Welcome back, Eric.
Box Scores
AAA: Round Rock 1, at Oklahoma City (LAD) 7
Round Rock: 3 hits, 3 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 12 hits, 5 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 15-16, 6 GB, 59-46 overall
SP Robert Dugger: 4 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SO, 80 P / 46 S, 4.68 ERA
RP Marc Church: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 1 SO, 3.70 ERA
Round Rock was no-hit for 7.2, mostly behind Gavin Stone (6 IP, 10 K), who’s been up and down for the Dodgers this year (and absolutely walloped at the higher level).
Much as I’ve commented about the bare-bones rotation of the Express this year, they’ve pitched very well. I re-ran the numbers yesterday, and the Express are allowing 18% fewer runs than average adjusted for park, best in the league.
AA: Frisco 0, Midland (OAK) 5 (2)
Frisco: 6 hits, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 3 walks, 1 strikeout
Record: 17-14, 2 GB, 48-51 overall
SP Dane Acker: 4 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 5 SO, 75 P / 48 S, 3.80 ERA
RP Michael Brewer: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 5.17 ERA
RF Evan Carter: 0-1, 3 BB, SB (14), .285/.412/.447
Leadoff hitter Chris Seise ended the no-hit threat in the 1st, but in other respects this games played out like the one above. Dane Acker allowed four runs of the first time this season.
Hi-A: Hickory 7, at Aberdeen (BAL) 5
Hickory: 8 hits, 9 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 7 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 23-10, 3.5 G up, 50-44 overall
SP Juan Mejia: 3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 55 P / 30 S, 2.12 ERA
RP Yohanse Morel: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 3.03 ERA
DH Max Acosta: 1-3, 2B, 2 BB, SB (17), .249/.300/.355
LF Yosy Galan: 1-3, 2 BB, SB (7), .259/.315/.388
Eight Crawdads divided the hits. In April and May, Max Acosta was hitting as well as ever, but he’s wound down since then: .200/.250/.286 since June 1.
Wyatt Langford had the night off.
Lo-A: Down East 7, Myrtle Beach (CHC) 1
Down East: 10 hits, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 4 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 17-17, 4 GB, 54-41 overall
SP Joseph Montalvo: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 SO, 65 P / 44 S, 2.42 ERA
RP DJ McCarty: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 2.83 ERA
SS Danyer Cueva: 1-3, 2B, BB, .259/.309/.372
RF Jojo Blackmon: 2-3, 2B, .192/.228/.333
2021 20th-rounder Joseph Montalvo ranks fifth in the system with 74.1 innings and tied for second with 88 strikeouts. Given that the leader in both categories is AAA vet Robert Dugger, you can bump the 21-year-old Montalvo up a spot if you’d like. Like Hickory, Down East spread the hits among eight batters.
Today’s Starters
AAA: TBA
AA: TBA
Hi-A: Santos
Lo-A: TBA (Porter’s turn)
Five Years Ago Yesterday
After a franchise-worst 24-46 first-half record, Frisco led the division outright with a second-half record of 26-17. The Riders would not go on to win the title, and 2018 is the only season I’ve covered in which at least one of Texas’s full-season affiliates did not make the playoffs.