 7. Eight of the nine batters in the Loons' lineup had at least one hit in this game, and the team as a whole also walked 13 times despite playing just 7 innings. Tyler Ogle received two of those walks and also had the big hit as he crushed a 3-run homer. That was the only extra base hit for Great Lakes, but Jesus Valdez drove in two with a pair of singles and Corey Seager also had a couple of base knocks and scored twice. Jeremy Rathjen had a nice game as well as he reached base 4 times, stole 2 bases, and scored 3 runs. On the mound starter Jonathan Garcia got hit around a bit as he allowed 6 hits and 4 runs in just 3 innings. His piggy back partner Miguel Sulbaran also gave up a decent number of runs (3 in 4 frames), but he was able to strike out 7 in the process.
LoA Game 2 – The second game of the Loons' double header was a much quieter affair as Great Lakes fell to South Bend (Dbacks) 2 to 1. There were just 8 total hits in this 8 inning game, and the Loons actually combined to throw a 3-hitter in the loss. Lindsay Caughel had another strong performance as he allowed just 2 hits and a run over 5 innings while striking out 6, then Luis Meza followed with a scoreless frame. Closer Scott Griggs got through the 7th without issue to send the shortened game into extra innings, but his wildness caught up to him in the 8th as he walked the bases loaded then threw a wild pitch which allowed in the winning run to score. At the dish there isn't much to talk about as Great Lakes went 0 for 11 with runners in scoring position. Paul Hoenecke's double was the only extra base hit.
Coming up – All four teams will be playing on Thursday, but only a couple of starters have been announced. Jarrett Martin will get the ball for the Quakes, while Angel Sanchez will throw for the Loons.
Chattanooga Lookouts Box Score (AA)
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Box Score (HiA)
Great Lakes Loons Box Score - Game 1 (LoA)