Minor League Player of the Day – Theo Alexander (Rookie) - 2 for 4, 1 HR, 1 2B, 2 RBI's. Not a lot to choose from so I'm going with Alexander as he had a couple of extra base hits including his 4th homer of the season. So far Theo has shown significant improvement in 2013 when compared to his professional debut as his OPS has increased from .530 to 1.027.
AAA – After scoring 25 runs over the past two games, the Isotopes were silenced by the Bees (Angles) on Tuesday in a 2 - 0 loss. Albuquerque had just 5 hits in the defeat, with Drew Butera's double the only one that went for extra bases. Matt Palmer allowed just 2 runs over 5.2 innings and struck out 7, and from there the bullpen was great as 5 relievers combined for 3.1 scoreless innings. Included in relief work was 1.1 frames from Brian Wilson who gave up his first hit since joining the organization and struck out 1.
AA – The Chattanooga offense had another quiet day as the Lookouts fell to the Smokies (Cubs) 4 to 1. The only good news is that Joc Pedrson went 2 for 4, while Miguel Rojas drove in the only run with a double. Garrett Gould allowed just 1 run on 4 hits over 5.1 innings, striking out 6 and lowering his ERA to a respectable 3.82. The problem was that Duke von Schamann struggled out of the bullpen as he gave up 3 runs in relief with out recording an out which is how Chattanooga ended up with the loss.
HiA – In yet another slow offensive day the Quakes were shot down by the Mavericks (Mariners) 10 to 1. Darnell Sweeney tripled and was driven in by a Chris Jacobs single, but that was it for the hitting highlights in a game that featured just 3 hits from Rancho. Starter Freddie Cabrera got crushed in the loss as the gave up 11 hits and 8 runs over 5 rocky innings. Blake Smith also allowed a run in relief which increased his season ERA to 6.92.
LoA – Off day
Rookie Ogden – The Raptors showed that at least one Dodger minor league affiliate could hit as they beat the Voyagers (White Sox) 10 to 4. Justin Chigbobu started the action with a 3-run homer in the first inning, his 8th of the year, then several other hitters helped seal the win. Jesmuel Valentin went 2 for 4 with a couple of RBI's, while Hank Yates singled, tripled, and drove in a pair. Alex Santana and Joey Curletta also had multi-hit games. Starter Luis De Paula picked up the win despite allowing 7 hits and 4 walks over 5.1 frames as he limited the damage to 3 runs. Jacob Rhame tossed another shutout inning of relief to lower his ERA to 1.15, striking out the side in the process.
Rookie Arizona – Player of the day Theo Alexander helped lead the Arizona Dodgers to a 3 - 2 win over the Mariners. As mentioned above Alexander went 2 for 4 with a double and a 2-run homer which turned out to be the game winner. Griff Erickson also had 2 hits in another rehab appearance as did James McDonald. Bernardo Reyes started the game with 3 shutout innings, then Wascar Teodo got the win with 2.2 innings of relief. Jhosue Bermudez was also impressive out of the bullpen as he struck out 4 over 2.1 scoreless frames.
DSL – The Dominican Dodgers couldn't play any defense on Tuesday in a 8 - 2 loss to the Rays. The Dodgers made 7 errors in this game resulting in 6 unearned runs. Starter Osiris Ramirez gave up 4 runs (2 earned) over 2 frames, but from there a trio of relievers would have held the opposition scoreless had it not been for the sloppy defense. At the plate Ibandel Isabel had another solid game as he went 2 for 3 with a double and a RBI to increase his batting average to .331. A RBI double by Luis Rodriguez was the only other extra base hit.
Coming up – Tom Windle and Chris Reed highlight Wednesday's pitchers as they take the mound for the Loons and Lookouts, respectively. Jonathan Sanchez will throw for the Isotopes while Scott Barlow will get the ball for the Raptors.
Minor League Transactions – HiA: O'Koyea Dickson was activated from the DL while Ryan Mount was placed on the very same disabled list. LoA: Miguel Sulbaran was traded as the player to be named later in the Drew Butera deal, while Zachary Bird was promoted from Ogden to take his spot on the Great Lakes roster.
Albuquerque Isotopes Box Score (AAA)
Chattanooga Lookouts Box Score (AA)
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Box Score (HiA)
Ogden Raptors Box Score (Rookie)
Arizona Dodgers Box Score (Rookie)