SF Giants Minor Lines 7/7/18: RAY BLACK IS COMING UP!!!

WHOA HUGE NEWS!!!!

IT IS TIME FOR A BLACK OUT! PLEASE REPORT TO THE MAJOR LEAGUES!

HIGHLIGHTS: Conner Menez allowed two runs over 7 IP; Mikey Edie had four hits, including a double and a SB; Richgelon Juliana had three hits and a HR.

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Sacramento lost at Reno Aces (Diamondbacks), 8-1

Ah, baseball. This is a double.

This is an out.

Steven Duggar leads the PCL in doubles—that was his 27th of the year yesterday, which makes up the bulk of his 35 extra base hits. EDIT: And it’s destined to be his final double because as we note at the top, STEVEN DUGGAR IS COMING TO THE MAJOR LEAGUES.

But that was just about the only offense that the slumbering Sacramento lineup could produce against Neftali Feliz, who lowered his ERA to 5.75 with 5 innings of work.

Steven Connolly allowed 7 runs in the first three innings, including a big 3rd inning Grand Slam, and the two teams effectively hit the ‘snooze’ button the rest of the way. Tyler Beede successfully navigated a multi-inning relief stint for the first time, striking out 3 of the 8 batters he faced over two innings.

One other note of interest from our wandering field correspondents:

That bears keeping an eye on.

Speaking of keeping an eye on things, Reno seems to have some interesting aesthetics for their in-game experience:

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Richmond beat Akron Rubber Ducks (Indians), 6-2

Tom Petty Power, for the win! The Squirrels caught some Full Moon Fever, defeating Akron and breaking their six-game losing streak.

Leading the charge was Conner Menez, who went 7 strong in his best AA performance since his promotion. Menez ran into trouble just once, when he allowed hits to the first three batters in the inning. But he was able to right the ship, limit the damage and was untouchable the rest of the way.

The offense was led by the venerable Jerry Sands, who picked up three hits including a double and his 13th HR of the year. The double was Sands 24th of the year, which, like Steven Duggar, paces the Eastern League circuit.

Richmond also got a boost from long-time vet Ali Castillo who doubled and tripled in the game.

CJ Hinojosa’s on base streak was finally broken after 20 consecutive games of reaching base since his promotion to AA.

Final note, a well deserved off day and happy birthday to one of the best in the business!

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San Jose lost to Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (Dodgers), 14-6

No Petty Power at work here. Things have gotten ugly on the peninsula. That’s 7 losses in a row for the Giants who now sit at 39-48 for the season. The Quakes have really had their way with San Jose, outscoring them 29-10 over the first four games of this set. The offense wasn’t the problem, but a pitching staff that has lost some important arms just couldn’t keep the Quakes off the board:

Sharp eyed readers will notice that the final pitcher of the night was OF Johneshwy Fargas who fired a scoreless 9th inning with 2 Ks. That’s the first position player San Jose has used on the mound this year. Since that was by far the most entertaining aspect of this game, let’s check out Johneshwy’s pitching stylings:

Dillon Dobson’s rough AA season got a little rougher this weekend, as he was needed back down in San Jose.

But a much larger roster move came yesterday, and it was as feared, another big blow for the Giants’ beleaguered pitching staff.

I hate to beat the W-L record thing into the ground, but I definitely am of the opinion that it is not coincidental that San Francisco’s run of championships was immediately preceded by a period of extended Cal League dominance in San Jose (as well as championships in other lower affiliates like Augusta and Salem-Keizer). And I fear the coin has a flip side as well.

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Augusta’s game against Rome was postponed by rain

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Salem-Keizer Volcanoes lost to Boise Hawks (Rockies), 7-4

More losing streaks! The Volcanoes suffered their first three-game losing streak of the season. As with some of their affiliate brethren, SK was stuck in a giant hole almost immediately when Norwith Gudino surrendered six runs in the 2nd inning.

