Highlights from the Giants' farm: Craig Westcott had 9 K and just 1 ER in 7.0 IP, Matt Yourkin had 7.0 scoreless IP, Chris Dominguez homered and singled, Charlie Culberson had four hits, and four different Grizzlies homered--Jackson Williams, Ryan Rohlinger, John Bowker, and Brett Pill.
AAA: Fresno defeated Las Vegas 12-2
(after leading 5-0 through six innings)
Fresno: 2B Manny Burriss: 3 for 5, 2B
Fresno: SS Ryan Rohlinger: 1 for 3, HR, 2 BB, GiDP
Fresno: LF John Bowker: 2 for 5, HR, SO
Fresno: 1B Brett Pill: 2 for 5, HR, SO, GiDP
Fresno: C Jackson Williams: 1 for 3, HR, SO, GiDP
Fresno: SP Matt Yourkin: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
Fresno: RP Alex Hinshaw: 1.0 IP, 2 K
Four different Grizzlies homered--Pill for his 11th HR, Bowker for his 10th HR, Rohlinger for his 4th HR, and Williams for his 1st HR. While every Grizzly in the lineup had a hit, Burriss was one of two Grizzlies with three hits, raising his AVG above .300.
Yourkin, who has emerged as the Grizzlies' most effective starter, had 7.0 scoreless IP to lower his ERA below 3.50. Hinshaw had 2 K in a perfect 8th inning.
AA: Richmond defeated Bowie 4-2
Richmond: CF Darren Ford: 3 for 4, 2B, SO, 2 CS
Richmond: DH Thomas Neal: 2 for 4
Richmond: RF Clay Timpner: 2 for 3, BB
Richmond: SP Craig Westcott: 7.0+ IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K--1 HR, 1 HB, 1 E
Ford had three of the Flying Squirrels' ten hits, but he was also caught stealing twice. His season line of .239/.299/.344 in 352 AB with 27/15 SB/CS remains disappointing. Neal and Timpner also had multi-hit lines.
Westcott's third start since being promoted to the upper minors was his best yet, including a season-high 9 K.
A+: San Jose defeated Lancaster 7-1
San Jose: CF Juan Perez: 3 for 4, 2B, CS
San Jose: 2B Charlie Culberson: 4 for 5, SB
San Jose: SP Eric Surkamp: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
San Jose: RP Ryan Verdugo: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 4 K--1 WP
Culberson and Perez combined for nearly half of the Giants' fifteen hits, raising their repsective AVGs to .331 and .301. Perez is apparently not the basestealer given his 13/10 SB/CS line. Culberson, who is nearly two and a half years younger than Perez, has experienced better success on the bases with his 18/5 SB/CS line.
One hit was unfortunately enough to knock Surkamp out of today's game. The final batter Surkamp faced singled on a ground ball back to him. Verdugo provided long relief to keep the JetHawks scoreless through five innings.
A-: Augusta defeated Charleston 3-1
(scoring two runs in the top of the 9th inning)
Augusta: 3B Chris Dominguez: 2 for 4, HR, SO
Charleston: DH J.R. Murphy: 3 for 3, BB
Augusta: SP Chris Heston: 5.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Augusta: RP Jose Casilla: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 K
Dominguez, who had the GreenJackets' only multi-hit line, got his second hit with his 14th HR to break the tie score with one out in the 9th inning. Murphy, who is one of the Yankees' top ten prospects, reached base four times. Drafted in the second round a year as a catcher (similar to the Giants' Tommy Joseph), he has hit just .249/.288/.340 through 209 AB in the Sally League this year.
Heston had an effective start, this time getting a few more ground balls than usual (7/2 GO/FO line). The victim of poor run support, he still did not get a win today. In his last nine starts, he has a K/BB above 5.00 and only twice has allowed more than 2 ER but has a 1-5 W-L record in that stretch. Casilla got his 7th save.
ssA: Salem-Keizer lost to Vancouver 7-4
Salem-Keizer: CF Chris Lofton: 2 for 4, 2B
Salem-Keizer: RF Jose Medina: 2 for 4, SO, SB
Salem-Keizer: SP Kevin Couture: 5.0 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K--1 WP
Salem-Keizer: RP Matt Graham: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 K
Lofton and Medina were the only two Volcanoes to reach base twice. Lofton's double was the Volcanoes' only XBH today and just his second XBH in eighteen pro games.
Couture's third start was his least effective after he had allowed just one run in each of his previous two starts. He did have an 8/1 GO/FO line, but also allowed a season-high 8 H. Graham struck out three of the six batters he faced, but his ERA remains close to 8.00.
R: Giants defeated Rangers 3-0
Scottsdale: LF Jose De La Cruz: 2 for 4, SO, CS
Scottsdale: SP Kendry Flores: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
Scottsdale: RP Kelvin Marte: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 4 K
With this third straight multi-hit game, De La Cruz was the only rookie Giant to reach base twice.
The 18-year-old Flores had his second straight start with 0 ER in 5.0 IP. After a small flood of runs in his first four starts, his ERA is now down to nearly 6.00. Marte struck out four of his six batters in his fifth appearance. He had had just 3 K in his previous four appearances (in 4.2 IP).
DSL: The Gigantes had their usual Sunday off-day