A split on Saturday, but on Sunday… Did I mention the split on Saturday?
Saturday, June 26th
Diamondback Affiliates won two out of four games played on Saturday, 26th June, 2021
Reno Aces 9 Sacramento River Cats 7
Josh Green got the start, went five innings and allowed four runs on six hits, four walks, while striking out six. Green allowed a solo homer in the third inning. Chester Pimentel pitched two scoreless innings, allowing a hit and a hit by pitch, while striking out three. J.B. Bukauskus struck out a pair of batters in a perfect eighth inning. Sam Moll went just a third of an inning, and allowed three runs on three hits and two walks, with the lone out coming via groundout. Miguel Aguilar fortunately was perfect, and struck out a batter in his 2⁄3 of an inning of work.
The Aces couldn’t accomplish much against opening pitcher Yunior Marte, but went to town, scoring six runs against former Dbacks top pitching prospect Anthony Banda. Drew Ellis, who went 3-5, hit a two out, three run home run in the third inning off Banda. Bryan Holaday, who went 1-4, hit a two run home run in the fifth off Banda, and Stuart Fairchild, who was 2-4, knocked in a pair of runs with a two out double off Banda as well. Henry Ramos and Juniel Querecuto were both 2-5 at the plate, but the latter was caught stealing and had a throwing error in the game.
Seth Beer was 1-4 with a walk
Amarillo Sod Poodles 5 Corpus Christi Hooks 2
Tommy Henry got the start, and was excellent. Henry went 6 2⁄3 innings, with just one run allowed on four hits, with no walks, and seven strikeouts. That lone run came via solo homer, so take that one mistake out, and you have one heck of a start. Mack Lemieux relieved Henry with one on and two outs Although he allowed a hit, Lemieux avoided either runner scoring by getting a strikeout to end the inning. Blake Rogers went an 1 2⁄3 innings, and allowed one run on a hit and two walks, with a strikeout. Jeff Baine relieved Rogers with two outs and one runner on base, and got a strikeout to end the game.
Amarillo book-ended the game by scoring three runs in the top of the first, and two runs in the top of the ninth, but nothing much happened in between. After Jancarlos Cintron grounded out to lead off the game, Dominic Fletcher and Stone Garrett hit back to back solo homers to give Amarillo a quick 2-0 lead. The next batter, Jose Herrera followed with a single, and after Luis Alejandro Basabe struck out, Dominic Miroglio singled, and then Geraldo Perdomo walked to load the bases. The Hooks would give their starting pitcher the hook, but his replacement would uncork a wild pitch, allowing Herrera to score, and putting Amarillo up 3-0. ‘
Jose Herrera lead off the top of the ninth with a single, and then Luis Alejandro Basabe hit a ground rule double, putting runners on second and third. After a Dominic Miroglio strikeout, Geraldo Perdomo hit a perfectly placed sacrifice bunt, scoring Herrera. Jose Curpa followed that up with another double, scoring Basabe. Mikey Reynolds singled next to put runners on the corners, but Jancarlos Cintron popped out to short to end the game.
Jose Curpa was 2-4 with a double, and had an outfield assist gunning down a runner at first Dominic Fletcher and Stone Garrett were both 1-4 with a solo homer, though the latter had a pair of strikeouts. Geraldo Perdomo was 0-2, but was the only Amarillo batter to draw a walk
Spokane Indians 9 Hillsboro Hops 3
Justin Vernia had a rough start, going just 3 1⁄3 innings, and though he didn’t walk any batters, he allowed five run on ten hits, with only a strikeout. Wesley Rodriguez relieved Vernia with a runner on, and allowed the inherited runner to score. Rodriguez went 1 2⁄3 innings, allowed one run on a hit by pitch, two hits, and a walk, with a pair of strikeouts. Justin Lewis made Vernia’s outing look much better in comparison. Lewis went an inning, and allowed three runs on four hits, a balk, hit by pitch, and a walk, with no strikeouts. Two of those runs came via a two run homer. Ty Jones’ outing was deuces wild. Jones came in the game with two on, went two scoreless innings, and allowed just two walks, while striking out two. Kai-Wei Lin pitched a scoreless inning in the ninth, with a hit and a wild pitch allowed, and a pair of strikeouts.