The Volcanoes chipped away at the lead throughout, but never could catch up despite a 12 hit game. Mikey Edie gave the team a huge boost out of the leadoff spot with four hits and a SB. That’s the second consecutive day that Jose Layer has taken off, and with Layer’s history one’s mind instantly turns to questions of health. He can disappear from the lineup for quite a stretch we know.

David Villar continued to show impressive power, blasting his 4th HR of the year in just 10 games in the NWL. Six of Villar’s 11 hits have gone for extra bases. He’s also controlling the strike zone well with 5 BBs and just 4 Ks in 45 PA in the NWL

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AZL Giants Black beat AZL Padres2, 7-3

AZL Giants Orange beat AZL Indians 1, 10-7 in 10 inn

Found some wins down here in the rookie leagues! I was wondering where I left those Wins!

Giants 6th rounder PJ Hilson hit his 1st professional HR on Thursday, and he liked the experience so much he came right back and hit his 2nd last night. Hilson also doubled and walked as the 17 year old is starting to settle into pro ball. Here he is enjoying HR #1

2017 20th rounder Frankie Tostado needed no time to settle into his pro debut, as he’s been raking since the bell rang. The Big Crunch bashed out three more hits yesterdays including his 2nd double of the year, and has still yet to post a hitless game in his pro career. That’s 13 games and counting. Tostado’s line is a shiny looking .373/.400/.510.

Alexander Canario is slowly turning his ship around. He picked up two more hits yesterday and showed off the arm with an OF assist at 3b. The total lack of power is still puzzling from a kid who was lining doubles off every wall in the complex in the spring, but I suppose patience is the watchword. The bat speed isn’t going anywhere. I’d still like to see more results against this level of pitching, but I remind myself of what Gorkys Hernandez told Alex Pavlovic on his recent podcast interview about the difficulties of a young man from the Dominican finding himself in another country for the first time. Patience and forebearance for an über-talented kid.

The hard-throwing Ben Madison, the Giants 9th rounder out of Central Baptist University, made his pro debut yesterday. Madison had some troubles locating the strike zone, walking three and allowing 3 runs in his 1 inning of work.

The Black team got a terrific start, however, from Johan Herrera, who allowed just 1 run and 3 hits in his 4 innings of work, striking out 4.

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DSL Giants beat DSL Royals2, 5-0

Two of the strongest arms on the roster — one from the right side and one from the left — combined on a three hit shutout to lead the Giants to victory. For Vargas, this was his best game since joining the rotation, as he went a career best 6 innings and struck out a career best 5. The right-hander signed with the Giants for $150,000 after a dominant showing at the Nations Baseball Showcase last November.

Yet another speedy, athletic CF led the offense as Richgelon Juliana keeps moving his statline on up. Juliana connected for his 3rd HR among his three hits.

SS Andrew Caraballo is another Giant whose numbers have been on the upswing. He picked up a double and scored two runs. Caraballo is 8 for 19 so far in July with four doubles and a HR.

Robert Gomez, who the Giants signed for $160,000 this winter, hasn’t gotten off to a great start to his pro career. But he had a fine day yesterday, picking up a double among two hits and throwing out a runner at home.

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Today’s Scheduled Starters:
Sacramento: Jordan Johnson vs. Alex Young
Richmond: Chase Johnson vs. Triston McKenzie
San Jose: Raffi Vizcaino vs. Parker Curry
Augusta: Garrett Cave vs. Hayden Deal; TBD vs. Alan Rangel
Salem-Keizer: TBD vs. Jeffri Ocando
AZL: OFF
DSL: OFF

Marquee pitching matchup in Richmond today, where Chase Johnson takes on the Indians #2 prospect Triston McKenzie. The beanpole RHP McKenzie has had some health issues this year, but he was the #30 prospect on Baseball America’s recent re-ranked Top 100 and he’ll bring out the scouts and evaluators in-force to the Diamond this afternoon.

Is this the day that TBD turns into Blake Rivera? The watch continues....

Happy Sunday all!