Thursday, July 5th: Whitaker’s Grand Slam Leads Ports to Win while Cats, Hounds & Bees Fall

A’s Farmhand Of The Day

 

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE (TRIPLE-A)

Sacramento River Cats  8

Fresno Grizzlies               9

(LP – Figueroa 0-1 / 1.73)

 

Farmhand Of The Game:

Outfielder Luke Hughes

(Home Run / 3 RBIs)

 

 

Worth Noting: Luke Hughes, playing in left field, hit a go-ahead 3-run homer in the top of the 8^th inning for the River Cats. Fresno came back to tie the game off right-hander Merkin Valdez, and catcher Josh Donaldson followed with a solo-shot in the 10^th to give Sacramento the lead, until left-hander Pedro Figueroa surrendered 2 runs in the bottom of the 10^th to hand the victory to Fresno.

 

TEXAS LEAGUE (DOUBLE-A)

Arkansas Travelers      2

Midland RockHounds  1

(LP – Ortiz 3-4 / 3.34)

 

Farmhand Of The Game:

Pitcher Fabio Castro

(7 IP / 1 ER / 6 K)

 

 

Worth Noting: Starter Fabio Castro had another solid outing, allowing 1 run while striking out 6 over 7 innings of work, but right-hander Jonathan Ortiz surrendered the winning run in the top of the 10^th inning. Designated hitter Josh Horton had 3 hits, including a double, while catcher Ryan Lipkin collected 2 hits and drove in the RockHounds’ only run.

 

CALIFORNIA LEAGUE (HIGH-A)

Stockton Ports    6

Bakersfield Blaze  5

(WP – Walz 5-5 / 2.99)

 

Farmhand Of The Game:

Outfielder Josh Whitaker

(Grand Slam)

 

 

Worth Noting: Outfielder Josh Whitaker kept up his torrid pace by blasting a grand slam in the top of the 9^th inning on Thursday night to give the Ports a lead that Bakersfield couldn’t overcome. Starter Ian Krol allowed 3 runs and struck out 5 in 6 innings of work, while right-hander T.J. Walz struck out 3 in 2 scoreless innings to earn the win.

 

MIDWEST LEAGUE (CLASS-A)

Burlington Bees  1

Peoria Chiefs       2

(LP – Cole 4-1 / 2.44)

 

Farmhand Of The Game:

Pitcher A.J. Cole

(6 IP / 1 ER / 9 K)

 

 

Worth Noting: Starter A.J. Cole had another strong outing for Burlington, allowing just 1 earned run while striking out 9 over 6 innings to lower his ERA with the Bees to 2.44. Outfielder Eliezer Mesa homered forBurlington’s only run of the game.

 

NEW YORK-PENN LEAGUE (CLASS-A SHORT-SEASON)

Hudson Valley Renegades  6

Vermont Lake Monsters    0

(LP – Avila 0-1 / 3.15)

 

Farmhand Of The Game:

Outfielder Austin Booker

(2 for 3)

 

 

Worth Noting: Vermont managed only 6 hits on Thursday night, 2 off the bat of outfielder Austin Booker, and another pair courtesy of catcher Bruce Maxwell. Starter Andres Avila allowed 5 runs, 4 earned, over 5 innings to take his 1^st loss.

 

ARIZONA LEAGUE (ROOKIE SHORT-SEASON)

AZL Giants        0

AZL Athletics  10

(WP – Paulino 1-1 / 3.18)

Farmhand Of The Game:

Pitcher Gregory Paulino

(5 IP / 0 ER / 5 K / Win)

Worth Noting: Former top prospect Michael Ynoa walked 1 and struck out 1 in 1 scoreless inning in his 2^nd appearance of the season, while right-hander Gregory Paulino struck out 5 in 5 scoreless innings to earn the win. Catcher Reynaldo Mateo hit a 3-run homer in the 1^st inning, and third baseman Renato Nunez doubled and drove in 3. First baseman Matt Olson and shortstop Daniel Robertson both posted a pair of doubles, and outfielder B.J. Boyd and Addison Russell, serving as the designated hitter for the day, collected 3 hits apiece.

 

Friday’s Games:

Sacramento @ Fresno – 7:05pm PT

(Straily vs. Yourkin)

Arkansas @ Midland – 7:00pm CT

(Oye vs. Smith)

Stockton @ Bakersfield – 7:45pm PT

(Bowman vs. Rogers)

Burlington @ Peoria – 7:00pm CT

(Alcantara vs. Peralta)

Hudson Valley @ Vermont – 7:05pm ET

(TBD vs. TBD)

AZL Reds vs. AZL Athletics – 7:00pm PT

(TBD vs. TBD)

 

 

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