CALIFORNIA LEAGUE (High-A)
Visalia Rawhide 4
Stockton Ports 5
WP – Butler 2-2 / 3.33
HR – Bolt (9), Mondou (1)
Prospect Of The Game:
Pitcher Brendan Butler
(5 IP / 3 H / 0 ER / 2 BB / 6 K / Win)
Stockton came back to earn its third win in its last four games on Saturday. 23-year-old Cuban RHP Norge Ruiz made his first start for Stockton and allowed 4 runs on 6 hits over 4 innings of work. RHP Brendan Butler replaced him on the mound and was impressive in relief, throwing 5 scoreless frames to earn his 2nd win for Stockton. Center fielder Skye Bolt, who hit a grand slam on Friday night, singled, walked, homered, stole a base and scored twice on Saturday, while first baseman Sandber Pimentel had a pair of doubles for the Ports. Second baseman Nate Mondou hit his 1st home run for Stockton, and right fielder Seth Brown had a pair of hits and singled in the tying run in the 5th inning. Left fielder Brett Siddall, who walked and moved to third on Pimentel’s second double in the bottom of the 8th, eventually came in to score the winning run on a wild pitch. Matt Chapman, serving as the designated hitter for Stockton, went 0 for 4 in his first rehab appearance for the Ports and is scheduled to make the start at third base for Stockton on Sunday. In other news, RHP Brandon Bailey was promoted to the Ports from the Snappers and Stockton outfielder Tyler Ramirez was reassigned to the RockHounds on Saturday.
Click here for more on Nashville, Midland, Beloit, Vermont & AZL A’s…
PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE (Triple-A)
Oklahoma City Dodgers 4
Nashville Sounds 5
WP – Castro 2-4 / 3.71
Prospect Of The Game:
Shortstop Marcus Semien
(2 for 5 / 2 RBIs)
Shortstop Marcus Semien was the difference maker in his first rehab appearance for the Sounds on Saturday. Semien went 2 for 5 and singled in both the tying and winning runs in the bottom of the 9th to help Nashville win in a walk-off on Saturday. Third baseman Yairo Munoz had 3 hits and drove in a run, while center fielder Kenny Wilson singled, doubled, walked, stole a base and scored twice for the Sounds. RHP Ben Bracewell was called up from Midland to make the start on Saturday and allowed 2 runs over 4 innings of work. RHP Jake Sanchez tossed 2 scoreless frames, while LHP Felix Doubront surrendered 2 runs in 2 innings of relief, and RHP Simon Castro struck out the side in the 9th to notch his 2nd win for the Sounds. And with Nashville RHP Paul Blackburn joining the A’s on Saturday, RHP Josh Smith was sent back to the Sounds.
TEXAS LEAGUE (Double-A)
Springfield Cardinals 4
Midland RockHounds 3
LP – Hurlbutt 0-1 / 8.31
Prospect Of The Game:
Left Fielder Jordan Tarsovich
(3 for 4 / Run)
The RockHounds went down to defeat for the eighth time in their last ten games on Saturday. Starter Dustin Hurlbutt allowed 4 runs while walking 6 over 4 1/3 frames to suffer the loss in his Double-A debut. Left fielder Jordan Tarsovich collected 3 hits and scored a run, while second baseman Max Schrock singled, doubled and walked. Center fielder B.J. Boyd had a pair of hits, and shortstop Richie Martin doubled in a run for the RockHounds. Meanwhile, Stockton outfielder Tyler Ramirez was reassigned to the RockHounds on Saturday.
MIDWEST LEAGUE (Class-A)
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 4
Beloit Snappers 2
LP – Martinez 1-3 / 2.01
HR – Marinez (3)
Prospect Of The Game:
Pitcher Seth Martinez
(6 IP / 1 H / 1 ER / 1 BB / 7 K)
23-year-old Cuban RHP Miguel Romero allowed 2 runs over 2 innings of work in his first start for the Snappers on Saturday. RHP Seth Martinez followed him on the mound and was outstanding in relief, allowing 2 runs, 1 earned, on just 1 hit while striking out 7 over 6 innings, but he still ended up suffering the loss. Shortstop Eric Marinez belted his 3rd home run in the bottom of the 1st inning to give Beloit an early lead, while left fielder Luke Persico had a pair of hits and drove in a run in the loss. Meanwhile, Beloit RHP Brandon Bailey was promoted to the Ports on Saturday.
