Dodgers 7/1/13 minor league report - Albuquerque moves into tie for 1st place

Minor League Player of the Day – Matt Angle (AAA) - 4 for 4, 1 2B, 2 RBI's, 2 Runs, 1 SB, 1 BB. Angle did it all on Monday as he reached base in all 5 plate appearances, drove in 2 runs, and scored 2 runs for the Isotopes. The 27 year old outfield is nearly hitting .300 for the season and has an OPS of .844.

AAA – The Isotopes moved into a first place tie on Monday after defeating the RedHawks (Astros) 6 to 4. Center fielder Matt Angle had the big game at the plate for Albuquerque as he went a perfect 4 for 4 with a double, a walk, and 2 RBI's. Nick Buss also drove in 2 runs, while Dee Gordon went 2 for 5 with a double, 3 runs scored, and 2 stolen bases. On the mound Aaron Laffey allowed 9 hits and 3 walks but limited the opposition to just 3 runs over 6 innings as he won his 4th game of the year. Anthony Ortega gave up a run out of the bullpen, but Red Patterson followed with magnificent relief as he struck out 5 of the 6 batters he faced over 2 perfect frames.

AA – Chattanooga starter Andres Santiago had a no-hitter through 5 innings on Monday, but he hit a wall in the 6th and the Lookouts ended up falling to the Stars (Brewers) 9 to 5. Santiago loaded the bases before leaving the game in the 6th, and they were promptly cleared once reliever Jharel Cotton permitted a double to the first batter he faced. Overall Andres gave up 4 runs, while Cotton allowed a pair. Steve Smith also struggled out of the bullpen as he gave 3 runs himself. At the plate Jonathan Garcia continued to make adjustments to AA pitching as he reached base 3 times on double and two walks while also driving in a pair. Matt Wallach also knocked in two and Joc Pederson went 1 for 5 with a double.

HiA – A 9th inning rally fell just short as the Quakes fell to the 66ers (Angels) 4 to 3 on Monday. Bladimir Franco's second hit of the game, an RBI single, brought his team to within one in the final frame and after that Rancho had the bases loaded with just one out, but a pop up by Casio Grider and a fly out by Devin Shines ended the game. Shines had taken over in left field for the rehabbing Carl Crawford who went 1 for 3 with a single and a run scored. Starter Garrett Gould fell to 2 - 7 after giving 4 hits, 3 walks,and 4 runs over five innings, and his ERA is now at 7.04. One other note is that Blake Smith made his pitching debut in this game and while he allowed the first three batters he faced to reach base on 2 hits and a walk, he got out of the jam without permitting a run and struck out a pair.

LoA – The Loons continued their recent hot streak on Monday as their 5 - 4 win against the Lugnuts (Blue Jays) was the club's 7th straight win. When you read the game story, however, you'll realize Great Lakes had no business winning this game as the other team had basically recorded a walk-off single in the 9th with 2 out and the bases loaded. However the runner on 1st joined in the celebration instead of touching 2nd, and that resulted in a force out. In extra innings pinch hitter Leo Rodriguez singled home the eventual winning run to make the opposing team look even more foolish. James Baldwin, who made the heads up play of throwing to second to get the force out, went 2 for 3 at the plate and also walked twice. Tyler Ogle reached base all 5 times on 2 singles and 3 walks, while Corey Seager went 0 for 4 but had a sacrifice fly. 2013 2nd round pick Tom Windle made the first start of his career and lasted 2.2 innings, allowing 1 run on 3 hits and 2 walks. Miguel Sulbaran then threw the next 5.1 frames and although he allowed 8 hits and 3 runs, none were earned. Finally Luis Meza recorded his 3rd save of the year.

Rookie Ogden – The Raptors started the month of July with a 2 - 1 win over Idaho Falls (Royals) on Monday. There wasn't a whole lot of offense in this one as Ogden had just 6 hits, but well timed singles by Brandon Trinkwon and Jesus Valdez plated the only two runs they needed. On the mound Francisco Villa threw 6 strong innings and allowed just 1 run on 5 hits. From there the bullpen was outstanding as Luis De Paula, Thomas Taylor, and Jacob Rhame all three a perfect inning each.

Rookie Arizona – The Arizona Dodgers got crushed by the Cubs on Monday in a 10 - 2 defeat. Rehabbing starter James Campbell got knocked around for 6 runs in the very first inning, although only 3 of the runs were earned. Abdiel Velasquez then gave up 4 more runs later in the game to put game out of reach. Between those two pitchers, however, was a magnificent performance from 17 year old Victor Gonzalez as he allowed just 3 hits over 5 shutout frames while punching out 8 to lower his ERA to 1.93. On offense James McDonald's 2-run homer in the 8th generated the only runs for the Dodgers, while Melvin Santana went 2 for 4 with a double.

DSL – The Dominican Dodgers fell 10 games under .500 on Monday in a 6 - 0 loss to the Mariners. The offense had just 5 singles in this game, and nobody had more than one hit. Starter Kevin Guzman allowed 2 runs on 6 hits over 3 frames, while reliever Miguel Urena also threw 3 innings and gave up 3 runs of his own. Not much else to talk about in this one.

Coming up – Rob Rasmussen will try to improve upon his 7.91 ERA for the Isotopes, while Duke von Schamann will take his 3.43 ERA to the mound for the Lookouts. Angel Sanchez will make his second start of the year for the Quakes, Jonathan Martinez will throw for the Raptors, and the rest of the pitchers are TBD.

Minor League Transactions – HiA: Chris O'Brien has been sent to a rehab assignment in Arizona. LoA/Rookie Ogden: Pitchers Matt Shelton and Owen Jones switched spots as Shelton moved to the Loons and Jones went to the Raptors.

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)

Arizona Dodgers Box Score (Rookie)

Dominican Dodgers Box Score (DSL)

Minor League Central - Daily Dodger Recap