Sorry this was so late. After my long walk to Wallingford, my mother called me and there went 45 minutes. Hey, I like talking to my mother, but that's where I've been with this. I'l be flying into Vegas this Friday to spend a few days with my family, but my folks have internet at their respective addresses, so the wrap-ups should continue as usual.
Due to the lateness of these recaps, I will be playing a game of RECAP ARBITRATION. This is where I decide, after each set of line scores, whether or not a game warrants a recap, and why.
VENEZUELA~! VSL Pirates 7, VSL Mariners 2
Jessie Nava: 2.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 4 walks, K, wild pitch
Rhonny Acosta: 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 walks, 4 K, wild pitch, hit batter
Kelvin Montbrum: 0.1 IP, 2 H, 4 ER (HR), 2 walks, K
Reynaldo Sabala: 2 IP, 2 H, 2 K
Yidid Batista: 1-4, RBI (.276)
Humberto Espinoza: 1-4, double (.346)
Rigoberto Rangel: 1-4, triple, R, 2 K (.250)
Cesar Fuentes: 2-4, double, triple (.303)
Jose Rivero: 1-4, RBI, K (.293)
Jorge Agudelo: 1-4, triple, R, K (.205)
VERDICT: NO. Sure, the game was tied through 6, but the VSL Bucs blew up Kelvin Montbrum like a chem lab ful of gas to blow it open late, and that was pretty much the key action right there.
AZL: Mariners 2, Anaheim 1
Alfredo Venegas: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 walks, 6 K, 2 hit batters
Johnny DuRocher: 2 IP, 1 H
Jacob Wild: 1 IP, 1 H, 2 K
Travis Mortimore: 1 IP, 1 H, 2 K
Wellington Dotel: 1-2, solo HR, walk, K
Brandon Fromm: 1-3, double, R
Dwight Britton: 1-3, RBI, 2 K
VERDICT: NO. 'Roid Beef' Wellington Dotel hit his 1st HR of the season in the bottom 7th, and Dwight Britton cashed in Brandom Fromm on a line drive single after Fromm had double to bring in what ultimately proved to be the winning run. The game was just a game otherwise.
a: Everett 6, Eugene 5
Juan Carlos Ramirez: 4 IP, 4 H, (5 R) 2 ER, 5 walks, 3 K, 2 wild pitches
Aaron Solomon: 2 IP, 2 walks, 3 K
Aaron Brown: 2 IP, 1 H, 2 walks, 2 K
Will Brown: 1 IP, K
Jermaine Brock: 3-4, R, RBI
Greg Halman: 1-5, 2 run HR, 3 K
Edilio Colina: 2-3, solo HR, 2 RBI
Kalian Sams: 2-4, double, R, K
Ogui Diaz: 3-4, double, triple, 2 R, K
VERDICT: YES. I thought about going to this game, but being at the top of Queen Anne Hill at 6:10 pm, I realized I wasn't going to make it in time. These two teams did everything they could to get me to regret it.
Juan Carlos Ramirez was all over the place, opening the game with four consecutive walks, throwing 2 wild pitches and coughing up 5 runs in his 4 innings. Mike Tosar got him out of there before the 5th, while it was still a ballgame.
Flyballs: 3
Groundballs: 7 (plus 2 bunts)
Line Drives: 2
Walks: 5
Strikeouts: 3
The Aquasox did manage runs in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd and only trailed 5-3 going into the bottom 7th. Ogui Diaz led off with a triple and Jermaine Brock singled to cash him in and cut the lead to 5-4. Brock took 3rd when pitcher Jeremy Hefner uncorked a wild pitch, but Hefner got Greg Halman on strikes, then Colt Hynes came in and got Matt Mangini and Manny Pimentel on strikes.
The Aquasox got to the bottom 9th still down 5-4 with 3 outs to go and facing reliever Matthew Huff. Ogui Diaz smoked a grounder to 3rd and 3B Justin Baum could not play it in time. Jermaine Brock bunted him over for one out. Diaz stole 3rd base, but it was all for naught, as Greg Halman took Huff deep for the WALKOFF BLAST. AQUASOX WIN!
