- Thanks to Mike Curto for dropping a line to me yesterday and confirming a detail that Marc had mentioned in the comments yesterday: Salt Lake's Franklin Covey Field is, in fact, a relative launchpad. It just gets overshadowed by the likes of Colorado Springs, Albuquerque, Tucson and Las Vegas. But hitters put up good numbers in the PCL for a reason, and Covey Field has just as much to do with it as the aforementioned parks. Duly noted, Mike and Marc, and thus games like the Tuesday 20-7 beating Tacoma took are always a distinct possibility.
- Also, Rich Dorman came out after 5 batters due to being unable to get loose. He was topping out at 85 mph and definitely looked uncomfortable while warming up, so much that Scott Shoemaker was already warming up before Dorman started the game.
More info from the Rainiers play by play man is here, and thanks again, Mike Curto! I appreciate the input!
- With the pitching staff depleted due to callups and injury (the Rainiers don't even know yet who will start Friday), the Rainiers needed Joe Woerman to go deep into the ballgame, which is kind of like hoping Miguel Batista will throw a perfect game, because Joe Woerman's flyball pitcher that walks batters like Daniel Cabrera with cataracts, a perfect combination for the PCL. And sure enough, he got hit hard early, and often, as he continued to walk guys at a clip, but the team left him out there as long as he could physically go before he finally took a seat with two outs in the 6th after 117 pitches, 11 hits, 5 walks and 8 runs. Emergency callup Justin Souza got thrown into the fire from there, and handled it remarkably well given the kid was pitching to A ballers not a few days before, finishing the 6th and working through the 8th inning with only a run and two hits allowed, plus 2 Ks.
- In light of his recent, surprise callup, Tug Hulett's final line: 302/378/508 with 17 doubles, 5 triples and 9 HRs in 262 ABs... impressive until I tell you that the league average OPS in the PCL is .783. That would put Tuglett at about a small chunk above average, good but not as impressive as his numbers would indicate. And a lot of those numbers are the product of a fabulous June.
- Michael Saunders has been out of the Tacoma lineup the last few days due to hamstring tightness. Bryan LaHair is also on the shelf with a foot injury... which may explain why it was Tuglett that got the call after Sexson was let go.
- Looks like the day off and a 300 mile bus ride proved a sufficient speed bump for Dennis Freaking Raben. He finally had a sub-2-hit game, going only 1 for 4 with a run scored and two strikeouts to lower his season average to .688. Okay, sure, Tri City also led the league in fewest runs allowed coming in with 3.47, and Tri City pitching led the NWL in fewest HRs allowed (one) and fewest walks (50), so maybe he's facing some solid pitching and defense for the NWL, but there you go.
- After 172 ABs, VSLMs CF Mario Yepez stands at 349/408/477 with 13 doubles, 3 triples and 8 stolen bases. I generally try to avoid making projections for DSL and VSL prospects, but I frankly would be shocked if Mario Yepez wasn't playing State-side with the org next season.
- He showed promise as a mop-up man, but starting in the Wisconsin rotation hasn't gone so well for Jake Wild. In his previous four starts, he's finished the 6th inning once, which was also the only outing where he allowed fewer than 4 earned runs. Not surprisingly, he took losses in 3 of those 4 outings. And while he's still striking out nearly a batter an inning in that stretch, hitters are teeing off on him for a .319 average against with a .374 OBP, treacherous for the pitcher-friendly MWL. Exposure hasn't been Jake Wild's friend, but he'll have plenty of time (the rest of the season) to get it together and figure out how to get the hitters back off balance.
- It was actually reported by someone else here on LL a while back, but I may as well note it in case anyone reading didn't catch it: Anderson Garcia was finally released. His swan song was the June 26th disaster start for the DIAMOND JAXX against the Tennessee Smokies, where he allowed 4 runs in an inning of work.
