Highlights: (a) Kevin Pucetas has his best start of the season with seven shutout innings; (b) Ari Ronick pitched his first career complete game, facing just three batters over the minimum is eight innings; and (c) Thomas Neal got even hotter with 3 XBH, falling a single short of the cycle. There were other lines that on other days might have been highlights, but the three performances above really stand out, relegating the others to just an honorable mention today: (d) Buster Posey had three hits, including his 19th double; and (e,f) Ryan Rohlinger and Adam Witter each had a couple doubles.
AAA: Fresno defeated Portland 2-1
Fresno: 3B Ryan Rohlinger: 2 for 4, 2 2B, SO, E
Fresno: LF Brian Horwitz: 1 for 4, HR
Portland: 1B Kyle Blanks: 2 for 4
Fresno: RHP Kevin Pucetas: 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
Fresno: LHP Alex Hinshaw: 1.0 IP, 1 K
Fresno: LHP Geno Espineli: 1.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB
Portland: LHP Wade LeBlanc: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K--1 HR
Horwitz's two-run, two-out HR in the 7th inning accounted for the Grizzlies' two runs. It was his 3rd HR and just his 8th XBH of the year among 111 AB. With his 19th and 20th doubles, Rohlinger was the only Grizzly to reach base twice, and he raised his OPS above .800. Blanks, the Padres' top hitting prospect, went 6 for 14 in the four-game series, but the slugger has not had an XBH in his last seven games.
Pucetas's thirteenth start of the season was his best yet. He faced just two batters over the minimum, while throwing 60 of 89 pitches for strikes. Seven scoreless innings lowered his ERA a third of a run from 3.75 to 3.40. In his last four starts on the road, he has allowed only 1 ER in 26.0 IP, with that one run coming at altitude in Colorado Springs. Hinshaw threw seven of eleven pitches for strikes in a perfect 8th inning. Espineli got his 9th save despite allowing four of six batters to reach base (getting one out from a runner caught stealing). LeBlanc, who was pitching on ten days rest after having spent four days in the majors for the Padres without making an appearance, had his second straight start of seven shutout innings. The 24-year-old lowered his ERA to 4.08 in his second season in the PCL.
AA: Connecticut lost to Altoona 3-2 (10 innings)
Connecticut: 2B Brock Bond: 2 for 5, 2 SO
Connecticut: CF Mike McBryde: 2 for 5, SB
Connecticut: 1B Adam Witter: 2 for 4, 2 2B
Connecticut: RHP Daryl Maday: 6.0+ IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K--1 HR
Connecticut: LHP Joe Paterson: 2.2 IP, 1 BB, 2 K
Connecticut: RHP Danny Otero: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 K
In his third start since being demoted from Fresno, Witter doubled twice. For the season, he now has a .246/.315/.408 line through 130 AB. Bond and McBryde also reached base twice, with their singles raising their respective AVGs to .298 and .264.
Maday pitched in the 7th inning for just the second time this year. He had his first quality start in nearly a month, when he had three straight quality starts. His K/BB ratio has slipped recently, as he has 13 K and 12 BB in his last five starts after he had 20 B and 7 BB in his first seven starts. In relief, Paterson further lowered his ERA to 0.63, while Otero's ERA rose above 1.00 for the first time this season. The two relievers have been successful at keeping runs from scoring despite quite different BAAs. Otero's BAA of .302 is nearly double Paterson's BAA of .153.
A+: San Jose defeated Modesto 11-5
San Jose: LF Thomas Neal: 3 for 5, HR, 3B, 2B
San Jose: C Buster Posey: 3 for 5, 2B, SO
San Jose: 1B David Maroul: 2 for 5, HR
San Jose: 3B Conor Gillaspie: 2 for 4, 2 2B, BB
San Jose: RHP Oliver Odle: 5.1 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 K--2 HR
San Jose: RHP T.J. Brewer: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 6 K--1 HR
With three hits each, Neal and Posey accounted for nearly half of the Giants' potent fourteen-hit attack, raising their respective AVGs to .343 and .318. They both reached base eight times in the three-game series. Neal was a single short of the cycle as he had his 11th HR, 2nd triple and 19th double. Posey's double was his 18th. Gillaspie also reached base three times as he had his 11th and 12th doubles. Maroul had his 2nd HR of the year through 68 AB.
Making his tenth start of the year, Odle allowed a season-high 9 H as his ERA rose to nearly 6.00. Five of the 10 BB he has allowed this year have come in his last two starts. After making five starts, Brewer made his second straight appearance as a reliever. He struck out six of the ten batters he faced to match a season high with 6 K and improve his K/BB ratio to an even 5.00.
A-: Augusta lost to Savannah 2-0
Augusta: CF Ben Woodbury: 2 for 4, 2B, SO
Augusta: DH Andy D'Alessio: 1 for 3, BB
Augusta: LHP Ari Ronick: 8.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K--1 HR
Woodbury, who has now had a hit in all ten games in which he has played in June, had the GreenJackets' only multi-hit line. D'Alessio, the only other GreenJacket to reach base twice has now had a hit and a walk in six of his last seven games. Even so, his OBP remains just .325 in twenty-one Sally League games.
Ronick suffered the complete game loss, despite facing just three batters over the minimum in eight innings. He allowed two singles to the first two batters in the second inning, a leadoff single in the 3rd inning, and a leadoff homer in the 4th inning before retiring the final fifteen batters he faced. For the season, he now has 49 H, 11 BB, 3 HR, and 49 K in 56.2 IP with a 3.18 ERA.
DSL: The Gigantes had their usual Sunday off-day.