The Hops continued terrorizing the base paths, stealing six bases successfully out of seven attempts. Dominic Canzone had the best day at the plate, going 2-4 with a homerun, and a stolen base, his eleventh stolen base of the year. Tra Holmes went 2-4 with a stolen base, his tenth. Cam Coursey was 1-3 with a walk, and a pair of stolen bases, giving him nine on the year. Jorge Barrosa was 1-5 with a stolen base. Reese Hampton was hitless but walked and stole his 12th base of the year. Axel Andueza was 1-4 but was caught stealing
Fresno Grizzlies 7 Visalia Rawhide 5
Adrian Del Moral had a tough outing, going just 3 1⁄3 innings, with six runs (five earned) allowed on three hits, three walks, a wild pitch, and a hit by pitch, while only striking out one. David Sanchez relieved Del Moral with the bases loaded and only one out, and allowed all three runners to score. Sanchez technically had a scoreless outing though, going 2⁄3 of an inning, with a hit by pitch and two walks allowed. Avery Short went 2 1⁄3 innings, with one run allowed on four hits, though he walked none, and struck out three. Hunter Haworth followed with 2 2⁄3 scoreless innings, with a hit, a walk, and a strikeout.
Manuel Garcia had the best game offensively, going 3-5 with a pair of doubles, the only extra base hits for the Rawhide. Glenallen Hill Jr was hitless, but walked twice, and stole his 15th base of the year. Danny Oriente was 3-4. Shen-Ping Chen was 2-4 with a walk, and a sacrifice bunt. Ronny Simon was 3-5, and Dairon Cuevas was 2-5.
Ramses Malave, who was hitless in four at bats with a walk, had a particularly poor game. Malave struck out three times, and missed a catch. Neyfey Castillo arguable had just as bad of a game, going 0-5 with three strikeouts, with seven runners left on base, though he did knock in a run. Jeferson Espinal was 1-4 with a walk, but was caught stealing.
Sunday, June 27th
Diamondbacks affiliates had a much less successful Sunday, losing all four games played.
Reno Aces 7 Sacramento River Cats 16
Zach Lee’s start would look a lot better without the four unearned runs that scored thanks to a throwing error by Ildemaro Vargas. Lee went three innings, and allowed four hits and two hit by pitches, though he walked none and struck out three. On the bright side for Lee, he did hit a double in the top of the fourth inning. Keury Mella had an even worse outing to follow up Lee, going 1 2⁄3 innings with 6 runs (four earned) allowed on seven hits, a walk, and a wild pitch. Mella allowed a two out grand slam in the fourth inning. Jeremy Rhoades came in the game with two on and two outs, and got the only batter he faced to pop out to end the inning.
Carlos Navas pitched an inning, allowed two runs on three hits (including a solo homer) and a walk, while striking out a batter. Mitchell Osnowitz also had an underwhelming inning of work, giving up four runs on two hits, a walk, and a hit pitch. Unfortunately for Osnowitz, both of the hits he gave up left the yard, with the first hit being a three run homer, and the second a solo homer. West Tunnell pitched a scoreless inning in the eighth with a hit and two walks allowed.
Jake McCarthy had a solid day at the plate, going 2-5 with a double. Ildemaro Vargas had a mixed bag of a game. Vargas was 3-5 with a double and a two run homerun, but hit into a double and had that throwing error. Christian Lopes was 2-4 with a two run home run and a walk. Camden Duzenack was 1-5 with a double. Seth Beer was 1-4 with a walk, but struck out three times. Ben DeLuzio was 2-4 with a walk. Jamie Ritchie and Stuart Fairchild were both hitless in three at bats, and both walked twice.
