minor lines, 5/21/09

Highlights: (a) Henry Sosa allows 0 ER (1 R) in 6.0 IP, getting his ERA below 2.00; (b) Buster Posey hits his 7th HR; and (c) Paul Oseguera allows 0 ER (2 R) in 5.0 IP in his season debut.

AAA: Fresno defeated Iowa 9-2

Fresno: CF Andres Torres: 2 for 4, BB, SO
Fresno: LF Clay Timpner: 1 for 3, 2 BB
Fresno: 1B Adam Witter: 2 for 5

Fresno: LHP Steve Hammond: 7.0 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 2 K
Iowa: LHP Jason Waddell: 1.2 IP, 2 K

Torres played nine innings for the first time during his rehab stint.  Both he and Timpner, who occupied the first two spots in the batting lineup, reached base three times.  Torres and Witter were the two Grizzlies with multi-hit lines.  Witter is now hitting .286/.365/.446 through his first 56 AB in the PCL.  He has just 3 XBH, although they have all been HRs.

Hammond had his longest start of the year with 7.0 IP.  Despite matching season highs with 9 H and 4 BB, he allowed just two runs, improving his ERA to 4.32.  Waddell, the former Giants farmhand who joined the Cubs organization this off-season as a minor league free agent, had one of his best appearances of the season.  In his first year in the PCL, he now has 15 H, 7 BB, and 9 K in 15.2 IP with a 5.17 ERA through 17 appearances.

AA: Connecticut defeated Binghamton 7-3

Connecticut: 3B Brad Boyer: 4 for 5, 2 2B, PO
Connecticut: 2B Sharon Schoop: 3 for 4, 2B, SO

Connecticut: RHP Henry Sosa: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

Boyer and Schoop combined for seven of the Defenders' fifteen hits, raising their respective AVGs to .223 and .289.

Sosa had not allowed an earned run in three of his last four starts, lowering his ERA to 1.85 ERA.  He pitched into the 6th inning for the second time this year among his eight starts.  His strikeout rate is down this year.  In his previous three seasons, which encompass all of his pro career since being promoted from the DSL to the AZL, he has had a K/IP above 1.00.  Currently, his K/IP ratio is 67%.  After a 3/12 GO/FO line, his GO/AO ratio is now 0.62.

A+: San Jose lost to Inland Empire 8-4

San Jose: DH Buster Posey: 2 for 4, HR
San Jose: 1B Angel Villalona: 0 for 4, 2 SO
San Jose: LF Thomas Neal: 1 for 3, BB
San Jose: 3B Conor Gillaspie: 1 for 3, BB, SO
San Jose: C Trent Kline: 0 for 0, 2 BB, E

San Jose: RHP Garrett Broshuis: 4.2 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K--1 HR
San Jose: RHP Craig Whitaker: 2.2 IP, 1 BB, 3 K--1 WP
Inland Empire: RHP Chris Withrow: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 5 K

Posey hit his 7th HR and had the Giants only multi-hit line.  With a seven-game hitting streak, he has improved his season line to .307/.388/.520 through 150 AB.  Also reaching base twice were Neal, Gillaspie and Kline, even though Kline had just two plate appearance before being lifted for a pinch hitter in the 6th inning.  Villalona was the only Giants starter not to reach base, and the pair of strikeouts raised his SO/AB ratio above 20.0%.

After allowing just 13 H in 19.2 IP in his previous seven appearances, Broshuis allowed 8 H in his second start of the season.  He has issued 4 BB as a starter after 0 BB in his six relief appearances.  His ERA nearly doubled but remains below 2.25.  Whitaker faced just eight batter to get eight outs, including inducing an inning-ending GiDP from the first batter he faced with the bases loaded.  Withrow, whom the Dodgers drafted 20th overall two years ago and whom BA rated as the Dodgers' #9 prospect to begin this season, had his longest start of the season, allowing just 1 ER despite issuing a season-high 4 BB.  Through seven appearances (six starts), his peripheral stats are better than his 6.25 ERA would indicate with 29 H, 18 BB, and 40 K in 31.2 IP.  The walk rate is pretty high, but so is the strikeout rate.

A-: Augusta defeated Greenville 8-3
(after scoring six runs in the 6th inning)

Augusta: SS Ehire Adrianza: 2 for 4, 2 SO, 2 SB
Augusta: C Matt Klimas: 2 for 4, SO, E, PB

Augusta: LHP Paul Oseguera: 5.0 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K--1 WP
Greenville: RHP John Smoltz: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K--1 WP
Greenville: RHP Stolmy Pimentel: 3.0 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K--1 E

Adrianza and Klimas each had two of the GreenJackets' nine hits, improving their respective AVGs to .259 and .305.  For Adrianza, it was his first multi-hit game in over a week.  He is hitting .241 through 54 AB in May after having a .278 AVG in 54 AB in April.  He now has a 5/0 SB/CS line this year.  Klimas had his 3rd error and his 6th passed ball.

Oseguera, who was limited by injuries to eight starts and eleven relief appearances for Connecticut a year ago, made his first appearance of the season, pitching five very good innings in his first start of the year.  At 25 years old, he would be one of the older players in the Sally League, but he is still just a kid in comparison to his opposing starter, John Smoltz, the likely future Hall of Famer, who made his first rehab appearance of the season.  Smoltz faced just one batter over the minimim (a Juan Perez single) before giving way to Pimentel, whom BA rated as the Red Sox' #11 prospect to begin the year.  Pimentel's error led to six unearned runs in his final inning of work.  Despite a .343 BAA, Pimentel has a sub-2.00 ERA through 32.0 IP.