I am standing in for the Constable while he goes and checks out the best bar in Texas. Possibly on Hunter Pence's electric scooter.
Summary
* Affiliates go 3-1 on the day, for a combined record of 112-96.
* Oklahoma City got handily beat.
* Corpus did some handy beating.
* Lancaster administered a slightly greater handy beating, shutting out a solid Lake Elsinore team.
* Quad Cities won a high-scoring, ding-dong contest by one run.
Oklahoma City (29-24)
Oklahoma scored first, then gave up the next nine in a 9-1 loss at home. Getting the win for the Omaha Storm Chasers was young stud prospect, Brett Tomko.
Rectangle: Nick Tropeano started, going 5 innings, allowing 7H, 4R/2ER and striking out 6 while throwing 93 pitches. The four runs were scored in the fourth, on a strikeout, double (Justin Maxwell getting some revenge on the AAA affiliate of his old team), fielder's choice and catching error (Torreyes, assist to Hernandez), 2-RBI single (and taking second on the throw), RBI-single, force attempt and throwing error (Hernandez), K, wild pitch with runner scoring, fly out. Not pretty.
Bobby Doran relieved and didn't have a good night: 4IP, 7H, 5R/ER, 2BB, 4K. He allowed a three-run 6th and two-run 7th.
Pentagon: Not much to see here, with a team-wide 6 hits (including 2 doubles) and 5 walks. On base thrice was Austin Wates (2-4, BB, 2B); twice on base was Jon Singleton (0-3, 2BB, RBI), Domingo Santana (2-4) and Adron Chambers (1-3, BB, 2B, R).
As the observant reader may have guessed, the Oklahoma City team loaded the bases in the second, bringing the RBI in on a walk. A Chambers double, fly out, walk, fly out, walk, RBI walk, and force out was the order of the bottom of the second. Not much else really happened.
Man of the Match: Lets got with Wates and Chambers, for their twice-on-base nights, and doubles. Trop also deserves a mention - who knows what may have happened with a tidier fourth inning.
Corpus Christi (27-24)
Corpus opened a three-game set at home against the Arkansas Travellers (24-26) with a 6-2 win. The first run was scored by Arkansas in the top of the fifth, but the Hooks changed the landscape of the game with a 5-run bottom-of-the-sixth. Arkansas scored a single run in the seventh, Corpus returned the favour in the eighth, and that is how it ended.
Rectangle: Thomas Shirley started, and had another solid outing (5IP, 6H, 1R/ER, BB, K). He needed 81 pitches, and with only a single strikeout, must have gotten deep in some counts. He recorded outs on the ground (8:1), as did Kyle Smith (4:2) who relieved him.
Smith earned the win with a 4IP, 2H, R, ER, 5K line. He gave up a solo home run to Jimmy Swift, the Travellers' DH.
Pentagon: Matt Duffy had another strong game (2-3, HR, 2R, RBI), recording the only extra-base hit for the Hooks. Given the Hooks scored five runs, there were surprisingly few hits (6) and walks (3), although the Travellers recorded two errors, both in the 5-run sixth inning.
The sixth inning was scored as follows: single - single (runner to third) - sac fly - walk - force attempt, throwing error, runner safe - HBP - fielding error, runner safe - RBI single - RBI ground out - busted double steal with Preston Tucker caught stealing home.
Other noteworthy or interesting performances included Nolan Fontana (0-2, 2BB, R), Preston Tucker (0-3, BB) and Rene Garcia / Telvin Nash (both 1-3).
Man of the Match: Lets go with Kyle Smith, who allowed 2 base runners, and recorded five strikeouts in four relief innings. The home-run allowed was his only blemish.
Lancaster (31-22)
Lancaster scored one in the first, and six in the last three innings to win 7-0 on the road to Lake Elsinore (32-21).
Rectangle: Dominant pitching performance from the trio of Kyle Westwood (6IP, 4H, 3K, 83 pitches), Richard Rodriguez (2IP, BB, K) and Juan Minaya (IP, H, 2K).
Pentagon: Lots of contributions. Ruben Sosa had the best offensive game including the only extra-base hit (2-4, 3B, RBI, R). Dan Gralbransen and Roberto Pena had identical lines batting at 7 and 8 respectively in the order (1-3, BB, 2R, RBI).
The 4-run seventh was scored as follows: Walk (Ruiz), sac bunt, single, error, RBI single, pick off and caught stealing (but safe on throwing error) with runner scoring, fly out, RBI single, fly out.
Man of the Match: Kyle Westwood. Very tidy effort.
Quad Cities (25-26)
Quad Cities and Burlington decided to rest their pitchers today, and have a game of Tee Ball instead. Or something like that. Regardless, Quad Cities prevailed by a score of 10-9. They held Burlington scoreless for the last three innings and scored the go-ahead run (for the third and final time in the game) in the seventh.
Rectangle: Andrew Thurman got the start and recorded a little bit of an ugly line: 5.1IP, 10H, 8R/ER, 3BB, 6K. He gave up one home run - a three-run shot in the third. Albert Minnis allowed both of Thurman's runners to score in the sixth, and recorded the blown save as well as the win with a 2.2IP, 4H, 1R/ER, 2K line. He recorded five outs on the ground and none in the air. Frederick Tiburcio pitched the ninth, allowing a hit and striking out two - Tiburco is still to allow an earned run on five innings this year, having struck out 10 and walked 1.
Pentagon: In a ten-run game, there will be a few guys to write about here. Ronnie Mitchell had himself a ball game: 3-5, 2B, HR, R, 2RBI. Brian Holberton had himself a bit less of a ball game (one single less, to be exact, but he scored both times he was on base - 2-5, 2B, HR, 2R, RBI). Jon Kemmer was Ronnie Mitchell's equal (2-4, BB, 2B, HR, 2RBI, R). James Ramsay (0-2, 4BB, R, SB) and Chan Moon (3-5, 3B, RBI, 2R, SB) were on base frequently at the top of the order. Tyler White went 2-5 with a double and a run.
Amazingly, the River Bandits were 2-15 with RISP.
Man of the Match: Hard to go past the three standout offensive performers: Jon Kemmer, Ronnie Mitchell and Brian Holberton.
Congrats again to the big-league club, who rode a strong McHugh performance to a solid win - their fourth in a row.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
