Stars of the Day
AAA: Guillermo Moscoso / Mitch Moreland, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Ryan Garko, Matt Brown
AA: Martin Perez, Tim Murphy, Evan Reed / Emerson Frostad, Andy Jenkins
High-A: Jonathan Greene, Chris Gradoville
Low-A: Joseph Ortiz / Vin Difazio, Guillermo Pimentel
Short-A: Ben Rowen, Justin Earls, Francisco Mendoza / Santiago Chirino
AAA: Oklahoma City 8, at Iowa 4
Record: 53-44, +2.0
Playing first base for the 7th consecutive game, Mitch Moreland singled twice and drew two walks. Since the beginning of May, Moreland is batting .313/.401/.504 with exactly 40 walks and 40 strikeouts.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia (.258/.333/.435 in July) walked and clubbed his 10th homer. DH Ryan Garko doubled twice and drove in four.
Guillermo Moscoso (4.52 ERA) had his best outing in several weeks, completing seven innings in a reasonable 91 pitches and allowing three earned runs on six hits, two walks, and five strikeouts. Clay Rapada and Pedro Strop threw scoreless frames.
AAA: Guillermo Moscoso / Mitch Moreland, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Ryan Garko, Matt Brown
AA: Martin Perez, Tim Murphy, Evan Reed / Emerson Frostad, Andy Jenkins
High-A: Jonathan Greene, Chris Gradoville
Low-A: Joseph Ortiz / Vin Difazio, Guillermo Pimentel
Short-A: Ben Rowen, Justin Earls, Francisco Mendoza / Santiago Chirino
AAA: Oklahoma City 8, at Iowa 4
Record: 53-44, +2.0
Playing first base for the 7th consecutive game, Mitch Moreland singled twice and drew two walks. Since the beginning of May, Moreland is batting .313/.401/.504 with exactly 40 walks and 40 strikeouts.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia (.258/.333/.435 in July) walked and clubbed his 10th homer. DH Ryan Garko doubled twice and drove in four.
Guillermo Moscoso (4.52 ERA) had his best outing in several weeks, completing seven innings in a reasonable 91 pitches and allowing three earned runs on six hits, two walks, and five strikeouts. Clay Rapada and Pedro Strop threw scoreless frames.
AA: Frisco 3, at San Antonio 2Record: 17-9, +3.0
In front of a boisterous, Dollar Beer Night crowd of 7,000 plus some nerd with a camera and notepad, Martin Perez and his pals held off a late charge by the Missions.
Perez’s fastball ranged from 88-94 MPH in the early innings and 90-96 later on; the vast majority were between 90 and 94. Particularly against lefties, Perez continuously pounded the low-outside corner. Lefties were 1-13 against him with only one fly ball and both of his two strikeouts. 61 of the 84 pitches I charted (I missed three – hard to take pictures and write simultaneously) were fastballs, and 72% of those went for strikes.
Perez’s curve (73-79 MPH) and change (81-84) were very impressive, if only intermittently so. He concentrated on the curve early and mixed in more changes in the 6th and 7th. Perez lost his curve in the 5th, missing (mostly low) on six in a row at one point. Until then, he’d avoided the deep counts that have plagued him much of the season. Though four innings, he’d thrown only 46 pitches. He would need another 41 to get the next seven outs.
Through the first out of the 7th, Perez had allowed only two hits and a walk. Alas, following a single on a fastball that caught too much of the plate, his 87th and final pitch was a badly hung changeup that AAA veteran Christian Colonel deposited on the berm past the left-center fence. Still, on the whole Perez was dominant, mixing his pitches effectively and hitting his spots.
Tim Murphy fanned three in one inning with an intriguing “five-eighths” delivery (it’s not a straight sidearm, but I wouldn’t call it 3/4ths, either) that swept the ball across the plate far from the first-base side. His fastball began in the upper 80s and finished at 92, and two of the strikeouts came on swings at diving sliders. Murphy was no more than sporadically effective in Bakersfield (strong ground-fly ratio, terrible walk rate) but justified the promotion last night. Evan Reed was Evan Reed. He pitched the last 1.2 innings with a heavy diet of 92-94 MPH fastballs and (by my count) only one slider.
DH Emerson Frostad singled and tripled, and Andy Jenkins reached on a single, double, and walk. Marcus Lemon singled twice, the first one a nice “take what they give you” slap up the middle to drive in the first run. He was also picked off first and committed two errors at second.
Engel Beltre (0-5) mimicked his MLB Network appearance from a few weeks ago, constantly beating the ball into the grass in front of the plate.
A scout behind me in the stands was very high on Josh Lueke. Very, very, very high. He thinks Lueke will find a cure for the common cold when he’s done with his Hall of Fame baseball career.
High-A: Bakersfield 13, at Rancho Cucamonga 6
Record: 17-11, +1.0
Joe Wieland’s less than excellent adventure through the Cal League continued with a nightmare in Rancho Cucamonga. Wieland allowed two homers, eight other hits, and nine runs in 6.1 innings. He walked one and struck out four. His ability to whiff batters and avoid walks remains very impressive in the face of five successive pastings. So, give him a pass on that 9.35 ERA for now. He’s more likely to come around than not.
Yoon-Hee Nam (5.01 ERA) endured a triple-homer-homer sequence while allowing five runs in 1.2 innings.
3B Jonathan Greene homered for the third time in two games and added a single. 1B Chris Gradoville went 305 with a double and homer.
Low-A: at Hickory 7, Delmarva 5
Record: 15-12, -0.5
A couple of two-run homers ruined Braden Tullis’s evening. He allowed one more run and four additional hits over five innings, walked none, and struck out two. Tullis (2.51 ERA) had permitted only run in his three previous starts. Joseph Ortiz (1.42 ERA) struck out eight in 3.2 innings. Ortiz has faced 101 batters this season and fanned 38. That is, to use the baseball term, “impressive.”
As an informed source told me, “Delmarva keeps throwing Guillermo Pimentel fastballs, and he keeps hitting them.” The 20-year-old Pimentel (.333/.404/.378) went 3-4, stole a base and drove in two. His promotion to Hickory was certainly a surprise to me, but, so far, so good. Vin DiFazio (.261/.366/.523) walked and hit a two-run homer, his 8th.
Short-A: at Spokane 0, Yakima 2
Record: 18-15, -0.5, Elimination Number 5
2B Santiago Chirino’s two hits and a walk highlighted an ugly night for the Indian offense. Jurickson Profar is hitless in his last 20 at-bats.
Ben Henry (3.00 ERA) allowed only two runs in four innings despite allowing eight hits (including a homer) and a walk. He struck out five. Ben Rowen (2.1 IP, 4 SO), Justin Earls (1.2 IP, 3 SO), and Francisco Mendoza (1 IP, 3 SO) shut down the Bears for the duration.
Yakima and Spokane are a combined 3-for-47 with runners in scoring position the last two nights.
Rookie: Rangers off
Derek Holland is expected to pitch with the rookies tonight.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Michael Kirkman
AA: Michael Schlact
High-A: Robbie Ross
Low-A: Robbie Erlin
Short-A: Chad Bell
Rookie: Holland or perhaps Denny Peralta
Perez’s fastball ranged from 88-94 MPH in the early innings and 90-96 later on; the vast majority were between 90 and 94. Particularly against lefties, Perez continuously pounded the low-outside corner. Lefties were 1-13 against him with only one fly ball and both of his two strikeouts. 61 of the 84 pitches I charted (I missed three – hard to take pictures and write simultaneously) were fastballs, and 72% of those went for strikes.
Perez’s curve (73-79 MPH) and change (81-84) were very impressive, if only intermittently so. He concentrated on the curve early and mixed in more changes in the 6th and 7th. Perez lost his curve in the 5th, missing (mostly low) on six in a row at one point. Until then, he’d avoided the deep counts that have plagued him much of the season. Though four innings, he’d thrown only 46 pitches. He would need another 41 to get the next seven outs.
