AAA: Round Rock 9, @ Sugar Land (HOU) 7 (10)
Round Rock: 10 hits, 4 walks, 13 strikeouts
Opponent: 14 hits, 7 walks, 5 strikeouts
Record: 6-6, 5 GB, 43-43 overall
SP Tim Brennan: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 0 SO, 42 P / 21 S, 3.38 ERA
C Sam Huff: 1-5, HR (9), .241/.324/.439
RF Sandro Fabian: 3-5, 2B, HR (11), .292/.362/.493
PH Matt Whatley: 1-1, HR (3), .192/.298/.342
Down 5-0 after five and 7-4 entering the 9th, Round Rock stormed back with three homers. Sandro Fabian took an 0-2 slider deep to lead off the 9th, and after a Trevor Hauver walk, pinch-hitter Matt Whatley tied the game with his second of the season. In the 10th, Sam Huff brought home gift-runner Blaine Crim with yet another blast.
Justin Foscue wasn’t in the lineup but replaced Whatley in the bottom of the 10th, as manager Doug Davis decided Whatley would not be making his professional debut at second base that evening. Back in 2019 or so, Whatley was my very dark dark-horse pick to reach the Majors, with better hitting being the necessity. Whatley hasn’t hit much, to be honest, but combined with his defensive and organizational appeal, he’s maintained a professional career for eight years including three in AAA.
AA: Frisco 7, Arkansas (SEA) 1
Frisco: 11 hits, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 4 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 8-4, 1.5 GB, 52-29 overall
SP Emiliano Teodo: 5.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 SO, 86 P / 56 S, 1.71 ERA
RP Antone Kelly: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 9.00 ERA
RF Alejandro Osuna: 3-4, 2B, 3B, .375/.375/.750
2B Keyber Rodriguez: 2-4, 2B, .261/.303/.394
3B Cody Freeman: 2-4, HR (10), .279/.331/.468
C Cooper Johnson: 2-3, 2B, HR (7), .235/.338/.462
I’m going to borrow from Grant Schiller again: Emiliano Teodo’s 12 swinging strikes consisted of eight sliders, three changes, and one fastball. Once again, Teodo didn’t allow an extra-base hit. One might be inclined to attribute his minuscule 0.47 ISO to luck. I’m sure it plays some part, and I’d expect that figure to rise rather than fall, but Teodo also has one of the best grounder rates in the system and league. He’s doing his part.
Hi-A: Hickory 4, @ Winston-Salem (CHW) 6
Hickory: 7 hits, 4 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 13 hits, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 7-8, 3.5 GB, 35-46 overall
SP Aidan Curry: 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 7 SO, 80 P / 54 S, 7.58 ERA
2B Cam Cauley: 1-2, HR (5), .243/.294/.399
C Ian Moller: 2-3, BB, .227/.350/.297
LF Yosy Galan: 0-2, 2 BB, 3 SB (21), .168/.284/.337
Against rehabbing White Sox starter, Texas Tech alum, and 27-year-old greybeard Davis Martin, Cam Cauley homered and Sebastian Walcott reached to pull a low slider down the line for a double. Both Cauley and CF Anthony Gutierrez were pulled mid-game for reasons unknown to me.
Lo-A: canceled
Lightning interrupted the contest in the bottom of the 1st. 21 of Down East’s first 81 scheduled games were against Carolina, but they don’t meet again, so the game will not be made up. Echedry Vargas had a single, stolen base and run that will not count. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.
Today’s Starters
Texas’s affiliates skipped last week’s off-day and will instead have both Sunday and Monday off.
Five Years Ago Yesterday
(Actually the day before yesterday but I didn’t report until 7/7/2019) Spokane’s Ricky Vanasco carried a no-hitter into the 6th despite early wildness that included four full counts, two walks, and two wild pitches among the first five batters. He would fan ten in six innings. Down East improved to 59-28, equaling the previous year’s win total with 53 games remaining.