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Friday, June 30th
Indianapolis 6, Louisville 5
The Bats scored 4 runs over their final 3 innings to tie the game, only to see Indianapolis plate a run in the Bottom of the 9th to walk things off. Cody “Willis” Reed started and allowed 4 meh runs in 6 meh innings, though he did K 7 against a lone walk. Phil “Buttercup” Ervin singled, walked, stole a bag, and scored twice, and Zach “Buchanan” Vincej had a solid 3 for 4 night with a double and 2 ribbies.
Nick “Chad” Senzel socked a pinch-hit single that drove in a run and later scored to help the ‘Hoos to a win in Game 1 of their Friday doubleheader. Gabby “Chad” Guerrero doubled in a pair, and Chad “Chad” Tromp added a pair of ribbies as well in a game that featured quite possibly the least bit of box score excitment of any I’ve come across in at least the last 27 minutes.
Pensacola 9, Montgomery 4
Game 2 had a lot more sock to it, as the Blue Wahoos took a 9-1 lead into the 9th inning and busted brains in the process. Tyler “Goetta” Goeddel homered, Josh “Hippie” Vanmeter did, too, Gavin LaValley went 3 for 5 with a ribbie, and Senzel singled, walked, and scored a run. That was plenty enough to back Domingo “Chutney” Tapia’s 5.1 innings of 1 ER ball, and Pensacola moved 10 games over .500 in the process.
Dunedin 9, Daytona 5
Jonathon “Stuck in your A-ball” Crawford got rocked in this one, allowing 4 ER and 3 walks in his 3.0 IP, and given his age and injury history (and his not striking out anyone in this outing), I have a hard time wrapping my head around why he’s still being rolled out as a starter in A ball. TJ “Brett Gardner” Friedl went 2 for 3 with a walk and a ribbie, Chris “Dokey” Okey got a hit to raise his season average up to .187, and we all moved on to the next box score for the sake of our sanity.
Dayton 12, Fort Wayne 5
The Dragons dumped a 7 spot on the Tin Caps in the Bottom of the 3rd an inning after scoring an initial 4, which was plenty to back Scott “Paid the Cost to be the” Moss (3 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, 4 K) in an outing that wasn’t near his best. They also scored 12 runs without a single homer or a single Fort Wayne error, which was odd given they only had 9 hits on the night. Tyler “Robert” Stephenson went 2 for 4 with a double and a pair of runs scored to pace the offense, while each of Bruce “Yar Matey” Yari, Cassidy “I have seen where the wolf has slept by the silver stream” Brown, and Shane “Mardipeteian” Mardirosian scored twice, too - the latter of which also with a double and 4 ribbies.
Missoula 8, Billings 1
The wild Mustangs got branded on Friday, with the Osprey scoring 3 runs in back to back innings in the 6th and 7th to blow this one open. Starter Jhon De Jesus wasn’t too bad as Billings’ starter, however, allowing nary an ER and just a single hit in his 5.0 IP, but the bullpen was (trash emoji). Alejo Lopez homered and doubled for his 2-hit night at the plate, and Jeter Downs 2xt2nd2d his career-opening hit streak to 2 games with a single, too.
Saturday, July 1st
Indianapolis 8, Louisville 2
Tyler Mahle took the loss in his 2nd AAA start, but allowed just 3 ER in his 7.0 IP. A trio of unearned runs while he was on the mound didn’t help his cause, but he did K 6 against a lone walk. The Bats mustered just 4 total hits in the loss, though that did include Dilson Herrera’s 7th dinger of the year and a 2-hit night from Hernan “Great” Iribarren “Reef.”
Montgomery 10, Pensacola 8
The Biscuits rose to the occasion on Saturday, punishing Pensacola starter Jose “You, Say Me” Lopez for 6 ER in 4.1 IP, though his 5 walks in that time sure helped their cause. Senzel had his first big “Joey Votto as a third baseman” game in AA, going 2 for 4 with 2 walks and 2 runs driven in, Guerrero went 3 for 6, Shed “Don” Long walked thrice (!), and both Vanmeter and Aristides Aquino clubbed homers, but that still wasn’t quite enough to gravy them Biscuits.
Dunedin 12, Daytona 4
Daytona got waxed on Friday, which you just read about. They got waxed again Saturday, which juuust might be an indication they’re reeling a bit from having the best of their team called up to AA last week. Dunedin got all 12 runs on the board within the first 3 innings, which tells you all you need to know about the outings from Mark Armstrong and Austin “1984” Orweiler. On the plus side, Okey did have a 2-hit night.
Dayton 8, Fort Wayne 1
Dayton continued their weekend pummeling of the Tin Caps on Saturday, carried by a 2-dinger day from OF Jose Siri and 5 innings of 8 K, 0 ER ball from Tony Santillan. Taylor “Tinker” Trammell chipped in with a 3 hit evening, while both Stephenson and John Sansone clubbed homers and had 2 hit nights of their own.
Billings 6, Great Falls 5
The Mustangs scored 4 runs combined in the 8th and 9th innings to come back to beat the Voyagers, bailing out Tyler Mondile’s 5.0 IP, 3 ER outing. Miles Gordon went bonkers with a 4 for 5, 3 run, 2 ribbie outing that included a dinger, and Stuart “Chad” Fairchild and Montrell Marshall combined to go 5 for 8 with 2 doubles, 2 ribbies, and 2 runs scored to back him in the lineup. That’ll do.
Sunday, July 2nd
Louisville 1, Indianapolis 0
The Bats got a stellar start from Lisalverto Bonilla on Sunday, as the former future former future former Cincinnati Reds starter allowed just 2 hit sin 7 scoreless IP, striking out 6 against a lone walk in the process. Herrera went 2 for 4 with the lone run scored, and Ervin chipped in with a 2 for 4 day as the Bats’ CF, too. Jimmy Herget picked picked up the 2 inning save, which will hopefully catch the eye of the front office brass in Cincinnati.
Pensacola 3, Montgomery 2
Austin Ross, who is not Scott Moss, allowed just 2 ER in his 7 IP on Sunday, somehow doing so while scattering 5 hits and 3 walks while not striking out a single batter. Senzel went 1 for 3 with a walk, ribbie, and run scored to help back him, LaValley doubled and drove in a run, and Aquino continued his hopeful heat-up with a 2 for 4 day that included a double and a run scored. Zack “Hoops” Weiss continued his post-injury trek back through the minors with a bit of a rocky, yet effective save, which is great to see.
Dunedin 4, Daytona 2
The FSL Blue Jays wrapped the weekend series sweep of the Tortugas on Sunday, and did so thanks solely to a 4 run 3rd inning off starter Vlad Gutierrez. Luis Gonzalez rep’d with a 3 for 4 day that featured a double and a ribbie, and Blake Butler added a 2 hit day of his own. Gutierrez, to his credit, made it through 7 IP in his outing, and K’d 6 against just 3 BB, but there just wasn’t enough offense to pick him up on the day.
Dayton 5, Fort Wayne 2
Dayton won. Fort Wayne lost. Trammell walked twice, singled, swiped his 21st bag of the season, and scored a run, and that was buttressed by a 2 for 3, 2 run scored, dinger and 2 ribbie afternoon from Kevin “Chad” Franklin, a former 2nd round pick by the Reds who you (me, us, everyone) had pretty well forgotten about as he’d been on the shelf for most all of this year.
Billings 4, Great Falls 2
Downs walked twice, singled, and swiped a bag while leading off for the Mustangs, and Andy Sugilio donked a 2-run homer to fuel the offense on Sunday, all of which was good enough to pair with a 2 ER, 6 IP outing from Matt Blandino on the mound for Billings.
For details on what the AZL and DSL Reds have been up to, click them there links to catch up.