The Art of Making Predictions:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We left the game early. So the River Cats will walk off in some amazing fashion.</p>— Kristin (@legaleagle88) <a href="https://twitter.com/legaleagle88/status/619379597625262080">July 10, 2015</a></blockquote>
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TRUE!
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HIGHLIGHTS: Martin Agosta threw 8 shutout innings with 8 Ks. Christian Jones had 4 Ks in an inning. Logan Webb threw 6 scoreless innings. Manuel Geraldo had three hits including a double and a triple.
Sacramento beat Fresno (Astros), 5-4 in 13 innings
|
Name |
AB |
R |
H |
RBI |
2B |
3B |
HR |
BB |
SO |
SB |
CS |
BA |
3b |
Kelby Tomlinson |
6 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
.328 |
1b |
Adam Duvall |
3 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
.261 |
1b |
Kevin Frandsen |
3 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.305 |
CF |
Xavier Avery |
6 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
.321 |
LF |
Jarrett parker |
5 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
.270 |
RF |
Brett Jackson |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
.224 |
Name |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
K |
HR |
HB |
WP |
ERA |
Pitches |
Strikes |
Clayton Blackburn |
5.2 |
7 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
4.07 |
90 |
54 |
Steven Okert |
0.2 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4.10 |
13 |
9 |
Cody Hall |
2.0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3.71 |
19 |
13 |
Mike Broadway |
2.0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1.17 |
29 |
18 |
Brett Bochy, W 3-4 |
2.0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4.02 |
26 |
19 |
Haven't been able to show one of these in awhile:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/N4LqtLFqnGs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Sacramento won a see-saw affair in this game, busting out to the 3-0 lead on Duvall's 17th HR (which makes him the active leader in the PCL), then letting the lead slip away and having to come back to tie it and ultimately get the win in extras.
The big production all came from the cleanup/1b spot, which provided 3H, 4RBIs, a HR and a double. However, it was two different players providing all that production, as Duvall was tossed from the game following a crucial play at 3b in which the 1b ump ruled Duvall failed to touch the bag. Couldn't tell if the call was correct or not, but Duvall really didn't need to be run:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Iu0tVXLAiJ4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
But in the end, Kevin Frandsen, who took his place had the walk off hit, doubling in Kelby Tomlinson to win it. With Triunfel and Cedeno manning the MI, Tomlinson moved over to 3b, sharpening his UT skills, and Duvall moved over to 1b. With Ishikawa gone, that's likely something we'll see a lot of.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Blackburn just walked two guys and left with an injury. Looked to be a blister.</p>— groug (@moonwalkmcfly) <a href="https://twitter.com/moonwalkmcfly/status/619349933154435073">July 10, 2015</a></blockquote>
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Clayton Blackburn's night came to an unfortunate early end. Hopefully blister is the right call. For a guy whose calling card is command and control, his strikes/pitches ratio wasn't as impressive tonight as normal. However, on a good note:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Blackburn's curveball is on tonight. He's gotten a lot of swing throughs and strikeouts with it.</p>— groug (@moonwalkmcfly) <a href="https://twitter.com/moonwalkmcfly/status/619341371254509569">July 10, 2015</a></blockquote>
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The bullpen did great work, even though Okert and Partch combined to give up the lead in the 7th, as Cody Hall, Mike Broadway and the recently "cleared waivers and returned" Brett Bochy combined for 6 scoreless innings on the long night. Our field correspondents reported that Broadway was hitting 95-97 on the gun. I'd really like to see him in the SF bullpen the second half over Machi at least.
