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SF Giants Minor Lines, 8/9

Flashing some leather edition!

By Roger

Runs weren't plentiful, at least at the top of the system, but there was a lot of this:

Trust me, you'll see more!

HIGHLIGHT: Jordan Johnson struck out 7, allowed 1 Run in 7 IP; Aramis Garcia returned!; Jalen Miller had two hits with HR.

Sacramento lost at Tacoma Rainiers (Mariners), 5-1

Player

Pos

AB

R

H

2B

3B

HR

RBI

BB

SO

AVG*

OBP

SLG

Ramiro Pena

2B

3

1

1

1

0

0

0

1

1

.305

.364

.443

Austin Slater

LF

4

0

2

1

0

0

1

0

1

.244

.335

.393

Grant Green

RF

3

0

2

1

0

0

0

0

0

.302

.326

.450

Player

IP

H

R

ER

BB

SO

HR

ERA*

Alex Torres (L, 1-2)

1.1

2

2

1

4

0

0

4.70

Vin Mazzaro

2.2

3

2

2

4

0

0

3.03

Tyler Rogers

2.0

1

0

0

0

0

0

3.57

Cory Gearrin

1.0

1

1

1

1

2

0

1.80

Jean Machi

1.0

0

0

0

0

0

0

3.78

Three of the first four Sacramento batters of the night reached base, with Austin Slater's RBI double giving them a quick 1-0 lead. However, they'd only have five more base runners the rest of the game, and never two in any inning after the 1st. Interestingly, three of the team's six hits in the game were doubles. Following Slater's double in the 1st, Chris Denorfia singled (the only hit with a RISP during the game for the RiverCats) but Slater was held at 3b, and during the following AB Slater was thrown out home on an attempted double steal. The team would never seriously threaten to score again.

Which was unfortunate, because the bullpen spot start plan didn't go so well, with Alex Torres lasting just four outs into the game, during which he walked four batters. Vin Mazzaro lasted a little longer, but didn't fare much better.

The trades of Adalberto Mejia and Phil Bickford seem to be having major ripple effects all over the system. Dan Slania had to be moved from Sacramento to San Jose because SJ didn't have a pitcher who could cover Bickford's scheduled start. Cory Taylor meanwhile got promoted to RIchmond to cover Slania's spot (he couldn't go to SJ to cover Bickford's because it was short rest for him). And though Sacramento added Albert Suarez, the loss of Slania combined with Friday's double header put them short a starter as well. While Augusta's rotation now includes three different members of their bullpen (including Heath Slatton, who had never started a game in his career before this weekend), an undrafted FA signed in April, and a guy brought up from XST.  Maybe time to trawl the Mexican League for some arms to make it through August.

Speaking of arms, Pat Venditte pitched against the RiverCats yesterday, which means the game log had a unique look to it:

* * *

Richmond lost to Trenton Thunder (Yankees), 2-1

Player

Pos

AB

R

H

2B

3B

HR

RBI

BB

SO

AVG*

OBP

SLG

Steven Duggar

CF

3

1

1

0

0

0

0

0

1

.320

.378

.415

Chris Shaw

DH

4

0

2

0

0

0

1

0

1

.227

.275

.383

Player

IP

H

R

ER

BB

SO

HR

ERA

Sam Coonrod

6.0

3

1

1

3

1

0

2.95

Josh Osich (L, 0-1)

0.1

0

1

1

3

0

0

27.00

Hits were even harder to come by in Richmond than in Sacramento (or Tacoma, really). Steven Duggar and Chris Shaw had the team's only three hits of the game, with walks to Christian Arroyo and Jeff Arnold, and a Duggar HBP completing the team's offensive attack. Well, maybe attack is hyperbolic. Duggar's game also included his 6th SB with Richmond which put him in position to score Richmond's lone run on Shaw's single. Duggar's working to turn his speed into a weapon on the bases, with spotty success thus far. With Richmond he has 6 SB against 5 CS and for the full year he's at 12 apiece for a poor 50% success ratio.

Shaw continues slowly pulling himself out of the abyss. He had two hits and a sharp line drive out in the game, though he did also pick up his 101st K of the year. His K% has actually lowered in Richmond, compared to SJ, though his BB% rate has declined as well.

Sam Coonrod continued to do what it is that he seems to do: he limited runs while putting up pretty ugly peripherals. Despite a 3:1 BB: K in the game, Coonrod allowed just three hits, with two of them coming within the first three hitters of the game. He allowed a run on a ground out and then shut the Thunder down for the next five innings.  It's definitely a major question why his power stuff isn't missing more bats though.  He has just 33 Ks in 55 IP with Richmond against 26 BBs for a truly poor near-1:1 ratio. For the season he has just 75 Ks in 118.2 IP against 48 BBs.  In his favor, he has shown a decided proclivity towards ground balls in AA and he did so yesterday with 10 ground ball outs.

