This is not one of those minor league highlight videos that you will enjoy watching. I wouldn’t blame you if you skipped the video altogether.
Yesterday in Double A, Albert Almora, Jr. and Bijan Rademacher got into a nasty collision in left center field that stopped play for eight minutes and resulted in both players leaving the game. It sounds like there are no dire injuries, no broken bones or dislocated joints or anything of that nature, but it is probably too soon to say that either player is just fine.
Most scarily, even though it looked more like a glancing blow than a hard hit, Almora was holding his head as soon as he hit the ground and that is never good. Almora, you may recall, missed time earlier this year with whiplash symptoms. We should know more about the condition of each player today.
Scores From Yesterday
Iowa – Iowa had the day off.
Tennessee – The Smokies kept coming back in this one, but never quite got over the hump. They lost 6-4.
Myrtle Beach – Two runs in the eighth proved to be the difference as Myrtle Beach won 6-4.
South Bend – The Cubs fell way behind early and never got back into it. They lost 8-1.
Performances of Note
[Tennessee] Three Smokie pitchers took the mound, and all three gave up a home run. Felix Pena had a rough game (5.1 IP, 4 R, 8 H, 3 BB, 3 K) as the starter before handing off to Michael Wagner and Starling Peralta.
[Tennessee] Willson Contreras doubled twice and finished 2 for 4 to raise his line to .307/.369/.472.
[Tennessee] Dan Vogelbach also had 2 hits to go with his one walk.
[Myrtle Beach] Jonathan Martinez gave up all 3 runs he allowed on a first inning homer. He pitched a total of 6 innings (88 pitches) and allowed just those 3 runs on 4 hits and a walk while striking out 2. James Pugliese then struck out 5 while allowing a run on 4 hits in his 3 innings of relief.
[Myrtle Beach] Chesny Young continued his strong start to High A with 2 more hits and 2 more walks.
[Myrtle Beach] Jeimer Candelario was hitless, but walked twice. Jacob Rogers singled and walked 3 times.
[Myrtle Beach] Carlos Penalver tripled, his first, and finished 1 for 4.
[South Bend] Most of the offense came from just three guys. Gioskar Amaya, Jason Vosler, and Jesse Hodges each doubled and finished with 2 hits apiece.
[South Bend] Zach Hedges struggled badly early as he allowed 7 runs in the first two innings, but then he settled down and pitched 6 total. He finished having allowed 8 runs (7 earned) on 8 hits and 3 walks while striking out 3.
Other News
Remember Daniel Lewis? The Cubs signed the right hander as a non-drafted free agent following the 2014 draft and after they watched him touch 96 mph in the Cape Code League. Lewis’s path to professional baseball is a very unusual one in that he spent four years on active duty in the military following high school, and then picked up a baseball again. Like two year layoff guy Jacob Hannemann, it may be a season or so before Lewis finally shakes the rust off and we really see what he may be capable of.
On that note, Daniel Lewis debuted on Sunday and appeared in his second game for South Bend yesterday. His debut was rough, but yesterday he allowed a hit and struck out one in one inning on the mound. He joins a South Bend pitching staff that is deep, talented, and very intriguing. It will be interesting to track his progress as he gets back into swing of playing baseball daily.
NEWSLETTER
