The Angels had an off day yesterday, but the MiLB squads were hard at work with 3 one run games ending in a 2-1 record for the day. Believe it or not, I was able to catch some of the radio broadcast of the Travs/Naturals game via my Radio Time app on the way home from work, and that was pretty fun. In case you are curious, Double A play by play announcers are Double A quality just like the players, to be sure. Let's take a tour of yesterday's games for the top three Angels' MiLB squads.
SLC Bees 1 - 0 Fresno Grizzlies:
This was some kind of pitching duel. Knotted at nil through nine, the game got it's first run in the 12th inning, despite seeing 13 total hits. It was a Mark Trumbo solo jack in the top half of the 12th, his 21st of the year, that sent the Stingers to victory. This guy is such a stud. So ready for the bigs in 2011, if it's with us or someone else after a trade (I hope with us, but I wonder where h fits in). He was the DH last night, and has made a name for himself as a 1B/OF slugger. In 92 games this season, the Anaheim native is hitting .279/21/73 with a .878 OPS. That's right, we're talking a monster AAA season, and this game winning homerun is just the latest in his great moments this year. Of course, the game wouldn't have been what it was without some great pitching as well, and that came from a quartet of stars that we know a little about already. A guy I watched live in Rancho, Fernando Rodriguez went 5.67 IP of 5 hit/shutout ball to start the game off. He was relieved by Bobby Cassevah (2 IP of 2 hit/shutout ball), Raffy Rodriguez (3 IP of 1 hit/shutout ball), and Mike Kohn (1.3 IP of perfect ball) en route to the win. Cassevah and Raffy should be familiar to casual Angel fans, after being up this season, and it's nice to see them (as well as Fernand-mania and Kohn) doing well. There weren't any real offensive standouts in the game for the Stingers aside from Trumbo's bombo, but we'll also mention Robb Quinlan's 1 hit and 2 walks (we miss you, Q!), Terry Evans going 1 for 2 with a double (we don't miss you, Jeff Weaver!), and Nate Sutton also working 2 walks (like a walk in dog shit park...he's a UCSB alumn, get it?).
Arkansas Travs 7 - 6 NWA Naturals:
Five straight hits in the bottom of the ninth led to 3 runs and a walk off win for the Travs last night. Of course, I was listening to the game during the 4th inning, an inning of little consequence, but how can you not be pumped about a comeback win like that? Jeremy Moore blasted the eventual game winning 2 run single in the last chance inning after his squad blew an initial 4-0 lead. Going 3 for 4 with a run scored, SS Carlos Colmenares was the offensive leader, but it was the spread around hitting (5 players with at least one RBI) that made good for the Travs in this one. Along with Jeremy Moore, DH and (spit) USC grad Roberto Lopez drove in a pair. Also, leadoff man and talented CF speedster Tyson Auer got on base 3 times (1 hit and 2 walks) and stole 3 bases to bring his overall MiLB total to 48 SB in 84 games. This guy is amazing. Lefty and Stutgartt, Germany native (heil!) Mike Anton (4-6, 4.11) started the game on the mound and finished 5.67 innings of 4 hit/2 run ball with 4 punchouts, Ismael Carmona ended up with the win thanks to his 1.67 IP late.
Rancho Quakes 8 - 9 Stockton Ports:
I'm not sure how Stockton are called the Ports, but they showed me up by holding on to a 9-8 win, fighting off the attempted RC comeback yesterday. The Quakes put up 4 runs over the 7th and 8th innings, but came up empty in the 9th and fell just short. CF Mike Trout continued to impress after his call up, going 3 for 5 (finishing just a home run short of the cycle) with 2 runs and a RBI to improve to .304 in high-A. 1B and Tulare, CA native Gabe Jacobo also went 3 for 5, blasting his 12th homerun of the season, a 2 run job in the first inning. He's hitting .297 in his Rancho campaign. Finally, C Eric Oliver deserves another mention on the blog. The Fountain Valley native and UCSB graduate (Tommy in a Quakes uniform) went 2 for 3 with a solo jack in the 4th and a walk to improve his hitting to .293/4/24 over his 35 games with Rancho since his call up from low-A Cedar Rapids.
The focus shifts back to the big boys in about 20 minutes, as the Angels open a brief 2 gamer in New York against the MLB's best. Phil Hughes will be looking to improve on his solid 11-2 mark, and the Angels have announced that they will counter with Sean "SOS" O'Sullivan. Sully has yet to start this season, but is 0-0 with a 1.29 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP in four relief appearances. He became something of a cult hero for Angels geeks like me after last season. SOS went 4-2 in 10 starts last year with the big club before going back down to AAA and pitching a no hitter for the Bees. Hopefully he can surprise all the "real" media and "real" fans out there and shut the Yanks down tonight. At least keep A-Rod 2 back from 600.
Please forgive me if I still refer to the Bees as the Stingers every once in a while. I have both hats, and love both names.
Now let's start the madness that is the next 12 games in Halo Land.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
0 comments:
Post a Comment