Minor Lines 4/18/2009

Fresno Grizzlies (Triple-A): Portland 4, Fresno 3

SS Kevin Frandsen - 2-4, 1 R, 1 SO, .258
2B Matt Downs - 1-2, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1 SF, .222
LF Clay Timpner - 1-3, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SO, .158
RF John Bowker - 2-4, 1 R, 1 2B (3), 1 SB (2), .324
1B Scott McClain - 1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, .233
SP Ryan Sadowski - 5 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO, 1 HR, 3.27 ERA
RP Ramon Ortiz - 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO, L (0-1), 2.57 ERA
RP Steve Palazzolo - 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 2.45

Fresno had to fight back late to tie the game against Portland but ended up losing. The Beavers got three runs in the first inning on Kyle Blanks' home run. Fresno starting pitcher Ryan Sadowski recovered after the bad inning to throw four more strong innings. Sadowski allowed two hits after the first inning. Fresno got three runs in the sixth inning. They rallied for three straight hits including John Bowker's double. Scott McClain and Clay Timpner had RBI singles in the inning. Portland's Josh Alley turned a walk into a run in the seventh inning. Alley stole second base and advanced to third base on a base hit. He scored on a wild pitch, ruining Ramon Ortiz's relief appearance. Fresno sent three batters to the plate in the home half of the ninth inning and all three struck out, including pinch hitter Jesus Guzman.

Steve Holm's .000 batting average looks bad, especially when Eli Whiteside is getting more at bats as the catcher in Fresno...Sadowski retired the side in his final inning of work...Palazzolo has allowed one run in four appearances this season. He hasn't allowed a hit since the season opening series against Portland on April 12 and he has yet to walk a batter.

Connecticut Defenders (Double-A): Trenton 5, Connecticut 2

RF Eddy Martinez-Esteve - 2-4, 1 R, 1 2B (5), 2 SO, .225
CF Mike Mooney - 1-2, 1 R, 1 3B (2), 2 BB, 1 SO, .286
2B Brock Bond - 2-3, 1 BB, 1 E (1), .364
SP Henry Sosa - 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO, 2.00 ERA
RP Dan Griffin - 2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, L (0-1), 10.13 ERA
RP Geivy Garcia - 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, 3.86 ERA

Henry Sosa pitched well but ended up without a decision in Connecticut's 5-2 loss to Trenton. Sosa was on a pitch count, a move made for all Defenders starting pitchers so far, and limited to five innings. Sosa retired the last eight batters he faced before he gave way to the bullpen. He left it to the bullpen with a 1-1 tie. Eddy Martinez-Esteve doubled in the fourth inning and came around to score on two Thunder errors to tie the game. Dan Griffin was charged with three runs in his relief appearance, but his defense let him down. One of the runs scored on an error, one of two Defenders errors in the inning. Connecticut tried to rally, capitalizing on a miscue for a run. Mike Mooney tripled and scored on ball four to Brian Bocock. While Bocock walked, the pitch skipped away. Brock Bond singled and Bobby Felmy struck out to end the inning with two runners on base. Trenton scored one more run against Geivy Garcia in the eighth inning on two hits.

Sosa has been excellent in his first two starts this season. The right-hander struggled through an ineffective 2008 season following knee surgery. In 2009 Sosa has struck out nine batters in nine innings pitched with two runs allowed...Brett Pill has hit safely in eight of ten games to start the season. He added a base hit Saturday to put his batting average at .351, best among the regular hitters...Martinez-Esteve is tied for third best in RBI in the Eastern League with 8 despite marks of .194 batting/.205 on base percentage/.389 slugging percentage, lowest in the league by far among the leaders in RBI.
 
San Jose Giants (A-Advanced): San Jose 5, Stockton 3, 11 innings

SS Brandon Crawford - 3-6, 1 R, 1 HR (3), 2 RBI, 3 SO, .455
2B Nick Noonan - 0-2, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1 S, 1 SF, 1 HBP, .294
3B Conor Gillaspie - 2-4, 1 BB, .278
1B Angel Villalona - 0-5, 1 R, 1 SO, .394
DH Michael Ambort - 2-4, 1 R, 1 2B (2), 1 SO, .281
SP Craig Clark - 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO, 1 HR, 2.00 ERA
RP Mitch Lively - 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, Hold (1), 5.40 ERA
RP Craig Whitaker - 0.2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 1 HB, Hold (2), 1.35 ERA
RP Daniel Turpen - 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO, BS (1), 0.00 ERA
RP Wilmin Rodriguez - 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, W (1-0), 1.29 ERA
RP Edwin Quirarte - 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, SV (2), 0.00 ERA

San Jose and Stockton traded zeroes until late in the game, when Stockton tied it up. San Jose got two runs from Brandon Crawford in the eleventh inning. Crawford's home run capped a big day at the plate, one of three hits. The Giants got ahead early in the third inning when the first three batters they sent to the plate got on base. Angel Villalona, Michael Ambort, and Thomas Neal all scored. Stockton scored two runs off Craig Clark on a home run in the bottom half of the third inning. From there, it was up to the bullpen to hold it down. Daniel Turpen allowed a double and then back to back walks, one intentional to load the bases to set up the force out, and one unintentional that scored the tying run for Stockton. Crawford came through in the eleventh inning, and Edwin Quirarte retired the side to earn his second save of the year.

Villalona left three runners in scoring position with two out...Quirarte hasn't allowed a run in three appearances but has only two strikeouts in three innings...Wilmin Rodriguez is a bullpen leader so far. Rodriguez has five relief appearances and is tied for the lead in trikeoits with TJ Brewer. His WHIP is better even than the five starters; at 0.71, Rodriguez's WHIP is just a shade lower than Madison Bumgarner's 0.73 mark.
 
Augusta GreenJackets (A): Savannah 18, Augusta 3

2B Juan Carlos Perez - 2-4, .250
3B Charlie Culberson - 1-3, 1 SO, .259
LF Wendell Fairley - 1-4, 1 R, 1 3B (1), 2 RBI, 1 SO, .118
SP Kelvin Marte - 3 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, L (0-1), 5.68 ERA
RP Andrew Reichard - 4 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, 1 WP, 7.88 ERA
RP Chris Wilson - 1 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO, 1 HR, 9.00 ERA

Savannah pounded Augusta for their third straight win Saturday. The Sand Gnats scored in seven of nine innings and capped the win with a six run rally in the ninth inning against GreenJackets closer Chris Wilson. Starter Kelvin Marte went only three innings, and he was one of the lucky ones. Andrew Reichard pitched in long relief and pitched similiarly to Wilson's shellacking. Augusta scored three runs in the eighth inning but it was not nearly enough. Wendell Fairley woke the offense up with an RBI triple. Fairley scored on a sacrifice fly.

Charlie Culberson made three errors in the game to push his season total to six. Culberson is repeating A ball in Augusta after a horrible start in 2008 hindered his progress. He made 35 errors in 81 games last season...Augusta lost to Savannah twice in this series prior to Saturday night, allowing a combined seven runs in the two losses and scoring only two runs in the games. Savannah goes for the series sweep and seventh win over Augusta already this season on Sunday.