SF Giants Minor Lines, 8/30

Hey guys.  The Brute is here to take you through the end of the regular season, and any playoffs the Giants' system should have.  Before I get started with the excellent pitching we saw tonight, I'd like to give Roger a huge thank you for all the work he's done this season.  I honestly don't know how he does this as well as he does it, and I'm in awe.  It's been a pleasure and an honor to help him this season.

Onto the games!

Sacramento defeated Reno (Diamondbacks), 4-0

Player	Pos	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
Kelby Tomlinson	2B	3	1	2	1	0	0	2	1	0	.286
Austin Slater	CF	4	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	.300
Grant Green	3B	4	0	2	1	0	0	0	0	1	.306
Ruben Tejada	SS	3	1	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	.285

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Chris Stratton (W, 12-6)	7.0	6	0	0	2	8	0	4.02
Steven Okert	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3.80
Jean Machi	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	3.66

Let’s kick this great pitching day off with a strong start by Chris Stratton.

Stratton had 7 shutout innings, his first shutout start all season.  He did have to work around some baserunners, allowing 8 in the game.  His biggest trouble was in the 5th, when he walked the leadoff runner, who got to third on a single.  The first out of the inning came at home as Travis Ishikawa got the runner at the plate.  Stratton let a runner get to third on a wild pitch still with just one out, but was able to work out of it.

Stratton got to work with a lead most of the game.  The River Cats got a run in the first inning on an Austin Slater RBI single after Kelby Tomlinson led off the game with a walk.  It was the other way around in the fourth inning, when the River Cats got three runs, when Tomlinson doubled in two runs.  It was a big game for Tomlinson, who was on base three times, and also stole two bases to give him 12 on the year in 15 attempts at Triple-A.

For Stratton, it lowered his ERA to a season-low 4.02.  He now has a .253 average against and a 1.26 WHIP, and the big question for him is whether or not he will get one more start in Triple-A before becoming a September callup.  He and Tomlinson are two near-certain ones.

Richmond defeated Hartford (Rockies), 11-0 (Game 2 of the originally scheduled Doubleheader was cancelled)

Player	Pos	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
Steven Duggar	CF	5	1	2	2	0	0	0	0	1	.316
Christian Arroyo	2B	5	1	1	1	0	0	3	0	1	.276
Tyler Horan	RF	5	3	2	0	0	2	3	0	1	.260
Chris Shaw	1B	4	2	1	1	0	0	2	1	0	.242
Ryder Jones	3B	3	1	1	0	0	0	1	1	1	.243

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Andrew Suarez (W, 7-7)	7.0	6	0	0	0	3	0	4.25
Preston Claiborne (H, 5)	1.0	1	0	0	0	2	0	2.55
Joe Nathan	1.0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0.00

Andrew Suarez is locked in. First pitch is at 6:05 PM. #GoSquirrels pic.twitter.com/bc4SpyB9SK

— Squirrels Baseball (@GoSquirrels) August 30, 2016

They weren’t wrong.  Another great piece of pitching here with another 7 inning shutout outing, this time by Andrew Suarez.

Suarez put up goose eggs for the second time this season, and this time for longer.  Suarez limited the Yard Goats for seven innings, only allowing the six hits, and just one inning where he allowed more than one hit.  Suarez bounced back from two rough starts, giving up four and five runs in his last two starts.  Suarez has struggled at times giving up hits, as he currently has a .304 average against, but he has prought that far down from its high of .356 it sat at in the beginning of July.

The Squirrels, however, were collecting more runs than hits, with 11 runs on just 7 hits.  They got six walks and two errors to help out.  Richmond only scored in two innings.  In the first, they collected doubles from Steven Duggar and Chris Shaw as part of a three-run inning.  But it was the 8th inning that was bigger.  Tyler Horan hit two home runs in the inning, bookending the inning, leading it off, and collecting the last hit of the inning.  It gives Horan 12 on the season, and five in August after he missed much of July with injury.  Here’s his second home run of the game.

The teams decided to cancel the previously scheduled second game of the Doubleheader, with the season rolling down and the game not affecting the postseason positioning.

San Jose was defeated by Bakersfield (Mariners), 3-2

Player	Pos	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
Rando Moreno	SS	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	.255
Dylan Davis	DH	3	0	1	0	0	0	1	1	2	.301
Miguel Gomez	3B	3	1	2	1	0	0	0	1	0	.260
Cristian Paulino	LF	4	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	3	.262

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Jordan Johnson	6.0	4	1	1	2	8	1	5.33
Pat Young (H, 11)	1.0	0	0	0	1	3	0	4.10
Tyler Cyr (H, 8)	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	0	2.57
Reyes Moronta (BS, 4)(L, 0-3)	1.0	1	2	1	1	2	0	2.68

Jordan Johnson wasn’t quite as good as his compatriots at the higher levels, but he was good all the same.

