Sure the big-league club stunk it up last night and the club lost a Gold Glove third baseman at the trade deadline, but Halladay is still here and the triple-A affiliate had a big night with the bats... So, baseball life goes on.
Las Vegas 14 Portland 1
Adrian Martin had a nice return to Las Vegas after opening the season with the club before getting demoted to double-A. The right-hander allowed one run in 6.2 innings of work, while allowing three hits and no walks. He struck out four batters. Bill Murphy worked the final 2.1 innings and did not allow a run. Offensively, Travis Snider had a big night and looks to be getting back into the swing of things. The outfielder went 4-for-6 with four doubles and five RBI. Angel Sanchez went 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Randy 'Batters Box Fav' Ruiz had three hits, including a double, and drove in three runs. Aaron Mathews, Howie Clark, and Kevin Howard each had two hits. Mathews and Jason Lane had solo homers.
New Hampshire postponed
Palm Beach 3 Dunedin 0
The Dunedin bats have been in the funk for a few days now. Brad McElroy pulled himself out of a mini-slump with a 2-for-4 day. Moises Sierra, who may be tiring a bit as we enter the final month of the season for minor leaguers, went 2-for-3 with a double. John Tolisano was 1-for-4 with the club's only other extra base hit (another double). Kevin Ahrens and CJ Ebarb each had a hit. On the bump, Andrew Liebel fell to 4-11 after allowing two runs on four hits and four walks. He also struck out five batters. Boomer Potts allowed one run in 1.1 innings, while Trystan Magnuson worked a scoreless inning.
Kane County 12 Lansing 4
The Lugnuts were no match for this A's affiliate. Starter Chris Holguin was rocked for five runs on four hits and three walks in five innings. Ryan Koch's nightmare season continued with five runs (three earned) allowed in one inning. Jonas Cuotto allowed two runs on five hits in two innings of work. Matt Daly had a tidy ninth inning. Offensively, Johermyn Chavez' streak of quality games continued with two hits, including a triple. Brian Van Kirk went 1-for-2 with two walks and two runs scored. Antonio Jimenez had two hits, an RBI and two Ks. Justin McClanahan went 1-for-4 with a double and run scored (and two Ks). Luis Fernandez went 0-for-4 with a K and an error. Kenny Wilson was 0-for-4 with two Ks.
State College 1 Auburn 0
The Doubledays were on the losing end of this pitchers' duel. Evan Crawford did not allow a run in 4.2 innings despite allowing five walks (and three hits). Zach Anderson worked one scoreless inning, while Brian Justice allowed one run in two innings and took the loss. He also struck out four batters. Welinton Ramirez had two hits and stole a base. Yan Gomes, Kyle Gilligan, and Ryan Schimpf each had singles.
GCL Jays 5 GCL Braves 3 (8 innings - rain)
Dennis Tepera had a nice start and allowed one run in four innings of work. He allowed four hits and no walks, while striking out three. Felix Moreno struck out six, while allowing no hits and one walk in 1.2 innings of work. Evan Teague worked a scoreless inning for the save. Michael Crouse went 3-for-4 with a run scored and a double. Gustavo Pierre went 2-for-4 and continued to show above-average power for his age with his fourth homer (a grand slam). Bryson Namba went 2-for-3 with his first career homer (a solo shot). Nick Zaleski and John Roberts each had a hit.
Three Stars:
3. Michael Crouse, for a three-hit day
2. Gustavo Pierre, for his fourth homer and first career grand slam
1. Travis Snider, for four hits, including four doubles
Side Note: The two young pitchers picked up for Scott Rolen yesterday (along with Edwin Encarnacion) were indeed a nice pick-up. I have followed both extensively through my work for both Fangraphs.com and Rotoworld.com.
Here is what I wrote about Zach Stewart on July 2:
Zach Stewart:
A 2008 third-round pick out of Texas Tech, Stewart has had no problems
dominating hitters in professional baseball. His up-and-down college
career included stints in both the starting rotation and the bullpen.
His pro career has been no different; Stewart spent his debut season in
the ‘pen before moving to the rotation in 2009. He made seven starts in
both high-A and double-A before moving back to the bullpen with a
recent promotion to triple-A. That moves pretty much signifies that the
Cincinnati organization views Stewart, 22, as a prospect that can help
the club in the not-too-distant future. In double-A, the right-hander
allowed just 29 hits in 37 innings of work while posting rates of 2.43
BB/9 and 7.54 K/9. He also does a nice job of keeping balls-in-play on
the ground.
Here is a Josh Roenicke bit from June 17:
You'd think the Cincinnati Reds' minor league system would start to slow down after producing the likes of Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, and Johnny Cueto in the past few seasons, but the organization still has plenty of depth. At triple-A alone, the club has three relievers who could probably help a lot of MLB clubs right now in Josh Roenicke, Robert Manuel, and Pedro Viola. Each player in the trio was acquired by the organization through different means. Roenicke (whose brother Jason just made his season debut for the Jays' low-A affiliate) was selected in the 10th round of the 2006 draft out of UCLA. The right-hander has posted solid numbers throughout his minor league career and has 54 saves in parts of four seasons. Roenicke, 26, has the stuff (a mid-to-high-90s fastball and good cutter) to be a useful MLB middle reliever. And we'll find out soon enough. He was just recalled by the Reds last night.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20090801100349618