And when balls did get up in the air, he had some help from his friends. This is not a repeat!

Tyler's doing much better run prevention work in RF than he did on the mound the other night!

* * *

San Jose beat High Desert Mavericks (Rangers), 3-1

Player

Pos

AB

R

H

2B

3B

HR

RBI

BB

SO

AVG

OBP

SLG

Jonah Arenado

1B

4

0

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

.267

.301

.431

Aramis Garcia

C

4

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

.295

.354

.364

Miguel Gomez

DH

4

1

1

0

0

1

1

0

2

.237

.272

.421

Daniel Carbonell

LF

3

1

3

1

0

0

0

0

0

.287

.333

.377

Player

IP

H

R

ER

BB

SO

HR

ERA

Jordan Johnson (W, 8-8)

7.0

3

1

1

2

7

1

5.42

D.J. Snelten (H, 5)

1.0

2

0

0

0

1

0

4.30

Reyes Moronta (S, 9)

1.0

0

0

0

0

2

0

2.23

Jordan Johnson had his best night in quite awhile. On June 13, Johnson went 7 innings and allowed 1 Run with 7 Ks. Since then, in 8 starts, he'd never made it to the 7th inning, had given up 5 or more runs six times, and never allowed less than 3 runs. Until last night. Johnson did have problems with lead off hitters last night, allowing the lead off hitter to reach base in four of the first five innings (including a HB and BB) so he was in the stretch throughout the night. But he managed to survive and thrive throughout. He allowed just a solo HR in tense pitchers duel that was tied for nearly his entire night. He finished strong, striking out the side in his final inning of work.

When Johnson started catching eyes in the AZL last summer, he was sitting in the upper 90s, often hitting 98-99 in his complex league starts. This year he's been more regularly working in the 90-92 range it sounds like, flashing 93, and too often his command hasn't been sufficient at the lower velocity to avoid punishment.  That's probably not terribly unexpected as he soars to nearly twice his previous high in innings at any level, pro or amateur, (he'll probably finish with double last year's innings). Get through the full year healthy and see what next year brings seems like a good plan for Jordan.

Oh, and it's important to note that Johnson was also grateful for a helping hand from his friends.

Told ya we were flashing the leather!

There wasn't exactly a strong proliferation of offense in this game either, as the Giants winning runs came in on a two-run error in the 7th. Daniel Carbonell collected a third of the team's hits including a double and he also stole his 10 base. Miguel Gomez, who has definitely slowed down the hit parade since his promotion, did show some serious plate coverage and strength in driving his 3rd HR with SJ (11th overall) to tie the game at 1-1.

Of course, the best looking line in this box score was a plain ol' 1 for 4, that represented Aramis Garcia's return to the peninsula, two and a half months after fracturing his orbital bone sliding into 2b.

Oh, and one final note, another honor:

* * *

Augusta won at Hickory Crawdads (Rangers), 7-2

Player

Pos

AB

R

H

2B

3B

HR

RBI

BB

SO

AVG*

OBP

SLG

Jalen Miller

SS

4

1

2

0

0

1

2

1

0

.230

.268

.326

Matt Winn

C

4

1

2

0

0

0

0

1

0

.244

.335

.428

Jean Angomas

LF

5

1

3

1

0

0

2

0

0

.241

.285

.331

Seth Harrison

RF

4

1

2

0

0

0

1

0

0

.271

.343

.390

Player

IP

H

R

ER

BB

SO

HR

ERA

Domenic Mazza (W, 5-2)

6.0

6

0

0

1

6

0

3.39

Ryan Halstead (H, 4)

2.0

2

0

0

1

2

0

4.74

Cesar Yanez

1.0

3

2

2

1

3

0

7.71

Hey! Here be offense!

There was a stretch from mid June to mid July when I feared that Miller was going to fade into the Georgia sun into his first year of full season ball, as he suffered a 15 for 115 stretch complete with 32 Ks. But he has stabilized in the last month, and while you can't say he's surging you can certainly say that he's surviving. He has hits in 13 of his last 18 games including six multi-hit efforts over that time. He's also shown hints of an improved approach with 6 walks in that stretch, against 16 Ks. For the season those numbers are 20 BB, 88 Ks. And maybe most encouraging, there's a little flash of power. In his last two games played he's had five hits included a double and two HRs (giving him 4 for the year). For a 19 year old with concerns about whether the has the strength and physicality for the daily grind, it's a positive sign to see some power in the middle of August.  Good job, Jalen!