- At 23-8, the DSL Mariners are crushing the Santo Domingo South Division. Their nearest division competitor, the 13-8 AthleticsUno, are 5 games back, but even given a reachable deficit, a look at some basic numbers show that the DSLMs bats are head and shoulders above their competition. League average OPS is .656 and league average ERA is 3.70.
OPS:
DSL Mariners: .706
DSL AthleticsUno: .633
DSL AthleticsDos: .566
DSL Cardinals: .564
DSL Phillies: .613
The pitching numbers are more competitive, indicating a low-scoring run environment at the South complex, which thus heavily favors the DSLMs given they're the only team in the division that's actually somewhat consistent at the plate as a team.
ERA:
DSL Mariners: 3.16
DSL AthleticsUno: 3.01
DSL AthleticsDos: 2.73
DSL Cardinals: 3.34
DSL Phillies: 3.47
- Four days after a rather crappy rehab outing where he did not finish his scheduled one inning of work, Ryan Feierabend (forearm) bounced back by facing 15 batters, allowing only 3 hits and a walk with two unearned runs over 4 innings. These outings, provided they're not disastrously bad, are really just about getting a guy's sea legs back, and Ryan may be one or two more outings from being ready to go in Tacoma again... if the M's don't deal Washburn and ask him to reprise his late season swingman role in the pen again.
Stats await below the jump!
VENEZUELA~! VSL Mariners 3, VSL Tigers 2
VSLMs: 31-18... VSL Tigers: 12-36
(League: 257/341/351... 3.60 ERA)
Gerardo Esparza: 3 IP, (1 R) 0 ER, 4 K (10 GS +1, 1.01 ERA, 53.2 IP, 1 HR, 15/45 BB/K)
Mayckol Guaipe: 3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 walks (14 app, 2.00 ERA, 27 IP, 1 HR, 14/17 BB/K)
Manuel Campos: 3 IP, 1 H, 2 K (14 app, 3.55 ERA, 25.1 IP, 1 HR, 8/20 BB/K)
Rafael Torrealba: 2-3, 2 R, walk (231/315/292)
Yidid Batista: 2-3 (272/318/309)
Carlos Ramirez: 2-3, R, RBI (319/390/407)
Jetsy Extrano: 1-3, RBI (255/341/362)
Mario Yepez: 1-4, double, RBI (349/408/477)
Dominican: The DSLMs had Wednesday off.
Rk-AZL: Mariners 6, Royals 4, 10 innings
AZLMs: 6-9... Royals: 8-7
(League: 267/349/390... 4.77 ERA)
Ryan Rehabbing Feierabend: 4 IP, 3 H, (2 R) 0 ER, walk, K
Kenta Suda: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER (HR), 4 walks, K
Colin Buckborough: one out
Jharmidy De Jesus: 2-5, double, R, K
Alfredo Mateo: 2-5, R
Randy Molina: 2-5, double, R, RBI, K
Jarrett Burgess: 2-5, R, RBI, K
Joel Mendez: 2-4, R
Rk+: They played two in Johnson City... where ever that is.
