Farmers Only Weekend Harvest

Louisville took Norfolk by storm this weekend, winning 4 games in 3 days. The Bats kicked off the weekend, sweeping a doubleheader on Friday night. In game one, the Bats beat the Tides 5-3 on the heels of a Daniel Corcino start, where he wasn't terrible for a change (5 IP, 3 E, 3 H, 3 BB, 4 K). The walks are still troubling, and he did give up a long ball, but baby steps in the right direction, I guess. Denis "The System" Phipps led the offense, driving in 2 on a 2-3 night with 2 doubles. In the nightcap, the Bats squeaked out a 1-0 victory thanks to yet another solid effort from Armando Gallaraga (5 IP, 3 H, 5 K, 2 BB). Jair "LOL jch" Jurrjens held the Bats to only one hit, a double from Jason Donald in the 6th, who was small ball'd in on consecutive sacrifices for the the only run of the game. Newly acquired Zach "Marma" Duke got the save. Louisville kept the party going on Saturday, beating the Tides 2-1. Despite allowing 11 base runners (8 H, 3 BB), Greg "Sweet Dee" Reynolds, held Norfolk to only one run over 6 innings. Cool Papa Billy went 1-4 with a double and a stolen base, and Corky Miller did the same, just without the stolen base. The weekend sweep was completed on Sunday, with the Bats holding on to a 1-0 win. The game started off with a bang, when Billy Hamilton, who went 2-4 with another stolen base, honked a leadoff wanger. And that was it as far as run production is concerned. Chad Reineke struck out 4 and walked 3 in 6 shutout innings, before four bullpeners covered the remaining 3 innings to lock down the victory. Up Next: Pedro "Yo-Yo" Villarreal (1-4, 5.12 ERA) and the Bats head to Durham to take on the Bulls at 7:05 PM ET.

Pensacola dropped 2 of 3 over the weekend. The Wahoos lost on Friday, falling 3-1 to the Mobile Bay Bears. Ryan Dennick spun a gem, striking out 8 in 7 innings with just 2 walks, scattering 6 hits and allowing 2 runs. Unfortunately, the offense. Devin "the Dude" Lohman drove in the only run on a 2-4 night, and Tucker Barnhardt had the only XBH, knocking a double in the 6th. The Wahoos dropped Saturday's tilt as well, losing 6-2. Daniel "Walks Will Haunt" Renken couldn't find the plate, walking 6 in 3 innings, while striking out only 1 batter, and subsequently coughed up 4 runs. The bats were quiet, with the exception of Moose Mattair, who went 3-4 with 2 doubles and and RBI. Pensacola salvaged the series on Sunday, shutting out the Bad News Bears 4-0. Shaun "Perry" Ellis threw 6.1 innings, allowing 4 hits, a walk, and striking out 2. There weren't really any standouts on offense, as no Wahoo had an XBH or multi-hit game, but a few well placed singles and sacrifices got the job done. Up Next: The Battle of the Bay continues tonight at 8 PM ET, with Josh Smith (5-5, 3.45 ERA) taking the hill.

Bakersfield took 2 out of 3 in Modesto. The Blaze busted the Nuts on Friday, winning 5-3. "Trinidad" James Allen gave up 2 in 7 innings on 5 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 5. Juan "High Ho" Silverio led the charge, driving in 3 runs on a 2-4 night with a double. Our Man Yorman went 1-3 with walk and scored 2 runs. Bakersfield didn't fare as well on Saturday, losing 6-4 in Modesto. The Other Juan (Silva), went 2-4 with a double and an RBI. Yorman also knocked a double, and drove in 2 runs on a 1-4 night. Mike Dennhardt got tagged with the loss, allowing 6 runs (4 earned), while striking out 5 and walking none. The Blaze lit up Modesto, with a 12-3 victory on Sunday. Juan Silverio went nuts on the Nuts, honking two honkers and driving in 6 runs on a 3-5 night. Yorman Rodriguez kept up his hot streak, going 2-4 with a double, a triple and a walk. He's OPS'ing 1.140 over the last 10 games, and is inching ever closer to .800 on the season. Up Next: All-Star Break! The best of the Carolina League takes on the California League on Tuesday. The Prophet El'Hajj and Carlos Contreras were both selected, but neither will play.

Dayton had a winning weekend as well. The Dragons came out on top in a wangerfest on Friday, winning 7-4. Jesse Winker, Seth Mejias-Brean, and Junior Arias all went yard, while Sammy Diaz "Jr." went 3-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Nick Travieso made his 3rd start of the year, and looked good, throwing 5 innings of 1-run ball with 2 K and 2 BB. Dayton lost a heartbreaker in South Bend on Saturday, falling 5-4. Drew Cisco went 6 innings, allowing 4 runs 8 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 4. Seth Mejias-Brean honked his second wanger in as many games, with a 3-bean casserole in the 1st inning. The Dragons took the rubber match on Sunday, winning 2-0. Ismael Guillon threw what was easily his best start of the season, hurling 6 scoreless innings, striking out 7 batters and walking just 2. Hopefully he figured something out and he can continue to right the ship. Up Next: It's the Midwest League Al-Star Break as well. Jesse Winker, Zach Vincej, Drew Cisco, Sal Romano, and Robert Stephenson were all selected to represent the Eastern division. I assume Bob Steves will sit this out as he's still recovering from a sore hammy.