Summary
* Bad day for the Affiliates, going 1-3. Combined record 61-60. Ouch.
* Oklahoma lost to the awesomely named StormChasers starting pitcher. Read below for more detail
* Corpus Christi lost to the un-awesomely named Missions. What the heck does a Mission do anyhow?
* Despite being an extreme hitters park, and despite a 25mph wind blowing straight out to centre, Lancaster won on a decidedly non-home-run fest.
* Quad Cities lost, possibly due to the Commentator's Curse. We investigate further below.
Oklahoma City (16-15)
Oklahoma City continued their hurtle back toward .500, with a 4-1 loss to the Omaha Storm Chasers, who stand at 13-16. The Storm Chasers scored two in the 2nd and 3rd innings, and that was all they needed, thanks to the fantastic pitching of their starter, Sugar Ray Marimon.
On the Bump: Rudy Owns started and pitched 6 innings. He gave up 7H, 4R/ER, and 2 BB. He struck out three, threw 88 pitches, and got 4 groundouts versus 8 flyouts. Jason Stoffel relieved, throwing one scoreless inning (2BB, 2K), and Josh Zeid struck out three, and gave up one hit in his scoreless inning.
With the Bats: Jon Singleton was one of the three standout offensive performers, going 2-4, 2B. Domingo Santana went 1-3, 2B, BB and Andy Simunic, perhaps buoyed by this recent mention in these very internet pages, went 2-3, HR for the only scoring play of the game.
Man of the Match: Andy Simunic. And if my theory is correct, we will mention him again tomorrow! Or he will get the golden sombrero. Either way, he is likely to do something.
Corpus Christi (15-15)
Unlike Oklahoma City, the Hooks have completed their slide to .500, losing to the 13-16 San Antonio Missions by a score of 6-4. The Missions scored in every one of the first five innings, getting all 6 their runs in the process. The Hooks scored 4 in the bottom of the 5th, but that completed the scoring, as the last four innings were pitched without troubling the scorers.
On the Bump: Starting, for the first time in AA, was Kyle Smith, the filthy haul from the Justin Maxwell trade. He dominated at Lancaster, with a 4-0 record, 2.60 ERA. He struggled today, but completed 5 innings, giving up 6R/ER in the process. He gave up 9H and struck out 6. Three home runs made his night tough, but despite the homers, he had 6 groundouts versus 2 flyouts. 60% of your fly-balls leaving the yard is simply not sustainable over time. Unless you are Lucas Harrell.
Alex Sogard continued his strong season, throwing 3IP giving up 3H, and striking out 1. Jorge De Leon pitched 1 1-hit scoreless inning.
With the Bats: Matt Duffy (2-3, BB, R) and Tyler Heineman (2-4, 3B, R, 2RBI) each had multi-hit games. Preston Tucker (1-4, R, 2B, RBI) had the only other extra-base hit, and Andrew Aplin and Nolan Fontana both drew walks, going 0-3.
Man of the Match: The guy that probably pitched to his brother Eric in the back yard in Arizona gets the MOTM. Matt Duffy gets an Honourable Mention after being on base three times.
Lancaster (18-13)
Lancaster managed to scrape home and take the series off the San Jose Giants (12-19). Funnily enough, the San Jose Giants are a feeder club for the San Francisco Giants. Anywho, the Lancaster JetHawks found themselves down 5-2 after 5, but then rode a 6 run 7th to an 8-6 win.
On the Bump: Kent Jeffrey Emanuel was the man chosen to fill the vacuum left by the promotion of Kyle Smith, and he performed in a similar way to Kyle's start at AA (4.2IP, 7H, 5R/ER, 2BB, 3K). Daniel Minor threw 2.1 innings of effective relief (1BB, 2K) and Mitchell Lambson earned the save with 2IP, 1H, 1R/ER, 4K.
With the Bats: You know, when I saw that Lancaster was playing at home, and I saw a six run inning, I instantly thought of fly balls zooming out of the park with runners on. That was made even more likely because of the 25mph wind out to CF. Well, didn't happen like that. Teoscar Hernandez had the best night, going 3-5, 2R, HR, 3RBI. His home run was a solo shot off Kendry Flores, and his double was of the bases-clearing variety (although one run scored on an error) in the 6-run 7th inning. Also swinging the lumber well was Carlos Correa (2-5, 2R), Roberto Pena (2-4, RBI) and Danry Vasquez (2-3, 2B, BB, R, RBI). Anthony Kemp went 0-2, but drew 3BB, and Ruben Sosa went 0-2 and drew 2 walks.
Man of the Match: Teoscar Hernandez provided the power and the production, so he carries off the MOTM and stashes it somewhere in his lounge-room.
Quad Cities (12-17)
Quad Cities lost away to the 11-18 Beloit squad, by a score of 6-3. Beloit rode a 4-run 4th to victory.
On the Bump: Adrian Houser started, throwing 3.2IP, 5H, 5R/ER, 5BB and
With the Bats: 8 of the River Bandits got hits, with only catcher Jobduan Morales missing out. Jack Mayfield had a 2-5 (2B) day as the only multi-hit and XBH game, but Chan Moon was on base the most (1-3, 2BB, 2R). Tanner Mathis repaid my shout-out by going 1-4. Ugh. Pays to not mention anyone on this site for their good play, lest they be cursed or something.
Man of the Match: I am going to see if this announcer's-curse-thing works in reverse. MOTM's often perform worse the next day. Lets see if Jobduan Morales (0-4, K) performs worse tomorrow, or whether the MOTM curse is of the reversing, rather than eternally worsening, type. Sorry to use you as a guinea pig, Jobduan, but we need to get to the bottom of this.
Hope you enjoyed reading, and I just received word that the Constable is comfortably resting at home.
