Minor League Player of the Day – Jharel Cotton (LoA) - 6 IP 0 runs, 3 hits, 1 walks, 5 K's. Cotton barely beat out Chris Reed for the minor league player of the day award and only won the prize since he had a few more K's. Cotton has been impressive for most of his starts this season and should be a prospect to keep tabs on throughout 2013 .
AAA – The Isotopes went on a hitting barrage in Nashville on Friday as Albuquerque defeated the Sounds (Brewers) 10 to 7. The Topes had 16 hits in this one and were led by Justin Sellers who went 4 for 5 with a pair of doubles and 3 RBI's. Nick Buss had just 1 hit (a homer) but also drove in 3, while Tim Federowicz went 2 for 4 with a couple of 2-baggers and two walks. Starter Angel Castro picked up the win in this game after he allowed just 6 hits and 2 runs (3 earned) in 6 innings of work. Kelvin De La Cruz tried to give the game away as he gave up 4 runs in relief, but Peter Moylan made sure that didn't happen as he got the final 6 outs for his second save of the year.
AA – With Ned Colletti in attendance the Lookouts had one of their best pitching performances of the year as Chattanooga blanked Pensacola (Reds) 1 to 0. Chris Reed started this game and was very impressive as he allowed just 2 hits and a walk over 5 innings in one of his best outings of the year. Rob Rasmussen, who was throwing in relief solely because Colletti wanted to watch him pitch during his road trip, got the win out of the bullpen after giving up just 1 hit in two frames. Yimi Garcia and Jose Dominguez both threw a perfect inning of relief and stuck out two batters each. At the plate Rafael Ynoa had the most impressive offensive performance of the day as he went 3 for 4 with a double. Joc Pederson drove in the only run of the game with a single, while Yasiel Puig went 0 for 3 with a walk.
HiA – The Quakes fell below .500 on Friday after a 4 - 2 loss to the Rawhide (Dbacks). Jonathan Garcia went 2 for 4 and hit his 9th homer of the year which ranks as 4th best in the California League, but that was about it for the offensive hightlights. Noel Cuevas and Pratt Maynard both doubled for the only other extra base hits in this one. On the mound Lindsey Caughel allowed 10 hits and 4 runs over 6 innings of work, and although he didn't have a lot of success he did strike out 9. A pair of relievers got the final 9 outs of the game in his loss, including a couple of shutout innings from Daniel Coulombe.
LoA Game 1 – After starting the season in a horrible slump, the Loons are finally starting to come together as they blanked the Hot Rods (Rays) 4 - 0 on Friday for their 4th win in a row. Starter Jharel Cotton had it going on in this game as he allowed just 3 hits over 6 scoreless frames for his 2nd win of the year, striking out 5 and walking just 1 in the process. The bullpen was only required to get 3 outs in this 7-inning game, and Scott Griggs was able to get the job done as he struck out the side to give him 30 K's in 16.2 frames for the season. Despite the win Great Lakes didn't do much at the plate as they managed just 4 singles, although they were aided by 5 walks and a wild pitch. Jeremy Rathjen went 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored while Devin Shines had the only RBI hit of the game.
LoA Game 2 – The Loons' winning streak was halted at ended at 4 on Friday as Great Lakes lost to Bowling Green (Rays) 4 to 2 in the teams' nightcap. The two teams combined for just 7 hits in this game, with Jesmuel Valentin's double accounting for the good guy's only extra base hit in this one. Catcher Dashenko Ricardo recorded both RBI's in this game as his 2-run single in the first inning was the offensive highlight for the Loons. On the mound starter Zach Bird couldn't make it out of the 2nd inning as he allowed 3 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs over 1.1 frames, allowing 2 runs in the process. Arismendy Ozoria struck out 5 over 2.1 innings despite losing his 3rd game of the season, while Joel Lima did not allow hit in his 2.1 frames but didn't get any credit since his team lost the game.
Coming up – The Isotopes starter for Saturday is TBD, but the rest of the pitchers have been planned out. Andres Santiago takes the mound for the Lookouts, Jarret Martin throws for the Quakes, and Carlos Frias gets the call for the Loons.
Albuquerque Isotopes Box Score (AAA)
Chattanooga Lookouts Box Score (AA)
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Box Score (HiA)
Great Lakes Loons Box Score - Game 1 (LoA)