Amarillo Sod Poodles 2 Corpus Christi Hooks 4
Bryce Jarvis went 5 1⁄3 innings, allowed two runs on three hits and five walks, while striking out four. Jarvis allowed a two out, solo homer in the 2nd inning. Blake Workman went 1 2⁄3 innings, and allowed an unearned run on two hits thanks to a fielding error by Luis Alejandro Basabe. He walked none and struck out four. Joe Jones pitched an inning, and allowed an unearned run on two hits, a walk, and his own throwing error, while striking out one.
Buddy Kennedy was 1-3 with a walk and a two run homerun. Alek Thomas was 1-3 with a double and a walk. No other batter reached base more than once, and the other extra base hit was from Geraldo Perdomo, who was 1-3 with a double. Only three other batters even reached base. Luis Alejandro Basabe and Dominic Miroglio were both 1-4, and Jose Herrera was hitless in three at bats, but walked and scored a run.
Spokane Indians 7 Hillsboro Hops 5
Kenny Hernandez went 3 1⁄3 innings, allowed five runs on a wild pitch, four hits, and three walks, while striking out six. Hernandez allowed three home runs – a pair of two-run homers, and a solo shot. Kyler Stout pitched 1 2⁄3 scoreless innings, with a hit and a walk allowed, and struck out three batters. Nick Snyder pitched two innings, and allowed two runs (one earned) on a hit, two walks, with strikeouts. Of course that one hit was a homerun, but poor defense by Andy Yerzy contributed, with Spokane stealing three bases in the inning, and Yerzy committing a throwing error. Denson Hull struck out a pair of batters in a perfect inning of work in the 8th inning. Mailon Arroyo allowed a hit and struck out one in a scoreless inning of work in the ninth.
Reece Hampton, who pinch hit for Nick Dalessandro (who went 0-2), arguably had the best night at the plate, going 2-3 with a double and a two run home run. Tristin English, who went 2-4 at the plate, had the other extra base hit for Hillsboro, a double in the fourth inning. Jorge Barrosa was 3-5, Leodany Perez was 1-2 with a pair of walks, Andy Yerzy was 1-4 with a walk. Eduardo Diaz was hitless, but walked twice. Dominic Canzone was hitless but walked, and Blaze Alexander was 1-5; no other Hillsboro batter reached base.
Fresno Grizzlies 8 Visalia Rawhide 7
Austin Pope lasted a mere two innings, and allowed six runs (3 earned) on seven hits, two walks, and three wild pitches, though he struck out three batters. The Grizzlies really took advantage of Pope and catcher Ramses Malave on the base paths, stealing seven bases off the pair successfully. Malave would catch a runner stealing while Gerald Ogando was pitching, which tells me that Pope has a problem holding baserunners on. Alex Valdez went two innings and allowed a run on a pair of hits. Jose Santemaria pitched two innings, with a run on two hits, walked none, and struck out three. Gerald Ogando tossed two scoreless innings, striking out four while working around a single, a hit by pitch, and a pair of walks. Liu Fuenmayor struck out one in a perfect inning of work in the ninth.
Sheng-Ping Chen continues to heat up at the plate, going 2-5 with a double and a homerun. AJ Vukovich was 3-5 with a double. Alexander Hernandez had a mixed game. Alexander was 1-3 with a pair of walks, a double, and a stolen base. On the other hand, he was caught stealing, and had a missed catch error. Ramses Malave was 1-3 with a pair of walks, but was stolen on seven times, and had a throwing error. Manuel Garcia was 1-4 with a walk, and a two run home run. Danny Oriente was 3-4 with a walk. Jeferson Espinal had another not so great game, despite reaching base twice once again. Espinal, who was caught stealing in Saturday’s game, was picked off the base paths at third, and ground into a double play.