One other sidenote in this game, the Sac OFs apparently engaged in a bizarro version of "Anything you can do, I can do better" with Avery's hat trick being bested by Jarrett Parker's golden sombrero, and Parker in turn being no match for Brett Jackson's unnameable.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">WALK OFF! Go Rivercats ⚾️ <a href="https://twitter.com/RiverCats">@RiverCats</a> <a href="http://t.co/WqapLwpQeX">pic.twitter.com/WqapLwpQeX</a></p>— Makenzie Miller (@softballkenzie) <a href="https://twitter.com/softballkenzie/status/619387994240225281">July 10, 2015</a></blockquote>
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* * *
Richmond beat Harrisburg (Nats), 5-1
losing their three game series, 1-2
|
Name |
AB |
R |
H |
RBI |
2B |
3B |
HR |
BB |
SO |
SB |
CS |
BA |
1b |
Myles Shroder |
5 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
.267 |
2b |
Austin Slater |
3 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.286 |
3b |
Mitch Delfino |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.260 |
SS |
Juan Ciriaco |
3 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.188 |
RF |
Jesus Galindo |
4 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
.292 |
PH |
Hunter Cole |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
.302 |
Matt Lujan, W, 6-5 |
6.0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
3.83 |
90 |
52 |
Joan Gregorio |
0.1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4.08 |
3 |
3 |
Derek Law |
1.0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1.17 |
9 |
7 |
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Great win guys! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoNuts?src=hash">#GoNuts</a> <a href="http://t.co/tgqfZ92ncX">pic.twitter.com/tgqfZ92ncX</a></p>— Squirrels Baseball (@GoSquirrels) <a href="https://twitter.com/GoSquirrels/status/619325900421758976">July 10, 2015</a></blockquote>
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The Squirrels ended a successful 4-2 homestand by salvaging the final game in this series with the Senators. Matt Lujan, who began his AA career with a pretty rough stretch has more or less turned his year around lately. In his last 7 starts he's given up 2 or fewer ER six times.
The offense supported him by banging out 14 singles and collecting 2 BBs. Most of the damage was done in a 4 run 2nd inning. The first runs scored on a single by Lujan himself, his second consecutive hit since you may recall he entered Tuesday's game in extra innings as a PH and singled then too. Lujan is batting .273 on the year.
Austin Slater had his fourth consecutive two-hit game, reaching base 3x.
Myles Schroder, who knocked in two runs in this game, took the 1b position for the game. Normally listed as a Catcher, Schroder has played 1b, 2b, 3b, LF, CF, and RF for the Squirrels this year. Myles was drafted by the Giants way back in 2007 out of Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, but he decided to walk away from the game and he stayed away for four years. But in 2011, he went back to Scottsdale and asked the Giants if they'd be willing to take him back. Starting in the AZL as a 23 year old, he's worked his way up the organizational ladder a step at a time and ingratiated himself to many with his willingness to do anything and play anywhere, always with enthusiasm.
Final note on this game, the Squirrels say goodbye to the only Play by Play man they've ever had, as he prepares to join the VaTech broadcast team:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Certainly a bittersweet night for me as I call my final <a href="https://twitter.com/GoSquirrels">@GoSquirrels</a> game at The Diamond. Simply, I am extremely grateful <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RVA?src=hash">#RVA</a>! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/heckofaride?src=hash">#heckofaride</a></p>— Jon Laaser (@LazePXP) <a href="https://twitter.com/LazePXP/status/619256638994825216">July 9, 2015</a></blockquote>
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Jon's been a good voice for the team with his signature sense of humor, and has always been friendly and communicative with those of us trying to follow the Squirrels from afar. Good luck!
* * *
San Jose beat Bakersfield (Mariners), 3-0
|
Name |
AB |
R |
H |
RBI |
2B |
3B |
HR |
BB |
SO |
SB |
Other |
SS |
Christian Arroyo |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 HBP |
3b |
Ryder Jones |
4 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
1b |
Angel Villalona |
4 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
RF |
Tyler Horan |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
Name |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
K |
HR |
HB |
WP |
ERA |
Pitches |
Strikes |
Martin Agosta, W, 3-6 |
8.0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
8 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
4.91 |
103 |
67 |
Christian Jones, S, 1 |
1.0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3.38 |
18 |
12 |
Martin Agosta is on a roll. This was the fourth consecutive start in which Agosta has had at least 8 Ks and no more than 1 BB. Tossing in a 2 inning relief stint just before the All star break that's 43 Ks and 3 BBs over his last 34 IP. 43:3 seems like a pretty good K:BB ratio to me!
