Saturday highlights from the Giants' farm: Surkamp had 10 K in 6.1 scoreless IP, Andrew Kown and Taylor Rogers both had quality starts too, and Brad Eldred homered among three hits.
AAA: Fresno defeated Tucson 7-3
Fresno: CF Andres Torres: 1 for 4, HR, BB, SO
Fresno: RF Brandon Belt: 2 for 3, BB
Fresno: 1B Brad Eldred: 3 for 4, HR
Tucson: 1B Anthony Rizzo: 1 for 2, BB, HBP, SO, E
Fresno: SP Andrew Kown: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 9 K--1 HR
Fresno: RP Steven Edlefsen: 1.0 IP, 1 K
All eight Grizzly position players in the starting lineup had a hit, but they were led by Eldred's three hits. He had his 2nd HR, while Torres also homered in his third rehab game. Belt joined Eldred in reaching base three times. The Padres' Rizzo had his 10th HR. Hitting .397/.466/.759 through his first 116 AB, the Padres' top hitting prospect may not be in the minors much longer.
Kown had a season-high 9 K. This was his third quality start among his six starts. His peripherals tstats now include 29 K vs 12 BB in 34.0 IP. Edlefsen bounced from his previous appearance (6 ER in 0.1 IP) with a perfect 8th inning.
AA: Richmond defeated Altoona 5-0
(scoring four of their five runs in the 3rd inning)
Richmond: 2B Charlie Culberson: 2 for 4, HBP
Richmond: CF Juan Perez: 3 for 4, 2B, HBP
Richmond: RF Mike McBryde: 1 for 1, 2B, BB
Richmond: SP Eric Surkamp: 6.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 10 K
Richmond: RP Edwin Quirarte: 1.2 IP, 1 K
Perez had three hits, including his 8th double, to raise his AVG to .241. Culberson was one of three other Flying Squirrels' with a multi-hit game. McBryde reached base in both of his plate appearances before being removed for a pinch hitter in the 5th inning.
Surkamp had his third straight start with 10 K. While his walk rate is higher than one might expect for a finesse pitcher, his peripheral stats of 24 H, 15 BB, and 51 K in 32.2 IP otherwise express dominance. Quirarte got five outs while facing four batters.
A+: San Jose lost to Bakersfield 6-5
(after leading 3-2 after six innings)
San Jose: CF Gary Brown: 3 for 4, 2B, SB
San Jose: DH Luke Anders: 1 for 4, HR
San Jose: C Hector Sanchez: 1 for 4, HR, SO
San Jose: RF Ryan Lollis: 2 for 4, 2B
San Jose: SP Kelvin Marte: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K--2 HR
With three more hits, Brown raised his AVG to .358. He also had his 18th SB. Lollis had the Giants' other multi-hit line. Anders and Sanchez had their 5th and 2nd HRs, respectively.
Marte had his longest start of the year, completing seven innings for the first time. Even so, this was perhaps his least effective start as he allowed more than 1 ER for the first time in his six starts. He yielded 2 HRs after having given up just one previously this year.
A-: Augusta lost to West Virginia 1-0
Augusta: 2B Carols Willoughby: 3 for 4, SB
Augusta: RF Rafael Rodriguez: 0 for 4, 3 SO
Augusta: SP Taylor Rogers: 6.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 5 K--1 WP
Augusta: RP Edwards Concepcion: 1.0 IP, 1 K
Willoughby had three of the GreenJackets' six hits. He also had his 11th SB. Raf-Rod was one of two GreenJackets' to have an oh-fer with a hat trick. His SO/AB rate remains modest, though, at 14%.
Rogers had his second straight start allowing just 1 R while pitching into the 7th inning. He improved his ERA to 2.86, but his W-L record dropped to 1-4. After allowing six runs in his first start, he has allowed just six runs over his subsequent four starts combined. Concepcion pitched a perfect 8th inning--a rare occurence for him given that both his H/IP and BB/IP are above 1.00.