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Minor League Player of the Day – Yasiel Puig (AA) - 3 for 4, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 Runs, 1 RBI, 2 SB's. It only makes sense that Puig would win this award on a day when there is so much discussion about him. Yasiel finished a homer shy of the cycle and even stole a couple of bases.
AAA – Rusty Ryal crushed a grand slam in the 6th inning and the Isotopes got a couple of important insurance runs in the 9th as Albuquerque defeated Memphis (Cardinals) 7 to 5. The Ryal granny was obviously the big hit for the Topes' offense, but a couple of other players contributed as well. Dee Gordon went 2 for 5 with a double and two runs scored in his first game back with Albuquerque, while Nick Buss drove in a pair of runs. Alex Castellanos reached base 4 times with 2 singles and 2 walks, Matt Wallach went 2 for 4 with a double, and center fielder Tony Gwynn had a single and a walk in 5 plate appearances. On the mound Red Patterson got a surprise start and fared relatively well as he struck out 6 over 4 frames while allowing 4 hits and 2 runs. Geison Aguasviva got the win despite permitting a run in two innings of work, Chris Withrow tossed a scoreless frame, and Kelvin De La Cruz gave up two runs in the 9th but recorded the save.
AA – Yasiel Puig had a big day at the plate and fellow countryman Onelki Garcia made a strong return to the mound in the Lookouts 4 - 3 victory of Mobile (Dbacks). Puig not only finished a homer shy of the cycle, but he also stole two bases and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Griff Erickson went 2 for 3 with a double and J.T. Wise drove in a run with a pair of singles. Starter Andres Santiago struck out 7 and allowed just 3 hits over 5 innings, but he also walked 3 and gave up 3 runs. Garcia, making his first appearance since April 29th, was sharp in his return to the bump as he struck out 4 over 2 innings of 1-hit ball. Jose Dominguez recorded his 4th save of the year with a scoreless 9th.
HiA – The Quakes inched closer to the .500 mark with a 5 - 2 win over the Blaze (Reds) on Thursday. Jarret Martin got with win with 6 strong innings, striking out 8 and allowed just 2 runs on 4 hits. John Michael Redding was solid out of the bullpen as he K'ed 3 over 2 scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 1.96, and Eric Eadington got his first save of the year for Rancho with a perfect 9th. At the dish Darnell Sweeney drove in two runs with a single and a double, while Pratt Maynard connected on a solo shot for his second homer of the year. Scott Schebler also had a nice game with 2 doubles, 3 runs scored, and a stolen base.
LoA – The Loons actually scored 3 runs on Thursday, but they were still held to just 2 hits as they fell to the Whitecaps (Tigers) 4 to 3. One of the two hits was a double by Leo Rodriguez, and the only RBI for Great Lakes belonged to Eric Smith who had a sacrifice fly. Their other two runs scored on errors. On the mound starter Carlos Frias threw well as he allowed just 5 hits and 2 runs over 6 frames, but Geoff Brown gave up two more runs in relief to take the loss. Craig Stem actually permitted the winning run (an inherited runner) to score so he was stuck with the blown save, but since he didn't allow an earned run himself he got his ERA down to 1.00 for the season.
Coming up – 16 year old Julio Urias is expected to make his second career start for the Loons on Friday, and Great Lakes beat writer Hugh Bernreuter will be hosting a live chat during the gameob Rasmussen will throw for the Lookouts, Duke von Schamann will get the ball for the Quakes, and Blake Johnson will be the starter for the Isotopes.
Minor League Transactions – AAA: As we all know Tim Federowicz was called up by the Dodgers, and the recently signed J.R. Towles took his spot on the roster. Stephen Fife was optioned back to Albuquerque, but probably the most interesting move is that Elian Herrera was placed on the temporarily inactive list. AA: C.J. Retherford was was released, Sean Burroughs was added to the roster, Onelki Garcia was activated from the DL, and Joel Lima was sent down to Rancho.
Albuquerque Isotopes Box Score (AAA)
Chattanooga Lookouts Box Score (AA)
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Box Score (HiA)