Minor League Player of the Day – Zach Bird (LoA) - 6 IP, 0 runs, 3 hits, 6 K's. After a few days of down performances Wednesday provided plenty of players to choose from for player of the day, and I went with Bird after he finally put together a solid start for the Loons. After struggling in LoA to start the season and then not having much success after a demotion to the Raptors, Zach finally showed off his good stuff with 6 innings of shutout baseball.
AAA – The Isotopes finally won on Wednesday, silencing the Sounds (Brewers) 5 to 3. Starter Matt Magill picked up the victory after he allowed 8 hits and 3 runs over 6 frames, but the big news as the he struck out 9 and walked only 1. Onelki Garcia followed with 2 hitless innings of relief during which he struck out 5, then Javy Guerra rebounded from Tuesday's loss to record his 9th save. At the plate Matt Angle went 2 for 3 with a double and drove in a run, while Alex Castellanos singled and knocked home a pair. Catcher Drew Butera also had 2 RBI's thanks to a double and a triple.
AA – The Lookouts won again on Wednesday, this time eclipsing the Suns (Marlins) 3 to 1. Starter Rob Rasmussen had a very solid start for Chattanooga as he scattered just 2 hits over 6 innings. The win went to Pedro Baez, however, after he tossed two perfect frames and his offense pushed across 3 runs in the 8th. One of those runs came on a pinch-hit homer from Angelo Songco, while the other two scores came on a wild pitch and a sac fly. Joc Pederson went 1 for 4 and stole his 30th base of the season.
HiA – After falling behind 11 to 3 after 4 innings, the Quakes rallied all the way back and took a 14 - 11 lead, only to see the Mavericks tie the game back up in the bottom of the 9th. As of the time of this post, the game was still going in extra innings (Update: The Quakes eventually won 18 to 16 in 13 innings). The offensive stars so far have been Pratt Maynard, who went 4 for 5 with a double, and Noel Cuevas who was 4 for 8 with a homer and 3 RBI's. O'Koyea Dickson and Darnell Sweeney also had homers in this game, while Corey Seager was 1 for 7 with a double and 4 strikeouts. Things got off to a rocky start for Rancho pitching as Geison Aguasviva allowed 5 runs, then Eric Eadington gave up 6 more in the Mavericks' 9-run 4th. After a few solid innings from a couple of other relievers, Craig Stem was the one who was charged with all the runs in the 9th in the High Desert comeback.
LoA – Zach Bird threw a great game for Great Lakes in their 2 - 1 victory over the Lugnuts (Blue Jays). Bird tossed 6 shutout innings to capture the win, allowing just 2 hits, striking out 6, and walking one. Luis Meza was perfect over the next two frames, and even though Owen Jones gave up a run in the 9th he recorded the save. At the dish the Loons had just 6 hits, but 4 of those went for extra bases including a RBI double by Webster Rivas. Robbie Garvey and Jeremy Rathjen also had two baggers, while Brandon Trinkwon connected on a triple.
Rookie Ogden – The Raptors lost a heart-breaker on Wednesday, falling to the Voyagers (White Sox) 5 - 4 in walk-off fashion. The normally reliable Jacob Rhame was the one who ran into trouble while trying to protect the late lead as he allowed 2 hits and 2 walks in the bottom of the 9th to blow the save and the game. That wasted a solid effort from Francisco Villa who limited Great Falls to just one earned run over 6 innings despite giving up 9 hits and 3 walks. Joey Curletta had a solid night at the dish as he went 2 for 4 with a double and 2 RBI's, while Jacob Scavuzzo had two single and scored twice.
Rookie Arizona – The Arizona Dodgers also lost on a walk-off on Wednesday, 4 - 3 to the Indians. This one ended on a wild pitch from Bladimir Franco who had already allowed two hits in the inning in a rough outing. Similar to the Ogden game, this wild finish over-shadowed a fine start from Victor Arano as he permitted just 2 hits and 1 run over 5 frames. The Dodger offense wasn't all that exciting as Theo Alexander had the only extra base hit for the Blue and for the night went 2 for 4 with a RBI.
DSL – The Dominican Dodgers continued their losing ways as they were shutout by the Red Sox 1 to 0. All the offense could do was scatter 4 singles in this one, however the pitching was very good in the defeat. Starter Kevin Guzman took the loss but allowed just 1 run over 4 frames, while Jose Escudero followed with 3 innings of no-hit ball.
Coming up – Everyone plays again on Thursday, with the most notable pitcher being the now 17 year old Julio Urias throwing for the Loons. The other scheduled starters are Ross Stripling for the Lookouts, Red Patterson for the Isotopes, and Victor Araujo for the Raptors.
Minor League Transactions – AAA: Rusty Ryal was placed on the DL with a strained left calf. AA: Elevys Gonzalez was put on the DL while Osvaldo Martinez was activated.
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)