The bar had wi-fi. So thanks to this, you get a wrap-up tonight! The VSLM's basically win a game by default, Michael Pineda basically loses a game by default, Anderson Garcia's career is probably over by default, West Tenn's games with Mobile apparently must be one run contests by default, and see which DIAMOND JAXX outfielder got Jeremy Reed's outfield spot by default, as Jeff Clement defaults back to his catcher and XBH specialist role.
On to the wrap-up!
VENEZUELA~! VSL Mariners 5, VSL Tigers 1
VSLM's: 4-3... VSL Tigers: 0-7
Leonardo Rodriguez: 5 IP, 3 H, walk, 4 K
Angel Raga: 3 IP, 0 H, 1 ER, 3 walks, K, wild pitch
Jessie Nava: 1 IP, K, wild pitch
Yidid Batista: 2-5, 2 R
Rigoberto Rangel: 0-3, sac fly RBI, K
Mario Yepez: 2-4, solo HR, 2 K
Rafael Torrealba: 1-4, double, 2 K
Before you get excited... every year the VSL has one team that serves as whipping-team, and this year it looks like it's gonna be the VSL Tigers, which put up little fight once the VSLMs rallied for 3 runs in the bottom 1st. The signature moment for the Tigers came in the 4th inning, where the leadoff guy walked... then got picked off... but the next guy singled... only to run into the front end of a 6-4-3 inning ending double play.
Leonardo Rodriguez threw enough for us to get some useful BIP numbers:
Groundballs:
Flyballs: 4 (3 in 5th)
Line Drives: 0
Pop Ups: 2
Walks: 1
Strikeouts: 4
The VSL Tigers' 3 hits came in the 2nd, 4th and 5th innings. Their 9th inning run came with the help of two walks and two wild pitches.
A: Cedar Rapids 2, Wisconsin 0
WIS: 19-21... CED: 19-24
Michael Pineda: 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 walks, 2 K, hit batter (8 app, 5 GS, 0.78 ERA, 34.2 IP, 1 HR 9/28 BB/K)
Walter Suriel: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, walk
Travis Mortimore: 1 IP, 2 K
The T-Rats were two-hit. The hits, both singles, came from Gavin Dickey and Alex Meneses.
No, there was not a no-hit bid in this game: Gavin Dickey led off the game with a lined single. Alex Meneses had the next hit in the 3rd with one out. The T-Rats would not get another hit in this game, as German lefty Michael Anton (9 GS, 1.72 ERA, 62.2 IP, 4 HR, 13/39 BB/K) went the distance, shutting them down on only 3 K's. Michael Pineda pitched his best game of the season, and he still didn't have a chance.
Groundballs: 10
Flyballs: 5
Line Drives: 0
Pop Ups: 3
Walks: 3 (plus 1 hit batter)
Strikeouts: 2
For the hell of it, let's get the BIP data for Herr Anton in his CG shutout, and see how the T-Rats did against him.
Groundballs: 7
Flyballs: 10
Line Drives: 4
Pop Ups: 4
Walks: 0
Strikeouts: 3
Turns out he had some good fortune with balls in play, as that profile should have given him more damage than two hits. In fact, over his six innings, Pineda probably pitched better than Anton did. It's just that the T-Rats do a far better job of swinging themselves into outs.
A+: Rancho Cucamonga 5, High Desert 3
Mavs: 19-26... Quakes: 19-26
Anderson Garcia: 1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, wild pitch (3 app, 30.86 ERA, 2.1 IP)
Anthony Varvaro: 3.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER (HR), 6 walks, 5 K (9 app, 7 GS, 6.42 ERA, 40.2 IP, 4 HR, 35/35 BB/K)
Julio Santiago: 1.2 IP, 2 H (12 app, 2.50 ERA, 18 IP, 13/14 BB/K)
Aaron Cotter: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER (HR) (17 app, 3.92 ERA, 20.2 IP, 3 HR 6/19 BB/K)
Michael Wagner: two outs, 1 H (17 app, 3.32 ERA, 21.2 IP, 4/19 BB/K)
Carlos Peguero: 1-4, double, R, K (295/311/449)
Korey Feiner: 1-2, R, RBI
Ogui Diaz: 1-3, 2 RBI, K (222/279/238)
Anderson Garcia's rehab is to baseball as Robert Downey Jr's rehab is to alcohol.
Meanwhile, the Quakes got another run off the always-erratic Anthony Varvaro in the 3rd, but capitalized on two free passes in the 5th to pick up a 2 run single from... Ogui Diaz?! Yeah, it's been a pop-gun-offense kind of day for the org. That cut the Quakes lead to 3-2, but the Quakes got it right back when dangerous hacker Mark Trumbo (273/323/512) took Varvaro deep to lead off the bottom 5th, 4-2 Qukes. Varvaro lasted a couple more batters before getting the hook, and he only got 3.1 IP of work in so I'm not going to post BIP numbers, but rest assured, it included a lot of walks.
The Mavs did cut the lead to 4-3 in the 7th when Carlos Peguero led off with a double and Korey freaking Feiner, in his 2nd game with the Mavs, knocked him in with a solid single to left. But the Mavs had little else, and the awfully crappy Tadd Brewer (162/208/250) crapped all over an Aaron Cotter suck pitch in the 8th for his 1st home run of the season to stretch the lead back out to 5-3.
There would be no rally.
AA: West Tenn 5, Mobile 4
WTN: 28-16... MOB: 18-26
Justin Thomas: 6.2 IP, 7 H, 3 ER (HR), 4 walks, 3 K, balk, hit batter (8 app, 7 GS, 5.00 ERA, 45 IP, 5 HR, 24/46 BB/K)
Brodie Downs: 1.1 IP, 1 H, K (15 app, 4.35 ERA, 20.2 IP, 1 HR, 9/15 BB/K)
Mumba Rivera: 1 IP, 2 H, (1 R) 0 ER, 3 K (15 app, 1.56 ERA, 17.1 IP, 1 HR, 5/22 BB/K)
Michael Saunders: 3-5, 2 R (301/358/472)
Adam Moore: 1-3, double, R, walk, K (290/372/435)
Jon Nelson: 3-4, double, R, RBI, K (322/385/424)
Johan Limonta: 1-3, double, 2 RBI
Ronnie Prettyman: 1-3, double, R, sac fly RBI (223/250/397)
Jose Yepez: 1-2, double
Jeff Dominguez: 2-4, RBI, K (220/276/286)
The DIAMOND JAXX took some sings, took some hacks, and got two runs in the 1st off back to back doubles from Jon Nelson and Johan Limonta (and a big STFU to naysaying about Cal League stats inflation from Johan) to make it 2-0.
But Justin Thomas couldn't hit his spots, and after a (284/399/474) Cesar Nicolas leadoff homer in the 2nd, three walks set up a run on a single from... our current thron in the side, Greg Thomson (218/316/286), to tie the ballgame at 2. And in the 3rd, a Yunesky Sanchez (363/384/438) leadoff triple set up another run off a Rusty Ryal (336/405/517) single to give Mobile the 3-2 lead.
The DIAMOND JAXX finally struck in the bottom 5th. Michael Saunders, quiet as of late, led off by beating out a bunt down the 3B line. Adam Moore doubled him to 3rd and Jon Nelson beat out a groundball to get on and load the bases. Johan Limonta couldn't get a grand salami, but his flyout allowed Saunders to tag up and score to TIE THE BALLGAME. Mike Wilson lined a single to re-load the bases, and Ronnie Prettyman's flyout allowed Adam Moore to tag up and score to make it 4-3. Jose Yepez took one for the team to load the bases, but Jeff Dominguez grounded out to end the threat.
Justin Thomas ran into trouble in the 6th, as Cy Hankerd (306/350/408) led off with a single, got to 2nd on a groundout, and took 3rd after Thomas balked... but Orlando Mercado (234/351/328) grounded out to 3rd, allowing Ronnie Prettyman to hold the runner, and John Hester (198/231/358) struck out to end the threat.
Thomas got two outs into the 7th and got pulled after a Yunesky Sanchez single with a 4-3 lead.
Groundballs: 12
Flyballs: 4 (1 HR)
Line Drives: 4
Pop Ups: 1
Walks: 4 (plus 1 hit batter)
Strikeouts: 3
The DIAMOND JAXX added a run in the 8th, after Ronnie Prettyman's leadoff double led to a score on a Jeff Dominguez single. Good thing too, because the BayBears got a cheap run off Mumba Rivera and put the tying run at 3rd base before Cesar Nicolas went down on strikes to end the game.
AAA: Las Vegas 7, Tacoma 1
TAC: 22-21... LVG: 22-22
Robert Rohrbaugh: 6 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 2 walks, 6 K, 2 wild pitches (8 GS, 5.93 ERA, 41 IP, 2 HR, 17/25 BB/K)
Joe Woerman: 1 IP, 2 walks, K (8 app, 3 GS, 14.00 ERA, 18 IP, 3 HR, 23/15 BB/K)
Scott Shoemaker: 2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 K, wild pitch (10 app, 2.55 ERA, 17.2 IP, 2 HR, 8/17 BB/K)
Prentice Redman!: 2-4, K
Jeff Clement!: 1-4, double (390/524/683)
Yung Chi Chen: 2-4, R (241/316/285)
Oswaldo Navarro: 1-3, double, RBI, K (295/385/384)
Well, Robert Rohrbaugh's having a crappy year... not as crappy as Joe Woerman's, but pretty crappy, pretty much the opposite of last year's performance. Guess that's what happens when you're a flyball pitcher and the league's gotten a good look at you. The 51's slowly but surely piled on, and the Rainiers just didn't have much of an answer.
Groundballs: 7 (plus 1 bunt)
Flyballs: 6
Line Drives: 4
Pop Ups: 1
Walks: 2
Strikeouts: 6
Along with Clement's return, Jeremy Reed's replacement, Prentice Redman, had a good 2008 Rainiers debut with a couple hits.