Pitching ruled the day, as Spencer Howard had the best start of his season in Sacramento, and in San Jose, 2nd round pick Joe Whitman turned around a rough season with a little perfection. Meanwhile, Jonah Cox did not have to run hard stealing bases when he did the very rare thing he did today.
AAA: Sacramento 4, Tacoma 0
Player of the Game: SP Spencer Howard: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K
Howard has a 4.63 ERA, but he’s now had two starts without allowing a run or a walk in his last three games. Howard now has 30 strikeouts in 23.1 innings with just nine walks allowed.
Other Players to Spotlight:
- 1B Trenton Brooks: 1-2, 1 BB – Brooks has a mini-hitting streak of seven games, having gone 9-for-22 (.409) with two doubles and two home runs over that span.
- 3B Casey Schmitt: 1-3, 1 R, 1 BB – Schmitt’s walk gives him just seven in his 28 games. That gives him a .323 OBP over a .289 batting average.
- RP Clay Helvey: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K – Helvey bounced back from giving up his first run in his last outing (six days ago) with another scoreless outing. In Sacramento, Helvey now has 20 strikeouts to three walks in 12.0 innings over five games.
Top Prospect Lines:
- RF Luis Matos: 1-4, 1 RBI, 1 2B (7)
- LF Heliot Ramos: 0-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K
- SS Marco Luciano: 1-4, 2 RBI, 1 E (5)
Other Notable Lines:
- 2B Brett Wisely: 1-4, 1 K
AA: Akron 4, Richmond 3
Player of the Game: DH Hunter Bishop: 2-4, 2 R, 1 2B (4)
That’s two straight 2-hit games for Bishop, a 5-game hitting streak (7-for-19, .368) , and three doubles plus one home run over that span. He’s hitting .247 overall, with a .326 OBP and a .377 slugging percentage.
Other Players to Spotlight:
- C Brett Auerbach: 1-2, 1 R, 1 2B (3), 1 BB, 1 K – Auerbach exited the game in the 7th inning after getting ejected after the umpire gave a walk on a time clock violation, after apparently ignoring Auerbach’s request for a time out call before the violation.
- 1B Andy Thomas: 1-3, 1 BB – Thomas has five walks to 13 strikeouts in 19 games, contributing to a .203/.288/.254 batting line
- SP Hayden Birdsong: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 1 HR, 1 HBP, 1 E (1) – Birdsong had his roughest game of the year, with a season-high 3 runs allowed. But his season ERA is still just 2.66 with 29 strikeouts to 11 walks in 20.1 innings.
Top Prospect Lines:
- CF Grant McCray: 0-4, 1 BB, 2 K
- C Adrián Sugastey: 0-1
Other Notable Lines:
- 2B Dilan Rosario: 1-3, 1 RBI, 1 2B (1), 1 BB, 2 K
High-A: Eugene 7, Spokane 2
Player of the Game: RF Tanner O’Tremba: 2-4, 2 R, 2 2B (4)
O’Tremba now has four doubles to go with a triple and a home run in 15 games this season, breaking a 3-game hitless streak. He’s hitting .261/.397/.457.
Other Players to Spotlight:
- SP Seth Lonsway: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K – Another good start for Lonsway, although he gave up a season-high-tying 6 hits.
- CF Scott Bandura: 1-5, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 HR (2), 2 K – Bandura picked up his second home run, and first since April 17th.
- 3B Justin Wishkoski: 2-4, 1 R, 1 2B (5), 1 BB – Wishkoski now has four doubles in his last three games, and a 7-game hitting streak.
Top Prospect Lines:
- C Onil Perez: 2-5, 1 2B (5), 1 K
Other Notable Lines:
- 2B Quinn McDaniel: 2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K
- DH Matt Higgins: 1-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
Low-A: San Jose 4, Lake Elsinore 2
Player of the Game: SP Joe Whitman: 4.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Joe Whitman had his best game of the season by far, his first that had zero hits, or zero runs, or zero walks, much less none of all three in the same game. He has a 5.09 ERA after five games, with 22 strikeouts to 15 walks.
Other Players to Spotlight:
- CF Jonah Cox: 1-2, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR (1), 2 BB – I almost gave Cox player of the game, but he didn’t steal any bases. Just kidding, kinda…but he did hit his first home run, which is just his second extra-base hit of the year.
- 1B Guillermo Williamson: 2-3, 1 RBI, 1 BB – Williamson has two multi-hit games in the last four, and raised his .220 batting average above the Mendoza Line for the first time since April 12th.
- SS Cole Foster: 1-3, 1 R, 1 K, 1 HBP – Foster continues his good year, and has a batting line of .305/.383/.439 after 20 games.
Top Prospect Lines:
- No Other Ones Played
Other Notable Lines:
- C Luke Shliger: 1-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 2B (3), 1 K, 1 PB (4)
- RP Shane Rademacher: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K