Trying something new (for me) with an intro here ... Most notable lines below are Rohlinger's four hits, Villalona's three hits, and Clark's seven shutout innings.
AAA: Fresno defeated Tacoma 4-3
(scoring all four runs in 6th inning)
Fresno: 1B Jesus Guzman: 1 for 4, HR, SO
Fresno: 3B Ryan Rohlinger: 4 for 4, 2 2B, SB
Tacoma: RF Prentice Redman: 2 for 2, HR, 2B, 2 BB, CS
Tacoma: LF Michael Saunders: 0 for 4, 3 SO, E
Tacoma: C Jeff Clement: 0 for 4, 2 SO
Fresno: RHP Kevin Pucetas: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K--2 HR
Fresno: LHP Alex Hinshaw: 0.1 IP, 3 BB
Fresno: LHP Geno Espineli: 1.2 IP, 1 K
The only Grizzly to reach base twice, Rohlinger had four of the Grizzlies' seven hits, including his 5th and 6th doubles, to raise his AVG to .280. Guzman, who also has a .280 AVG, connected for the big three-run, two-out HR in the 6th inning. Tike's younger brother once again had a big game against the Grizzlies. He led off the bottom of the 1st inning with his 7th HR and raised his AVG to .337. A night after connecting for a HR in his first game of the season, Saunders, the Mariners' #2 prospect, had the oh-fer with the hat trick. Clement's eary season struggles continue as he now has more strikeout than hits (16 H and 18 SO in 70 AB, .229 AVG).
Pucetas threw 91 pitches (59 strikes) in five innings, as his ERA rose to 3.90. He allowed 2 HRs after allowing just 1 HR in his four April starts. Hinshaw threw just 4 of 18 pitches for strikes. Espineli retired all five batters he faced for his 3rd save.
AA: Connecticut lost to Portland 7-3
Connecticut: LF Bobby Felmy: 2 for 4, HR
Connecticut: SS Brian Bocock: 2 for 4, 2 SO
Connecticut: RHP Brooks McNiven: 4.0 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 0 K--1 HR
Connecticut: RHP Dan Griffin: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 5 K
Portland: RHP Junichi Tazawa: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K--1 HB, 1 WP
Felmy, who had his 2nd HR, and Bocock each had two of the Defenders' six hits, raising their respective AVGs to .261 and .190.
McNiven saw his ERA rise to 4.35 after allowing six runs in the 2nd inning. He has 6 BB and 1 K over his last three starts. By contrast, over his last four relief appearances, Griffin has 1 BB and 14 K in 6.2 IP. The 22-year-old Tazawa, whom BA ranked as the Red Sox' #7 prospect, has now made three of his five starts against the Defenders. He bounced back from allowing 6 ER in his previous start to limit the Defenders to just a single run this time, improving his season's ERA to 3.76.
A+: San Jose defeated Modesto 4-0
San Jose: C Buster Posey: 0 for 4
San Jose: 1B Angel Villalona: 3 for 4, CS
San Jose: RF Roger Kieschnick: 1 for 2, 2 BB, SO
San Jose: LHP Craig Clark: 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K--1 WP
Villalona had three of the Giants' nine hits, raising his AVG back to .329. Kieschnick also reached base three times, improving his season line to .321/.371/.506 through 81 AB. Posey had his third oh-fer in his last seven games. But in the other four games he has had multiple hits each time, with at least one of those hits being an XBH. He also picked a runner off first base last night.
Clark had one of the most effective starts of his pro career. After his first four starts this year, he has excellent peripheral stats with 16 H, 3 BB, and 21 K in 21.0 IP to go along with 2.57 ERA.
A-: Augusta lost to Bowling Green 4-2
Augusta: 2B Juan Perez: 2 for 4, 2B, SO
Augusta: C Matt Klimas: 1 for 2, BB, SF
Bowling Green: DH Jake Jeffries: 2 for 4, SO
Augusta: RHP Mike Loree: 5.2 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K--1 HR
On an evening when the first five hitters in the GreenJackets' lineup had just one hit, Perez was the only GreenJacket with a multi-hit line, but his AVG remains below .230. Klimas was the only other GreenJacket to reach base twice. In limited playing time, the 21-year-old is off to a fine start with a .313/.378/.438 line through 32 AB in ten games. Jeffries, whom BA ranked as the Rays' #18 prospect after drafting him in the third round out of UC Davis last year, had his first multi-hit game in a week, improving his AVG to .271.
So far Loree has found the full-season Sally League more challenging than he found the NWL last summer. A year ago, opposing hitters had just a .211 AVG against him in fifteen starts. This year they are hitting at a .333 clip through his first four starts. His ERA this year is now 4.76, and he has pitched into the 6th inning in all four of his starts, although only once has he completed the inning.