AAA: Round Rock 13, at Las Vegas (OAK) 2
Round Rock: 17 hits, 9 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 5 walks, 16 strikeouts
Record: 2-3, 2 GB, 46-33 overall
SP Jake Latz: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 36 P / 24 S, 7.28 ERA
RP Taylor Hearn: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 4.15 ERA
SS Jonathan Ornelas: 2-3, 3 BB, .247/.366/.352
3B Davis Wendzel: 2-3, 3 BB, .256/.389/.508
C Sam Huff: 3-5, 2 HR (11), BB, .282/.372/.512
LF Elier Hernandez: 3-5, HR (13), .330/.396/.554
RF Sandro Fabian: 4-5, 2B, .291/.333/.527
Sam Huff hit three balls in the air per my instructions, resulting in two homers and a bloop single.
Marc Church touched 99, missed nine bats out of 34 pitches and struck out four in two innings. He also surrendered a two-run homer.
Taylor Hearn has been okay but isn’t standing out among a crowd of AAA relievers on the 40. Non-40 pickup Ryan Tepera, paid handsomely by the Angels to pitch in AAA for the Rangers, is unscored upon with seven strikeouts in six innings. Tepera has avoided hard contact so far and missed batted with the slider. His fastball has topped at 93.7 and isn’t really scaring anyone.
AA: Frisco 6, at San Antonio (SDG) 4
Frisco: 11 hits, 4 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 2-3, 3 GB, 33-40 overall
SP Noah Bremer: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 46 P / 28 S, 11.12 ERA
RP Grant Wolfram: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 1.80 ERA
CF Luisangel Acuna: 2-4, BB, .302/.363/.448
DH Evan Carter: 1-4, 2B, BB, .307/.420/.450
SS Thomas Saggese: 2-5, HR (11), .307/.371/.498
RF Kellen Strahm: 3-4, 2B, .236/.340/.319
A passed ball and soft single by Trevor Hauver plated two in the 9th to break a lengthy deadlock. Luisangel Acuna had walked and Evan Carter doubled earlier in the inning. Acuna played center field for the second and made a swell diving catch (video).
Hi-A: Hickory 8, Greensboro (PIT) 7 (12)
Hickory: 11 hits, 5 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 9 walks, 23 strikeouts
Record: 9-0, 3.5 G up, 36-34 overall
SP Mitch Bratt: 3 IP, 8 H (1 HR), 5 R, 2 BB, 7 SO, 82 P / 54 S, 3.56 ERA
RP Jackson Kelley: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 4.61 ERA
RP Seth Clark: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 3.05 ERA
RP Yohanse Morel: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 2.81 ERA
1B Tucker Mitchell: 4-4, 2 BB, .299/.406/.448
RF Yosy Galan: 2-5, 2B, HR (1), .310/.310/.517
Hickory collected a modest 11 hits across 12 innings, only two for extra bases. They were 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and committed three errors.
Mitch Bratt allowed a career-worst five runs. The result? A franchise-best 12th consecutive victory in a packed home park.
Hickory fanned 23 batters. Mike Jarvis was 0-for-7 with five strikeouts.
Lo-A: Down East 3, Carolina (MIL) 7
Down East: 4 hits, 4 walks, 13 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 6 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 5-3, tied for first, 42-27 overall
SP Leandro Lopez: 3.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 5 SO, 67 P / 44 S, 3.51 ERA
RP Luis Ramirez: 3.2 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 3 R, 0 BB, 2 HBP, 4 SO, 4.54 ERA
The tandem starters notched nine strikeouts but were hittable, and the offense was quiet for a second straight day.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Dugger
AA: TBD
Lo-A: TBD
Five Years Ago Yesterday
For the umpteenth time in 2018, I tried to tease something positive out of whatever Willie Calhoun had been doing lately. Calhoun received some attention earlier this season with some nice games for the Yankees, but at present he’s league-average hitter (more-or-less) with negative defensive and baserunning value, thus the very definition of replacement level. Admittedly, the Yankees have had to deal with several injuries, but even so, their roster construction is just weird.