Tacoma lost to Albuquerque, 5-4. Francisco Cruceta bounced back well from last week's disaster to throw a spectacular seven innings, but then the bullpen came into play and everything went to hell. Renee Cortez and Mike Nannini combined to allow four runs to make it a 5-1 game going into the bottom of the ninth, and while the offense was able to put together a bit of a rally, it wound up a run short. Five different members of the lineup had two-hit days, and Todd Sears reached base three times to lead everyone, but in the end it wasn't enough. Notables:
Cruceta: 7 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
Sears: 2-4, 1 BB
Jones: 2-5
Snelling: 2-5
Bohn: 2-5
Johnson: 2-3
San Antonio doubled up on Frisco, 6-3. An unusually strong start for Jason Mackintosh, who allowed just one run in six innings of work while striking out four; the bullpen (Mike Flannery) wasn't much, but by that point it was already a 6-1 game, so little damage could be done. Sebastien Boucher and Brian Schweiger each drove in a pair of runs while Bryan LaHair got on base three times and Ismael Castro (remember him?) went 2-4. Notables:
Mackintosh: 6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 4 K
Schweiger: 2-3, 1 2B
Boucher: 1-4, 1 3B
LaHair: 2-3, 1 2B, 1 BB
Balentien: 0-3
Inland Empire held on to beat Stockton, 9-8. This was a wild one - the 66ers were down 3-0 after one, up 4-3 after one and a half, down 5-4 after two, then up 6-5 after five. It was a four-run game in the ninth when Stephen Kahn came in to try and slam the door, but eight batters later the bases were loaded in a 9-8 game, and the Ports were sending up a pinch-hitter. Kahn got John McCurdy to pop out in foul territory to end it, though, preserving the win. Justin Jordan tossed a mediocre five innings out of the gate, but every member of the starting lineup had at least one hit, supply just enough in the way of offense. Mike Wilson chipped in with three RBI. Notables:
Jordan: 5 IP, 7 H, 5 R (4 ER), 3 BB, 1 K
Womack: 2-3, 2 BB
Colton: 2-4, 1 2B
Wilson: 2-5, 1 2B
Monzon: 1-4, 1 BB
Chen: 1-4, 1 2B
Wisconsin played a pair - in game one, they downed Dayton 9-6, but they got shut out 6-0 in game two (the games lasted seven and five innings). The early contest featured something of an offensive outburst, as the T'Rats - down 6-3 in the fifth - strung together a six-run rally to get Harold Williams off the hook. JB Tucker's two-run double was the big hit of the inning, although three singles and a fielding error also pushed runners across the plate. Joe Woerman tossed the final two frames, fanning four, to get the save. The second game was actually a five-inning no-hitter, with Jeff Dominguez and Mike Saunders being the only T'Rats to reach base by drawing walks. Not a good day for Rollie Gibson, who surrendered four runs in an inning of relief to put it out of reach. Notables:
Williams: 4.1 IP, 5 H, 6 R (4 ER), 3 BB, 3 K
Woerman: 2 IP, 1 H, 4 K
Flores: 3 IP, 3 H, 2 R (0 ER), 3 BB, 6 K
Dominguez: 2-5, 1 BB
Tucker: 2-4, 1 2B
Valbuena: 1-5, 1 2B, 1 BB
Garth: 1-5, 1 2B
J Hernandez: 2-5
On the docket:
Tacoma: Appier, 1:35pm
San Antonio: Feierabend, 2:05pm
Inland Empire: Blanco, 1:05pm
Wisconsin: Escalona, 11:05am