Home runs dominate the highlights today: (a) John Bowker homered for the fourth straight day; (b,c) two speedsters better noted for their defensive--Mike McBryde and Tyler Graham--each had 2 HRs; (d) Thomas Neal also had a HR among his 3 XBHs; (e) Charlie Culberson had his 1st HR while reaching base three times.
AAA: Fresno defeated Salt Lake 4-3
Fresno: RF John Bowker: 2 for 3, HR, BB, SO, SB
Fresno: 1B Jesus Guzman: 1 for 4, HR
Fresno: DH Joe Borchard: 3 for 4, 2B, SO
Salt Lake: 2B Sean Rodriguez: 2 for 4, HR
Fresno: RHP Matt Kinney: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K--1 HR
Fresno: RHP Keiichi Yabu: 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 K
On a power surge, Bowker homered for the fourth straight game, which has doubled his season total to 8 HR. He also now has 10 SB. Guzman also had his 8th HR. Borchard, whose three hits raised his AVG to .333 after nine games, and Bowker had the Grizzlies' two multi-hit lines. The Angels' Rodriguez, who played nearly an equal number of games between the majors and minors a year ago, is tring to prove he no longer belongs in the minors. He slugged his 20th HR and now has a line of .280/.361/.651 through his first 189 AB this year.
Kinney had a quality start for just the second time in his last nine starts. He improved his W-L record to 4-5 after a dozen starts. Yabu recorded his first save of the season.
AA: Connecticut defeated Binghamton 10-6
(after rallying for six runs in the top of the 9th inning)
Connecticut: CF Mike McBryde: 2 for 5, 2 HR, 2 SO
Connecticut: 1B Brett Pill: 1 for 5, HR
Connecticut: SS Brandon Crawford: 2 for 4, HR, 2B, PO
Connecticut: RHP Jesse Foppert: 4.1 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 0 K--1 HR
Connecticut: RHP Geivy Garcia: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 3 K
McBryde, who had just 5 HRs all last year and just 1 HR so far this year, homered twice today. In the 6th inning, Pill and Crawford went back-to-back with solo HRs. For Pill, it was his 6th HR; for Crawford, it was his 2nd HR with Connecticut and his 8th HR of the season.
Making his eighth start among ten appearances, Foppert allowed a season-high 8 H and matched a season high with 5 ER. His BAA against rose to .295, and his ERA to 6.27. At least he fell well shy of the season-high 7 BB in his previous start when he also allowed 5 ER. Garcia struck out three of the six batters he faced, but his ERA remains above 5.00.
A+: San Jose defeated Bakersfield 9-3
(jumping out to an 8-1 lead after four innings)
San Jose: CF Tyler Graham: 3 for 5, 2 HR
San Jose: LF Thomas Neal: 3 for 4, HR, 2 2B, SF
San Jose: C Buster Posey: 1 for 3, 2B, 2 BB, 2 SO
San Jose: RF Roger Kieschnick: 1 for 5, HR, SO
San Jose: 1B Angel Villalona: 0 for 4, 3 SO
San Jose: LHP Craig Clark: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K--2 HR
San Jose: RHP Craig Whitaker: 1.0 IP, 2 K
Bakersfield: RHP Michael Main: 4.0 IP, 8 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 2 BB, 5 K--3 HR
Noted more for his basestealing and defense than any power, Graham went against the trend today with a couple homers. He now has 3 HRs this year, surpassing his season total of 2 HRs a year ago. Also homering for the Giants were Neal with his 9th HR and Kieschnick with his 7th HR. Neal also had his 17th and 18th doubles, helping to raise his OPS over 1.000 through 183 AB. Reaching base three times, Posey pushed his OBP above .400. Villalona suffered the oh-fer with the hat trick, pushing his SO/AB ratio up to 22%.
By Clark's standards, having a mere quality start for his tenth start of the season was perhaps his third worst start of the year. His ERA remains a very solid 3.21, and his peripheral stats suggest his ERA could be even lower than that with a bit better luck, or perhaps a bit more consistency since 11 of his 20 ER have come in two starts. Whitaker struck out two in a perfect 9th inning. The Rangers' Main continues to have a very disappointing season after entering the season ranked by some as a top 100 prospect. Today he allowed a season-high 8 ER to boost his ERA further to 7.33.
A-: Augusta defeated Savannah 7-5
Augusta: 1B Josh Mazzola: 1 for 3, 2B, BB
Augusta: 3B Charlie Culberson: 2 for 3, HR, HBP
Augusta: LHP Aaron King: 5.2 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K--1 WP
Augusta: LHP Dan Runzler: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K
Culberson had the GreenJackets' only multi-hit line, including his 1st HR of the year. His OPS remains below .600, however. Mazzola, who drew the GreenJackets' only walk, was the only other GreenJacket to reach base twice.
Making his ninth start of the year, King had his longest start of the year while allowing a season-low 2 H. For the season, his H/IP remains above 1.00 as his BAA above .275. For the second day in a row, Runzler allowed a couple baserunners but recorded the save. Having not allowed an earned run since April, his ERA now stands at 0.68 after nineteen appearances. Even with a hit in each of his last two appearances, which raises his season total to 8 H, his BAA remains below .100.
DSL: The Dominican Giants had their regular Sunday off-day.