A’s Farmhand Of The Day
PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE (Triple-A)
Oklahoma City RedHawks 3
Sacramento River Cats 6
WP – Billings 4-2 / 4.97
Farmhand Of The Game:
Pitcher Bruce Billings
(7 IP / 3 H / 0 ER / 1 BB / 8 K / Win)
Sacramento benefited from another fine pitching performance on Saturday. This time it came courtesy of RHP Bruce Billings, who allowed just 3 hits and struck out 8 over 7 scoreless innings to earn his 4th win, while RHP Evan Scribner got the final 4 outs to post his 1st save. Michael Taylor, playing in center field, had a pair of hits, while catcher Stephen Vogt, first baseman Scott Moore, second baseman Grant Green and right fielder Michael Choice each drove in a run for the River Cats. With Choice recently getting starts in right field, one has to wonder if the A’s might be prepping him just in case right fielder Josh Reddick’s absence lingers for too long. FormerRiver Cats pitcher Brad Peacock will be returning to the Raley Field mound to face his former team on Sunday when he gets the nod for Oklahoma.
If you’d like to see A’s prospects like Michael Choice, Shane Peterson, Grant Green, Jemile Weeks, Dan Otero, Pedro Figueroa and more in action, you can check out Nathaniel Stoltz’s videos from the River Cats’ recent series in Nashville here.
Click here for more on Midland, Stockton & Beloit…
TEXAS LEAGUE (Double-A)
Corpus Christi Hooks 4
Midland RockHounds 12
WP – Neal 4-1 / 2.68
HR – Aliotti 3 (7)
Farmhand Of The Game:
First Baseman Anthony Aliotti
(3 Home Runs / 8 RBIs)
First baseman Anthony Aliotti had a monster night for Midland on Saturday, clubbing 3 home runs and a double while driving in 8 runs. Aliotti now leads all A’s minor leaguers with 59 hits, a .376 batting average, a .476 on-base percentage and a .592 slugging percentage. And if Daric Barton doesn’t clear waivers and end up back at Sacramento, it might finally be time for the A’s to give Aliotti a shot to show what he can do in Triple-A. In his first game back at Midland, outfielder Conner Crumbliss led off and went 1 for 3 with a pair of walks, stole a base and scored 3 times. RHP Zach Neal picked up the win, allowing 2 runs in 5 2/3 innings of work, while RHP Nate Long notched his 1st save. In other news, the A’s signed 29-year-old RHP Erik Arnesen, who spent 7 years in the Nationals’ system and had recently been pitching in the independent Atlantic League, and have assigned him to Midland. RHP Josh Bowman was sent down to Stockton to make room for him on the Rockhounds’ roster.
CALIFORNIA LEAGUE (High-A)
Bakersfield Blaze 5
Stockton Ports 2
LP – Joseph 3-3 / 7.11
Farmhand Of The Game:
Pitcher James Simmons
(4 IP / 1 H / 0 ER / 0 BB / 2 K)
Right-handed reliever and former 1st-round draft pick James Simmons, who was demoted from Sacramento earlier in the week, was inserted into Stockton’s starting rotation on Saturday night and looked impressive, allowing just 1 hit in 4 scoreless innings of work. First baseman Max Muncy, catcher Phil Pohl and shortstop Addison Russell collected a pair of hits apiece. And Stockton was leading 2-1 heading into the 9th, but RHP Brett Hunter surrendered the tying run to send the game into extra innings, and RHP Jonathan Joseph gave up 3 runs in the 11th to take the loss. Stockton’s struggling rotation should be getting a bit of a boost not only with the addition of Simmons, but also from the return of RHP Josh Bowman, who was just demoted from Midland. In other pitching news for the Ports this week, RHP Seth Frankoff was put on the disabled list and RHP Max Perlman was given his release.
MIDWEST LEAGUE (Class-A)
Beloit Snappers 5
Quad Cities River Bandits 3
WP – De Young 3-1 / 2.41
Farmhand Of The Game:
Catcher Bruce Maxwell
(3 for 5 / 2 RBIs)
With 2 outs in the 9th inning and Beloit down by a run with 2 men on, catcher Bruce Maxwell singled in both the tying and the go-ahead runs for the Snappers. Maxwell collected 3 hits on the night to raise his average to .306. Starter Vince Voiro allowed 3 runs in 4 1/3 innings of work, while RHP Derek De Young picked up the win with 4 scoreless innings of relief.
If you’d like to get an update on A’s top prospect Daniel Robertson, who’s currently batting .310 for the Snappers, be sure to check out Josh Flickinger’s interview with him from the Beloit Daily News here.
Sunday’s Games:
Oklahoma City @ Sacramento – 1:05pm PT
Corpus Christi @ Midland – Noon PT / 2:00pm CT
Lake Elsinore @ Stockton – 2:09pm PT
Beloit @ Quad Cities – Noon PT / 2:00pm CT
Be sure to like A’s Farm’s page on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @AthleticsFarm to keep up with all the news down on the farm!