Through the first out of the 7th, Perez had allowed only two hits and a walk. Alas, following a single on a fastball that caught too much of the plate, his 87th and final pitch was a badly hung changeup that AAA veteran Christian Colonel deposited on the berm past the left-center fence. Still, on the whole Perez was dominant, mixing his pitches effectively and hitting his spots.
Tim Murphy fanned three in one inning with an intriguing “five-eighths” delivery (it’s not a straight sidearm, but I wouldn’t call it 3/4ths, either) that swept the ball across the plate far from the first-base side. His fastball began in the upper 80s and finished at 92, and two of the strikeouts came on swings at diving sliders. Murphy was no more than sporadically effective in Bakersfield (strong ground-fly ratio, terrible walk rate) but justified the promotion last night. Evan Reed was Evan Reed. He pitched the last 1.2 innings with a heavy diet of 92-94 MPH fastballs and (by my count) only one slider.
DH Emerson Frostad singled and tripled, and Andy Jenkins reached on a single, double, and walk. Marcus Lemon singled twice, the first one a nice “take what they give you” slap up the middle to drive in the first run. He was also picked off first and committed two errors at second.
Engel Beltre (0-5) mimicked his MLB Network appearance from a few weeks ago, constantly beating the ball into the grass in front of the plate.
A scout behind me in the stands was very high on Josh Lueke. Very, very, very high. He thinks Lueke will find a cure for the common cold when he’s done with his Hall of Fame baseball career.
High-A: Bakersfield 13, at Rancho Cucamonga 6
Record: 17-11, +1.0
Joe Wieland’s less than excellent adventure through the Cal League continued with a nightmare in Rancho Cucamonga. Wieland allowed two homers, eight other hits, and nine runs in 6.1 innings. He walked one and struck out four. His ability to whiff batters and avoid walks remains very impressive in the face of five successive pastings. So, give him a pass on that 9.35 ERA for now. He’s more likely to come around than not.
Yoon-Hee Nam (5.01 ERA) endured a triple-homer-homer sequence while allowing five runs in 1.2 innings.
3B Jonathan Greene homered for the third time in two games and added a single. 1B Chris Gradoville went 305 with a double and homer.
Low-A: at Hickory 7, Delmarva 5
Record: 15-12, -0.5
A couple of two-run homers ruined Braden Tullis’s evening. He allowed one more run and four additional hits over five innings, walked none, and struck out two. Tullis (2.51 ERA) had permitted only run in his three previous starts. Joseph Ortiz (1.42 ERA) struck out eight in 3.2 innings. Ortiz has faced 101 batters this season and fanned 38. That is, to use the baseball term, “impressive.”
As an informed source told me, “Delmarva keeps throwing Guillermo Pimentel fastballs, and he keeps hitting them.” The 20-year-old Pimentel (.333/.404/.378) went 3-4, stole a base and drove in two. His promotion to Hickory was certainly a surprise to me, but, so far, so good. Vin DiFazio (.261/.366/.523) walked and hit a two-run homer, his 8th.
Short-A: at Spokane 0, Yakima 2
Record: 18-15, -0.5, Elimination Number 5
2B Santiago Chirino’s two hits and a walk highlighted an ugly night for the Indian offense. Jurickson Profar is hitless in his last 20 at-bats.
Ben Henry (3.00 ERA) allowed only two runs in four innings despite allowing eight hits (including a homer) and a walk. He struck out five. Ben Rowen (2.1 IP, 4 SO), Justin Earls (1.2 IP, 3 SO), and Francisco Mendoza (1 IP, 3 SO) shut down the Bears for the duration.
Yakima and Spokane are a combined 3-for-47 with runners in scoring position the last two nights.
Rookie: Rangers off
Derek Holland is expected to pitch with the rookies tonight.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Michael Kirkman
AA: Michael Schlact
High-A: Robbie Ross
Low-A: Robbie Erlin
Short-A: Chad Bell
Rookie: Holland or perhaps Denny Peralta
Scott Lucas
Happy 4th birthday, James!
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