Farmers Only Weekend Harvest

Louisville

The Bats got checked by the Charlotte Knights on Friday, falling 5-2 in 10 innings.  Soon to be season saving stalwart Jack Hannahan went 3-4 with 3 singles.  Who needs Joey when you got Jack?  Recent scrap heap pickup Scott "Dustin" Diamond gave up 2 runs in 7.1 innings, striking out 4 and walking 1.  Rey Navarro banged out 2 doubles, going 2-4 with an RBI.  Not that anyone is reading this, but I think Navarro deserves a look see at the big league level this season.  He'd need to be added to the 40-man to get a September call up, but the former 3rd round pick has a .281/.339/.460 line across 2 levels as a 2B/SS this season.  If this season is in fact in the shitter, it would be nice to see if guys like Lutz, Soto, or Navarro could provide any value to the team next season.

The Bats and Knights attempted to play a double header on Saturday, but the second game was suspended after 4 innings.  Louisville won the first game 6-5 in a 7-inning contest.  Dylan Axelrod made his second start for the Bats, and got beat up by his former teammates.  He gave up 5 runs on 9 hits and a walk in 4.1 innings while fanning 4 batters.  The Bats got those 5 runs back in the 3rd inning, which was capped off by a 2-run double from Ruben Gotay (1-4) and a 2-run single from "Friar" Tucker Barnhart (1-3).

Louisville completed a 5-0 victory from Saturday's suspended game.  Mikey "Look Out Itchy, He's Irish" O'Brien pitched the first four innings on Saturday, striking out 5 and walking none while giving up 3 hits.  Not to be outdone on Sunday, Pedro Villarreal struck out 5 more in the remaining 3 innings while not allowing a walk, and giving up a pair of hits.  Neftali Soto went 2-4 with a pair of doubles, and Rey Navarro went 2-3 with a two-sacker of his own.

The Bats lost the nightcap, 6-4, despite their Star Wars themed jerseys.  Josh Smith got smacked around a bit in 4.1 innings, giving up 6 runs (4 earned) on 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3.  Jason Bourgeois was perfect at the plate, going 3-3 with a walk and a stolen base.  Felix Perez had the only Bats XBH, going 2-4 with a double and an RBI.

Pensacola

The Wahoos put a hurtin' on the Bay Bears on Friday, beating Mobile 9-1.  Michael Lorenzen did most of the heavy lifting, walloping a grand slam in the 3rd inning while striking out 4 in 4 innings, giving up an earned run and a pair of walks.  He only threw 76 pitches, and never got in much trouble, so I'd guess that they saw an opportunity to give Lorenzen a breather in a blowout.  Seth Mejias-Brean drove in 2 on a 2-5 night with a double, and Juan "Hungry Like the Wolf" Duran went 2-3 with his 13th dinger of the year.

Pensacola saw their four-game winning streak snapped, falling 6-2 in a pretty lousy game.  The Wahoos managed only 3 hits, and committed a couple errors on the night.  Kyle Waldrop had 2/3 of his team's hits, going 2-4 with a triple and a solo honker.  Ben Lively gave up 3 runs, though only 1 was earned, over 6 innings with 5 strikeouts and 3 walks.  Oh, and he also had one of the three Wahoos hits.

It was déjà vu all over again on Sunday with the Wahoos losing again 6-2.  Pensacola scratched out 4 hits, with their only 2 runs coming from a 2-run ding dong from Ryan Wright.  Daniel Corcino gave up 3 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out 3 in 3.1 innings.

Bakersfield

The Blaze fell victim to some awful pitching on Friday night, losing 11-4 in Lake Elisnore.  Daniel Wrong Wright got the start, giving up 6 runs (5 earned) in 4 innings.  He was followed by Jimmy "Get an Out" Moran gave up 3 more runs in 2 innings.  Sebastian Elizalde (1-5) and Sean Buckley (2-4) had a wanger each.

