The Diamondbacks Minor League affiliates combined for a 3-1 record. Recently, the team made some promotions in their minor league system. That included OF Jake McCarthy suiting up for Reno, RHP Bryce Jarvis and 3B Buddy Kennedy going to Amarillo, RHP Brandon Pfaadt and OF Jorge Barrosa to Hillsboro. Notable pitching prospects that took the mound include Bryce Jarvis for Amarillo and Conor Grammes for Hillsboro.
Top Pitching Performance: Hillsboro Hops RHP Conor Grammes – 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K
Top Hitting Performance: Amarillo 1B Renae Martinez – 2 for 3, 2B, 2 BB, 3 R, 1 K
AAA: Reno Aces 9, Albuquerque Isotopes (COL) 8
Another solid start by Tyler Gilbert put Reno in prime position to win. Gilbert allowed just 1 unearned run over 5 innings on 1 walk and 5 strikeouts. Reno would take a quick lead in this game, scoring 4 in the first 4 innings. Bryan Holaday hammered a 2-run homer in the 2nd while Henry Ramos singled home a run before scoring on Holaday’s sac fly. They would tack on 3 more in the 5th. Christian Lopes pinch-hit for Gilbert and homered, followed by a 2-run homer by Andrew Young. It was the 3rd and 8th homer for each player respectively.
Albuquerque would have better success on the Reno bullpen. Mitchell Osnowitz would give up 3 runs in the 6th to make it 7-4 and needed to be bailed out by Keury Mella. Mella would get 5 outs easily before turning things over to Sam Moll. In the bottom of the 7th, Reno would add two critical insurance runs when Seth Beer added a 2-run homer off the bench. Things would get hairy as Sam Moll would allow three runs in the 8th and Kevin Ginkel would allow a run in the 9th before getting the final out.
2B Andrew Young: 1 for 4, 2-R HR (8)
1B Jake McCarthy: 0 for 3, BB, R
PH Seth Beer: 1 for 1, 2-R HR (8)
AA: Amarillo Sod Poodles 6, Corpus Christi Hooks (HOU) 4
Bryce Jarvis got his first AA start and had a bit of difficulty. He gave up 4 runs on 6 hits, 3 walks, and 3 strikeouts in 5 2⁄3 innings. While his run prevention wasn’t great, he provided some decent length in that start. Amarillo would be able to score in four consecutive innings to take the lead in the 7th. The bullpen was able to close things out and punched out 8 of the 11 hitters they faced.
Falling behind 2-0, Amarillo was able to answer with 2 in the top of the 3rd. After a Renae Martinez double and Luis Alejandro Basabe walk, they had a pair of runners in scoring position for Dominic Fletcher. Fletcher lined one back up the middle to plate both. Corpus Christi was able to retake the lead off Jarvis in the 4th, hitting back to back homers with 1 out. Amarillo was able to answer that by scoring in the 5th-8th innings of this game.
In the 5th, a leadoff walk followed by singles from Basabe and Alek Thomas would make it 4-3. Buddy Kennedy would later tie the game in the 6th with a solo homer after working a 2-0 count. In the 7th, Alek Thomas singled and then scored on Fletcher’s double for the latter’s 3rd RBI of the game. In the 8th, a walk and a single put runners on the corners with no outs. A sac fly by Basabe would occur followed by a single by Thomas that resulted in Geraldo Perdomo getting thrown out at the plate. Blake Rogers and Edgar Arredondo would close out the game by collectively pitching 3 1⁄3 scoreless innings, allowing just 1 hit and striking out 8.
CF Alek Thomas: 3 for 5, RBI, R
RF Dominic Fletcher: 2 for 5, 2B, 3 RBI
SS Geraldo Perdomo: 1 for 3, BB
RHP Bryce Jarvis: 5 2⁄3 IP, 6 H, 4 R (4 ER), 3 BB, 3 K
High A: Hillsboro Hops 3, Spokane Indians (COL) 6
Hillsboro’s lineup would struggle in this game, but were able to put together 3 runs despite getting only 5 hits for the game and none with runners in scoring position. On the mound, Conor Grammes had his best outing of the year, striking out 5 and allowing just 2 hits in 4 scoreless innings. The game started by both teams trading zeros for the first four innings. After two singles to start the 5th, Hillsboro would take the lead with a passed ball followed by a sac fly to take a 1-0 lead.
Unfortunately, that 1-0 lead did not hold for very long. A pair of singles put two on and one out, but Nick Dalesandro was able to nab the lead runner on a double steal attempt for the first out. The second out would prove to be more difficult, as Justin Vernia faced five more hitters and didn’t get any of them out. Kyler Stout would come in to finish the inning, allowing a sac fly to cap the damage at 5 runs. In the bottom half of the inning, Hillsboro was able to start a rally with a single by Cam Coursey followed by a double by Jorge Barrosa. A pair of groundouts would score both runners to make it 5-3. The rest of the way, they were unable to get anything started with just one baserunner in the final three innings.
SS Blaze Alexander: 0 for 4, 2 K, RBI
RHP Conor Grammes: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K
Low A: Visalia Rawhide 10, Fresno Grizzlies (COL) 9
Pitching was optional in this game, as both teams bludgeoned each other with a lot of hits. Visalia was able to make a key rally late despite giving up a big 5-run 6th inning and falling behind by 3 going into the bottom of the 9th. Austin Pope would give up 6 runs in 5-plus innings, although he was done any favors by Hunter Haworth who would allow all three inherited runners scored.
Things settled down a bit after that inning, as the bullpen after Haworth allowed just 1 run. After a 3-run 4th, they were able to chip into the lead. In the 7th, a perfectly-executed double steal by Neyfy Castillo and Sheng-Ping Chen would result in a run as Chen successfully stole home to make it 8-5. In the 8th inning, a double by Jeferson Espinal and a single by Glenallen Hill Jr. would make it 8-6.
After Fresno scored in the top of the 9th to push their lead to 9-6, Reno would score 4 in the bottom half to walk them off. After a strikeout, a walk and two singles loaded the bases. The first run would score on a hit by pitch. A groundout to 2B would plate another run and make it 9-8 and put the winning runs in scoring position. A wild pitch would allow the tying run to score and put the winning run at 3rd. After a walk, Glenallen Hill would single home the winning run across the plate.
3B A.J. Vukovich: 1 for 5, R, 4 K
LF Jeferson Espinal: 1 for 5, RBI, R, 1 K