minor lines, 5/27/10

Highlights from the Giants' farm: Conor Gillaspie had five hits, Ben Copeland homered and doubled, Charlie Culberson hit safely in all three plate appearances, Andy D'Alessio reached base four times, and Eric Stolp had 8.0 shutout IP.

AAA: Fresno defeated Memphis 6-4

Fresno: LF Ben Copeland: 2 for 4, HR, 2B, SO
Fresno: CF Eugenio Velez: 2 for 3, 3B, SH, SO
Fresno: 1B Buster Posey: 1 for 3, 3B, BB, IBB
Fresno: RF Joe Borchard: 3 for 4, SO

Fresno: SP Kevin Pucetas: 4.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 K--1 WP
Fresno: RP Geno Espineli: 2.0 IP, 1 K
Fresno: RP Osiris Matos: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 K
Memphis: SP Lance Lynn: 5.0 IP, 8 H< 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 6 K--1 HR

In the heart of the Grizzlies' batting order (batting 2nd through fifth), Copeland, Velez, Posey, and Borchard combined to hit 8 for 14 with 4 XBH and 1 BB.  Copeland had his 2nd HR and 9th double.  Velez and Posey each had their 2nd triples.  Borchard's three singles lifted his AVG to .327.

A relatively high pitch count apparently limited Pucetas to four innings.  He threw 46 of 83 pitches for strikes.  He issued four walks after issuing just one walk in each of his previous four starts.  Espineli pitched two perfect innings, improving his ERA to 3.63.  Matos got his 2nd save.  Lynn, whom Baseball America rated among the Cardinals' top five prospects, matched a season-high with 5 ER allowed.  His ERA is 3.81 through ten starts, which by comparison is nearly a half run better than Pucetas's 4.24 ERA.

AA: Richmond defeated Binghamton 11-4

Richmond: LF Thomas Neal: 2 for 5, 2 2B, GiDP
Richmond: 3B Conor Gillaspie: 5 for 5
Richmond: 1B Andy D'Alessio: 3 for 4, 2B, BB
Richmond: P Ronnie Ray: 2 for 3, 2B

Richmond: SP Ronnie Ray: 4.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K--1 HR
Richmond: RP Dan Turpen: 0.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER--1 HR

With five the of the Flying Squirrels' nineteen hits, Gillaspie raised his AVG to .256.  D'Alessio reached base four times.  All but one hitter in the Squirrels' starting lineup reached base twice, with even the starting pitcher Ray getting two hits.  Neal had his 9th and 10th doubles, but his OPS remains below .700.

In his third start among thirteen appearances, Ray allowed just one run, but his ERA remains a bit above 5.00.  After retiring the first two batters he faced, Turpen allowed hits to the next four batters he faced, pushing his ERA above 4.00.

A+: San Jose defeated Stockton 2-0

San Jose: 2B Charlie Culberson: 3 for 3, SB, CS

San Jose: SP Eric Stolp: 8.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K--1 HB
San Jose: RP Jason Stoffel: 1.0 IP, 1 K

With three of the Giants' six hits, Culberson was the only Giant to reach base twice.  After hitting just .212 in April, he has hit .337 in May lifting his season AVG to .288.

Stolp, who pitched collegiately in Stockton for University of the Pacific and was making his second pro appearance and first start in Stockton, had his longest pro start, facing just four batters over the minimum in 8.0 scoreless IP.  He had a 15/4 GO/FO line as he lowered hsi ERA to 3.02.  Stoffel pitched a perfect 9th innings for his 10th save.  After allowing 11 R in his first two appearances in May, Stoffel has now made eight straight appearances without allowing a run.

A-: Augusta lost to Rome 5-4
(allowing three runs in the 7th and 8th innings)

Augusta: 3B Chris Dominguez: 2 for 4, SO
Augusta: 1B Luke Anders: 0 for 4, 3 SO
Augusta: RF Ryan Lollis: 2 for 3, 3B

Augusta: SP Bryan Salasbury: 7.2 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 8 K

Dominguez and Lollis each had two hits for the GreenJackets, including Lollis's 5th triple.  Their AVGs are now .266 and .289.  Dominguez committed his 12th error.  With the hat trick, Anders SO/AB ratio rose above 33%.

Salsbury had his fourth straight start with more than 7.0 IP.  In his five May starts, he has 28 H, 3 BB, 0 HR, and 33 K in 38.0 IP with a 1.89 ERA--a significant improvement over the nearly 7.00 ERA he had in four April starts.