A mixed bag for the affiliates on the last day of July. Jared Mitchell homered in his third straight game, Tony Bucciferro made his AA debut, and Nick Basto continues to be a pleasant surprise this year…
Birmingham 6, Chattanooga 4
Jared Mitchell homered in his 3rd straight game to help lead the Barons as they extended their 2nd half division lead. Mitchell now has 10 home runs in 38 games for Birmingham this season. Rangel Ravelo and Chris Curley also homered. Tony Bucciferro made his AA debut, showing his usual solid control (no walks) and tossing a quality start. But he got hit a bit (9 H in 6.1 IP) and struck out a pair.
Frederick 9, Winston-Salem 7
The Dash had a late lead looking for a series sweep, but the bullpen collapsed in the 9th. Nick Basto hit a home run as part of a 2-3 day with a walk. Basto had fallen off the radar after two years of struggles on both sides of the ball, but he’s holding his own with the bat now in A+ at a very young-for-level 20 years old. Jacob May had two doubles, Courtney Hawkins a pair of singles and a walk (and no K’s). Starter Terance Marin continues his up-and-down trend, giving up 4 ER in on 6 hits in 4.2 IP. Jose Bautista and the recently-demoted Brandon Hardin gave up three runs in the 9th on a walk, a pair of doubles, and an error by Hardin.
Kannapolis 4, Augusta 3
Trey Michalczewski went oppo boppo and solid pitching from Jordan Guerrero and Andre Wheeler helped the Intimidators squeak by with a win. Likely due to innings limits, lefties Guerrero & Wheeler have been on basically a tandem schedule, one starting and the other relieving to combine for starter-like innings. And they’ve been pretty effective. In addition the Michalczewski’s home run, the offense was aided by two-hit days from Jacob Morris and Brett Austin, and Adam Engel stole his 27th base. Austin has been seeing the ball well lately, posting a .324 average in his last 10 games (reaching base in all 10) and an .851 OPS for July.
Missoula 7, Great Falls 6
In a typically offense-heavy Pioneer League tilt, the Voyagers gave up too many runs early and fell just short, ending their road trip with a third straight loss. Ethan Gross had a 3-hit day and is hitting .387 in his last 8 games. Dane Stone had his 2nd rough start in three games, giving up 6 ER on 10 H in 3.1 IP. 3rd rounder Jace Fry gave up 1 ER (his first of the season in 5 appearances) on a hit and two walks in 1.2 innings, striking out 2.
AZL Rangers 13, AZL White Sox 6
Victor Done and Evin Einhardt took a pounding, giving up 11 runs (10 earned) in 4 combined innings of work to put the AZL team in a hole they couldn’t dig out of. Micker Adolfo went 2-3 with a walk (and no K’s), Louis Silverio had a pair of hits, and Jose Barraza had a double and two walks. Barraza (who was DH’ing in this game) has posted a .934 OPS this year in the AZL, 1.060 in his last 10 games, and just turned 20 this week.
DSL D-Backs 6, DSL White Sox 2
Outfielders Roger Ramos and Anderson Tejeda had two-hit days (including a triple for Ramos), but not much else was going for the DSL team’s lineup. Starter Hansel Mora pitched well in his 2 innings, giving up a walk and no hits will whiffing 2.
***Charlotte’s game was suspended in the 3rd inning (with the Knights up 3-0) and will be continued on 8/1.
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