Game 1: Pulaski 5, Johnson City 2, 7 innings
Fabian Williamson: 4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 walks, 4 K, wild pitch, balk
Andres Esquibel: two outs, 1 H
Jeff Dunbar: 1.2 IP
Juan Fuentes: 2-3, double, R
Jose Rivero: 2-4, double, R, K
Kalian Sams: 1-2, triple, R, 2 walks, K
Kris Sanchez: 1-4, double, R, 3 RBI
Guy Welsh: 3-3
George Soto: 1-3, RBI
Game 2: Pulaski 8, Johnson City 5, 7 innings
PUL: 13-8... JC: 10-12
(League: 264/339/397... 4.50 ERA)
Kyle Haas: 3 IP, 5 H, (5 R) 3 ER, 2 walks, 3 K (5 GS, 12.86 ERA, 14 IP, 1 HR, 13/11 BB/K)
Jose Rios: 3 IP, 2 H, walk, 3 K (5 app, 3.68 ERA, 14.2 IP, 1 HR, 3/16 BB/K)
Philip Roy: 1 IP, walk (7 app, 0 ER, 12.1 IP, 4/11 BB/K)
Deybis Benitez: 1-3, double, 2 R, walk, K
Mario Martinez: 2-4, R, RBI (346/388/526)
Jose Rivero: 2-3, 3 run HR, 4 RBI, walk (338/432/529)
Kalian Sams: 0-4, 4 K: The Golden Sombrero (227/329/561... 29 K in 66 AB)
Jonathan Arias: 1-3, R, RBI
Blake Trinkler: 1-3, double, R, RBI, K
A-: Tri City 6, Everett 1
EVE: 9-13... 3C: 14-8
(League: 250/339/354... 3.95 ERA)
Walter Suriel: 4.1 IP, 10 H, (5 R) 4 ER (2 HR), 2 K (5 GS, 6.21 ERA, 29 IP, 5 HR, 12/22 BB/K)
Mark Pettis: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, K
Eddy Fernandez: 1 IP, walk
Nate Tenbrink: 1-3, double, walk, K (235/347/420)
Dennis Freaking Raben: 1-4, R, 2 K
Brandon Fromm: 2-4, 2 K
Bennett Billingsley: 1-3, RBI, walk
A: Dayton 9, Wisconsin 1
WIS: 3-16... DAY: 9-11
(League: 250/312/369... 3.61 ERA)
Jake Wild: 5 IP, 5 H, 5 ER (HR), 3 walks, 6 K, wild pitch, hit batter (6 GS +15, 4.03 ERA, 58 IP, 4 HR, 18/56 BB/K)
Ryan Moorer: 2 IP, 2 H, (2 R) 0 ER, K (27 app, 3.97 ERA, 34 IP, 2 HR, 12/22 BB/K)
Natividad Dilone: 1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER (HR), walk, K (9 app, 6.10 ERA, 10.1 IP, 2 HR, 5/9 BB/K)
Ronald Garth: 1-4, double, R, 2 K (267/327/419)
rest of T-Rats lineup: 3-26, walk, 5 K
A+: High Desert's game with Rancho Cucamonga was postponed due to weather issues. They'll look to play a doubleheader Friday.
AA: Tennessee 9, West Tenn 3
WTN: 6-16... TEN: 15-7
(League: 262/341/395... 4.18 ERA)
Doug FISTER: 3 IP, 8 H, 6 ER (2 HR), 2 K, balk (19 GS, 5.44 ERA, 102.2 IP, 11 HR, 35/75 BB/K)
Jason Mackintosh: 3 IP, 1 H, walk, 2 K (29 app, 2.93 ERA, 40 IP, 1 HR, 8/20 BB/K)
Nick Hill: 1 IP, 3 H, (3 R) 2 ER (HR), 2 walks, K
Nelson Payano: 1 IP, walk (33 app, 3.54 ERA, 53.1 IP, 1 HR, 33/49 BB/K)
Erick Monzon: 1-4, double, R, walk, K
Johan Limonta: 1-4, solo HR, K (286/381/484)
Adam Moore: 2-4, solo HR (303/375/474)
AAA: Salt Lake 9, Tacoma 5
TAC: 45-48... SLK: 56-36
(League: 274/346/437... 4.74 ERA)
Joe Woerman: 5.2 IP, 11 H, 8 ER (2 HR), 5 walks, K, hit batter (13 GS +5, 6.85 ERA, 71 IP, 8 HR, 61/45 BB/K)
Justin Fireman Souza: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER
Tug Hulett: 2-3, 2 run HR, 2 R, 2 walks (302/378/508)
Rob Johnson: 2-4, solo HR, 2 RBI, K (279/346/424)
Victor Diaz: 2-3, double, RBI, walk, K (285/368/498)
WLAD: 2-4, double, walk (239/344/514)