minor lines, 4/17/09

Whoa....posting privileges...I feel like I have the power!!!!!  Even if it is only in the OTHER sidebar now...

Myself and the Baron will be filling in for Steve this weekend.  As usual, apologies for any stylistic differences, but I hope you guys will get the important stuff from all of us.

AAA - Fresno Grizzlies: Portland 4, Fresno 3

3B Ryan Rohlinger - 2-4, 1 2B (2), 1 RBI, 1 SO, .281

SS/2B Kevin Frandsen - 1-4, 1 R, 1 HR (1), 1 RBI, .222

CF Mike McBryde - 1-4, 1 R, 1 SO, 1 SB (6), .273

RF John Bowker - 1-4, 1 SO, .300

SP Billy Sadler - 3.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 SO, 3.86 ERA

RP Felix Romero - 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 4.05 ERA
RP Keiichi Yabu - 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 4.76 ERA
RP Geno Espineli - 0.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 4.91 ERA, L (0-2)

Fresno couldn't quite turn their late game-tying rally into a game-winning one.  Portland took an early 3-0 lead, but in the seventh, Frandsen homered to lead off the inning, and Rohlinger had an RBI single later in the inning to make it 3-2.  In the Fresno 8th, Jesus Guzman had a sacrifice fly to score McBryde and tie the game.  However, in the 9th inning, Espineli gave up a one-out double and single for the walk-off win for the Beavers.

Grizzlies Manager Dan Rohn was ejected in the third inning, arguing after Sadler walked in the third run for the Beavers...Rohlinger, with two doubles in nine hits, is now slugging .438 on the season...Frandsen is now 5 for 16 over his last four games, though the home run is the first hit for extra bases in that span...McBryde now has six steals in six attempts this season.  Has has drawn just one walk all season (33 at-bats)...Sadler has walked three and struck out five in each of his first two starts (the first start went four innings)...Espineli has appeared in a team-high five games this season, but that is just for a total of 3 2/3 innings pitched.

AA - Connecticut Defenders: Trenton 5, Connecticut 4 (10 Innings)

1B Brett Pill - 3-3, 2 R, 1 2B (5), 2 BB, .364

C Jackson Williams - 1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SO, .250

SS Brian Bocock - 1-2, 1 RBI,  1 BB, .200

CF Mike Mooney - 0-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 HBP, .269

SP Jesse Foppert - 3.0 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 1 SO, 8.44 ERA

RP Ben Snyder - 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 SO, 0.00 ERA

RP Jesse English - 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1 WP, 1.23 ERA, L (1-1)

Connecticut played this one tight, but could not get it done.  Down 4-3 in the 7th inning, Williams drew a leadoff walk, and took second on a sacrifice bunt by Bocock.  He would score the game-tying run on a Graham single.  But in the 10th inning, a one-out walk followed by a two-out single put runners on the corners, and English threw a wild pitch to let the winning run in.

Pill raised his average from .300 to .364 with his 3-for-3 day.  He did not have a double since having hit his fourth of the season on April 11th, the season's third day...Williams broke a mini-slump after going 0-for-5 over his last two games.  He has not had more than one hit in any game, and today was his first RBI of the season...Bocock had been 0-for-11 in his last three games.  He has four walks against five strikeouts in 30 at-bats...Foppert has six walks against five strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings so far this season...Snyder's bullpen move continues, but he had his first walkless game of the season.  He has 11 strikeouts and five walks in 9 1/3 innings...English's run allowed is his first in three relief appearances.

High-A - San Jose Giants - Stockton 9, San Jose 8

DH Buster Posey - 3-5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 SO, .471
2B Nick Noonan - 3-4, 2 R, 1 2B (1), 1 SO, 1 HBP, 1 PO, .313

RF Roger Kieschnick - 3-5, 1 RBI, 2 SO, .303

3B Conor Gillaspie - 2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, .250

1B Angel Villalona - 2-5, 1 R, 2 RBI, .464

SP Scott Barnes - 4.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO, 1 HR, 4.00 ERA, L (1-1)
RP David Mixon - 1.0 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 1 HR, 6.75 ERA

RP Adam Cowart - 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 3.86 ERA
RP Wilmin Rodriguez - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 1.50 ERA

San Jose spotted Stockton a lot of runs early, and made a late comeback fall short.  Stockton took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth with a three-run home run, and after San Jose tied it in the top of the fifth, a grand slam given up by Mixon highlighted a five-run inning that made it 8-3.  However, in the 8th, leadoff back-to-back singles by Gillaspie and Villalona led to a two-run inning.  Down 9-6 in the 9th, Vladimir Frias singled and Noonan doubled to lead off the inning, and a one-out walk by Gillaspie loaded the bases.  A ground out by Villalona made it 9-7, and a Kieschnick single made it 9-8, but San Jose's rally would end there.

Posey continues his hot hitting, now on a seven-game hitting streak, matching Brandon Crawford's to start the season...Crawford, a day after having his streak broken, got the day off...Kieschnick has two 3-hit games, but still has yet to get an extra-base hit (eight games, 33 at-bats)...Villalona has had two hits in each of the last four games...Gillaspie is batting just 3-for-18 in his last five games...Noonan's double is his first of the season.  He already has a triple and a home run...Barnes had allowed a combined 10 earned runs in 43 2/3 innings last season, and now has four in this season (nine innings)...Cowart bounced back from his rough second outing of the year, when he allowed three earned runs in three innings.

Low-A - Augusta GreenJackets - Savannah 4, Augusta 1

RF Josh Mazzola - 2-4, 1 2B (2), 1 RBI, 1 SO, .250
1B C.J. Ziegler - 2-4, .303, 1 CS (1)
3B Charlie Culberson - 0-4, 1 BB, 3 SO, 1 E (3), .226

SP Ari Ronick - 4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 SO, 1 WP, 5.63 ERA

RP Trey Webb - 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 S), 0.00 ERA

RP Justin Fitzgerald - 2.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO, 1 HR, 5.79 ERA, L (0-1)

Augusta took a brief lead, but could not do anything with it.  In the first inning, a walk followed by two singles had a run scoring on a Mazzola knock.  But after Ziegler was caught stealing home, that ended the threat, and left Augusta with just a 1-0 lead.  However, a leadoff double in the second led to the game being tied on Ronick's wild pitch.  In the seventh, new pitcher Fitgerald gave up a walk and a one-out single ahead of a three-run homer to lose the game.

Ronick had a much better second start, giving up just one run after giving up four  in four innings in his first start...Webb, 27, continues his unlikely push in a conversion to pitcher.  He now has three games (4 IP) without allowing a run or walk...Fitzgerald's ome run allowed is just the second of his career, now totalling 25 2/3 innings...Mazzola is now batting 6-for-16 in his last four games after starting the season 0-for-8...Ziegler continues to be the GreenJackets most consistent presence.  Of his eight games played, he has three multi-hit games...Culberson starting the season 6-for-17, but has gone 1-for-14 since.  He has nine strikeouts in 31 at-bats.