Minor League Player of the Day – Jose De Leon (Rookie) - 5 IP, 0 Runs, 0 Walks, 3 hits, 10 K's. Jose beat out a couple of big offense performances for this award after he came out of nowhere to throw a gem in Arizona. The 24th round pick in the 2013 draft has been average at best over the first month and a half of his big league career, so this great outing was really a surprise.
AAA – The Isotopes were dropped by the Rainiers (Mariners) 6 to 2 on Thursday after Tacoma scored 4 runs in the 7th. All four of those runs came against Rob Rasmussen, who was making just his second relief appearance with the club and has now seen his record fall to 0 - 7. Matt Palmer, on the other hand, started the game and threw relatively well as he gave up just 2 runs on 4 hits over 6 frames. At the -plate Alex Castellanos had a big night as he went 2 for 4 with a double and his 17th homer of the year, but even with the multi-hit game his average is still just .256 for the season as he has been in a long slump. Tony Gwynn Jr. also had a couple of hits including a triple.
AA – The Lookouts continued to struggle at the plate, but they still managed to snap their 11 game losing streak with a 2 - 1 win over the Stars (Brewers). Chattanooga was held scoreless through 8 innings, but in the bottom of the 9th they managed to tie up the game on a RBI single by Brian Cavazos-Galvez. From their bullpen did great work until the 13th when Jeremy Moore crushed a walk-off homer. Speaking of pitching, starter Carlos Frias threw very well in his second AA start as he allowed just 1 run over 5 innings. After that Onelki Garcia, Yimi Garcia (5 K's), Hector Nelo, and Duke von Schamann all tossed 2 shutout frames each which allowed for the late inning heroics.
HiA – The Quakes put a beating on the Storm (Padres) with a 11 - 5 victory on Thursday. Scott Schebler did most of the damage in this one as he went 3 for 4 with his 25th homer of the season, a double, and 5 RBI's. Noel Cuevas also put on a show as he had 4 hits in 5 at bats including a pair of doubles, while Chris Jacobs went yard for the second game in a row. Not to be left out was Corey Seager who connected on his first homer since joining Rancho, a long shot to center field (estimated at 440 feet). On the mound Jon Michael Redding struck out 7 in 5 innings, but he also walked 5 and allowed 4 runs. Eric Eadington got the win in relief with 2 hitless frames.
LoA – The Loons used a 5 run 4th to race past the Hot Rods (Rays) 7 to 4. A 3-run homer by Devin Shines was the centerpiece of the big 4th inning, and the other two runs scored on doubles by Brandon Dixon and Jeremy Rathjen. On the bump Tom Windle improved to 4 - 0 by allowing 2 runs (1 earned) in 5 innings of work, striking out 5 along the way. Rob Rogers also struck out 5 in just 2.1 frames while Owen Jones picked up his first Loons' save with a perfect 9th.
Rookie Ogden – The Raptors moved into a tie for first place with a 7 - 4 win over the Owlz (Angels). Starter Scott Barlow had one of his better starts as he allowed just 1 earned run over 6 innings of work, striking out 6 without walking a batter. Sawil Gonzalez was solid in relief and so was closer Jacob Rhame who recorded his league leading 8th save. At the plate Justin Chigbogu hit his 7th homer of the season and improved his average to .304, while Hank Yates went 3 for 5 with a triple and a RBI.
Rookie Arizona – The Arizona Dodgers cruised to a 9 - 1 victory over the Rangers on Thursday. Starter Jose De Leon was dynamite on the mound as he allowed just 3 hits over 5 shutout innings and struck out 10. A quartet of relievers then finished out the game with only Jhose Bermudez giving up a run. At the plate another Leon, 17 year old Julian Leon, connected on a 2-run homer while the rehabbing Griff Erickson also took one deep. Josmar Cordero went 2 for 3 with a double and a RBI and Melvin Santana also doubled and knocked in a pair.
DSL – The Dominican Dodgers and the Royals were suspended due to rain after two and a half innings with the scored tied at 0.
Coming up – Jonathan Sanchez takes the mound for the Isotopes while Chris Reed will throw for the Lookouts. Geison Aguasviva gets the ball for the Quakes, Miguel Sulbaran will toe the rubber for the Loons, and Francisco Villa gets the call for 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)