Fresno Grizzlies (Triple-A): No game scheduled
Fresno was off Wednesday. They begin a four game series on the road in Portland Thursday night. Billy Sadler will start for the Grizzlies in search of his sixth win of the season. Will Inman opposes Sadler as the Beavers' starting pitcher.
The Grizzlies lost two in a row to Salt Lake. They have lived and died by one run games this past week. The last four Grizzlies’ contests have been decided by one run, with two wins and two losses in that time. Their record is 6-3 since their six game winning streak ended June 1. Fresno is three games behind Sacramento in the Pacific Coast League Pacific South Division.
Connecticut Defenders (Double-A): Game 1: Bowie 4, Connecticut 3, 7 innings
2B Brock Bond - 0-2, 1 RBI, 2 BB, .291
CF Mike McBryde - 2-4, 1 R, .275
RF Eddy Martinez-Esteve - 2-3, 1 RBI, 1 BB, .306
SS Brandon Crawford - 1-2, 1 R, 1 BB, .282
SP Tim Alderson - 5.2 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, 1 WP, 1 HB, 2.20 ERA
RP Waldis Joaquin - 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO, L (1-4), 4.03 ERA
Game Notes: Bowie and Connecticut played two Wednesday night to make up for the game that was postponed due to rain on Tuesday. Connecticut lost the lead and had to come back to tie the game, just to see the win slip away at the last moment. The Defenders scored two runs when Brock Bond grounded out with the bases loaded. A bad throw by Bowie's second baseman allowed Brandon Crawford and Mike Mooney to score. Tim Alderson wasn't at his best in his sixth start at the Double-A level, even if the first run he allowed was unearned. The Bay Sox leadoff hitter reached on an error by Sharlon Schoop and then scored after back-to-back hits. Bowie got two more runs on an RBI double by Brandon Snyder in the fifth inning. Connecticut tied the game in their half of the frame with one run on three hits, an Eddy Martinez-Esteve base hit. Bowie went ahead for good on an RBI single from Ambiorix Concepcion. Mike McBryde gunned down the Bay Sox right fielder trying to stretch the hit into a double. Waldis Joaquin was on the mound in the inning and took the loss for the Defenders.
Game 2: Connecticut 3, Bowie 2, 7 innings
CF Mike McBryde - 2-3, 1 R, .292
1B Brett Pill - 1-3, 1 RBI, .294
SS Brandon Crawford - 1-3, 1 R, .283
DH Adam Witter - 1-3, 1 R, 1 2B (2), 1 RBI, .214
RF Eddy Martinez-Esteve - 1-3, 1 RBI, .306
SP Henry Sosa - 6 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO, 1 PO, W (5-0), 2.21 ERA
RP Dan Otero - 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, SV (12), 0.83 ERA
Game Notes: Henry Sosa was in control as the Defenders fought back to take game two of this doubleheader. Sosa threw four shutout innings before the Bay Sox got to him for two runs in the fifth. He allowed a double and an RBI triple but settled down to record the third out of the inning then pitched another scoreless frame. Connecticut strung together three hits to get two runs on the board in the fourth inning. Brett Pill put the Defenders ahead the next inning with a base hit to score Mike McBryde. Dan Otero relieved Sosa with the Defenders in the lead and pitched a perfect seventh inning to close out his 12th save of the year.
Team Notes: Alderson had a tough time holding runners on in game one as three Bowie baserunners stole second base. He also hit a batter and threw a wild pitch. ... Sosa threw another scoreless start in game two. It was his second shutout performance in a row and fifth in his last seven starts. The only bad start was the May 28 game against Binghamton where he allowed four runs in six innings. ... Connecticut is 1 1/2 games up on Trenton in the Northern Division.
San Jose Giants (A-Advanced): San Jose 10, Bakersfield 5
DH Tyler Graham - 3-6, 2 R, 1 SO, .324
SS Brian Bocock - 1-5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 SO, .218
C Buster Posey - 2-4, 2 R, 1 HR (10), 3 RBI, 1 SO, .311
RF Roger Kieschnick - 3-5, 1 R, 1 HR (8), 1 RBI, .304
1B Angel Villalona - 2-5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 SO, 1 E (7), .287
SP Garrett Broshuis - 6.1 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO, W (4-1), 2.89 ERA
RP Steve Edlefsen - 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 1.59 ERA
Game Notes: The Giants won an important game against division rival Bakersfield. Perhaps the Blaze gave this one away with poor pitching and bad fielding. Tim Murphy has been bad all year for the Blaze and Wednesday night's start was no exception. Though his defense failed him in committing six errors, he still allowed five earned runs. He had an 8.72 ERA entering this game. San Jose generated offense in the second inning with three stolen bases and putting the pressure on the Bakersfield defense. Three errors in the inning netted the Giants two runs. Buster Posey and Roger Kieschnick hit back-to-back homers the same day they were named to the California League All-Star team. San Jose rallied for five runs over the middle innings to put the game out of reach. Garrett Broshuis survived a bad start, giving up five runs in 6 1/3 innings but still qualifying for the win. The Giants bullpen was as good as the hitting. David Mixon, Wilmin Rodriguez, and Steve Edlefsen combined for 2 2/3 perfect innings. Edlefsen struck out the first two batters he saw in the ninth inning and induced a groundout to end the game.
Team Notes: Posey and Neal will start for the California League June 23 while Kieschnick goes as a reserve. ... Visalia and Modesto both won Wednesday night, so the division standings stay the same. The Rawhide lead the Nuts by 1 1/2 games and the Giants are behind by 3 1/2. ... Angel Villalona made his seventh error of the season. He had 15 errors at A-level Augusta in 2008, his first season at first base.
Augusta GreenJackets (A): Charleston 2, Augusta 0
LF/RF Ben Woodbury - 1-4, 1 SO, 1 CS (2), .333
RF/1B Josh Mazzola 1-4, 1 SO, .270
1B Mike Loberg - 1-3, .222
SP Kyle Nicholson - 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO, 1 HB, L (4-6), 4.10 ERA
RP Justin Fitzgerald -1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 3.58 ERA
Game Notes: Augusta had one hit in the first inning and had only two other base runners via a walk and an error through the seventh inning. When the Greenjackets could get hits, the scoring chances were quickly erased by double plays. The defense did the team no favors with two errors and a passed ball. One of the errors and the passed ball directly led to runs for the SeaDogs. Kyle Nicholson went seven innings and was charged with one unearned run due to the spotty defense behind him. Charleston starting pitcher David Phelps nearly went the distance, striking out five in eight innings. He retired 13 Augusta hitters in a row before Mike Loberg singled to lead off the eighth inning. Pat Venditte, Charleston's switch pitcher, saved his 20th game of the year. He leads the league in saves by a comfortable margin over Peter Andrelczyk of Greensboro and the GreenJackets closer Daniel Runzler. Andrelcyzk and Runzler have 11 saves each.
Team Notes: Charlie Culberson committed another error Wednesday night. He now has 22 on the year. If last season's mark of 35 was bad, he could break his own career worst for misplays this season. ... Wendell Fairley came into the game as a defensive replacement in the eighth inning and did not get an at-bat. He has two hits in 21 hits since June 1. One of the hits was a home run June 6 against Savannah. .... Nicholson bounced back from a terrible start June 5 where he allowed seven runs on ten hits in two innings. Aside from that bad outing, he has gone at least seven innings in every start since April 28.
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