ORGANIZATIONAL REPORT Tuesday, May 16, 2017 TEAM LEVEL RECORD LAST GAME STREAK/ LAST 10 Sacramento River Cats Triple-A 15-22; 9.0 GB 3rd Place L, 4-6 @ Oklahoma City L1, 5-5 Richmond Flying Squirrels Double-A 16-21; 6.5 GB 5th Place L, 1-6 @ Akron L1, 5-5 San Jose Giants High-A 15-23; 7.0 GB 4th Place L, 4-5 Vs. Inland Empire L4, 3-7 Augusta Greenjackets Low-A 12-25; 12.0 GB 7th Place L, 4-6 Vs. Lexington L1, 2-8
Blank's ninth-inning blast not enough to lift Cats Sacramento hitters strike out 17 times in 6-4 loss to Oklahoma City Kyle Blanks slugged a three-run blast in the ninth inning, but it was too little too late as the Sacramento River Cats (15-22) fell 6-4 to the Oklahoma City Dodgers (19-17) Monday night. Blanks came on as a pinch hitter with two outs and two on in the ninth and launched a moonshot home run to centerfield. The blast cut the deficit to two runs, but the Dodger's Brandon Morrow closed out the inning to give Oklahoma City the series opener. The Dodgers jumped out to an early 6-0 lead against the River Cats and starter Chris Stratton. Oklahoma City's starter Wilmer Font was perfect through six innings, ultimately striking out 15, the most by a starter against the River Cats in the team's history. Orlando Calixte ended Font's bid for a perfect game with a leadoff walk in the seventh inning. Austin Slater then singled to break up the no hitter and Chris Marrero drove in Calixte, giving the River Cats their first run of the night. Game two will feature Sacramento's Dan Slania (0-4, 8.79) against the Dodgers' Fabian Castillo (1-2, 5.63). First pitch is set for 5:05 pm (PT) and the game can be heard live online at rivercats.com and starting at 6 p.m. on the air on 105.5 FM. Postgame Notes Stratton's short start: Chris Stratton's 3.1-inning start was his shortest regular season start since April 21, 2015 when he lasted just three innings as a member of the Double-A Richmond Flying Squirrels. Font's excellent start: Oklahoma City's starter Wilmer Font retired the first 18 River Cats he faced of those 18 outs, had 12 strikeouts, three flyouts, and two groundouts went on to strike out 15 total, the most ever by a starter against the River Cats. In a pinch: Kyle Blanks hit his second pinch hit home run of the season the last came on April 16 at Las Vegas Blanks is 4-for-8 with two home runs and four RBI as a pinch hitter this year. Doubles: Third baseman Jae-Gyun Hwang doubled for the third consecutive game tonight leads the River Cats with 11 doubles this season. Looking for three straight: Sacramento has yet to win three straight games this season have won backto-back games on five different occasions. Ducks Down Squirrels to Even Series Richmond Three Game Winning Streak Comes To An End The Akron RubberDucks (16-18) muted the Flying Squirrels and snapped Richmond's three game winning streak on Tuesday morning with a 6-1 win at Canal Park. Richmond (16-21) out-hit Akron 7-6, but produced just one run, a solo homer off the bat of Dylan Davis in the seventh inning. Richmond will conclude the current road trip on Wednesday with the series finale at 10:35 a.m.
