minor lines, 7/17/09

Highlights from the Giants' farm include two pitching performance along with a host of good hitting lines as each of the Giants four full-season affiliates scored at least seven runs.  The pitching perfomances include (a) Steve Hammond with one of his best starts of the season and (b) Jorge Bucardo with 5.0 scoreless IP.  Among the hitters, (c,d) Matt Downs and Ben Copeland both had three hits, with Downs reaching base in all four plate appearances and Copeland homering; (e) Mike Mooney homered while reaching base three times; (f) Skyler Stromsmoe had a homer, two doubles, and a single; (g) Darren Ford also had three hits, including a double; and (h) Andy D'Alessio had three hits, including a HR.

AAA: Fresno defeated Colorado Springs 7-2

Fresno: CF Ben Copeland: 3 for 5, HR
Fresno: 2B Matt Downs: 3 for 3, 2B, BB

Fresno: LHP Steve Hammond: 6.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Fresno: RHP Osiris Matos: 0.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 K
Colordo Springs: RHP Esmil Rogers: 5.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 2 K--1 HR, 1 BK
Colorado Springs: RHP Scott Munter: 2.0 IP, 2 K

With three hits each, Copeland and Downs accounted for half of the Grizzlies' dozen hits, improving their respective AVGs to .293 and .300.  Copeland led off the 5th inning with his 4th HR.

Hammond had perhaps his best start of the season, not allowing a run until after he had departed the game in the 7th inning.  Matos allowed a couple hits before getting the final out in the 7th inning.  The Rockies' Rogers has had a breakout season to establish himself as perhaps one of the top 50 prospects in baseball after posting a 2.48 ERA with a K/BB ratio over 4.00 in 15 Texas League starts.  He has now allowed 7 ER in his first two PCL starts.  Munter had 2.0 perfect IP against his former team, which improved his ERA to 3.90.  For comparison, that is a bit higher than Matos's 3.62 ERA.

AA: Connecticut defeated New Hampshire 9-8
(despite allowing seven runs in the 6th inning)

Connecticut: 2B Brock Bond: 2 for 4, BB
Connecticut: LF-RF Mike Mooney: 2 for 3, HR, HBP
Connecticut: C Jackson Williams: 2 for 4, 2B, E

Connecticut: RHP Tim Alderson: 5.0+ IP, 8 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Connecticut: RHP Dan Griffin: 0.0 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 ER--1 E
Connecticut: LHP Ben Snyder: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 3 BB, 1 K
New Hampshire: RHP Casey Janssen: 1.0 IP, 2 K

Bond, Mooney and Williams each had two of the Defenders' eleven hits, including Mooney's 5th HR and Williams' 13th double.  Both Mooney and Williams have AVGs below .240, though.

Alderson allowed just one run through five innings, before he and Griffin allowed the first seven batters in the 6th inning to reach base.  Alderson's second straight start with 4 ER in 5.0 IP raised his ERA to 3.29, but he did improve his W-L record to 6-1.  In his last five starts, Alderson has 34 H, 10 BB and 9 K in 26.0 IP with a 5.54 ERA.  Snyder restored order with three scoreless innings, although he did allowed his only inherited runner to score.  He got his ERA back below 2.25.  The Blue Jays' rehabbing Janssen worked a perfect 7th inning with 2 K.

A+: San Jose defeated Modesto 17-7

San Jose: LF Thomas Neal: 0 for 5, SO, HBP
San Jose: 1B C.J. Ziegler: 3 for 5, 2B
San Jose: C Nestor Rojas: 2 for 5, HR, SO, E
San Jose: PH-DH Nick Noonan: 2 for 3
San Jose: 2B Skyler Stromsmoe: 4 for 5, HR, 2 2B
San Jose: CF Darren Ford: 3 for 5, 2B, SB, E

San Jose: LHP Craig Clark: 5.0 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K--1 WP
San Jose: LHP Dan Runzler: 1.0 IP, 1 K

Stromsmoe led the Giants' nineteen-hit attack with four hits of his own, including his 1st HR and his 3rd and 4th doubles.  Rojas, playing in his first game with San Jose after being demoted from Fresno with Buster Posey's promotion, also homered.  Ziegler and Ford each had three hits, although both still have AVGs below .250 in the Cal League.  Noonan entered the game in the 5th inning and singled in two of his three at bats.  The one Giant without a hit, while playing the entire game, was Neal.  Earlier in the day, Baseball America ranked him atop their weekly Prospect Hot Sheet, but he was not so hot in this game.

Clark allowed more than 3 ER for the first time in his past ten starts, stretching back to Memorial Day.  Although he's among the league leaders in strikeouts, tonight surpassing 100 K for the season, he's had just 3 K and 2 BB in each of his last two starts.

A-: Augusta defeated Greensboro 12-5

Augusta: 1B Josh Mazzola: 2 for 4, HR, 2 SO
Augusta: DH Andy D'Alessio: 3 for 5, HR, 2 SO
Augusta: RF James Simmons: 3 for 4, 2B, BB

Augusta: RHP Eric Stolp: 4.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 0 K--1 WP

Mazzola and D'Alessio both homered, with their 10th and 5th HRs, respectively.  Simmons reached base four times, with the three hits raising his AVG to .266.

Stolp didn't seem to have his effective sinker working tonight, yielding hits to seven of the nineteen batters he faced and also allowing five fly ball outs (6/5 GO/FO line).  Still, he has a respectable 3.23 ERA.

ssA: Salem-Keizer defeated Eugene 5-2

Salem-Keizer: LF Dan Cook: 2 for 3, 3B, HBP
Salem-Keizer: CF Caleb Curry: 2 for 3, 2B, HBP, SB

Salem-Keizer: RHP Jorge Bucardo: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

Curry and Cook, the Giants' 14th and 15th round selections a year ago, had the Volcanoes' two multi-hit lines.  For the season, they have very different AVGs, with Cook at .330 and Curry at .182.

Bucardo had another effective start.  His previous start was the only start among his six starts this year in which he has allowed more than 1 ER.  For the season, he now has 26 H, 5 BB, and 31 K in 32.2 IP with a 1.65 ERA.

R: Scottsdale had their regularly scheduled off-day (every fifth day)

DSL: Giants defeated Rays 7-3

Dominican: LF-RF Robedluis Fuentes: 3 for 5, 2B, SO
Dominican: RHP Bertoni Garcia: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K--1 HR

With the Gigantes' only multi-hit line, Fuentes (20.10 y.o.), the Gigantes' cleanup hitter, improved his season line to .313/.408/.389 through 131 AB.  His stats are comparable to but slightly better than a year ago.  After seven relief appearances, Garcia (18.0 y.o.) made his first start--a successful start with just 1 ER in 6.0 IP.  A year ago he made one start in fifteen appearances, during which he had a 2.29 ERA.