Games Played on 04/08/11
Minor League Player of the Day: Didn’t really have a great day by anyone.
AAA
Danny Dorn had 3 hits (including a double), Jeremy Hermida and Dave Sappelt both collected two to lead the Bats to their first win.
A decent outing by Redleg Nation Spotlight player Matt Klinker (6 IP 8 H 3 R 3 ER 1 BB 6 K) and some very good relief work by Kyle McCulloch and Carlos Fisher got Matt his first win of the season.
AA
No one had more than one hit. Nefi Soto and David Cook did have doubles, as the Mudcats could only muster two runs on the evening.
James Avery took the loss, throwing 6 innings of 3-run baseball, giving up 6 hits, 1 walk and 4 strikeouts. The Mudcats did get a nice relief outing from Nick Christiani, who threw 2 innings of 1-hit baseball, striking out 4.
High A
The Reds re-entrance into the California League was a good one, as they won their first game. Catcher Brodie Greene went 2-2 with a double and two walks (and two caught stealing) and Henry Rodriguez went 2-5.
Pedro Villarreal threw 5 2/3 strong innings, allowing only 1 run on 7 hits and walking 1 and k’ing 9. The relief work by Scott Gaffney (1 IP 3 K), Mace Thurman (1 1/3 IP 2BB 1 K), and Doug Salinas (1 IP 1 BB 3 K) was even more impressive, as they no-hit the Rawhide over the final 3 1/3 innings to ensure the win.
Low A
Delino DeShields continues to look for his first win as Dragons skipper, as Dayton was beaten soundly for the second night in a row by the Hot Rods. The Dragons pitching and fielding were simply awful last night. The Hot Rods scored in each inning from the 2nd to the 8th and the Dragons made as many errors as they scored runs.
Dominic D’Anna went 3-5 with a double, Billy Hamilton went 2-5 with 2 doubles (one of which should have been a triple but it appeared the Hot Rod RF kicked the ball under the OF fence) — but he also made 2 errors. There is no exaggeration about his speed though; he can FLY. Yorman Rodriguez also homered on the night and exhibited some fine glove work and a strong arm.
Juan Duran looked horrible. He followed an 0-3 night (with 3 k’s) with a 1-4 night where he had another strikeout and threw a ball into the stands behind 3B from RF. I just don’t think this kid is ready for this level and hope the Reds aren’t hurting his confidence by pushing him too fast.
The only positive on the pitching side was the hitless inning and a third by Drew Hayes, who also walked two and struck out 2.
Rookie Ball
Billings Mustangs – Season Begins June 20th.
AZL Reds – Season Begins June 20th.