It's not entirely clear how he's doing it, since it doesn't sound like he's gotten back to the high velocity of a few years ago:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Saw 86-93 from Agosta tonight. Mainly upper 80's, 90, 91. <a href="https://t.co/klHkKN2DtV">https://t.co/klHkKN2DtV</a></p>— Joe Ritzo (@JoeRitzo) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeRitzo/status/619360500392984578">July 10, 2015</a></blockquote>
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That's fairly low for a guy who was hitting 97 at St. Mary's before being drafted. But he has always been known for his slider. It's also true that those eye-popping peripherals haven't consistently been coming with great run prevention success as he's also allowed 5 or more ER in 4 of his last 6 starts. Still, something interesting seems to be happening with Martin in his second SJ season.
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Christian Jones picked up his first save with the always entertaining 4K 9th inning. SJ Pitchers have racked up 48 Ks in the first three games (32 innings) of this series.
Tyler Horan has had something of a lost year thus far in his return to the Cal league. He's been on and off the DL with various core muscle strains so much that he's played in fewer than half of SJ's games. And when he has played he's struggled to produce, with just a .211/.313/.401 line, which is certainly not what you'd like to see from a 24 year old corner OF in the Cal League. But he tied Brian Ragira for team lead in HRs last night with his 7th. He also gave a great effort on the defensive play of the night robbing Bakersfield of a HR:
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Christian Arroyo did it the hard way yesterday, reaching base three times but twice via the HBP. Over his last 10 games he's hitting .439/.521/.683 and over his last month it's .340/.397/.500. Ryder Jones, over the last month is hitting .301/.333/.485. Nice Cal league seasons from both the young infielders.
* * *
Augusta lost to Rome (Braves), 8-6
|
Name |
AB |
R |
H |
RBI |
2B |
3B |
HR |
BB |
SO |
BA |
Other |
C |
Aramis Garcia |
5 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
.244 |
|
1b |
Skyler Ewing |
4 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
.232 |
|
3b |
Jonah Arenado |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
.255 |
E (20th) |
Name |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
K |
HR |
HB |
WP |
ERA |
Chris Johnson |
3.0 |
6 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4.50 |
Connor Kaden, L, 2-4 |
3.0 |
5 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4.84 |
Dusten Knight |
2.0 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2.13 |
Touki Toussaint (Rome) |
5.0 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2.51 |
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Garcia with the 3 run round tripper to put the GreenJackets in front 3-1 in the bottom of the 1st! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CatchTheBuzz?src=hash">#CatchTheBuzz</a> <a href="http://t.co/V3VQd4LqWy">pic.twitter.com/V3VQd4LqWy</a></p>— Augusta GreenJackets (@GreenJackets) <a href="https://twitter.com/GreenJackets/status/619287279081783296">July 9, 2015</a></blockquote>
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Good grief, Aramis, you made 3 outs????? What is WRONG with you!!!!
