Box Scores
AAA: Round Rock 5, at Sacramento (SFO) 2
Round Rock: 11 hits, 5 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts
Record: 22-14, 4 GB, 53-58 overall
SP Anthony Veneziano: 4 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 72 P / 49 S, 2.16 ERA
RP Adam Macko: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 0 SO, 4.50 ERA
RP Gavin Collyer: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 2.28 ERA
SS Keyber Rodriguez: 3-4, HR (9), .228/.309/.419
Adam Macko debuted for the organization. He occasionally had trouble with pitches flying up and glove-side, leading to a walk that scored after a cheap double and sac fly. His overall strike rate was solid. Most of his five missed bats were on fastballs. Collyer’s outing wasn’t revelatory, but he threw strikes and let the defense do most of the work.
Keyber Rodriguez has nine homers in Round Rock and 14 on the season. Nine exceeds any total from a previous season, and AAA hasn’t seen the jarring increase in offense affecting the lower levels (probably because AAA uses the MLB ball), so I’ll suggest his power surge is real. 
AA: Frisco 0, at Midland (ATH) 4
Frisco: 4 hits, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 19-17, 1 GB, 58-46 overall
SP Dylan MacLean: 5.2 IP, 8 H (1 HR), 2 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 83 P / 56 S, 4.32 ERA
All of Frisco’s losses lately have been by large margins, and the Riders have the league’s third-worst run differential in the second half despite a winning record. Frisco placed one runner on second the entire night, and that was a 1st-inning steal by Arturo Disla following a single. Midland announcer Bob Hards understandably expressed surprise when the stocky Disla took off and chuckled as he slid in safely and pointed to his dugout, but devoted readers of this report know the score. The day will come when Disla doesn’t run anymore, because, well, he’s not getting any smaller, but he’s adept at taking advantage of a snoozing defense. He has ten steals versus just one caught the past two seasons. 
Hi-A: Hub City 3, at Bowling Green (TAM) 10
Hub City: 6 hits, 2 walks, 13 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 6 walks, 5 strikeouts
Record: 13-25, 12.5 GB, 47-57 overall
SP Kamdyn Perry: 3 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 5 R, 5 BB, 3 HBP, 1 SO, 68 P / 28 S, 10.80 ERA
CF Marcos Torres: 2-3, 2B, HR (2), BB, .321/.390/.566
Kamdyn Perry tied a career-high in walks and set a high in hit batters in the same outing. The combo of 68 pitches and a 41% strike rate is probably isn’t unprecedented but definitely had me wondering. For example, even notoriously control-averse Brock Porter has never thrown 60 or more pitches with that few strikes. As I’ve mentioned, Perry walked only three in 22 innings at Hickory, and while that represents an outlier in his career, it’s a real thing that he accomplished just a few months ago. 
Lo-A: Hickory 2, Augusta (ATL) 3
Hickory: 5 hits, 0 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 2 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 27-11, 4.5 G up, 61-41 overall
SP Evan Siary: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 6 SO, 78 P / 55 S, 3.13 ERA
RP Aneudis Mejia: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 5.92 ERA
RP Louis Marinaro: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 4.08 ERA
LF Paulino Santana: 3-4, 2B, SB (18), .272/.396/.455
The injured Augusta player I mentioned on Tuesday, 3B Patrick Engskov, was placed on the 60-day IL, so his season is over with no plate appearances and only a few minutes in the field. Last night, SS Manuel Campos and 2B Joe Olsavsky collided trying to nab a Paulino Santana grounder, and both had to be replaced. LF Caden Merritt took over at second, playing in the infield for the first time as a pro. Merritt looked less than natural at the position and botched a routine grounder to begin the 5th, but Hickory couldn’t score, and Merritt handled other chances ably enough.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Pence
AA: TBD
Hi-A: Scarborough
Lo-A: McConnaughey
Five Years Ago Yesterday
Hickory lost 15-14 to Greensboro in 12 innings, failing to hold leads of two in the 10th, three in the 11th and six in the 12th. Hickory scored their final runs off position player Will Matthiessen, who batted for himself in the bottom half and hit a two-out, two-strike game-ending grand slam off Nic Laio.
In Hickory’s lineup that night were SS Josh Smith, DH Zeke Duran, 2B Justin Foscue, 1B Dustin Harris and CF Jonathan Ornelas.
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