Don't hate me because I'm beautiful.  Hate me because I'm way late (blame that damn leopard in the cold weather...and hope my bosses don't see me writing that).

Highlights that you missed on Wednesday's nice day of pitching: (a) That Bumgarner kid threw seven shutout innings allowing just four hits and one walk; (b) Clayton Tanner threw seven innings of one-run ball, allowing just three hits and two walks while striking out six; (c) Betcha didn't expect to see Andy Reichard here - seven innings (hm, theme night?) with four hits, two walks and no runs; (d) Thomas Neal hit his 21st home run of the season helping San Jose to a win.

Also, nothing happened in short season ball.  Nothing at all.  Don't bother to check yourself, just take my word for it.

Fresno Grizzlies (Triple-A): Sacramento 11, Fresno 3

RF Ben Copeland - 2-4, 1 2B (16), 1 RBI, 1 SO, .274

1B Jesus Guzman - 1-3, 2 R, 1 BB, .322

CF Andres Torres - 1-3, 2 SO, .367

SP Ryan Sadowski - 3.2 IP, 6 H, 9 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 3 SO, 1 HR, 1 WP, 1 HBP, 4.77 ERA, L (6-3)

RP Ronnie Ray - 2.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO, 6.12 ERA

RP Shingo Takatsu - 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 8.10 ERA

RP Geno Espineli - 1.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 3.72 ERA

Game Notes: The Grizzlies fell behind early and fast in this one.  A one-out home run by the Rivercats gave Sacramento a 1-0 lead in the first, but the Rivercats went on to score eight runs between the third and fourth innings to dominate this game.  Fresno got one of their runs in the fourth on a wild pitch, and in the sixth got two more on a Matt DOwns RBI single and a Copeland RBI double.

Team Notes: Copeland hit his fourth double in nine games, and is 12-for-37 over that span.  However, he has just one walk and nine strikeouts in that span...Guzman has gone 8-for-23 with two doubles and two home runs over his last six games...Torres started his rehab with a solid day.  In his May stint in Fresno, Torres went 10-for-27 (.370) with a .393 OBP and a .593 SLG...Sadowski had his worst game of the season.  Since returning to Fresno, he has a 7.71 ERA with 13 strikeouts and ten walks in 16 1/3 innings...Espineli has given up five earned runs in his last four outings.

Connecticut Defenders (Double-A): Connecticut 3, New Britain 0

CF Mike McBryde - 2-4, 2 R, 2 2B (20), 1 SO, .299

1B Brett Pill - 2-4, 1 2B (34), 1 RBI, .294

2B Brock Bond - 1-3, 1 R, 1 BB, .340

LF Brad Boyer - 2-4, 1 RBI, .290

DH Josh Phelps - 0-2, 1 BB, .000

SP Madison Bumgarner - 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 1.91 ERA, W (9-1)

RP Dan Runzler - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0.96 ERA, H (1)

RP Shane Kaufman - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4.72 ERA, S (2)

Game Notes: The Defenders' ace didn't disappoint in a key game against their division rivals and second place Rock Cats.  Bumgarner gave up a leadoff single, but didn't give up another hit until the fourth inning and did not give up more than one baserunner an inning in the game.  Meanwhile, the Defenders got their first two runners on with a Bond single and a McBryde double.  Bond scored on a Boyer groundout, and McBryde came in on a two-out wild pitch to give the Defenders a 2-0 lead, and all they would need.

Team Notes: McBryde has six doubles in his last four games, making up nearly a third of his season total.  He's slugging .416 in 79 games in Double-A...Pill's double, his team-leading 34th, was his first since August 16th...Bond has hit 9-for-28 (.321) over his last nine games to actually drop his average.  He also has nine walks in that span, however...Phelps made his second rehab appearance in Double-A, now 0-for-6.  He was 7-for-21 in six games in the AZL...Bumgarner hasn't allowed moare than two earned runs in a start since July.  This was his first game since July 22nd to make it through seven innings...Runzler made his sixth scoreless appearance in Connecticut after allowing a home run in his first game at the level...Kaufman has neither walked a hitter nor given up a walk in his last three appearances.

