AAA: Round Rock 4, at Oklahoma City (LAD) 3
Round Rock: 7 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 3 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 16-16, 5 GB, 60-46 overall
SP Zak Kent: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 3 SO, 35 P / 21 S, 0.00 ERA
RP Cole Winn: 3 IP, 1 H (1 HR), 1 R, 3 BB, 4 SO, 7.05 ERA
RP Jake Latz: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 5.40 ERA
1B Blaine Crim: 2-4, 2B, .276/.385/.489
LF Sandro Fabian: 2-4, HR (15), .287/.330/.536
Obliques and Hamstrings. My old line was that whenever someone suffers one of those injuries, add 2-3 weeks to the whatever timetable you hear, because they always seem to linger. I don’t recall hearing a recovery period for Kent’s oblique, but I don’t know that anyone was expecting four months between AAA appearances. Kent threw a four-seamer, sinker, and cutter in the 89-94 range, a mid-to-upper-80s slider, and some low-80s curves. No changes, just like his first start in April. (My characterization of Kent’s pitches doesn’t quite match Statcast, but sometimes the computer’s designations bother me.)
Cole Winn had a successful if not especially strike-heavy outing that included his fastest pitch of the season, 97.1 MPH.
Sandro Fabian’s skyscraping grand slam off a middle-high changeup held up, barely. Down three in the 9th, OKC began with three hits off Ian Kennedy and scored twice.
AA: Frisco 6, Midland (OAK) 2
Frisco: 12 hits, 5 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 3 hits, 4 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 18-14, 2 GB, 49-41 overall
SP Matt Bush: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 35 P / 21 S, 0.84 ERA
RP Florencio Serrano: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Justin Slaten: 2 IP, 1 H (1 HR), 1 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 3.72 ERA
RP Terry Matthews: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 8.59 ERA
SS Keyber Rodriguez: 3-4, 2B, BB
CF Evan Carter: 1-3, HR (12), 2 BB, .285/.414/.456
DH Liam Hicks: 2-4, HR (3), .276/.397/.421
C David Garcia: 2-3, HR (1), BB, .212/.321/.288
Evan Carter’s 1st-inning homer put the Express ahead for good. Ten Texas League hitters with at least 200 PA have an OBP of .400 or better. Carter is 20 months younger than anyone else.
Hi-A: Hickory 13, at Aberdeen (BAL) 5
Hickory: 16 hits, 3 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 5 walks, 5 strikeouts
Record: 24-10, 3.5 G up, 51-44 overall
SP Winston Santos: 4 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 1 SO, 72 P / 44 S, 5.82 ERA
RP Jackson Leath: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
CF Daniel Mateo: 4-6, .262/.279/.402
1B Tucker Mitchell: 2-5, 3B, BB, .267/.366/.435
LF Wyatt Langford: 2-5, 2B, BB, SB (1)
RF Geisel Cepeda: 2-5, HR (5), 2 SB (7), .280/.366/.362
Wyatt Langford settled for a double on a shot down the left side.
Winston Santos didn’t allow a homer after giving up five in the previous two starts, but he was again hittable.
Aberdeen began the second half 17-7 but has lost ten straight including five to the Crawdads.
Lo-A: Down East 3, Myrtle Beach (CHC) 2
Down East: 5 hits, 2 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 2 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 18-17, 4 GB, 55-41 overall
SP Kohl Drake: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 80 P / 54 S, 7.79 ERA
RP Damian Mendoza: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SO, 5.01 ERA
RP Adrian Rodriguez: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 3.04 ERA
CF Anthony Gutierrez: 2-3, SB (23), .255/.323/.325
Fresh off the IL, LF Tommy Specht doubled in the go-ahead run in the 6th, and Down East would allow only one runner to reach scoring position, and then only briefly, in the final four innings.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Bradford
AA: Nordlin
Hi-A: Lockhart
Lo-A: TBD
Five Years Ago Yesterday
I don’t know. Nothing of interest happened in the system, and as a joke I intended to use some actual news from that day, but all the stories were upsetting or depressing. Let’s just enjoy today instead.