Minor League Player of the Day – Julio Urias (LoA) - 6 IP, 2 hits, 0 walks, 0 runs, 8 K's. Urias continued his impressive run on Wednesday as he dominated in his best performance to date. He might just be the best 16 year old pitcher around right now.
AAA – The Isotopes put on a late rally on Wednesday, but their comeback just fell short as Albuquerque fell to Oklahoma City (Astros) 10 to 9. The Topes fell behind extremely early in this game as starter Blake Johnson allowed 6 runs in the first inning while recording just one out. Geison Aguasviva permitted the next 3 runs to score over the next few frames, but after that the Albuquerque bullpen was excellent. At the dish Dee Gordon extended his hot streak as he went 3 for 5 with a double and 2 runs scored, while Brian Barten had 3 hits including a double. Alex Castellanos went 2 for 5 but is hitting just .243 over his last 10 games.
AA – The Lookouts were two outs away from being no-hit on Wednesday in their 2 - 0 loss to the Stars (Brewers). Rafael Ynoa's single in the 9th is what broke up the no-no, but that turned out to be the only hit of the game for Chattanooga. On the mound Ross Stripling threw just one inning in what appeared to be a scheduled shortened start, then Steve Smith took over and allowed just 1 hits (a solo homer) over the next 4 frames. Greg Infante finished up and struck out 5 over the final 3 innings while giving up the final run of the game.
HiA – The Quakes couldn't get much going at the plate as they fell to the 66ers (Angels) 5 to 2. Carl Crawford had a single and a walk in his final rehab game and Noel Cuevas went 2 for 3 with a homer and 2 RBI's, but that was about it for the offensive highlights. Starter Carlos Frias lasted 7 innings but gave up 4 runs on 8 hits, striking out 6 along the way. Reliever Daniel Coulombe was solid in his inning of work as he struck out 2 without allowing a hit.
LoA – The Loons continued their second half domination on Wednesday as they moved to 11 and 3 since the All Star break with a 8 - 0 win of the Whitecaps (Tigers). As mentioned above starter Julio Urias was just filthy in this game as he allowed just 2 hits over 6 scoreless innings while striking out 8. Owen Jones was also very good in relief as he struck out 5 over 2 frames while lowering his ERA to 0.77, then Craig Stem got the final 3 outs to preserve the shutout. At the plate Corey Seager drove in 4 runs with a homer and a single, and he also walked to finish the game 2 for 3. Jeremy Rathjen also had a couple of hits as he doubled and tripled, while James Baldwin also had a 3-bagger in this one.
Rookie Ogden – The Raptors and Rockies went back and forth on Wednesday, but Ogden finally put the game away with 2 runs in the 11th for a 10 - 8 victory. Catcher Spencer Navin was the one who provided the game winning hit in the final frame as his 2-run double plated the much needed runs. Alex Santana had a big game as he went 2 for 5 with a triple, a homer, and 4 RBI's, while Jesus Valdez knocked in a pair with a 3 for 6 effort. Starter Victor Araujo allowed 5 runs on 7 hits over 5.1 innings, but he also struck out 7. Sawil Gonzalez picked up the win in relief and did not allow a hit over 1.1 innings, then Jacob Rhame struck out all 3 hitters he faced in the bottom of the 11th to record his 2nd save.
Rookie Arizona – The Arizona Dodgers rallied for 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th to take a late lead, but that was short lived as they gave up 2 runs in the top of the 9th and fell to the Rangers 4 to 3. 2013 4th round pick Cody Bellinger went 3 for 4 with a double, and he is the one who drove in both 8th inning runs. Josh Henderson had the only other noteworthy game at the plate as he recorded two doubles to raise his average to .310. 2013 5th round pick J.D. Underwood allowed just 3 hits over 4 frames and struck out 6, but he also permitted a couple of runs. Nelson Sandoval threw 3 shutout innings of relief, then Lenix Osuna was the one that gave up both 9th inning runs on a two-run bomb.
DSL – The Dominican Dodgers continued their season long struggle in a 2 - 0 loss to the Red Sox. The offense had just 2 hits in this one, with one of them being a RBI single by Luis Paz. 18 year old starter Oscar Cruz tossed 3 hitless frames, and for the season he has now allowed just one hit and no runs over 10 innings. Hector Rodriguez was also very good in relief as he permitted just 1 hit over 3.2 innings, but Elou Jean struggled and gave up 3 hits and 2 runs without recording an out.
Coming up – Zach Lee will highlight the pitching match ups on the 4th of July as he will throw for the Lookouts as the rest of the scheduled pitchers are much less interesting. Matt Palmer throws for the Isotopes, Gustavo Gomez gets the ball for the Quakes, and Geoff Brown will be on the mound for the Loons.
Minor League Transactions – HiA: 2013 18th round pick James McDonald was promoted to Rancho from Arizona, while Scott Wingo was sent back to Arizona to presumably work on his game. Rookie: Justin Chigbogu was promoted to Ogden from Arizona, and he actually switched places with middle infielder Faustino Oguisten.
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)