Johnson has been limiting the runs and hits in the month of August, and while Tuesday’s game wasn’t his best (he had 7 hits with 1 run allowed on just 3 hits and 2 walks on August 9th), but he was almost as good.  His only troubles came in the 6th, when he gave up a two-out home run.  He gave up a double and another batter reached on an error after that, but he got out of the inning before being replaced.  The home runs have been one of Johnson’s problems.  Today’s was his 24th allowed this season in 120 innings.  In the 62 innings before that, he had allowed just three.  Most disturbingly, he hasn’t pitched in Lancaster or High Desert this season.  He had given up five home runs in his last two games alone.

Unfortunately, for all his success, there was no win in the cards for Johnson.  With closer Reyes Moronta on the mound, a Rando Moreno error allowed the leadoff hitter to get on base.  After a walk and a sacrifice bunt, Moronta gave up a single to allow two runs to score, and give up the lead.  It was Moronta’s fourth blown save of the season.

The Giants were left mostly limited offensively.  Miguel Gomez led the way for the Giants, getting on base three times, with a pair of hits.  Gomez’s fortunes have improved recently, batting 15-for-42 (.357) over his past ten games.  Moreno got on base three times as well, drawing two walks and getting hit by a pitch.  However, he also was caught stealing and committed a pair of errors.

The loss puts San Jose’s overall record at 67-67, and eliminated them from being able to win the second half title.  The Giants will have to go 4-2 in their final six games to extend their streak of winning seasons to 13.  However, as long as Modesto doesn’t win the second half title, San Jose should have a wild card spot.

Finally, a couple of San Jose moves as the team is in its last week of the regular season.

#SJGiants transactions:
- 3B Mitch Delfino & RHP Austin Fleet transferred to Sacramento
- LHP Alex Bostic & RHP Wilson Santos added from AZL

— San Jose Giants (@SJGiants) August 31, 2016

Augusta defeated Lexington (Royals), 2-1

Player	Pos	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
Bryan Reynolds	CF	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	.366
Dillon Dobson	3B	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	.280
Junior Arias	DH	4	2	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	.272
Jean Angomas	LF	3	0	1	1	0	0	2	0	0	.254

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Heath Slatton (W, 2-3)	5.0	4	0	0	2	4	0	2.66
Connor Kaden (H, 6)	2.0	1	0	0	0	3	0	3.51
Charles Owen (H, 3)	0.2	2	1	1	0	0	0	1.35
Nick Sabo (H, 1)	0.1	0	0	0	0	1	0	2.70
Ryan Koziol (S, 8)	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2.70

Next up on the list of excellent starts, Heath Slatton.

Slatton was only making his fourth start of his pro career, but has performed very well in the role in all of his starts.  For the second time, Slatton went five full innings, with no runs and giving up four hits and two walks.  It was enough for his first win as a starter in his career.  The 18th round pick from 2015 has put up a 2.66 ERA despite a 1.48 WHIP in 44 innings, mostly in relief.

Augusta’s offense struggled, with the team’s 1 though 4 hitters managing just one hit and two walks, but it was just enough.  Luckily, both the team’s extra-base hits came in the same inning for what would be the winning run.  In the seventh, Junior Arias tripled, followed by a Jean Angomas double to put the GreenJackets up 2-0.  The Legends picked up a run in the 8th inning to pull close, but that wasn’t enough.

The win, combined with Rome’s loss to Greenville, puts Augusta back in first place by half a game.  Both teams have six games left, but will face each other in a four-game series to end the season.

Salem-Keizer defeated Vancouver (Blue Jays), 5-4

Player	Pos	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
Manuel Geraldo	SS	3	1	1	1	0	0	2	2	0	.296
Ashford Fulmer	CF	5	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.298
Ryan Kirby	DH	3	1	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	.246
Kevin Rivera	2B	4	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	.319

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Melvin Adon (W, 4-5)	6.0	6	2	2	0	7	0	5.78
Nolan Riggs (H, 4)	2.2	3	2	2	1	3	0	4.03
CJ Gettman (S, 1)	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2.95

The string of awesome starts ends here, with simply merely a good one for Melvin Adon.

Adon went six innings, giving up two runs, but enough to get a win.  Adon matched his season high in innings, interestingly achieved in his first start of the season on June 20th, and did nearly as well.  Adon did mark a first this year, his first outing without giving up a walk, and a season-high in strikeouts.

The Volcanoes made it stand up thanks to just five hits, but also by collecting six walks.  Two of the runs came thanks to sacrifice flies, including the one that gave the GreenJackets the lead.  But in the 9th inning, Manuel Geraldo doubled and knocked in two runs, to give the GreenJackets a cushion they would need.  In the ninth, the Canadians got to reliever Nolan Riggs, who was working his third inning of relief.  The Canadians got those two runs back, but CJ Gettman finished the game off for the Volcanoes for his first save.