Jean Angomas' short trip to the NWL seems to have really perked up his bat as well. Through June Angomas struggled to stay above the .200 line. But he tore up short-season ball in his very brief trip there, and since returning to the Sally he's been hitting about .290 in a little more than a 100 PA. This was his third consecutive multi-hit game including a couple of doubles. He also hit his only HR of the year (a grand slam) last week.

With the win, the Greenjackets ensured a series win and kicked Hickory out of 1st place in the Northern Division. They also ensured at least a .500 road trip. They maintain their 3.5 game lead in the Southern Division.  Meanwhile, back at Lake Olmstead:

* * *

Salem-Keizer lost to Eugene Emeralds (Cubs), 11-5

Player

Pos

AB

R

H

2B

3B

HR

RBI

BB

SO

AVG*

OBP

SLG

Manuel Geraldo

3B

5

1

2

0

0

0

0

0

1

.286

.317

.365

Bryan Reynolds

CF

3

1

1

1

0

0

0

1

0

.311

.385

.521

Ryan Kirby

1B

4

0

1

0

0

0

2

0

3

.276

.366

.441

Ryan Howard

SS

4

1

2

1

0

0

1

0

0

.260

.295

.342

Player

IP

H

R

ER

BB

SO

HR

ERA

Victor Concepcion (L, 3-5)

3.0

10

9

8

2

3

1

6.20

Hengerber Medina

2.0

0

0

0

1

4

0

4.53

Victor Concepcion's return to the starting rotation did not go particularly smooth as the Emeralds buried him under a barrage of hits, including two doubles and a HR, in his 3+ innings of work. He faced five batters in the 4th without retiring any of them, and for the game 13 of the 20 batters he faced reached base safely against him. Were it not for two CS in the first inning, his line could look even worse.

Hengerber Medina, on the other hand, has been thriving since moved to a relief role. In his four relief appearances, he's surrendered just one Run on four hits over 10.2 IP and most of that came in his first game. In his last three relief appearances he's allowed just 1 Hit, 0 Runs and struck out 12 vs. 3 BBs in 8.2 IP.

Bryan Reynolds picked up his 11th double of the season with his lone hit. Sixteen of Reynolds 37 hits this year have gone for XB. Manuel Geraldo now has 8 hits in 16 ABs over his last three games. He's raised his batting average 20 points since Sunday. Ryan Kirby had a rough one, with three Ks to go along with his 6th error of the season.

Volcanoes PxP man Bill Harrington interviews new reliever CJ Gettman on what is hopefully the first installment of a regular feature: Inside the Dugout:

* * *

AZL had their regular off day

* * *

DSL Giants lost to DSL Mariners1, 4-2

Player

Pos

AB

R

H

2B

3B

HR

RBI

BB

SO

AVG*

OBP

SLG

Ismael Munguia

CF

4

1

3

0

0

0

0

1

0

.291

.372

.392

Nishell Gutierrez

2B

5

0

2

0

0

0

1

0

3

.250

.316

.279

Franklin Labour

LF

3

0

1

0

0

0

1

0

1

.248

.339

.315

Ricardo Genoves

C

3

0

1

0

0

0

0

1

0

.273

.357

.341

Player

IP

H

R

ER

BB

SO

HR

ERA*

Johan Herrera

6.2

3

2

1

2

4

1

2.39

Jose Yan (L, 0-1)

0.2

2

2

2

1

0

1

12.00

Jasier Herrera

0.2

1

0

0

0

1

0

2.95

Back to back losses to the division leading Mariners has the DSL Giants back down 5.5 games in the division with an elimination of 12. That's the problem with long winning streaks getting you back into contention: they just can't be sustained. Once again the Giants had a late lead, but starter Johan Herrera surrendered a HR in the bottom of the 7th to tie it -- just the second HR he'd allowed all year in 57.1 IP. And then Jose Yan gave up a two-run job in the 8th for the loser. Dagger.

The Giants had just eight hits (all singles), with five of those coming from the top two spots in the order. Ismael Munguia filled up the stat sheet, reaching base four times, stealing his 8th base of the season, getting caught stealing for the 6th time, and throwing out a runner at home in the 9th inning.

* * *

Pretty good slate of pitchers going today, with Tyler Beede trying to build off his dominant start, Mac Marshall trying to take another step in the right direction, and Ty Blach doing what he does.

Today's Matchups:
Sacramento: Ty Blach vs. Jarrett Grube
Richmond: Tyler Beede vs. Will Carter
San Jose: Jose Reyes vs. Adam Quintana
Augusta: Matt Solter vs. Luke Lanphere
SK: Mac Marshall vs. Bailey Clark
AZL and DSL: TBD

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