Minor Lines, April 10

Came a rumbling from below! Augusta bats wake up in their second game of the season with an extra base hit explosion, including Jonah Arenado's very first professional HR.  It's not every day you can watch someone's first professional HR, so take your time, relax, enjoy!

HIGHLIGHTS: Stephen Johnson K's 5 consecutive batters in AA debut. Arenado had 3 hits including 2 HRs. Johneshwy Fargas had 3 hits including a 2b. Jeremy Sy reached base 3 times, including 3b, HR, and a SB. And the HR was a monster shot:

To the games:

Sacramento lost to Salt Lake City (Angels), 2-0

	Name	AB	R	H	RBI	2B	3B	HR	BB	SO	SB	CS	HBP
C	Andrew Susac	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
3b	Adam Duvall	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0

Name	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	HB	WP
Cody Hall	1.2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Hunter Strickland	0.2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0

Not too much to be excited about here. The RiverCats have scored just one run in their first two games and managed only three hits and 0 walks vs 11 strikeouts last night.  Most of the dominance came from Andrew Heaney, BA's #42 prospect this year, who the Angels acquired for Howie Kendrick. He apparently didnt think much of being sent to AAA. Braulio Lara had an effective start, essentially losing the game on one HR pitch, and Juan Gutierrez, Cody Hall, Clay Rapada, and Hunter Strickland finished up with 4 innings of 1 hit shutout ball.  Hall and Strickland were making their AAA debuts.

Still singles can be highlights too!

Richmond defeated Bowie (Orioles), 1-0

	Name	AB	R	H	RBI	2B	3B	HR	BB	SO	SB	CS	HBP
LF	Daniel Carbonell	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0
RF	Mac Williamson	4	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
CF	Javier Herrera	4	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Name	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	HB	WP
Stephen Johnson	2.0	2	0	0	1	5	0	0	0
Josh Osich, S1	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Not much hitting in this game at all as only 8 hits were allowed by both sides. Javy Herrera was the only player with an XBH in the game and one of only two Squirrels to reach base twice. Two time Squirrel Pitcher of the Year Jack Snodgrass combined with Stephen Johnson, Phil McCormick, and Josh Osich on the 3 hit shutout. Johnson made his AA debut and after allowing the first two batters to reach, and a quick mound visit from pitching coach Steve Kline (hoodie on, we assume), he ran a streak of domination through the next two innings, striking out 5 batters in succession. Josh Osich closed and in another bit of good news, PxP announcer Jon Laaser had Osich throwing fb in the mid-90s, which is a noticeable tick up from where he was last year.

San Jose defeated Lancaster (Astros), 5-0

	Name	AB	R	H	RBI	2B	3B	HR	BB	SO	SB	CS	HBP
SS	Christian Arroyo	5	1	3	1	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
3b	Ryder Jones	4	0	2	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0
C	Ty Ross	2	1	1	0	1	0	0	2	1	0	0	0

Name	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	HB	WP
Chase Johnson	4.0	2	0	0	2	4	0	0	0
Martin Agosta	2.0	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	0
Dan Slania	1.0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Five SJ pitchers (including Martin Agosta out of the pen) held a very tough Lancaster offense to a 5 hit shutout.  Offensively most of the Giants damage came during a 4 run rally in the third.  Christian Arroyo had a fine night with two doubles, the first coming off highly rated prospect and 40 man roster member Michael Feliz (BA's #5 prospect in the Astros system this year).  Ryder Jones followed yesterday's game with 2 more hits and  a SB.

And if you'd like to get to know Ryder a little better, you can do so here by listening to his pre game interview with Joe Ritzo. Be prepared to be totally charmed when he says "I thought DANG I pulled it foul!" And if you, like me, think that teams could do themselves a favor by taking a more active role in their minor leaguers nutrition, be prepared to think "DANG they gotta feed these boys!"

Augusta defeated Greenville (Astros) 9-6

	Name	AB	R	H	RBI	2B	3B	HR	BB	SO	SB	CS	HBP
CF	Johneshwy Fargas	6	2	3	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
SS	Jeremy Sy	5	1	2	4	0	1	1	1	1	1	0	0
DH	John Riley	4	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
C	Aramis Garcia	3	0	1	1	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	0
3b	Jonah Arenado	5	3	3	3	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
1b	Skyler Ewing	5	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0

Name	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	HB	WP
Michael Santos	2.2	4	1	1	1	2	0	0	0
Rodolpho Martinez	1.2	3	1	1	0	1	0	0	0
Raymundo Montero, S1	2.0	1	0	0	0	3	0	0	0

Green jacket hitters are still whiffing enough to start their own storm system (now with 27 Ks to 4 BBs as a team in two games), but last night they also added in 7 XBH to power the team to 9 runs.  XBH came from all over the lineup, from the top where Johneshwy Fargas doubled off Greenvilles mini-Green Monster, to the bottom where Jonah Arenado hit 2 HRs.  Arenado's start to the season has been excellent as he's not only hitting and hitting with power, but he's making more contact than his teammates as well with only 1 strikeout in two games. Last night he was the only player in the lineup who avoided a K. He's also looked smooth in the field.  It's worth noting that most of Augusta's offensive outpouring last night came against a couple of 24 year old lefties repeating A ball, but still, it's good to get the bats going.

Michael Santos' eagerly anticipated full season debut was sadly anti-climactic. He lasted only 2.2 IP before being escorted off the field by the trainer after throwing a couple pitches in some discomfort.  He wasnt holding his arm and it didnt look terribly serious, but the situation obviously bears following.  Even before this however, it didn't look like he had the sharpness we heard about last year as he was failing to miss bats at all.  I believe he only induced 1 swing thru in his time on the mound.

In tonight's games, Ty Blach, Kyle Crick, and Keury Mella will all make their season debuts. Should be fun

Final thought: you rushed through that highlight of Arenado's first HR didn't you? I told you not to, but you did! It's ok! I've got another: