The minor-league system opened 4-0. By and large, the players youâd want to see in the highlights had highlight-worthy games. Enjoy your morning, Ranger fans! Then pray for a win by the parent club.
AAA: Oklahoma 5, Memphis 4
Win — Eyre
Save — Murray
Oklahoma rallied with two runs in the ninth to overtake the Redbirds. Down 4-3, 3B Tug Hulett and CF Fast Freddy Guzman walked with one out. A wild pitch and groundout plated Hulett, then RF Victor Diaz doubled with two out to bring home the go-ahead run.
Willie Eyre had retired six straight and erased former Ranger Ryan Ludwick on a fly-out to start the ninth, but a walk to Tagg Bozied and a single by Nick Stavinoha put the losing run at first. A.J. Murray replaced Eyre, induced a groundout from Rick Ankiel, and struck out Travis Hanson swinging to end the game.
Starter John Koronka went six, allowing three runs in the first inning and one in the sixth. He allowed six hits, walked two and struck out five. 1B Nate Goldâs first three appearances in AAA consisted of a double, a walk, and a two-run, game-tying homer. LF Jason Botts hit a double in four at-bats. Hulett singled in his first AAA at-bat and drew that crucial ninth-inning walk. Diaz also hit a solo homer.
AA: Frisco 3, Arkansas 2
Win â Bumstead
Save — Ingram
Frisco likewise mounted a late rally to beat the Travelers in front of 8,458 at Dr Pepper Ballpark. With one out in the bottom of the eighth, SS Casey Benjamin singled and advanced to second on an error. RF Kevin Mahar promptly homered off reliever Jose Arrendondo to put the Roughriders ahead for good. In the ninth, Jesse Ingram earned a save by retiring the side with relative ease despite an error by 2B German Duran.
Jamey Wright did not pitch as effectively as youâd prefer. He allowed a single by former Roughrider Adam Morrissey and an RBI double by Aaron Peel to start the game, then permitted another run in the second on three consecutive singles. After two more innings and just one hit, he was done for the night. Per Richard Durrett of the Dallas Morning News, Wright claimed he felt lethargic and didnât have his usual velocity. He âassured Rangers general manager Jon Daniels and manager Ron Washington, both in attendance, that his arm was fine.â Wright walked none and struck out two.
Wright will make his next start against Tampa Bay on the 10th. In years past the Angelsâ Double-A affiliate might have presented a greater challenge to a pitcher than the Major League D-Rays, but thatâs no longer the case.
After Wright departed, relievers Steven Rowe, Randy Williams, Michael Bumstead and Ingram combined on five hitless innings with four strikeouts. Only a walk issued by Bumstead marred the perfection.
Traveler starter Nick Green held Frisco in check for six innings, permitting only one run on an Emerson Frostad double that scored LF Steve Murphy. Benjamin hit a double in addition to his ninth-inning single, and Mahar also singled. Travis Metcalf, Kevin Richardson and German Duran were hitless, though Metcalf did draw a walk.
High-A: Bakersfield 9, Lancaster 7
Win â Giles
Save â Wilson
Seemingly discontent with mere ninth-inning heroics, Bakersfield rallied from deficits of 3-0, 5-3 and 6-5 to defeat the Boston-affiliated Jethawks.
Down 3-0 in the third, RF John Mayberry atoned for an earlier strikeout by homering to center to score SS Matt Smith and CF Terry Blunt. Losing 5-4 in the 7th, consecutive doubles by 3B Chris Davis and Mayberry retied the game. And, facing a one-run deficit in the ninth, 3B Chris Davis walked, 1B Freddie Thon singled, and LF Brandon Boggs homered to give Bakersfield the lead. A double by DH Jake Blalock and RBI single by Smith provided insurance.
Davis, who bypassed low-A Clinton and switched from first base to third, went 1-4 with a double, walk, run and RBI. Mayberry was 2-5 with his aforementioned success. Thon finished 3-5 with a run and two RBI, and Boggs hit a double and walked in addition to his homer. Catcher Taylor Teagarden was hitless with two walks in his high-A debut. The Blaze had 20 baserunners on the evening
Starter Michael Schlact allowed three earned runs on five hits in five innings, walking one and fanning two. Two singles and a Scott White homer in the second furnished all of the damage. In his other four innings, Schlact limited the Jethawks to two harmless singles. Patrick Donovan struggled in his high-A debut, permitting his first four opponents to reach base and surrendering two runs in two-thirds of an inning. Kevin Altman put out Donovanâs fire, and Josh Giles and Jon Wilson each allowed a run in an inning of work.
Low-A: Clinton 8, Quad Cities 4
Win — Poveda
Save â Gudex
Omar Poveda pitched five very strong innings and led the LumberKings to an Opening Day victory before 745 hot-chocolate-infused souls at Alliant Energy Field. Temperature at game-time was 39 and dipped to the low 30s at the conclusion. Midwest League openers in Lansing and Beloit were postponed due to cold and snow.
Povedaâs one blemish came on a solo homer by Daryl Jones in the fifth, by which time the L-Kings already held a comfortable lead. During the first four innings he allowed only two hits and a walk. In the third inning, a double followed by consecutive errors by SS Marcus Lemon and 3B John Whittleman loaded the bases. Poveda didnât let the miscues hurt him, getting Mark Shorey to pop out to short and then striking out Omar Falcon to end the threat. The sequence was a welcome change of pace for a team that granted 116 unearned runs in 2006. Poveda allowed three hits and a walk and struck out two. 10 of his 13 outs were fly balls.
John Slusarz made his A-ball debut in relief of Poveda and allowed three runs in 1.2 innings. He struck out three. Tim Gudex, a University of Iowa product also appearing in the Midwest League for the first time, stamped out a rally in the seventh and completed the final two innings for an old-fashioned save.
Clintonâs batters started with a flourish. After a Craig Gentry pop-out, 2B Jose Vallejo singled and DH Chad Tracy reached on an error. 1B Mauro Gomez then deposited a pitch from Brandon âCottonâ Dickson (a 22-year-old and low-A newcomer) beyond the left-field fence. Another four runs in the fourth chased Dickson.
Tracy finished 1-5 with a triple that bounced off the left-field wall. Marcus Lemon was 0-4 with a walk. RF Grant Gerrard had two singles, a double, a walk, two steals, a run and an RBI. Gentry and Vallejo added two hits apiece. John Whittleman was 0-1 with four walks. Catcher Manuel Pina had a run-scoring single, and LF K.C. Herren walked twice and singled. Collectively, the LumberKings pelted the Swing with 11 hits and nine walks.
Defensively, the game resembled a contest from 1907. Clinton committed four errors including two from Whittleman, who had 34 last year. The Swing made five of their own.
Skip to content
It's been evening all day long