Friday highlights from the Giants' farm: both Matt Downs and Jesus Guzman homered while reaching base three times. Also notable, Craig Westcott allowed 2 ER in 6.0 IP in his upper minors debut.
AAA: Fresno lost to Sacramento 4-3 (11 innings)
Fresno: 3B Matt Downs: 2 for 4, HR, 2B, BB
Fresno: DH Jesus Guzman: 2 for 4, HR, BB, SO, GiDP, SB
Sacramento: DH Matt Watson: 2 for 5, HR, SO
Fresno: SP Joe Martinez: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K--1 HR, 1 PO
Fresno: RP Alex Hinshaw: 1.0 IP, 2 K
Fresno: RP Tony Pena Jr.: 1.0+ IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Fresno: RP Geno Espineli: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 3 K
Downs and Guzman both homered while reaching base three times. The HRs were the 6th for Downs and the 10th for Guzman. Both hitters have AVGs of .300+. Watson, who played a bit for the Athletics in 2005 and who is back in their organization this year, had the RiverCats only multi-hit line as he also homered for the second straight night.
Martinez allowed a couple runs early but settled in after that. He retired the final ten batters he faced. He threw 89 pitches (50 strikes). Hinshaw had 2 K in a perfect 6th inning. After a scoreless 7th inning, Pena allowed a leadoff triple in the 8th inning that led to an earned run, although that hit perhaps should have been scored as an error as Velez and Bowker came together to make the catch. Espineli did allow the runner inherited from Pena to score, but otherwise retired nine of the ten batters he faced to lower his ERA below 3.00. He has the second lowest ERA among Grizzlies with at least 12 pitching appearances.
AA: Richmond defeated Erie 3-2
Richmond: LF Thomas Neal: 1 for 3, 2B, BB
Richmond: SP Craig Westcott: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Richmond: RP Dan Turpen: 2.0 IP, 1 K
Richmond: RP Rafael Cova: 1.0 IP, 3 K
Neal was the only Flying Squirrel to reach base twice as he walked and had his 20th double.
Westcott had a quality start in his upper minors debut. Is the Cal League's ERA leader a fairly underappreciated prospect, or are his less impressive K/IP and BB/IP stats more indicative of his true talent than his league-leading ERA? Turpen and Cova, who had his fifth straight multi-strikeout appearance, combined for 3.0 perfect IP to secure the win.
A+: San Jose defeated Lancaster 4-3
(rallying for three runs in the bottom of the 9th inning)
San Jose: 2B Charlie Culberson: 2 for 4
San Jose: LF James Simmons: 1 for 3, HR, BB, SO
San Jose: SP Eric Surkamp: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
San Jose: RP Edwin Quirarte: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 K
Simmons' 5th HR provided the Giants' only offense through the first eight innings, and he drew their only walk, which came in the 9th inning. Culberson was one of four Giants hitters with two hits, although he did not figure in the 9th inning scoring.
Surkamp had his fourth straight start with at least 6.0 IP and no more than 3 ER. This performance got his ERA back under 3.50 after fourteen starts. With 2.0 scoreless IP, Quirarte got his ERA back below 2.50.
A-: Augusta lost to Charleston 5-3
(scoring two runs to tie in the 8th inning but then allowing two runs in the 9th inning)
Augusta: 2B Ryan Cavan: 2 for 4, BB, 2 SO
Augusta: 3B Chris Dominguez: 2 for 5, 2 2B, SO
Augusta: SP Andrew Reichard: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 10 K
Dominguez had his 16th and 17th doubles, raising his SLG to nearly .450. Cavan didn't have any XBH but did reach base three times.
In his third start, Reichard delivered a quality start. I presume the 10 K were also a career high. Overall this year, his peripheral stats are 40 H, 13 BB, and 36 K in 35.1 IP.
ssA: Salem-Keizer lost to Everett 8-6
Salem-Keizer: 0 for 1, 4 BB
Salem-Keizer: RF Ryan Scoma: 2 for 3, 2B, HBP
Salem-Keizer: SP Matt Graham: 2.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 3 K--1 HR
Salem-Keizer: RP Andrew Romo: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 K
Scoma had the Volcanoes only multi-hit line, further raising his AVG to .468. Scorching hot, he may be the Volcanoes' only currently hot hitter, although Medina, who drew four walks, still has an AVG above .300 as well.
The 20-year-old Graham has now yielded 12 ER over his first three pro starts, giving him an ERA above 10.00 so far. Romo, who had made six PCL appearances earlier this year, made his second ever NWL appearance.
R: Giants defeated Dodgers 7-4
Scottsdale: SS Jose Cuevas: 1 for 3, HR, BB
Scottsdale: SP Lorenzo Mendoza: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K--1 HB
Scottsdale: RP Addison Proszek: 1.0 IP, 2 K
Cuevas had his 2nd pro HR in his third straight game with an XBH.
The 18-year-old Mendoza has a 3.00 ERA through his first three starts in the U.S. He has exactly 4.0 IP in each of those starts. In his first appearance of the year, Proszek, the Giants' 38th rounder a year ago, had 2 K in a perfect 7th inning.
DSL: Giants defeated Nationals 16-2
Dominican: 2B Cristian Paulino: 4 for 5, 2B, HBP, SO, SB, CS
Dominican: SP Luis Angeles: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Paulino (18.10 y.o.) raised his AVG to .269 with four hits. Angeles (20.6 y.o) had his fifth straigth start with at least 6.0 IP. His WHIP remains below 1.00, and his ERA below 2.00.