The Eugene Emeralds won their opener thanks to some very good pitching and a baserunning clinic by one of their most intriguing prospects.
OF Fernando Kelli wasted no time in showing us what he could do on the basepaths. In the first inning, he led off with a sharp single to right, then promptly stole second. A sac fly to medium depth right moved him to third, then he scored on the throw to first when the catcher dropped strike three. It was probably the best display of baserunning I’ve seen out of the farm system this year.
That run was all the Emeralds would prove to need as three pitchers combined to give up just four hits and a walk. The starter, lefty Faustino Carrera, only needed 71 pitches to throw six strong inning in which he struck out five.
Tonight the Emeralds send right hander Jeffrey Passantino to the mound. Passantino was the Cubs’ 40th round pick out of Lipscomb a year ago. He worked 7.2 innings of relief for South Bend earlier this month and struck out 11 while building an ERA of 1.17.
Triple A: Iowa Cubs
Reno 13, Iowa 5
The Cubs outscored Reno 2-1 after the third inning.
Jen-Ho Tseng: 2.1 IP, 10 (9 ER), 12 H
Alberto Baldonado: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K
Dakota Mekkes: 1 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 1 BB
Stephen Bruno: 1 IP, 1 H. Not bad for an outfielder.
Mike Freeman: 3 for 5, 2B
Victor Caratini: 3 for 5, 2 2B
David Bote: 3 for 4, 2B, 3B, BB
Chesny Young: 1 for 4, 2B
Ali Solis: 1 for 4
Double A: Tennessee Smokies
Montgomery 7, Tennessee 5 in eleven innings
The Smokies’ bullpen has been very solid all season, but the past couple of games have not gone as well.
Duncan Robinson: 6 IP, 2 R, 7 H, 5 K
Scott Effross: 2 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 1 K
Craig Brooks: 2 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K
Charcer Burks: 1 for 4, 2B, BB
Zack Short: 2 for 3, BB, SB
High A: Myrtle Beach Pelicans
Carolina 4, Myrtle Beach 3
After winning nine in a row, the Pelicans have now lost five straight.
Tyson Miller: 5.2 IP, 4 R, 6 H, 1 BB, 6 K
Jose Paulino: 3.1 IP, 1 H, 5 K
Jhonny Pereda: 1 for 3, BB
P.J. Higgins: 1 for 2, 2 BB
Low A: South Bend Cubs
Lansing 6, South Bend 4
The Cubs rallied for three in the ninth to make a game of it.
Jesus Camargo: 5.2 IP, 5 R, 8 H, 2 BB, 2 K
Ben Hecht: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 K
Christian Donahue: 2 for 5, SB
Jared Young: 2 for 5, HR
Brandon Hughes: 3 for 4, 2B, SB
Chris Singleton: 2 for 4, 2B
Short Season A: Eugene Emeralds
Eugene 2, Vancouver 0
The Emeralds pitching opened the season with a combined four hit shutout.
Faustino Carrera: 6 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 5 K
Dalton Geekie: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 K
Luis Aquino: 1 IP, 1 K
Fernando Kelli: 2 for 4, 2 SB
Nelson Velazquez: 1 for 4, 2B
Jonathan Soto: 2 for 3, 2B
Other Notes
Make that three straight very good post-DL relief outtings for Jose Paulino. This time he threw 45 pitches and still gave up just the one hit. He hasn’t walked anyone since he came back, and his ERA is down from 9.85 to 7.75 already.
David Bote has reached base in thirteen straight games, going back to May 29. For the season he is now hitting .291/.364/.537 with ten home runs.
In case you missed it yesterday, Adbert Alzolay has been shut down for the season. He pitched very well a couple of times in April, but ran into some problems in May before leaving a game early on May 29 (after throwing four perfect innings). That injury is ultimately the one that shut him down.
With Alzolay now down for the year, I think we can safely say that there will be a lot of changes at the top of the mid-season Top 40. The preseason top five were Albertos (lost the strike zone), De La Cruz (doing OK for Tennessee), Alzolay (injured, out for the year), Lange (doing very well for Myrtle Beach) and Ademan (struggling some with the bat). I don’t think all five will still be that high when I rerank in August.
NEWSLETTER