No, seriously, I meant to say this:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Aramis Garcia's past two games: 5-8, 2 2B, HR, 7 RBI, BB. No cheap shots either. Everything rocketed to left field.</p>— David Lee (@David11Lee) <a href="https://twitter.com/David11Lee/status/619342186862223361">July 10, 2015</a></blockquote>
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His three run HR in the first came off some solid velo, too:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Giants 2014 2nd-rd C Aramis Garcia just blasted a 3-run HR to left off Touki Toussaint in the 1st. 95 on the plate.</p>— David Lee (@David11Lee) <a href="https://twitter.com/David11Lee/status/619287422623477760">July 9, 2015</a></blockquote>
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This was Augusta's first look at Toussaint, and it's probably fair to say they came away impressed as he settled in after that first inning HR and followed with 4 scoreless innings.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Touki Toussaint is 19 years old with off-the-charts athleticism, touching mid-90s, flashing a double-plus curve. The Braves are smart.</p>— David Lee (@David11Lee) <a href="https://twitter.com/David11Lee/status/619309008156033025">July 10, 2015</a></blockquote>
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Jonah Arenado's first full season is really going south as we get into the teeth of the summer. The 20 year old Arenado is hitting just .214/.229/.245 over his last 30 days. If that's not bad enough, he made his 20th error last night, almost literally kick-starting the Braves game winning rally. And as the truly awesome resource MLBFarm.com shows us, he's hitting into an awful lot of ground ball outs:
* * *
Salem-Keizer won at Vancouver (Blue Jays), 9-3
|
Name |
AB |
R |
H |
RBI |
2B |
3B |
HR |
BB |
SO |
BA |
Other |
DH |
Jose Vizcaino |
4 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
.298 |
|
RF |
Steven Duggar |
4 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
.211 |
CS |
3b |
Miguel Gomez |
5 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
.351 |
E |
SS |
C.J. Hinojosa |
5 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.208 |
|
1b |
John Riley |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
.143 |
|
C |
Brad Moss |
4 |
0 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
.333 |
|
Name |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
K |
HR |
HB |
WP |
ERA |
Logan Webb, W, 3-1 |
6.0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3.96 |
Mac Marshall, S, 1 |
3.0 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
5 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
9.00 |
The average age of the SK pitching staff is 23 and they have five different guys on the staff aged 25 or older. So it's quite a breath of fresh air that they managed to put nothing but teenagers on the mound last night! And by and large it went well. Logan Webb had a terrific start throwing six scoreless innings. Since allowing 6 ER in his second start of the year, he's given up just three runs in 16 IP with 10 Ks and 3 BBs. This was his first game of the year without a walk. Though he was drafted in 2014, Webb is still just 18 and won't turn 19 until November.
Mac Marshall followed Webb, in his NWL debut and was impressive. He did surrender a two-out, three run HR in his first inning of work, but came back out in the 8th to strike out the side swinging. In all, he K'd 5 of 12 batters faced, with all 5 of his Ks swinging.
And they had plenty of support as everybody in the lineup had either a hit or an RBI. Miguel Gomez is 6th in the league in hitting with a .351 BA and an .882 OPS.
* * *
AZL Giants had their routine scheduled off day
DSL Giants lost to DLS Red Sox1, 3-1
|
Age |
Name |
AB |
R |
H |
RBI |
2B |
3B |
HR |
BB |
SO |
SB |
CS |
BA |
SS |
18.9 |
Manuel Geraldo |
4 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.338 |
|
|
Rest of team |
30 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
|
Age |
Name |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
K |
HR |
HB |
WP |
ERA |
19.8 |
Prebito Reyes |
6.0 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2.27 |
16.10 |
Luis Amaya |
1.1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.95 |
The DSL bats have suddenly gone cold this week, but that has most definitely not affected Manuel Geraldo, who had his third multi-hit game this week and his 16th in 33 games played this year. Geraldo has had only three games this year in which he failed to reach base via a hit or walk, and the last of those games was on June 13.
16 year old LHP Luis Amaya has had troubles with control this year, but he's also had a 30% K rate, which isn't bad for 16.
* * *
Full slate of 7 games today with Nik Turley, Joe Biagini, Jason Forjet, Matthew Gage, and Nolan Riggs scheduled to start. It'll be worth keeping an eye on the DSL box score when it comes. This should be Victor Concepcion's turn in the rotation, but they skipped his last start and filled in with relievers. If he doesn't go today we'll have to assume he's out of action for the time being, or conceivably promoted.