NEW YORK-PENN LEAGUE (Class-A Short-Season)
Lowell Spinners 2
Vermont Lake Monsters 3
WP – Kelliher 1-0 / 3.60
Prospect Of The Game:
First Baseman Jarrett Costa
(1 for 1 / GWRBI)
After replacing Aaron Arruda at first base in the top of the 9th, Jarrett Costa came up with a man on second and the game tied in the bottom of the 10th and singled in the winning run as the Lake Monsters won in a walk-off on Saturday. Arruda singled, doubled and walked in the game, while shortstop Ryan Gridley had a pair of doubles, and designated hitter Kevin Merrell tripled and scored a run for the Lake Monsters. This year’s 22nd-round draft pick for the A’s, RHP Bryce Conley, and 19th-round RHP Michael Danielak each tossed 2 scoreless frames for Vermont, while 19-year-old Venezuelan RHP Oscar Tovar gave up 2 runs in 5 innings of relief, and RHP Branden Kelliher picked up the win after tossing a scoreless frame in the top of the 10th for Vermont.
ARIZONA LEAGUE (Rookie Short-Season)
AZL Giants 9
AZL A’s 8
LP – Donica 0-1 / 8.10
Prospect Of The Game:
First Baseman Hunter Hargrove
(4 for 5 / Double)
This year’s 25th-round draft pick for the A’s, first baseman Hunter Hargrove, collected 4 hits, including a double, while 36th-round left fielder Logan Farrar singled, doubled twice and drove in a run and is now 13 for 21 with 7 extra-base hits since starting his pro career. 18th-round center fielder Mickey McDonald singled twice, stole a base and scored 3 times, and this year’s 3rd-round pick for the A’s, shortstop Nick Allen, went 0 for 2 with a pair of strikeouts in his pro debut. 17-year-old Puerto Rican RHP Osvaldo Berrios made the start and allowed 3 runs over 1 2/3 innings in his pro debut, while 32nd-round RHP Caleb Evans tossed 2 1/3 scoreless frames, and 21st-round RHP Heath Donica gave up 5 runs, 3 earned, in 1 1/3 innings of relief to suffer the loss for the A’s.
In Other News…
The A’s announced that they’d come to terms with four more of their top draft picks on Saturday: 2nd-round outfielder Greg Deichmann, 3rd-round shortstop Nick Allen, 8th-round RHP Brian Howard and 9th-round LHP Jared Poche. The team has now come to terms with its top 14 draft picks and 35 of its 41 overall selections. The complete list of the team’s draft picks is below, with those who’ve come to terms in bold.
1st OF Austin Beck (North Davidson HS-NC), 1st Comp SS Kevin Merrell (South Florida), 2nd OF Greg Deichmann (LSU), 3rd SS Nick Allen (Francis Parker HS-CA), 4th 3B Will Toffey (Vanderbilt), 5th C Santis Sanchez (Intl Baseball Academy HS-PR), 6th LHP Logan Salow (Kentucky), 7th RHP Parker Dunshee (Wake Forest), 8th RHP Brian Howard (TCU), 9th LHP Jared Poche (LSU), 10th OF Jack Meggs (Washington)
11th SS Ryan Gridley (Mississippi St), 12th 1B Aaron Arruda (Fresno St), 13th RHP Wyatt Marks (Louisiana Lafayette), 14th OF Garrett Mitchell (Orange Lutheran HS-CA), 15th LHP Josh Reagan (South Carolina), 16th OF Payton Squier (UNLV), 17th RHP Josh Falk (Pittsburgh), 18th OF Raymond McDonald (Illinois-Chicago), 19th RHP Michael Danielak (Dartmouth), 20th RHP Osvaldo Berrios (PR Baseball Academy HS-PR)
21st RHP Heath Donica (Sam Houston), 22nd RHP Bryce Conley (Georgia St), 23rd RHP Malik Jones (Missouri Baptist), 24th RHP Slater Lee (Cal Poly SLO), 25th 1B Hunter Hargrove (Texas Tech), 26th C Nate Webb (Martin Luther King HS-CA), 27th OF Ben Spitznagel (UNC Greensboro), 28th LHP Pat Krall (Clemson), 29th RHP Adam Reuss (Wisconsin-Milwaukee), 30th LHP Cody Puckett (Middle Tennessee)
31st RHP Brandon Withers (James Madison), 32nd RHP Caleb Evans (Liberty), 33rd 2B Jake Lumley (Canisius), 34th 2B Justin Jones (UNLV), 35th C Cooper Golby (Lewis-Clark), 36th OF Logan Farrar (VCU), 37th 3B Raymond Gill (Gulliver Prep HS-FL), 38th 2B Wil Hoyle (Charles Jordan HS-NC), 39th LHP Haydn King (Archbishop Mitty HS-CA), 40th SS Jacob Hoffman (Stanford)
Sunday’s Games:
Oklahoma City @ Nashville – 4:35pm PT / 6:35pm CT
Tulsa @ Midland – 2:00pm PT / 4:00pm CT
Visalia @ Stockton – 6:10pm PT
Wisconsin @ Beloit – Noon PT / 2:00pm CT
Lowell @ Vermont – 2:05pm PT / 5:05pm ET
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