minor lines, 5/18/09

Highlights: (a) Buster Posey hits his 1st HR this month; (b) Jesus Guzman has second straight three-hit game; (c) Kyle Nicholson pitched a complete game shutout (7 innings).

AAA: Fresno lost to Albuquerque 12-9
(falling behind 10-2 after three innings)

Fresno: CF Andres Torres: 1 for 3, 3B, 2 SO
Fresno: RF John Bowker: 2 for 5, 2B, BB, 2 SO, E
Fresno: 1B Jesus Guzman: 3 for 5, 2B, E
Fresno: PH-CF Tyler Graham: 3 for 3
Albuquerque: CF Jamie Hoffman: 2 for 6, HR, SO

Fresno: RHP Billy Sadler: 2.2 IP, 8 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 3 BB, 2 K--1 HR, 1 WP
Fresno: RHP Sergio Romo: 1.0 IP, 1 K
Albuquerque: RHP James McDonald: 2.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Albuquerque: LHP Brian Mazone: 1.0+ IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
Albuquerque: LHP Erick Threets: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER

Guzman and Graham, the latter who didn't enter the game until the 6th inning, both had three hits, raising their respective AVGs to .362 and .282.  Bowker also reached base three times, helping to keep his OBP comfortably above .425.  Guzman committed his 2nd error, while Bowker committed his 3rd error.  After three rehab appearances with San Jose, Torres made his first rehab appearance with Fresno.  Hoffman, whom BA ranked among the Dodgers' top 30 prospects, homered for the second consecutive night.

Sadler had his worst start of the year.  The 2.2 IP and 2 K both were season lows, while the 8 H and 9 ER were both season highs.  Romo, who had two rehab appearances with San Jose, made his first rehab appearance with Fresno.  McDonald, who bagan the season ranked the Dodgers' #2 prospect, made his first minor league appearance of the season after being optioned to the minors last week.  Two former Giants farmhands, Mazone and Threets, combined to allow 6 ER in the 8th inning.  Somehow Threets was credited with a hold, despite allowing all three inherited runners to score and another run on top of that.

AA: Connecticut had a scheduled off-day
(Their next scheduled off-day is June 8.)

Defenders on the Eastern League leaderboards:
--Hitters:
AVG: (none)
OBP: (none)
SLG: (none)
OPS: (none)
HR: (none)
3B: Mooney 1st, Boyer 7th
2B: Pill 1st
H: (none)
TB: (none)
BB: (none)
SO: (none)
AB: Pill 12th
RBI: (none)
R: (none)
SB: Richardson 7th
CS: Bond 1st, Richardson 9th
--Pitchers:
ERA: Sosa 6th, Maday 8th
WHIP: Maday 5th
K: (none)
IP: (none)
BB: (none)
H: (none)
HR: (none)
HB: McNiven 10th, Maday 10th
R: (none)
ER: (none)
G: (none)
W: Yourkin 10th
L: Griffin 7th, Joaquin 7th
Sv: Otero 4th
Hld: Paterson 6th, Snyder 9th, Joaquin 9th

A+: San Jose lost to Modesto 8-6

San Jose: 2B Nick Noonan: 1 for 4, 2B, BB
San Jose: C Buster Posey: 2 for 4, HR, SO
San Jose: 1B Angel Villalona: 0 for 4, SO

San Jose: LHP Clayton Tanner: 3.0 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
San Jose: LHP Wilmin Rodriguez: 3.0 IP, 3 K

Posey was the only Giant with two hits.  The Giants had five of their nine hits go for extra bases, and among them was Posey's 6th HR of the year.  It was his first HR this month.  Noonan was the only other Giant to reach base twice.  Villalona was the only Giant in tonight's lineup without a hit, dropping his AVG to .305.

It wasn't Tanner's shortest start of the year, but he allowed a season-high 10 H and a season-high 5 ER.  He had previously allowed just 6 ER this year, so his ERA jumped up to 3.71.  Rodriguez finished the game with three perfect innings--perhaps his best appearance of the year.

A-: Augusta defeated Asheville 12-6
(completing Saturday's suspended game)

Augusta: 3B Charlie Culberson: 2 for 4, 2B, 2 BB, SO, SB
Augusta: 2B Juan Perez: 3 for 5, 2B, 2 SO
Augusta: LF Wendell Fairley: 2 for 4, HR, BB, 2 SO
Augusta: RF James Simmons: 3 for 4, 2B, HBP

Augusta: LHP Aaron King: 3.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K--1 BK
Augusta: LHP Ari Ronick: 3.1 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K--1 IBB
Augusta: LHP Dan Runzler: 2.0 IP, 1 BB, 4 K

With three hits each, Perez and Simmons accounted for six of the GreenJackets' sixteen hits, raising their respective AVGs to .272 and .240.  Simmons and Culberson both reached base four times.  Fairley led off the 7th inning with his 1st HR of the season.  He had 2 HRs a year ago.

After King pitched three innings on Saturday, Ronick began the Monday portion of the game.  It was his first relief appearance of the year after six starts and was his shortest appearance of the year.  He matched a season high by allowing 7 H.  Runzler had another dominant relief appearance, this time striking out four of the seven batters he faced.  In May his peripheral stats over five appearances are 1 H, 4 BB, and 12 K in 7.0 IP.

A-: Augusta defeated Asheville 4-0 (7 innings)

Augusta: CF Dom Duggan: 1 for 3, 2B, BB, SO, SB
Augusta: DH Juan Perez: 2 for 4, 2B, SO

Augusta: RHP Kyle Nicholson: 7.0 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Asheville: LHP Christian Friedrich: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K--1 WP

Duggan and Perez both reached base twice for the GreenJackets, improving their respective OBPs to .354 and .301.  Duggan had his 1st double while Perez had his 13th double.  Duggan also had his 7th SB.

Nicholson had his fourth straight start of at least 7.0 IP, but this time it qualified as the complete game shutout.  He improved his ERA to 4.50.  Friedrich, whom the Rockies drafted in the first round last year, has dominated most Sally League competition but tonight had his least effective start of the season.  His peripheral stats are now 28 H, 14 BB and 58 K in 39.2 IP, along with a 1.59 ERA.