Farmers Only - Jose Barrero homers again, Connor Curlis strikes out the world

It was something of a slow night on the Cincinnati Reds farm, at least compared to the previous one. Don’t tell that to the shortstop currently biding his time in AAA, however, or the pitcher for AA Chattanooga who turned into a strikeout machine on Wednesday!

To the games...

Louisville Bats 9, Durham Bulls 7 (F/12) (AAA)

Jose Barrero swatted his 5th homer of the season, swiped a bag, scored twice, and drove in a pair in a 2-hit game that helped Louisville overcome an early 3-0 deficit and pull off the win in 12 innings. Ronnie “Kix Brooks” Dawson had a single and a double, while Juniel “Que Sera” Querecuto stuffed the box score with a pair of hits, a walk, a ribbie, and a run scored - in the process pushing his season average up to .324. The pitching was a mixed bag, as the 7 runs indicate, but at least old friends Ryan “The Experience” Hendrix and Dauri Moreta fired scoreless, hitless frames in relief.

Biloxi Shuckers 5, Chattanooga Lookouts 2 (AA)

Connor “Rip” Curlis will have this one filed in his own personal loss column, but it will once again serve to underscore just how craptastic pitching wins and losses are as a statistic. He was pretty damn brilliant, frankly, striking out 13 against a lone walk while yielding a trio of runs in 6.0 IP. He also is Brandon Finnegan apparently.

Anyway, Mike “Hear No Evil” Siani and TJ “I” Hopkins each socked solo homers to provide the entirety of the team’s offense on the day.

Cedar Rapids Kernels 7, Dayton Dragons 2 (High-A)

The Dragons were handed a rare L, and in the process the Kernels have pipped them for a better record (38-21 vs. 37-21). Drama in the heartland! Thomas Farr (5 ER in 5.1 IP) and Manuel “Gesundheit” Cachutt (2 ER in 1.2 IP) served up the goods on the day, with Farr being tagged for a trio of homers. Elly De La Cruz came back to earth after his absurd previous game and only went 1 for 3 with a walk and a steal. Jose Torres had a 3-single day and Garrett “Finn” Wolforth bonked in both runs with the swing of a single bat.

Lakeland Flying Tigers 5, Daytona Tortugas 1 (Class A)

This was technically the finish of the game that started on Tuesday and got suspended after a lone inning. They managed to finish this one before the weather got too poor, but the regularly scheduled Wednesday game did not get played, yet. Anyway, Daniel Vellojin was the lone Tuga to get on-base more than once on the day, singling and coaxing a walk, while Jamal “Of America” O’Guinn had the lone extra-base hit (a double) and the lone ribbie. Jose “Beans and” Franco served up 4 ER in 4.0 IP and was credited with the loss.