Farmers Only: Herrera, Aquino post big weekends at the plate

Friday, May 12th

Louisville Bats 2, Charlotte Knights 5

Amir “No You Amir” Garrett made a cameo in Louisville Friday to keep his arm active, and boy did Charlotte wish he hadn’t. He faced six hitters in two innings, and struck out all six, throwing just 29 pitches in doing so. That’s pretty much as overpowering as you can look. Nick Routt “66” allowed two runs over the next three innings to get tagged with the loss, while Louis “Gary” Coleman fanned five over 2.2 scoreless innings to finish things.

At the plate, “Uncle” Jesse Winker found the power stroke, going 3-for-4 with his first homer of the year and a double. Hernan “The Barbarian” Iribarren went 2-for-4 with a double, while Dilson “Pickle” Herrera added a double of his own.

Pensacola Blue Wahoos 6, Birmingham Barons 0

Pitching obviously stuck out in this game for the Wahoos, with Deck “Wreck” McGuire tossing six innings of shutout baseball in his start, allowing three hits and walking three while striking out seven. Ariel “The Little Mermaid” Hernandez used his overpowering stuff to toss a pair of scoreless frames, and Brennan “Doesn’t Get A Nickname” Bernardino striking out two in a scoreless ninth.

This was also a big game for Aristides “Heiress Titties” Aquino, who homered, tripled and drove in four to power the offense. Tyler “Good Day” Goeddel kept up his early season excellence with two hits including a double at the top of the order, and Josh “Parking” VanMeter reached base in all four plate appearances with two hits and two walks.

Daytona Tortugas 0, Dunedin Blue Jays 4

Daytona’s offense struggled enough to sully an otherwise fine outing out of Jonathon “Allegedly” Crawford, who pitched five innings and allowed three runs on five hits while walking five and striking out two. Braulio “Coolio” Ortiz worked around a pair of walks to flash a scoreless eighth.

At the plate, Nick “Senzational” Senzel doubled in a 1-for-4 game, and Narciso “The Incredible” Crook doubled in a 2-for-4 game. Alfredo “Pasta Rod” Rodriguez had a sharp game at the top of the order, going 3-for-4 with three singles.

Dayton Dragons 3, Quad Cities River Bandits 1

Andrew “Michael” Jordan kept the River Bandits off-balance all day, pitching 6.2 innings and allowing just one run on three hits and two walks while striking out one. Andy “heh” Cox, Aaron Fossas “Fuel” and Brian “Night of the” Hunter combined to shut out Quad Cities the rest of the way.

Offensively, T.J. “Land of the” Friedl set the tone in the lead-off spot, going 1-for-2 with a double and two walks. Jose “Shut Up” Siri was the only other big gun in the offense though, going 2-for-3 with an RBI.

Saturday, May 13th

Louisville Bats 2, Charlotte Knights 4

Cody Reed had a chance at redemption on Saturday after a rocky Louisville debut, and was able to marginally improve on his previous performance. He lasted four innings, allowing two runs on six hits while walking three and striking out just two in getting tagged with the loss. Lucas “Hack A” Luetge and Kevin “Garagetoyota” Shackelford each pitched scoreless innings late.

Top White Sox prospect Lucas Giolito and Co. pretty much silenced the Bats’ offensive efforts, with Iribarren’s solo blast being the biggest swing of the game on Louisville’s end. Herrera added his first triple of the year, and that was about it.

Pensacola Blue Wahoos 0, Jackson Generals 3

Pensacola had their Friday luck flipped on them on Saturday, faltering in a shutout loss to Jackson. The loss came despite another fantastic outing from Tyler “Let’s Go To The” Mahle, who allowed a single run in seven innings, striking out six while allowing five hits and a pair of walks. His ERA, just cause it’s still fun to point out, now sits at a tidy 1.42.

At the plate, VanMeter reached three more times with two hits and a walk, while Joe “Miracle On The” Hudson singled twice and walked twice in four plate appearances. The Wahoos actually collected eight hits and seven walks in this game, but couldn’t push any runs across.

Daytona Tortugas 2, Dunedin Blue Jays 5

Jose Lopez had a fine day on the mound for Daytona on Saturday, pitching 6.1 innings and allowing three runs on four hits and three walks while striking out eight. Robert “Unsolved Mysteries” Stock finished this one with a scoreless eighth.

Senzel came through with another double in this one, while Rodriguez punched through another pair of hits. Chris “Annie Are You” Okey had a decent day at the plate as well, going 1-for-3 with a walk and two ribbies.

Dayton Dragons 10, Quad Cities 9

Dayton was fortunate to come away with a win in the only real offensive slugfest that took place on the farm this weekend. Friedl was once again terrific, going 2-for-5 with a walk and three RBI’s, while Siri cashed in another pair of hits. Taylor “Here Comes” Trammell went 2-for-5 with a double, triple and walk, and Hector Vargas rounded things out nicely in the nine-hole with a 3-for-5 performance that included three RBI’s. Tyler “Large Adult Catcher” Stephenson was a cog in the middle of the order, going 1-for-2 with two ribbies and three walks.

The River Bandits’ main offensive damage came against Dayton’s bullpen, after Tony Santillan went 5.2 innings in his start, allowing two runs, one earned, on four hits and no walks while striking out seven.

Sunday, May 14th

Louisville Bats 6, Charlotte Knights 7

Herrera’s big weekend at the dish hit an impressive finale on Sunday, as the young infielder 2-for-5 with a 3-run bomb and four total runs driven in. Rob “Not Cowboy” Brantly threw in two hits and a doinker for his own part, and Winker reached twice via a hit and a walk.

Rookie “For Real This Time!” Davis went six innings in what was (I believe) his first start back from his forearm injury, allowing three runs on four hits, walking three and fanning six. Shackelford pitched in another scoreless frame at the end of this one.

Louisville will face off with Toledo on Monday, with a starter yet to be determined. Game time is set for 6:35 p.m. EST.

Pensacola Blue Wahoos 5, Jackson Generals 2

The Wahoos were much better at converting baserunners into actual runs in this one, starting at the top of the order, where Alex “The Great” Blandino reached thrice and scored twice on a hit and two walks. Aquino doubled and walked in a 2-for-4 performance, while Brian “Beef” O’Grady homered in a 2-for-5 day at the plate. VanMeter also polished off a hell of a weekend at the plate with a 2-for-4 Sunday in which he doubled and drove in a run.

Austin Ross “And Rachel” was once again solid on the mound, pitching 6.2 innings and allowing two runs and six hits while walking one and striking out five. His ERA is now 1.13, because Pensacola’s pitching staff is ridiculous. Israel Guillon, Hernandez, and Jimmy “Drinks To” Herget combined to shut out Jackson for the remaining 2.1 innings.

Luis Castillo will toe the rubber for Pensacola on Monday against Jackson, with game time set for 7:05 p.m. EST.

Daytona was off on Sunday, but will send Vladimir Gutierrez to the bump on Monday against Bradenton, with game time set for 7:05 p.m. EST.

Dayton was off as well. They’ll face off with South Bend with Scott Moss getting the start, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. EST.