Today is the last day before the All-Star Break in Double A, High A, and Low A, and today will be the 70th game of the season for Tennessee, Myrtle Beach, and South Bend. Since the full season leagues play a 140 game season, we are halfway through the minor league campaign. Iowa is a few games shy of the 70 mark due to a lot of rainouts.
What makes the fact that the season is half over feel really odd is that we still don’t have every team in action yet. The two Arizona League teams don’t get started until tomorrow.
We’ll save a look at the standings until tomorrow and use that as a look at the first half of the season as a whole. For now we’ll just note that, despite a really rough start to the season, everyone but Iowa has a chance to finish the first half at .500 or a little over. Myrtle Beach and South Bend will need to win today to clear that mark, but a few weeks ago finishing the first half this close to even didn’t look likely at all. The Cubs’ farm system as a whole is finishing the first half on a strong note.
Triple A: Iowa Cubs
Tacoma 5, Iowa 4
Through two starts, Clifton is looking pretty good in Triple A.
Trevor Clifton: 5.2 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 5 H, 2 BB, 5 K
Dillon Maples: 0.2 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 2 BB, 1 K
Victor Caratini: 4 for 4, 2B, 2 HR, BB
Bijan Rademacher: 2 for 4
David Bote: 1 for 3, HR
Taylor Davis: 2 for 3, 2B, BB
Double A: Tennessee Smokies
Montgomery 8, Tennessee 4
A four run rally in the bottom of the ninth kept this game from being a shutout.
Thomas Hatch: 3.2 IP, 5 R, 5 H, 4 BB, 2 K
Jordan Minch: 2.2 IP, 3 H, 3 K
Trent Giambrone: 1 for 4, HR
Daniel Spingola: 1 for 4, 2B
Zack Short: 1 for 3, 2B, BB
Eddy Martinez: 1 for 4, HR
High A: Myrtle Beach Pelicans
Carolina 2, Myrtle Beach 1 in nine innings
Myrtle Beach 2, Carolina 0
The Pelicans had some very good pitching in both games of the doubleheader.
Erick Leal: 5 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 2 K
Wyatt Short: 3 IP, 3 K
Andruw Monasterio: 2 for 4
Jhonny Pereda: 1 for 3, HR, BB
Kevonte Mitchell: 1 for 3, 2B, BB
Game Two
Casey Bloomquist: 5 IP, 3 H
Tyler Peyton: 2 IP, 2 K
D.J. Wilson: 1 for 3, HR
Andruw Monasterio: 2 for 3, 2B
Low A: South Bend Cubs
Lansing 6, South Bend 3
The bullpen did not allow a run from the fifth inning on.
Javier Assad: 4 IP, 6 R (4 ER), 8 H, 3 K
Enrique De Los Rios: 3 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 2 K
Yapson Gomez: 1 IP, 1 H
Roberto Caro: 2 for 4, 2B
Jared Young: 1 for 3, 3B, BB
Michael Cruz: 1 for 4, HR
Short Season A: Eugene Emeralds
Eugene 8, Vancouver 4
Eugene scored early and often, and they are still undefeated.
Jeffrey Passantino: 5 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 5 K
Jake Steffens: 1 IP, 1 BB
Eugenio Palma: 2 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K
Fernando Kelli: 1 for 4, BB
Nelson Velazquez: 2 for 4
Jonathan Sierra: 3 for 4, 2 2B, SB
Ramsey Romano: 2 for 4
Other Notes
Yesteday was the first time Dillon Maples has given up a run or walked more than one batter since May 21. It was his ninth appearance since that game, and in that span he had allowed just two walks and three hits as he entered the night. He had also struck out sixteen in those nine innings of work.
In his past two games Caratini has seven hits, two doubles, two homers, a walk, and a strikeout. Since he spent quite a bit of time in Chicago this year his total number of plate appearances is still low enough that that kind of a hot streak can do impressive things to his slash line. When he woke up Friday morning his line read .278/.375/.389. It now reads .349/.432/.587.
D.J. Wilson missed all of May on the disabled list. He was shut down on April 27 (with a five game hitting streak going) and did not come back until Thursday. In just his third game back he hit his first homer of the season.
Lots of highlights from last night on the Eugene Emeralds twitter feed, but this very nice play by SS Luis Vazquez might just be my favorite. We even get a decent look at Eugene’s very awesome Monarchas De Eugene uniforms: