minor lines, 5/27/09

Highlights: (a) Tim Alderson makes his fourth start in the upper minors; (b) John Bowker reaches base twice in both games of a doubleheader; (c) Adam Witter has his 4th HR; (d) Paul Oseguera has 10 K in his second start of the year, albeit against younger competition.

AAA: Fresno lost to Omaha 1-0 (7 innings) in game 1

Fresno: 1B John Bowker: 1 for 2, BB, CS
Fresno: SS Jake Wald: 1 for 2, SO, SB
Omaha: 1B Kila Ka'aihue: 2 for 3, 2B

Fresno: LHP Steven Hammond: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K--1 HB
Fresno: RHP Osiris Matos: 1.0 IP
Omaha: LHP Bruce Chen: 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K--1 PO

In the opener, Bowker's single, Bowker's walk, and Wald's single accounted for all three Grizzlies baserunners.  The Royals' Kaiahue had two hits, including his 12th double, to raise his AVG to .285.

Hammond has allowed 2 ER or less in eight of his nine starts, but his ERA remains above 4.00.  With 2 BB, he snapped a string of three straight starts with 4 BB in each.  In May, his K/BB ratio remains just 0.67.  Matos got three fly ball outs while facing four batters in a scoreless 6th inning.  The nearly 32-year-old Chen had his most effective start of the season.  Making his ninth start, he had a season-high 8 K, a season-low 2 H and a season-low 0 ER.  He faced just two batters over the minimum, but his season ERA remains above 4.00.

AAA: Fresno defeated Omaha 7-5 (7 innings) in game 2

Fresno: 1B John Bowker: 2 for 4
Fresno: C Adam Witter: 2 for 3, HR

Fresno: RHP Matt Kinney: 6.1 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 4 K--2 HR

With two hits each, Bowker and Witter were the only two Grizzlies to reach base twice.  They raised their respective AVGs to .312 and .269.  In the 1st inning, Witter had his 4th HR.

Kinney had his longest start of the season with 6.1 IP.  He improved his W-L record to 3-5 after ten starts, although he remains very susceptible to the long ball with 11 HR in 51.1 IP.

AA: Connecticut lost to Binghamton 6-5 (11 innings)

Connecticut: CF Mike McBryde: 2 for 4, BB, 2 SO
Connecticut: SS Sharlon Schoop: 2 for 5, 2B
Connecticut: C Jackson Williams: 1 for 3, 2 BB

Connecticut: RHP Tim Alderson: 5.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K--1 HB
Connecticut: RHP Waldis Joaquin: 0.2 IP, 2 K

With two hits each, McBryde and Schoop accounted for nearly half of the Defenders' nine hits.  After hitting just .233 in 43 AB in April, Schoop has raised his season AVG to .309 by hitting .370 in 54 AB in May.  McBryde and Williams both reached base three times.

Since having 0 H and 10 K in his first Eastern League start, Alderson has been more hittable in his subsequent three starts with 18 H and 11 K in 12.1 IP.  Still, he allowed just 1 ER tonight, maintaining his sub-2.00 ERA.  Joaquin had had only 1 K in his previous seven appearances, but he struck out both hitters he faced in this game, stranding both of his inherited runners.

A+: San Jose lost to Visalia 3-1

San Jose: C Buster Posey: 1 for 3, 2B, SO
San Jose: 1B Angel Villalona: 0 for 3, 2 SO, GiDP

San Jose: RHP Oliver Odle: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K--1 WP
Visalia: RHP Josh Collmenter: 9.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K

Posey, who is generally considered the Giants' best hitting prospect, had his 13th double of the season.  No one reached base twice for the Giants, whose offense was limited to Posey's double, three singles, and a walk.  Villalona, who is generally considered the Giants' second best hitting prospect, had a much rougher evening, striking out in two of his plate appearances and GiDP'ing in the other.

Odle pitched six full innings for the fourth time in eight starts, but he was the tough luck loser, dropping his W-L record to 2-5.  A strike-thrower, the walk tonight was his his second walk in his last five starts.  Collmenter, whom the D'backs selected in the 15th round two years ago, had perhaps his best start of the season, improving his ERA to 3.38 and his W-L record to 6-2.

A-: Augusta defeated Asheville 9-3

Augusta: DH Mike Loberg: 1 for 3, HR, 2 BB
Augusta: 1B Andy D'Alessio: 1 for 3, HR, BB, CS

Augusta: LHP Paul Oseguera: 7.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 10 K--1 WP

On an evening when every GreenJacket in the lineup had a hit, the two lines that stand out come from two relatively older sluggers, with Loberg and D'Alessio, who both are 24 years old, connecting for their 2nd HRs of the year.

Also too old for this level, the 25-year-old Oseguera was fairly dominant in his second start of the season, striking out 10 of the 28 batters he faced.