minor lines, 8/20/08

AAA: Fresno lost to Sacramento 6-5

Fresno: 2B Travis Denker: 2 for 3, HR, 2B, 2 BB
Fresno: 3B Scott McClain: 1 for 3, HR, 2 BB, IBB, SO
Fresno: DH Brett Harper: 1 for 4, HR

Fresno: RHP Brad Hennessey: 7.1 IP, 10 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
Fresno: RHP Osiris Matos: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 K
Sacramento: LHP Lenny DiNardo: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 2 K--1 HR

Denker had a big game, reaching base four times.  He connected for his 5th PCL HR, while McClain and Harper had their 27th and 17th HRs of the season.  Denker is now hitting .273/.372/.453 in 172 PCL AB.

Hennessey had his third straight start pitching into the 8th inning.  He improved his ERA to 5.03, although his BAA rose above .300.  Making his fourth PCL appearance, Matos lowered his ERA in the minors this year to 1.02.  The A's DiNardo, who like Hennessey spent all of last season in the majors, now has in the PCL this year an ERA of 4.43 and a BAA of .318.

AA: Connecticut lost to Akron 9-6
(after trailing 9-2 after seven innings)

Connecticut: DH Adam Witter: 2 for 3, 2B, BB, SO, PO
Connecticut: RF Carlos Sosa: 3 for 4, 2B, SO
Akron: RF Stephen Head: 3 for 4, 3 HR, BB

Connecticut: LHP Ben Snyder: 5.0 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 2 K--2 HR
Connecticut: RHP Steven Palazzolo: 2.0 IP, 2 BB

Witter and Sosa each reached base three times for the Defenders, including their 16th and 22nd doubles, respectively.  Every hitter in the Defenders lineup had at least one hit.  Head, the Indians second round pick three years ago, had his biggest game of the season.  Going deep for his 11th, 12th and 13th HRs of the season, he improved his line to .298/.336/.480 in 369 AB.

Snyder, whose older brother played for Akron the past couple seasons, saw his ERA rise to a devilish 6.66.  Palazzolo made his third relief appearance since returning to the Defenders, walking two of the seven batters he faced.  His BB/IP ratio is just shy 0.75.

A+: San Jose lost to Rancho Cucamonga 5-1

San Jose: 2B Brad Boyer: 1 for 5, HR, SO
San Jose: C Jackson Williams: 2 for 4, SO
Rancho Cucamonga: LF-CF Peter Bourjos: 0 for 4, 3 SO

San Jose: LHP Jesse English: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 8 K--1 HR, 1 WP

Boyer connected for his 3rd HR in his last four games, his 5th HR in his last eleven games and his 7th HR of the season.  Williams, one of three Giants with two hits, raised his AVG above .250.  Bourjos, who began the year ranked among the Angels' top ten prospects, had the oh-fer with the hat trick.  His SO/AB remains below 20%, but unfortunately for him, his OBP also remains below .330.

Although English has an ERA of 4.50 in the second half, this was just the second time in his last ten starts that he has allowed more than 3 ER in a start.  He did raise his K/IP for the season to above 1.00.

A-: Augusta lost to Kannapolis 3-1

Augusta: 2B Nick Noonan: 1 for 2, 2 BB, SO, CS
Augusta: RF Garrett Baker: 2 for 4, 2 SO
Kannapolis: SS Gordon Beckham: 2 for 4, 2B, SO

Augusta: RHP Oliver Odle: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K--1 HB
Kannapolis: RHP Miguel Socolovich: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K--1 WP

Baker, the lone GreenJacket with two hits, had his third multi-hit line in his last four games.  Noonan, not exactly noted for his patience at the plate, has drawn four of his twenty walks this season in his last three games.  Beckham, whom the White Sox selected 8th overall, is off to a hot start in his pro career, batting 10 for 19 with 3 XBH through his first five pro games.

The consistent Odle has pitched at least five full innings in his last ten starts.  The late round pick from a year ago has a 3.94 ERA in 128.0 IP in his first full pro season.  The White Sox' 22-year-old Socolovich had perhaps the best start of his season, but his ERA remains above 4.50.

ssA: Salem-Keizer defeated Everett 2-1 (10 innings)

Salem-Keizer: CF Caleb Curry: 0 for 5, 4 SO
Salem-Keizer: SS Wladimir Frias: 3 for 5, 3B, SO
Salem-Keizer: DH Conor Gillaspie: 2 for 5, GiDP, SB, PO
Salem-Keizer: 1B Mike Loberg: 0 for 5, 4 SO
Salem-Keizer: 3B Jose Flores: 4 for 5, SO

Salem-Keizer: RHP Andrew Reichard: 5.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 11 K--1 HB
Salem-Keizer: RHP Justin Fitzgerald: 1.2 IP, 1 BB, 4 K--1 WP
Everett: RHP Ken Kasparek: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K

Flores, Frias and Gillaspie combined for nine of the Volcanoes' dozen hits, raising their respective AVGs to .293, .248 and .211.  Curry and Loberg, the Volcanoes' leading hitter, both suffered the oh-fer with the sombrero.  Curry has a SO/AB of almost 25%, and Loberg is over that threshold.  The AquaSox had another hitter with a sombrero, plus three more with a hat trick, in a game that included a rain delay of an hour and a quarter.

Reichard obviously had the best start of his pro career, including a career-high 11 K.  His previous high was 7 K in his last start in July, and he had only 8 K combined in his three starts in between.  Fitzgerald, the eleventh round selection earlier this year who had had only 6 K total in his previous nine NWL appearances, also set a career high with 4 K.  Kasparek, the Mariners' twelfth round pick this summer, struck out seven of the ten batters he faced.

R: Giants had their regularly scheduled off-day (every fifth day)
(They have one off-day remaining, with a doubleheader the day before to complete their suspended game from a week ago.  With those nine games remaining, they have a 1.5 game lead for the second-half division title.)

DSL: Giants lost to Yankees #1 12-7

Dominican: C Rey Duran: 1 for 3, HR, HBP, SB
Domincan: RHP Argenis Sanchez: 5.1 IP, 10 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 1 K--2 WP

Duran (19.0 y.o), who appears to be a backup catcher given the 110 AB in pro career over two seasons, connected for his 2nd HR this year.  Sanchez (18.9 y.o.), who had not allowed more than 3 ER in any of his previous nine starts, saw his ERA rise to 3.57.