Bakersfield laid another egg on Saturday, losing 3-1 to the Storm.  Ismael Guillon got tagged with his 4th loss with the Blaze, giving up 3 runs (2 earned) on 5 hits and 3 walks in 6 innings, while striking out 3.  Harold Riggins seemingly was the only one to bring his bat to the park, as he went 2-2 with a double, a dinger, and a walk.

The Blaze bested the Storm on Sunday and won 6-3 despite only tallying 5 hits.  Solo home runs from Sean Buckley (1-4) and Marquez Smith (1-3, BB) , and a 2-run blast from Harold Riggins (1-3, BB) led the offense.  Drew Cisco held Lake Elsinore to 1 run over 5 innings, striking out 3 and walking 2.  El'Hajj Muhammad gave up his first runs of the season with Bakersfield, allowing pair of runs on 3 hits and a walk in 1 inning.

Dayton

The Dragons rode a 5-run 5th inning to a 5-2 victory over Quad Cities on Friday night.  Nick Travieso had to dance around some trouble in the first after walking the bases loaded.  He finished the day, going 5 scoreless with 5 strikeouts and a career high 5 walks.  Phil Ervin, who went 2-4 with a double, is finally starting to look like the Phil Ervin that was drafted by the Reds.  After OPS'ing less than .600 in April and May, he came back with back to back months with an OPS over .800.  Tanner Rahier, who is in the midst of a nice bounce back season as well, went 2-4 with 2 RBI.

Dayton got shutout 4-0 by Cedar Rapids on Saturday, striking out 14 times and managing only 2 hits.  Jackson Stephens struck out 4 and walked none, but gave up 4 runs on 5 hits in 5 innings.  Joe Hudson went 1-3 with a double, and Nick Benedetto went 1-3 with a single.  And that's about it.

The Dragons fell short in Sunday afternoon's contest to the Kernels, losing 4-1.  Amir Garrett struck out 10 batters and walked none in 6.1 innings, only giving up 3 hits, but fell victim to a pair of solo home runs.  Joe "36" Hudson had the only Dayton XBH, going 1-4 with a double and a pair of strikeouts.

Billings

The Mustangs cruised to victory over the Great Falls Voyagers, winning 6-3.  Aristides Aquino is playing like a man among boys in the Pioneer League.  Heiress Titties went 2-4 with a double and a dinger (his 5th in 6 games) on Friday, driving in 4 runs.  The Great Blandino kept up his hot start, going 2-3 with a walk.  The pitching sucked.

Billings got blanked as well on Saturday, falling 3-0 to the Voyagers.  The Great Blandino had two of the 'Stangs three hits, going 2-4 with a two-bagger.  Luke Moran was sharp, striking out 4 in 6 innings, giving up just 1 run on a walk and 3 hits.  The one run was one too many, though.

The Mustangs made it a winning weekend, beating the Voyagers 6-4 on Sunday.  Ty Washington went 1-4 with a double, an RBI, and stole home on a double steal.  Garrett Boulware drove in 3 runs, going 2-4 with a double.  Alex Blandino had a rare bad night, as he went 0-4 with a pair of strikeouts.  Tejay Antone was rather hittable, giving up 6 knocks and a walk in 3.1 innings, leading to 3 runs scored (2 earned), while striking out 3.

AZL

The AZLiens had Friday night off.

The Reds beat up on the Brewers on Saturday night, winning 9-3 in Maryvale.  "Dude, You're Getting a" Reydel Medina single handedly outscored the Baby Brews, going 2-5 with 4 RBI and 2 jam jobs.  Jose Siri drove in a pair of runs, going 2-4 with 2 singles.  Mark Armstrong struck out 5 batters in 3.2 innings, but gave up 3 runs on 6 hits and a walk.

The Brewers returned the favor on Sunday, stomping the Reds 12-2.  Gavin LaValley had the only multi-hit game, going 3-4 with a double and an RBI.  Jose Siri had the only other offensive performance of note, honking a solo wanger and stealing a base on a 1-5 night.  The other Junior Arias struck out 5, and walked none, but got tagged for 7 runs (5 earned) on 8 hits in 3 innings.