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Highlights: Uh....well, at least the players got to watch Stephen Colbert on the Late Show when they got back to the hotel. Oh, there were some San Jose transactions!
Salem-Keizer got gobsmacked by the Hillsboro Hops (Diamondbacks), 8-0
Yeah, there's just no other way to put this.
| Name | AB | R | H | RBI | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | SO | Other | |
| RF | Steven Duggar | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | - |
| DH | Miguel Gomez | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| 3B | Dillon Dobson | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Name | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | WP | HBP |
| Grant Watson, L | 2.1 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eric Sim | 0.1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Armando Paniagua | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Carlos Hernandez (Hillsboro), W | 6.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Yep, this game was that bad. Carlos Hernandez of the Diamondbacks organization had a spectacular year and all his talent showed through in this game. He struck out 12 of the 24 batters he faced, mostly with a devastating curve and great fastball control. The reason I picked the batters to highlight in this game is, other than being the only three with hits, Gomez and Dobson were the only Salem-Keizer starters not to strike out at least once.
For what it's worth, Hernandez was named the Northwest League Pitcher of the Year and led the league with 93 strikeouts.
There's not much to say about the Volcanoes in this game. Watson had been lights out in the AZL this season, but had struggled in three NWL starts before this game. Eric Sim had a great season, but he just didn't have any control in his nightmare outing, but against Hernandez, the game was probably lost before Sim even came in.
If there's one highlight, Steven Duggar made an incredible catch heading for the seats, so watch this instead of staring at the box score.
Tonight's series-deciding game will feature Logan Webb for Salem-Keizer against (presumably) Tyler Bolton. Webb, a 4th round pick in 2014, had a 4.92 ERA in 14 starts for the Volcanoes this season, allowing three earned runs in each of his last three starts, which varied in length from 7 innings to 0.2 innings. Bolton, a 33rd round pick in 2014, had a 3.89 ERA for the Hops this season. Bolton was announced as the starter in the Hops' game recap, but at press time, the Hops starting pitcher is "TBD".
The winner will face Tri-City in the NWL Finals.
Good luck, Volcanoes!
The San Jose Giants made a bunch of roster moves
The San Jose Giants will open the playoffs at home against Stockton tonight, in a Best-of-3 series, with games 2 and 3 to be played in Stockton. The winner will take on Visalia in the next round.
To prepare, the San Jose Giants got a lot of help from Augusta.
Sam Coonrod, Carlos Diaz, Chuckie Jones and Jonah Arenado headed to San Jose for playoffs. Finished season in Augusta this afternoon.
— Stephanie French (@cusefrenchie711) September 8, 2015
That's quite a list of names, with of course Coonrod being the headline. The 5th round pick from 2014 bolted onto the prospect scene, finishing the season with a 3.14 ERA after he seemed to tire a bit in August. He came in 4th in the SAL in strikeouts with 114 in 111.2 innings. All three of the pitcher ahead of him in strikeouts tossed more than 20 innings more than Coonrod did. Carlos Diaz was a top reliever and fill-in closer for Augusta, posting a 1.63 ERA in 40 relief appearances with Augusta. It was the 21-year old Colombian left-hander's first year as a reliever, after struggling as a starter the last two seasons.
Jonah Arenado turned some heads with a hot start to the season, and finished with a .264/.293/.367 line. The 20-year old seemed to pick up a little speed in Augusta, putting up a .696 OPS after dipped to .604 in June. Chuckie Jones, now 23, had a tough season, playing only 44 games this season. He had a slash line of .240/.325/.400 for Augusta this season.
Going tonight for the Giants, however, will be Jason Forjet. Forgot had a 2.67 ERA for the Giants this season, and was named the California Pitcher of the Week for the first week of September after an 8-inning, 10 strikeout game. He didn't allow an earned run in any of his last three games. Stockton has not announced a starter as of this writing.