San Jose Giants (A-Advanced): San Jose 4, Visalia 2

LF Thomas Neal - 3-4, 1 R, 1 HR (21), 3 RBI, .333

3B Conor Gillaspie 1-3, 1 2B (29), 1 BB, .286

CF Darren Ford - 2-4, 2 R, 1 SO, 1 SB (28), .280

2B Nick Noonan - 1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, .256

SP Clayton Tanner - 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO, 1 WP, 3.10 ERA, W (11-6)

RP Trey Webb - 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO, 3.32 ERA, H (5)

RP Rafael Cova - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA, S (6)

Game Notes: The Giants continue their California League domination.  Ford led off the Giants' half of the first with a bunt single and moved to third on an error on the play, and Noonan singled him home in the next at-bat.  Neal followed with a home run and it was 3-0 before the Rawhide got an out.  An insurance run as Neal singled home Ford in the fifth would be all the Giants would need behind Tanner's strong start.

Team Notes: Neal's home run was his first since hitting two in a game on August 21st.  He has six walks in his previous seven games against four strikeouts...Gillaspie's double gives him five in his last eight games...Ford's hot August continues.  He has gotten on base at least twice in five of his last six games...Noonan has three walks and one strikeout in his last 33 at-bats...Tanner has allowed more than two earned runs just once in his last six games, and has gone at least six full innings in each of his last ten games...Webb has walked 14 and struck out 12 over his last ten appearances (13 2/3 innings).

Augusta GreenJackets (A): Savannah 4, Augusta 3 (11 Innings)

3B Charlie Culberson - 2-4, 2 SB (13), .244

2B Juan Perez - 1-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB (17), 1 SF, .246

1B Josh Mazzola - 1-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 E (6), .275

SP Andy Reichard - 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2.60 ERA

RP Ryan Verdugo - 1.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO, 1.78 ERA, H (6)

RP Edwin Quirarte - 2.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 3.97 ERA, BS (4), L (6-3)

Game Notes: The GreenJackets went through a rough ninth inning to take a tough loss.  Already leading 1-0, Mazzola hit an RBI single and Perez hit a squeeze bunt with Mazzola on third to make it 3-0.  However, the bottom of the ninth saw Savannah start the inning with a pair of singles and a walk to load the bases, and three one-out singles to score three runs to tie it.  In the 11th, an error by Mazzola allowed a base runner to start the inning.  A failed bunt, and a walk put runners on first and second, and a one-out single gave Savannah the win.

Team Notes: Culberson has gone 8-for-19 over the last four games...Mazzola has gone 8-for-21 over his last five games with two doubles and two walks...Reichard had his second scoreless start in his last six appearances.  He has also a season high with seven strikeouts, but also has had four of his six walks this season in his last two games...Verdugo has given up just five earned runs this season, three of them coming in this game.

Salem-Keizer Volcanoes (Short Season-A): Everett 21, Salem-Keizer 1

1B Drew Biery - 1-3, 1 SO, .344

CF Evan Crawford - 1-1, 1 RBI, .282

2B Juan Martinez - 1-3, 1 R, 1 SO, .276

SP Kyle Vazquez - 3.0 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO, 1 HR, 1 HBP, 3.97 ERA, L (3-1)

RP Brandon Graves - 1.0 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1 HR, 1 WP, 4.33 ERA

RP Taylor Rogers - 2.0 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO, 2 HR, 3 WP, 8.26 ERA

RP Jose Valdez - 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO, 4.02 ERA

RP Brooks Lindsley - 0.1 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 135.00 ERA, 1 HBP

Game Notes: Well, this game was simply ugly.  The Volcanoes kept the Aqua Sox off the board in the first inning, but after a leadoff home run in the second, it was off to the races.  No point in describing the downside of this game.  The only run the Volcanoes scored came on Crawford's sacrifice fly in the third inning.

Team Notes: Biery has 30 strikeouts and 19 walks on the season...Vazquez had his worst outing of the season by far, going three innings or less for just the second time in his last five starts...Over that time, he has 16 strikeouts and six walks in those 19 innings...Graves had given up just two earned runs in his previous 13 2/3 innings pitched...Rogers, meanwhile, as given up 11 earned runs over his last two appearances (three innings)...Valdez, the lone pitching bright spot, has nine strikeouts over his last four innings of work.

AZL Giants (Rookie): No Game Scheduled

Told ya nothing happened down here.  Why'd you look???

And, once again, apologies for the lateness.