AAA: Round Rock 5, El Paso (SDP) 2
Round Rock: 6 hits, 1 walk, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 38-29, eliminated
SP Robert Dugger: 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 SO, 92 P / 62 S, 4.79 ERA
RP Yerry Rodriguez: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 4.59 ERA
RP Edwar Colina: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0.00 ERA
3B Yoshi Tsutsugo: 2-4, 2B, HR (6), .244/.370/.433
Dugger and Co. held El Paso scoreless after the 1st. Yoshi Tsutsugo has homered in three straight and is enjoying his best month by far. I don’t know if he had (or still has) an out in his contract, but he wasn’t (and overall still isn’t) hitting at a level to draw much outside interest, I would think.
Brad Miller was 0-3 and is .200/.273/.500 in three rehab games.
AA: Frisco 2, at NW Arkansas (KAN) 5
Frisco: 7 hits, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 7 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 27-33, 6.5 GB, elimination number 2
SP Ryan Garcia: 4.1 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 5 R, 3 BB, 6 SO, 80 P / 47 S, 7.04 ERA
RP Aidan Anderson: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 1.00 ERA
RF Dustin Harris: 1-4, HR (5), .244/.373/.412
SS Luisangel Acuna and 2B Thomas Saggese singled twice.
OF Evan Carter began a rehab assignment with the rookies, playing CF and drawing a walk in four trips to the plate.
Hi-A: Hickory 3, Bowling Green (TAM) 8
Hickory: 9 hits, 3 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 3 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 24-33, eliminated
SP Winston Santos: 3.1 IP, 4 H (2 HR), 7 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SO, 75 P / 47 S, 5.62 ERA
RP Spencer Mraz: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 1 SO, 3.97 ERA
LF Geisel Cepeda: 2-4, BB, .282/.374/.322
SS Max Acosta: 2-4, .288/.336/.389
C Cody Freeman: 1-1, HR (6), .182/.242/.358
Cody Freeman was ejected but hung around long enough to hit a homer. Freeman’s transition from infielder to catcher has been a genuine success defensively, but in his second season at low-A, his production with the bat has declined considerably.
Lo-A: Down East 1, Kannapolis (CHW) 9
Down East: 4 hits, 5 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 9 walks, 15 strikeouts
Record: 35-23, 3.5 G up, magic number 2
SP Brock Porter: 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 7 SO, 69 P / 40 S, 1.59 ERA
Brock Porter hasn’t allowed an extra-base hit in his last five starts and only two (both doubles) on the season. A hitter’s best bet is not to swing. Porter has allowed a combined 27 walks and hit batters versus only 17 hits. 69 pitches are a career high.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Triston Polley
AA: Jack Leiter
Hi-A: TBD
Lo-A: TBD
Five Years Ago Yesterday
Five years ago was boring. Ten years ago: one of the three or four (off the top of my head) most painful minor league losses I’ve covered. The 2013 Hickory Crawdads, needing a win to clinch the first-half division title, produced only two runners through eight innings and lost 4-2. The opposing starter for Delmarva was Parker Bridwell, who would eventually reach the Majors but at the time carried a very indicative 6.62 ERA. 11 of the 12 Crawdads in that game, and 15 overall, would reach MLB.