Steve S needs a pinch hitter for the next few days, so forgive the slightly different formatting and style in the Minor Lines in his absence.
Highlights: Garrett Broshuis pitches six strong before a lightning storm knocks him out (of the game); Bowkermania continues to run wild, as do the Grizzlies with seven stolen bases on the night; and your first place Connecticut Defenders win again behind Henry Sosa, despite Sosa's meh start.
SP Kevin Pucetas - 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 SO, W (5-1), 3.47 ERA
RP Alex Hinshaw - 1.1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 SO, 5.54 ERA
RP Geno Espineli - 1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 3.32 ERA, SV (6)
Game Notes: Fresno nearly lost a 4-0 lead but hung on to win by run. John Bowker was responsible for two of the runs, an RBI double and solo home run. The Grizzlies ran wild in the game, stealing seven bases. Bowker's steal of third base turned into a run when Omaha catcher J.R. House made a throwing error. Bowker had room to score on the mistake. The new first baseman came up big with a solo home run in the seventh inning. Turns out Fresno would need that run as Omaha mounted a comeback against the Grizlies bullpen. Geno Espineli gave up two runs on back-to-back two-out hits but retired the final batter of the game on a flyout. Starting pitcher Kevin Pucetas' six shutout innings stood up for a win. Omaha first baseman Kila Ka'aihue struck out with two runners in scoring position in the sixth inning, and was ejected by home plate umpire D.J. Rayburn.
Team Notes: Ben Copeland, Matt Downs, and Eugenio Velez had two steals each. ... Pucetas won his fifth game of the year. His counterpart Luke Hochevar took his first loss. The two have identical 5-1 win-loss records. Hochevar was the first overall pick in the draft in 2006. ... Bowker hasn't missed a beat since switching to first base, hitting .500 (9-for-18) with three RBI. He continues to hit well no matter where he plays in the field and in the lineup. His days at first might be numbered with Jesus Guzman returning from San Francisco.
SP Henry Sosa - 6 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1 HR, W (4-0), 2.40 ERA
RP Jesse Foppert - 1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, Hold (2), 1 WP, 4.56 ERA
RP Matt Yourkin - 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, Hold (3), 2 WP, 3.04 ERA
RP Joe Paterson - 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, SV (4), 0.90 ERA
Game Notes: Binghamton didn't make it easy for Connecticut, but the Defenders pulled it out after falling behind. They scored two runs on consecutive hits in the third inning but the B-Mets tied it immediately in their half of the inning. Henry Sosa got into trouble when he allowed a two-run homer in the fifth inning but recovered to retire the side in the sixth, his final inning of work.Connecticut rallied for four runs in ths seventh. Eddy Martinez-Esteve's big hit plated two runs. He would score on Brett Pill's double, a hit that brought two runs home. They needed two more runs in the eighth to hold off the B-Mets when Jesse Foppert gave up three runs in his inning of work. Binghamton could have had more runs after Matt Yourkin threw two wild pitches in a row, pushing runners to second and third, but Yourkin got a strikeout to end the inning. Joe Paterson quelled the madness with a scoreless frame, good for his fourth save of the year.
Team Notes: Connecticut is six games over .500 and they lead the division by three games. ...Thursday was Sosa's highest run total this year. Before this game, Sosa hadn't allowed an earned run over his last two starts. ... Closer Dan Otero had the day off, the day after he allowed his first run of the year and blew the save. Paterson came in to close the game out. ... Mike McBryde is back in action after missing most of the last month. He has three hits in his last eight at-bats.
San Jose Giants (A-Advanced): Visalia 2, San Jose 1
SS Brian Bocock - 2-3, 1 RBI, .234
DH Buster Posey - 1-3, 1 SO, .310
1B Angel Villalona - 1-3, 1 SO, .292
LF Thomas Neal - 0-4, 1 SO, .310
SP Garrett Broshuis - 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO, 2.08 ERA
RP Steve Edlefsen - 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 1.69 ERA, L (0-1)
RP Edwin Quirarte - 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 4.61 ERA
Game Notes: The Giants tied the game thanks to an unlikely hero in Brian Bocock. He had two hits on the day, one bringing home the tying run in the sixth inning. Visalia went ahead early with a run on a sacrifice fly, the only run Garrett Broshuis gave up. Broshuis was solid over six innings and only a lightning storm could stop him. The game was delayed by lightning for an hour and 19 minutes after the sixth inning. Once play resumed, Collin Cowgill hit a solo home run against Steve Edlefsen to put the Rawhide ahead in the seventh inning. The home run sealed the Giants' fate Thursday night and sent them to their sixth loss in the last ten games.
Team Notes: San Jose lost a chance to gain ground on Visalia in the North Division for the second game in a row. They went into this series tied for second place with Modesto, two games behind Visalia. Now the Giants are four games behind the leaders and two games back of the Nuts. ... Neal ended his five game hitting streak with an 0-for-4 day. ...Edwin Quirarte pitched a scoreless inning for the first time since May 15.
Augusta GreenJackets (A): Off
Augusta had an off day Thursday. Friday they open a four game set with Lexington on the road, part of an eight game road trip. The Legends are on a four game win streak while the GreenJackets have won seven of their last nine games. Left-hander Eric Surkamp takes the mound Friday in search of his third win. He seeks redemption after his shortest start of 2009, a 3 2/3 inning outing where he allowed three runs on eight hits.
