Let’s go down on the farm….
Games Played on 08/05/11
Minor League Player of the Day: Louisville (AAA) DH Denis Phipps, who went 3-5 with two doubles and a homer. It was Phipps’ first homer since being promoted to AAA. Overall, over two levels, Phipps’ numbers this season are outstanding: .336/.387/.510.
AAA
Scranton/WB 8, Louisville 4
–In his first action since returning from the DL, 3B Juan Francisco went 3-5 with a homer, a double, and 2 RBI. Plus, he only struck out once, which was nice.
–C Devin Mesoraco (.301/.373/.491) hit his 11th homer. 1B Danny Dorn and RF Felix Perez each went 2-4.
–Our old friend Travis Wood took the loss (2-2, 4.17). Wood surrendered six runs on 11 hits over five innings. Brad Boxberger didn’t have much more success in his sole inning of work, allowing two runs on three hits.
–LF David Cook was 2-5 with a double. SS Didi Gregorius was 2-4 with an RBI. C Yasmani Grandal had a couple of hits, including his 11th double. Grandal’s OPS is now nearly 800 since the promotion to AA. The kid can play.
–1B Neftali Soto only collected one hit, but it was a big one: his 25th homer of the season. That’s 7 homers in Soto’s last 8 games. He’s 21 years old in AA, and he’s hitting .281/.335/.615 with 25 homers and 61 RBI in 78 games. If this kid could learn even one iota of plate discipline, he could be great.
–P James Avery took the loss to drop to 5-10 with a 4.32 ERA. In 3.1 innings, he allowed four hits, four walks, and four runs.
–Kyle McCulloch pitched 2.2 perfect innings in relief.
High A
Bakersfield 6, Lake Elsinore 0
–The Blaze were the only team in the entire Reds organization to post a win yesterday, and they did it behind the bat of LF Josh Fellhauer. Fellhauer went 2-4 with two doubles and two runs scored.
–CF Ryan LaMarre was 2-4 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored. 1B Carlos Mendez went 2-4 with a double and 2 RBI.
–On the mound, 25-year old Mark Serrano was brilliant in raising his record to 4-7 (4.60). Serrano worked 6.2 innings, allowing zero runs on just four hits. He struck out 10 while walking just one. Outstanding performance.
–Newly-acquired Chris Manno pitched one inning and struck out the side. The lefty now has a 0.94 ERA on the season. That’s good. Too bad the kid played college ball for The Evil Empire.
Low A
West Michigan 3, Dayton 2
—Redleg Nation Spotlight Player Tucker Barnhart went 3-4 with an RBI. Tucker is now hitting .278//.352/.394 as a 20-year old.
–3B David Vidal went 2-4. Leading off, SS Billy Hamilton only went 1-5, but he did steal his 77th base of the season. I know he’s fast, but he’ll be 21 in a month and he’s hitting .255/.317/.337. Doesn’t seem like an elite prospect to me.
–Daniel Corcino had a quality start on the mound, but took the loss to drop to 9-6 (3.47). Corcino went 6 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits. He struck out seven and walked one.
Rookie
Missoula 4, Billings 0
–1B Robert Maddox was 2-4 with a double (though he made an error), but there was very little offense otherwise as the Mustangs were dominated on this evening.
–Radhames Quezada dropped to 1-3 (4.26) with the loss after giving up four runs on seven hits and a walk over five innings. Only two of those runs were earned, however.
–Leading off and playing 1B (he did shift to 2B later in the game), Juan Perez went 3-4 with a double and a triple. On the season, the 19-year old from Reseda, CA, is hitting .377/.450/.544 with 11 stolen bases in 28 games.
–DH Miguel Rojas, in Arizona on a rehab assignment, had a couple of hits and an RBI.
–P Justice French (great name) celebrated turning 21 earlier this week by giving up five runs on seven hits and a walk over six innings to take the loss (3-3, 3.46). He did strike out seven.
–In just one inning of relief, Jamie Walczak surrendered four hits and three runs.