It was a slamming day for shortstops -- Paul Janish and Zach Cozart -- and starting pitchers Matt Maloney and Luis Montano flooded the field with Ks. I hope they all remember who they are when they hit it big.
Triple-A: Paul Janish went absolutely berserk, going 4 for 4 with 6 RBIs in Louisville's 13-4 jackhammering of Columbus. Janish singled and scored in the first, drove in Ryan Hanigan on a sac fly in the second, doubled in Chris Dickerson and scored in the fourth, hit a grand slam in the fifth and doubled and scored in the seventh. Somewhere in there, Jay Bruce managed to hit his 5th homer of the year, Drew T. Anderson went 3 for 4 with a triple and Matt Maloney struck out 9 in 5.2 innings. Before last night, Janish had just 1 double and 7 RBIs on the season. UP NEXT: Columbus rubber match, 7 tonight.
Double-A: The Lookouts led 2-0 in the top of fifth when the game was postponed due to rain. The game will resume today at 6 as part of a sortadoubleheader. So far Shaun Cumberland is 2 for 3 and James Avery is working on a 2-hitter.
High A: Sarasota lost 3-2 in 13 innings. Justin Turner was 1 for 5 to extend his hitting streak to 13 games, Chris Valaika was 2 for 6 (7-game hitting streak), Drew Stubbs was 1 for 4 (8 games) and Juan Francisco got his bat back, going 2 for 6 with 2 doubles and both S-Reds RBIs. Logan Ondrusek threw 3 perfect innings in relief, striking out 5. UP NEXT: Rubber match at Dunedin, 7 tonight.
Low A: Keltavious Jones was 3 for 5, Todd Frazier 2 for 4 and Zach Cozart blasted a ninth-inning grand slam for his first homer of the season as Dayton smoked Kane County 7-0. But perhaps most impressively, Luis Montano struck out 8 and walked none in a 6-inning 1-hitter. It was his second 1-hitter this week, as he lost a no-hitter in the seventh on Tuesday. But back to Cozart. Baseball America tabs him as the Reds' No. 18 prospect, calling him the best defensive shortstop in our system since Gookie Dawkins . He was drafted out of Mississippi last year in the second round and hit poorly as he finished the season out in Dayton. He had right shoulder surgery in the offseason and returned to the Dragons just a week ago, but he's hit in every game since his first. BA says his problem at the plate is that he's too much of a pull hitter with little power. He did have a big homer last night, but the righty pulled it to left. UP NEXT: New series at Peoria, 7:30 tonight.