Saturday, April 22nd: Beloit Wins behind Nowlin’s Big Bat while Sonny Gray Impresses in Rehab Start for Stockton

A’s Prospect Of The Day: Beloit Snappers Designated Hitter Kyle Nowlin (Home Run / 3 RBIs)
A’s Prospect Of The Day: Beloit Snappers Designated Hitter Kyle Nowlin (Home Run / 3 RBIs)

 

MIDWEST LEAGUE  (Class-A)

Burlington Bees    3

Beloit Snappers  8

WP – Altamirano 1-1 / 1.54

HR – Mercedes (4), Nowlin (2)

Prospect Of The Game:

Designated Hitter Kyle Nowlin

(Home Run / 3 RBIs)

With two men on and his team down by a run in the bottom of the 5th inning, designated hitter Kyle Nowlin stepped to the plate and slugged a 3-run homer to provide the margin of victory for the Snappers on Saturday. Center fielder JaVon Shelby doubled in a run in the previous at-bat to bring Beloit within a run, while left fielder Luke Persico doubled in 3 runs in the 8th, and first baseman Miguel Mercedes hit his team-leading 4th home run in the 2nd. After three rocky outings, starter Matt Milburn was outstanding for the Snappers on Saturday. The 23-year-old allowed just 2 hits over 4 scoreless innings, and he left the game with a 1-run lead. A string of errors by third baseman Eric Marinez, center fielder Shelby and shortstop Edwin Diaz allowed 3 unearned runs to score off of RHP Xavier Altamirano in the top of the 5th inning, but he still picked up the win after Beloit took back the lead in the bottom of the 5th, and RHP Brandon Bailey threw 3 scoreless innings in relief to hold Burlington in check as the Snappers snapped their 3-game skid on Saturday.

Click here for a complete report on Sonny Gray’s Rehab Start in Stockton…  

Click here for more on Nashville, Midland & Stockton…

 

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE  (Triple-A)

Nashville Sounds              5

Colorado Springs Sky Sox  2

WP – Healy 1-1 / 2.70

cs434672

 

Prospect Of The Game:

Pitcher Chris Smith

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

 

RHP Chris Smith turned in a strong start for the Sounds on Saturday, allowing just 1 run on 5 hits over 6 innings of work, but he left with the game a 1-1 tie. RHP Tucker Healy replaced Smith and gave up the go-ahead run in the 7th but ended up earning the win after Nashville took the lead in the top of the 8th. RHP Bobby Wahl tossed a scoreless 9th to notch the save for the Sounds. Designated hitter Bruce Maxwell singled, doubled, drove in a pair of runs and scored the tying run in the 8th on a wild pitch, while second baseman Melvin Mercedes, who’d tripled and scored the Sounds’ first run in the 1st inning, brought home the winning run on a fielder’s choice in the 8th. Right fielder Mark Canha doubled and drove in a run, while shortstop Franklin Barreto had a pair of hits, and third baseman Matt Chapman went 1 for 3 with a walk and a stolen base in his first game back in action after returning from the disabled list.

 

TEXAS LEAGUE  (Double-A)

San Antonio Missions    1

Midland RockHounds  9

WP – Seddon 2-1 / 3.52

js607080

 

Prospect Of The Game:

Pitcher Joel Seddon

(4 1/3 IP / 4 H / 0 ER / 2 BB / 3 K / Win)

 

RockHounds starter Heath Fillmyer allowed 1 run over 3 2/3 innings before making way for RHP Joel Seddon, who was solid in relief, tossing 4 1/3 scoreless frames to earn his 2nd win as Midland snapped a four-game losing streak on Saturday. After putting 13 runs on the board in Friday’s loss, the RockHounds pushed 9 runs across the plate on Saturday. Center fielder B.J. Boyd singled twice, doubled and drove in a run, while catcher Andy Paz had 3 hits and drove in a pair. Second baseman J.P. Sportman had 2 hits and drove in 3, and third baseman Jordan Tarsovich had a pair of hits and a walk and drove in a run to help the Hounds notch the victory on Saturday.

 

CALIFORNIA LEAGUE  (High-A)

San Jose Giants   0

Stockton Ports    7

WP – Gray 1-0 / 0.00

bc656315

 

Prospect Of The Game:

Second Baseman Branden Cogswell

(1 for 2 / 2 Walks / 2 RBIs / Stolen Base)

 

The big story in Stockton on Saturday was pitcher Sonny Gray’s rehab start for the Ports, which you can read our complete report on here. But the bottom line is that Gray was impressive, allowing just 1 hit while walking none and striking out 6 over 5 scoreless innings to earn the win on Saturday. RHP Dustin Hurlbutt and LHP Evan Manarino both tossed 2 scoreless innings in relief to round out the victory. First baseman Chris Iriart collected 2 doubles, while center fielder Skye Bolt drew 3 walks in his return from the disabled list, and second baseman Branden Cogswell walked twice, stole a base and singled in a pair of runs for the Ports. Meanwhile, first baseman Sandber Pimentel took Bolt’s place on the DL on Saturday due to recurring back issues.

 

Sunday’s Games:

Nashville @ Colorado Springs – 12:30pm PT / 2:30pm CT

San Antonio @ Midland – Noon PT / 2:00pm CT

San Jose @ Stockton – 2:09pm PT

Burlington @ Beloit – Noon PT / 2:00pm CT

 

Kyle Nowlin
Kyle Nowlin

 

Be sure to like A’s Farm’s page on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @AthleticsFarm. You can also get our exclusive A’s minor league newsletter e-mailed to you free by signing up here.