Louisville Bats
The Bats got busted up by the Gwinnett Braves on Friday, losing 5-3. Robert Stephenson got the start and promptly allowed 3 ER in the Top of the 1st, but he settled down for 5 scoreless innings thereafter, finishing with a solid 6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K line that's more like what we're all hoping for. Scott Schebler carried the offense with a 4 for 5 night that included a solo dinger, and Carlos "Lobos" Triunfel chipped in with a 2 for 4, 2 double, 2 ribbie evening as well.
Saturday saw a 3-run 6th inning carry the Bats past Gwinnett in a tight 3-2 affair. Triunfel had another solid night at the plate, going 2 for 4 with a double, triple, and two runs scored, and that helped back a pitching performance of significant interest to big league fans. Homer Bailey made his second rehab start, and he scattered 5 hits in his 2 IP, allowing just a single earned run and no walks to pair with a lone strikeout. He was then backed up by former 40-man roster member Stephen Johnson's 4 IP of 1 ER ball, and JJ Hoover later got in on the action with a scoreless 2 IP for the save.
Daniel "Log" Wright spun a gem for the Bats on Sunday, which was pretty much the only tale to tell in the 2-1 victory over the Braves. He allowed just 3 hits and a single earned run in his 6 IP, though I suppose Kyle Waldrop deserves some dap for a 2 for 2 evening that included a double and a ribbie. This FO is going to be twelve thousand words, so what's another two dozen?
The Louisville offense finally chugged a Red Bull and busted heads on July 4th, celebrating our country's independence with an 11-3 drubbing of Indianapolis. Schebler doinked another dinger as part of a 2 for 4 day, and Waldrop joined him on the dinger bus with a mammoth 2 for 4, 3 run, 5 RBI performance. That paired with Amir "Fleshwound" Garrett's 6 inning, 3 ER outing (which included 4 consecutive scoreless frames to close his day) made for a pretty damn solid outing by the prospects of note for the Bats on Monday.
Pensacola Blue Wahoos
The 'hoos won a 10-8 slugfest over Chattanooga on Friday, and that's worth noting since they lost their next three games. Jeff "Edge Pro Shave" Gelalich continued his hot-hitting at AA with a 2 for 5 night, Phil Ervin went 2 for 5 and scored twice, and Zach "Cincy" Vincej dingered and drove in 3, all of which backed General Jackson Stephens and an FO-themed 6 IP, 3 ER start (which came before a bullpen fart-up). Gelalich, FWIW, is hitting .318 in 73 PA in AA since being called up, and while he's never flashed power anywhere, his .371 OBP this season across two levels is dang nice. The former 1st rounder may have a 4th OF type future after all.
Nooga got to Sal "Parmesan" Romano and the Pensacola defense on Saturday and won 7-3. Romano missed the "6 IP, 3 ER" memo, only lasting 5 innings, though he did allow the requisite 3 ER. Unfortunately, another 2 unearned runs scored on him, and the offense couldn't pick him up. Gelalich again went 2 for 4, but that about did it for notability on Saturday.
Sunday was no better, though, as the Lookouts bested Pensacola 5-0. Alex "Skipped the Light" Blandino singled and walked (yay) to bring his season average up to .195 (noooo), Vincej had another 2-hit game, and while Nick "Travie Claus" Travieso allowed just a lone run, he only lasted 4 innings, walked two, and logged only one K.
Pensacola traveled to Mobile for the 4th and lost again, 7-3. Tyler Mahle was flogged for 5 ER in 4.2 IP, not a single 'hoo hit an extra base hit, the humidity was surely unbearable, and the PA system just played this on repeat for three consecutive hours.
Daytona Dragonas
Daytona threw this beleaguered writer a bone by being rained out on both Friday and Sunday. I'm sure your eyes appreciate it, too.
On Saturday, they bested the Lakeland Flying Tigers 9-2, scoring in five consecutive innings and doing so without the competitive advantage of being able to face Cincinnati Reds pitching in the process. Keury "Numa Numa" Mella allowed a workmanlike 2 ER in 5 IP to get the win, Ty "me up with some of your ties, Ty" Washington went 3 for 5 with a pair of doubles and a pair of ribbies, Aristides Aquino homered and drove in five (!), and Gavin LaValley dingered, too.
Ismael "Odoriferous William" Guillon started on the 4th and was nails, and that powered the Tortugas to a 2-0 victory. He allowed nary a run in 6 IP, which meant the solo dinger by Washington was enough for the win.
Dayton Dragons
West Michigan bested Dayton 5-4 on Friday and 3-2 on Saturday, continuing what has been a dismal year for the Reds' class A affiliate. The reinforcements finally showed up, though, and hit well in those contests. Nick "Saper and" Senzel went 3 for 9 with 2 doubles and 2 runs scored in those games, and Chris Okey doubled on Saturday to open his A-ball account. Tanner "Make it" Rainey was meh on Friday, but Jacob "Gardener" Constante allowed just 2 ER in 6 IP on Saturday.
Rain canned Dayton's Sunday contest, and after losing 12-5 to Lansing on Monday, they probably wish rain canned that one, too. Senzel was bonkers again, though, going 3 for 5 with 2 more doubles, prompting me to immediately make Dustin Pedroia comps in my brain while convincing myself that he'll never have to ever actually hit dingers to be an offensive juggernaut when he reaches the Reds.
Billings Mustangs
This FO reads like Cincinnati pitching: decent at the start, used a lot of pitches without getting deep into the game, then saw a reliever comparatively vomit all over everything. The Mustangs played Friday, Saturday, and Monday, won all three by a ridiculous combined score of 37-22, and did so much hitting and poor-pitching that it's hard to describe.
What isn't hard to describe, though, is how absurd Jose "Que Sera" Siri was this weekend. He went 3 for 6 on Friday, 4 for 5 on Saturday, and then kicked the doors down by hitting for the cycle on Monday in a 4 for 6 performance. The 20 year old is now hitting .429/.458/.732 in 14 games for Billings. NOM. New 1st round pick Taylor "Hardly Even Knew Her" Trammell hasn't found his power stroke yet, but he's hitting .286 with a tasty .375 OBP in 13 games so far, which will do for now.
AZL Reds
Has anyone ever seen the AZL Reds before? How do we even know they exist? They've got to be robots anyway, since they're playing outside in Arizona in July and not literally cooking before our very eyes, which makes me skeptical that the entire website and roster isn't just Dan Szymborski and a random name generator at work.
For more on the mythical AZymborskiL Reds and how they simulatedly fake performed over the weekend, check here.