Friday, April 11th: Freiman’s Slam Leads Cats to Victory in Home Opener while Hounds & Snappers Fall and Ports Win as Ynoa Exits with Apparent Arm Injury

 

A’s Farmhand Of The Day

Sacramento River Cats First Baseman Nate Freiman (Grand Slam)
Sacramento River Cats First Baseman Nate Freiman (Grand Slam)

 

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE  (Triple-A)

Salt Lake Bees                  6

Sacramento River Cats  7

WP – Savery 1-0 / 8.10

HR – Freiman (1)

Farmhand Of The Game:

First Baseman Nate Freiman

(Grand Slam)

First baseman Nate Freiman had a big night in Sacramento’s home opener on Friday. With the River Cats down by 3 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning and the bases loaded, Freiman slugged a grand slam to lead Sacramento to victory in front of the hometown fans. Designated hitter Jake Goebbert and outfielder Shane Peterson each had a pair of hits and drove in a run for the River Cats. RHP Matt Buschmann was a little shaky in his second start for Sacramento, allowing 4 runs on 7 hits over just 3 1/3 innings, while RHP Jose Flores struck out 5 in 2 2/3 scoreless innings of relief. And despite giving up 2 runs in the top of the 8th, LHP Joe Savery ended up walking away with the win after Freiman’s big blow, while RHP Fernando Nieve picked up the save after tossing a scoreless 9th for the Cats.

Click here for more on Midland, Stockton & Beloit…

 

TEXAS LEAGUE  (Double-A)

Midland RockHounds  1

Arkansas Travelers        2

LP – Peters 0-2 / 3.18

HR – Crumbliss (1)

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Farmhand Of The Game:

Pitcher Tanner Peters

(6 IP / 5 H / 1 ER / 1 BB / 2 K)

 

RHP Tanner Peters was solid in his second start for the RockHounds, allowing 2 runs, just 1 earned, on 5 hits in 6 innings of work, but he still ended up taking his 2nd loss on Friday, while LHP Jeff Urlaub finished things off with 2 perfect innings in relief. Midland’s lineup managed just 6 hits in the game. Second baseman Conner Crumbliss walked, doubled and homered to account for the Hounds’ only run, but he also made a key error in the 5th that led to the go-ahead run for the Travelers. Meanwhile, 18-year-old catcher Jose Chavez went 1 for 3 in his debut for the RockHounds.

 

CALIFORNIA LEAGUE  (High-A)

Visalia Rawhide   4

Stockton Ports  9

WP – Haviland 1-1 / 3.38

HR – McKinney (4), Pinder (3), Robinson (2)

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Farmhand Of The Game:

Designated Hitter Dusty Robinson

(Home Run / Double / 3 RBIs)

 

After winning a 5-hour-and-27-minute, 18-inning marathon on Thursday night, the Ports procured the victory in a tidy 2 hours and 43 minutes on Friday. Two of Thursday night’s heroes, designated hitter Dusty Robinson and shortstop Chad Pinder each singled, doubled, homered and drove in 3 runs apiece, while outfielder Billy McKinney belted his organization-leading 4th home run, catcher Bruce Maxwell collected 3 hits for the second straight night, and Daniel Robertson started his first game at third base for the Ports. RHP Shawn Haviland allowed 3 runs on 4 hits in his second start for Stockton. RHP Michael Ynoa came in to take over for Haviland but didn’t last long. Ynoa hit the first batter he faced with his first pitch, then threw two low-velocity balls to the next batter before gesturing to his right elbow and exiting the game. No further information was available after the game on Ynoa’s status, but RHPs Ryan Doolittle and Austin House combined on 3 scoreless innings of relief to close out the victory for Stockton.

 

MIDWEST LEAGUE  (Class-A)

Beloit Snappers              1

West Michigan Whitecaps  2

LP – Roberts 0-1 / 6.75

Finnegan

 

Farmhand Of The Game:

Pitcher Kyle Finnegan

(5 IP / 5 H / 0 ER / 2 BB / 2 K)

 

RHP Kyle Finnegan made his second straight strong start for the Snappers, tossing 5 scoreless innings on Friday. Second baseman Chih Fang Pan had 3 hits, including a double, while outfielder B.J. Boyd singled, doubled and drove in Beloit’s only run of the game in the top of the 8th inning. LHP Brent Powers tossed 3 innings in relief and gave up 1 unearned run in the bottom of the 8th to tie the game. LHP Chris Lamb and RHP Lee Sosa each contributed 2 scoreless innings of relief and the game remained tied 1-1 until the bottom of the 14th inning when, with infielder Sam Roberts on the mound, the Whitecaps pushed the winning run across the plate to claim the victory in extra innings.

 

Saturday’s Games:

Salt Lake @ Sacramento – 7:05pm PT

Midland @ Arkansas – 4:10pm PT / 6:10pm CT

Visalia @ Stockton – 7:05pm PT

Beloit @ West Michigan – 10:00am PT / Noon CT

 

 

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