Memphis edged Tacoma, 3-2. This is exactly why it pays to have guys like George Sherrill healthy. Jorge Campillo pitched pretty well despite giving up a plethora of hits that somehow didn't come back to bite him too hard. Going into the ninth, the game was tied 2-2 and the Rainiers had 8-9-1 coming up at the bottom of the frame. Normally, this would be a breeze for Sherrill but in his absence we get...um, Jeff Heaverlo. Do I have to tell you what happened? Ten hits (no XBHs), two walks, four errors and all Tacoma could generate was two runs. Sure glad I wasn't at Cheney.
Notables:
Jorge Campillo: 7.0 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K.
Jamal Strong: 2-5, 1 RBI.
Shin-soo Choo: 1-4, 1 BB.
Chris Snelling: 2-5, 1 RBI.
Abraham Nunez: 2-3, 1 BB.
Ramon Santiago: 2-4.
Tulsa got by San Antonio, 8-5. Jon Huber looked like he belongs in Times Square after getting lit up like a Christmas tree in this one. Huber only went four innings, but in the limited time he was busy giving up eight runs (seven earned) on ELEVEN hits while walking one and fanning three. It's a shame he couldn't have kept the Missions a bit closer because the relief work was A-Grade (5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K between Philip Wilson and Tim Rall). Yuniesky Betancourt continues to swing a hot bat as he collected another three hits and a walk and inched his line up to .278/.306/.409. Like Tacoma, the Missions didn't pick up even a single XBH, but still managed five runs.
Notables:
Jon Huber: 4.0 IP, 11 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 3 K.
Gary Harris: 2-4, 1 BB.
Yuniesky Betancourt: 3-4, 1 BB.
Nate Espy: 1-4, 2 RBI.
Jesus Guzman: 1-3, 1 BB.
Ismael Castro: 0-4.
Rancho Cucamonga came back to beat Inland Empire, 5-4. A morning after giving up five runs in the ninth to tie and eventually lose the game, it happened again to the 66'ers. IE held onto a slim 4-3 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth and handed the ball to Jason Bourgeois who had been in the game since the 6th. Bourgeois put on the tying and winning runs, Greg Wear let them score:
Devin Day singles on a fly ball to right fielder Chris Colton.
Hainley Statia walks. Devin Day to 2nd.
Pitcher Change: Gregory Wear replaces Nick Bourgeois.
Brandon Wood doubles (12) on a fly ball to right fielder Chris Colton. Devin Day scores. Hainley Statia scores.
This was, of course, after the 66'ers scored three in the eighth to take the lead. Heartbreak.
Notables:
Ryan Feierabend: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 1 HR.
Michael Nesbit: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 BB.
Matt Rogelstad: 1-5, 1 HR, 2 RBI.
Adam Jones: 1-3, 1 BB.
Wladimir Balentien: 0-2, 2 BB.
Carlos Arroyo: 2-4, 1 2B, 2 RBI.
Wisconsin put away Kane County, 5-3. Wisconsin jumped out to an early 4-0 lead and never looked back. Mark Lowe was in his elusive 'fantastic mode' as he went six shutout innings, scattering four hits, not walking a soul and striking out seven. Eric O'Flaherty wasn't nearly as effective but stopped short of handing the game right back to the Cougars. Thomas Hubbard and Sebastian Boucher both had three hits on the afternoon to lead the T-Rat offense.
Notables:
Mark Lowe: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K.
Yung Chi Chen: 1-4, 1 BB.
Asdrubal Cabrera: 0-4, 1 BB, 1 RBI.
Mike Wilson: 2-5, 1 RBI.
Thomas Hubbard: 3-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI.
Omar Falcon: 2-4, 1 2B.
Sebastian Boucher: 3-4.
On the docket:
Tacoma: Damian Moss vs. Memphis. Game time is 6:05pm PDT.
San Antonio: Bobby Livingston vs. Wichita. Game time is 5:05pm PDT.
Inland Empire: Off.
Wisconsin: Aaron Jensen at Kane County. Game time is 4:00pm PDT.
Make sure you stick around tonight and check out the Snelling interview that I'm just about to head out to. I'll be going over his injuries with him and his feelings on his general health and his fast start. Should be a good one as Snelling has always seemed to be a pretty upstanding guy.