AAA: Round Rock 6, Albuquerque (COL) 2
Round Rock: 13 hits, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 12-5, 1 G up
SP Kohei Arihara: 6 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 SO, 87 P / 57 S, 4.00 ERA
RP Dan Winkler: 2 IP, 1 H ,0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 1.23 ERA
SS Josh Smith: 3-5, 2B, .274/.348/.419
LF Bubba Thompson: 2-2, 3B, HR (2), .387/.387/.565
C Sam Huff: 2-3, BB, .259/.322/.463
Bubba Thompson homered and tripled in his first two at-bats. In the top of the 4th, he attempted to catch a foul against the wall and it hit him in the eye. The walls along the deeper part of the foul line are very tall and block the view from the press box, so there’s no video. There is an intragram shot of him with his left eye swollen shut. Given that he was in the clubhouse after the game and posing for a photo with a half-smile, hopefully he’s dealing with no worse than an ugly bruise and cut. Injured List minimum’s are just seven days in the minors, if that’s where he’s headed.
Arihara’s 87 pitches were the most by a Texas minor league starter in 2022. Such are the times.
AA: Frisco 4, NW Arkansas (KAN) 12
Frisco: 10 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 12 hits, 5 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 10-4, 2 G up
SP Jack Leiter: 2.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 5 SO, 68 P / 37 S, 1.86 ERA
RP Grant Anderson: 2.1 IP, 1 H ,1 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 2.89 ERA
CF JP Martinez: 2-5, HR (2), SB (5), .244/.346/.378
SS Ezequiel Duran: 1-5, HR (1), .255/.305/.473
3B Jonathan Ornelas: 3-4, 2B, .380/.392/.400
RF Josh Stowers: 2-3, BB, .324/.400/.412
Jack Leiter matched the form of his first two starts until the 3rd, when a two-out error by Justin Foscue open the floodgates. A single, two doubles and a walk ended his night with four runs scored and still minus that third out. None of the runs was earned, but “unearned” runs are often at least partly the pitcher’s responsibility, and that’s the case here. Leiter struck out the side in order in the 1st and has yet to allow a homer.
25-year-old Josh Stowers has quietly strung together some nice games. He’s part of the return for Rougned Odor and had a 20 HR / 20 SB season in 2021. He’s repeating at Frisco.
High-A: Hickory 2, at Wilmington (WAS) 3
Hickory: 7 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 4 walks, 5 strikeouts
Record: 5-9, 5 GB
SP Mason Englert: 6 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 1 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 78 P / 54 S, 5.14 ERA
CF Angel Aponte: 2-4, 2 2B, .345/.367/.448
C Randy Florentino: 2-3, .235/.235/.294
Mason Englert became the first pitcher below AAA to reach six innings.
Now 21, Randy Florentino drew notice for his uncommon power in the Dominican Summer League in 2018 (.309/.454/.550, 29 extra base hits) but hasn’t found near that success stateside and is on the lesser end of a three-way job-share at catcher.
Low-A: Down East 10, at Columbia (KAN) 1
Down East: 15 hits, 9 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 5 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 7-7, 3 GB
SP Larson Kindreich: 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 9 SO, 83 P / 49 S, 1.80 ERA
RP Luis Tejada: 3 IP, 3 H ,0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 2.38 ERA
RP Theo McDowell: 1 IP, 0 H ,0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 10.13 ERA
RF Marcus Smith: 0-1, 2 BB, SB (4), .094/.275/.188
SS Maximo Acosta: 2-4, 2B, 3B, HBP, SB (4), .231/.302/.333
1B Jose Rodriguez: 1-3, 3 BB, .176/.333/.176
LF Yosy Galan: 3-5, HR (2), .290/.389/.516
C Brady Smith: 3-5, 2B, .286/.400/.381
Prior to Thompson’s injury, RF Marcus Smith knocked his head against a padded rail chasing down a fly in the corner. He remained in the game after a delay but eventually left.
Kindreich struck out nearly half the batters he faced. He walked four but didn’t have any other three-ball counts.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Alexy
AA: Ragans
Hi-A: Roby
Lo-A: TBD
Five Years Ago Yesterday
My daughter’s first chance to run the bases at Dell Diamond was thwarted when the Express blew a five-run lead in the 9th and extended the game to multiple extra innings. By the time it finished, we had a half-full cart at Costco. Frisco’s Connor Sadzeck carried a no-hitter into the 8th.