A: Quad Cities 4, Wisconsin 3
Eddy Fernandez: 4 IP, 7 H, (3 R) 2 ER, 3 K
Joe Kantakevich: 3 IP, 2 H, (1 R) 0 ER
Keith Renaud: 1 IP, 1 H, 2 K
Juan Diaz: 2-4, 2 RBI, K (.333)
Reed Eastley: 1-3, double, RBI (.280)
rest of T-Rats lineup: 2-25, 3 R, walk, 11 K
VERDICT: NO. Eddy Fernandez got touched up, allowing the Swing to build a 4-1 lead that wasn't as close as it seemed given the Swing shut down the T-Rats bats. A late 2 run rally got them into range, but again, the Swing had the clamps.
A+: Lancaster 17, High Desert 4
Marwin Vega: 3.2 IP, 10 H, (9 R) 8 ER (HR), 3 walks, K, 3 wild pitches, hit batter
Ruben Flores: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 2 walks, 2 K, hit batter
Juan Zapata: 1 IP, K
Paul Fagan: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 3 walks, K
Austin Bibens-Dirkx: 0.2 IP, 4 H, 5 ER (HR), 2 walks
Nick Allen: 0.1 IP
Michael Saunders: 2-3, R, walk, K (.302)
Jeff Dominguez: 1-4, triple, R, RBI, K (.257)
Adam Moore: 1-3, 2 run HR, walk (.291)
Jeff Frazier: 1-4, double
VERDICT: NO. Figures, as the Mavs would also like to forget this game ever happened.
AA: Huntsville 7, West Tenn 1
Andrew OG Baldwin: 5 IP, 9 H, 3 ER (HR), 5 K, hit batter
Chad Fillinger: 2.2 IP, 3 H, (4 R) 3 ER, walk, 5 K, wild pitch, hit batter
Craig James: 1.1 IP, 1 H, walk, K
Matt Tuiasosopo: 1-4, solo HR, 3 K (.274)
rest of DIAMOND JAXX lineup: 2-25, 6 walks, 6 K
VERDICT: NO. And now, a word from MC Baldwin:
My name is Phat Andy, number 29
And the Mariners don't need any more of my kind
That why I'm stuck in Jackson... West Tennessee
Where the Southern League can jump my punk ass for free
Pitching to some bitches called the Huntsville Stars
I'd rather be in Appleton bumping shitty cars
But one run in the 1st, another in the 4th
And another in the 5th and the 6th, so forth
And that's loss number 9... for number 29
And I'm never getting past double A, so... FINE!
Word to your mother, Southern League Jamie Moyer.
AAA: Tacoma 9, Salt Lake 8
HoRam: 4 IP, 6 H, 6 ER (2 HR), 2 walks, 2 K
Brodie Downs: 2 IP, (1 R) 0 ER, walk, 4 K
Jason Mackintosh: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, walk
Wife Vulture: 2 IP, 1 H, 3 K
Nick Green: 2-5, double, R, K
Jeremy Reed: 1-4, R, RBI, walk (.283)
Adam Jones: 1-4, 3 run HR, 2 K (.314)
WLAD: 2-4, double, triple, R, RBI (.322)
Jeff Clement: 2-3, 2 run HR, 2 R, walk, K (.285)
Ronnie Prettyman: 2-4, RBI, K (.278)
Oswaldo Navarro: 1-4, double, R, K (.234)
VERDICT: Man, I'd love to say no, but c'mon.
HoRam sucks and he showed it against a bunch of scrubs who aren't good enough to play for the Angels. If not for big 2nd, 3rd, and 6th innings from the Rainiers bats, he hands the Rainiers another loss. I would declare him unfit to pitch and punt him out of the Mariners existence if I had any say, but I would've done that long ago regardless.
Adam Jones hit another bomb, which IIRC is his 1st since coming back from that run-in with the wall.
And so on. You can see it. It's late and that's all I've got today.