Richmond's Sam Coonrod made his seventh start of the season on Tuesday and got off to a hot start by striking out the side in the first inning. The righty needed only 12 pitches to accomplish the feat, but encountered trouble in the next inning. With one out in the second, Akron's Joe Sever lofted a bloop double into shallow right field. Coonrod then struck out the next batter for the second out of the inning and hit Mark Mathias. ToddHankins then drew a walk and Jose De La Cruz smacked a double to clear the bases for a 3-0 Akron lead. Coonrod ended the inning by striking out Tyler Krieger. The Squirrels threatened throughout the firstthree innings against RubberDucks starting pitcher Nick Pasquale. Miguel Gomez and Chris Shaw both singled in the first inning and were left on when Pasquale struck out Brandon Bednar. Pasquale also worked around a leadoff double to Hunter Cole in the second inning and a walk in the third inning. Pasquale labored through five innings, dodging trouble at each turn. The righty tossed 106 pitches in his five innings of work and did not allow a run. He walked three and struck out five to earn the win. Cameron Hill relieved Pasquale in the sixth inning and tossed three innings. Coonrod rebounded from the three-run second and retired seven consecutive hitters until he was touched up for another run in the fifth. Todd Hankins flipped a single to into right field to open the fifth inning and Juan De La Cruz followed with a walk. Krieger then executed a sacrifice bunt and Luigi Rodriguez lofted a sacrifice fly for a 4-0 RubberDucks lead. Coonrod struck out Chang again to end the inning and used 69 pitches in the first five innings. The sixth inning would be Coonrod's last as he struggled with his command to load the bases. Rodolfo Martinez entered to relieve Coonrod with the bags packed and just one out. Martinez struck out the first battertodd Hankins and then induced a fly ball to end the inning and close the line on Coonrod. The righty tossed 5.1 innings and allowed four runs on three hits in the defeat. Coonrod walked four, hit two and struck out seven. The Squirrels managed to get on the board with a run in the seventh inning. Facing reliever Cameron Hill, Dylan Davis muscled an opposite field homer over the right field wall to make it 4-1. It was the first Double-A home run for Davis. Martinez tossed a scoreless seventh inning for Richmond thanks to an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded. Christian Jones tossed the eighth inning and allowed a two-run homer to Mark Mathias to fall behind, 6-1. The Squirrels conclude their seven game road trip in Akron, OH on Wednesday morning at 10:35 a.m. Left-hander Matt Lujan (1-2, 5.93) will make the start for Richmond against Akron LHP Luis Lugo (2-1, 1.91). The Flying Squirrels return to The Diamond on Friday, May 19 with another Free Shirt Friday & Happy Hour. Flying Squirrels individual tickets, mini plans and group packages are on sale by contacting the Richmond box office at 804-359-FUNN or online at www.squirrelsbaseball.com Late Rally Falls Short, Giants Swept By 66ers San Jose edged in Monday matinee, 5-4 SAN JOSE, CA - San Jose's late comeback effort fell short in a 5-4 loss to the Inland Empire 66ers on Monday afternoon at Municipal Stadium. The Giants scored once in the bottom of the ninth and had the
potential tying run at third base with two outs before the Sixers closed out the win. With the defeat, San Jose (15-23) was swept in the four-game series and finished with a 1-6 record on their homestand. Gio Brusa (2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI) had a pair of run-scoring hits to lead the Giants offensively in defeat. Daniel Carbonell (2-for-5, 2B), Ryan Howard (2-for-4, RBI), Bryan Reynolds (2-for-5, 2B) and Dillon Dobson (2- for-4) added two hits apiece. San Jose out-hit Inland Empire by a 12-9 margin. The 66ers never trailed in the contest scoring twice in the top of the second against Giants starter Jake McCasland to take an early lead. Cody Ramer started the frame by drawing a walk before Brendon Sanger stepped to the plate with one down and launched a two-run home run to right. The homer, Sanger's second of the season, gave Inland Empire a 2-0 advantage. San Jose cut the Sixers lead in half with a run in the bottom of the fourth. Howard led off with a single before Dobson's one-out single put runners on first and second. Then with two outs, Brusa grounded a single down the right field line plating Howard to make the score 2-1. Inland Empire though got the run right back in the fifth against McCasland. With one out, Michael Barash singled and then immediately scored when the next batter, Jose Rojas, belted a double to deep left center. The 66ers pushed their lead to 4-1 with another run in the top of the sixth. Facing reliever Carlos Diaz, the rally began with a leadoff double from Sanger. After Diaz retired the next two hitters, Troy Montgomery lined a single into left bringing home Sanger to stretch the Inland Empire lead to three runs. The Giants rallied in the bottom of the sixth as back-to-back singles from Reynolds and Dobson put runners on first and second with none out. Two batters later, Brusa hammered a one-out double off the fence in deep left center to plate Reynolds. Following a walk to Matt Pare, Jonah Arenado delivered a sacrifice fly to center scoring Dobson to bring San Jose to within 4-3. Brusa, the potential tying run, advanced to third on the sac fly, but was stranded there when Jose Vizcaino Jr. struck out. After both teams went down quietly in the seventh, the 66ers scored a key run in the top of the eighth to extend their lead to 5-3. Diaz (3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO) walked Jordan Serena to start the inning before Sanger singled. After a Jake Yacinich sacrifice bunt advanced the runners, Diaz fanned Kyle Survance Jr. for the second out. However with Montgomery at the plate, Diaz uncorked a wild pitch allowing Serena to score for a 5-3 Inland Empire cushion. Still trailing by two runs, San Jose mounted a rally in the bottom of the ninth against 66ers closer Sam Holland. With one out, Vizcaino Jr. singled to left before a double down the left field line from Carbonell put runners on second and third. Howard was up next and he hit a sacrifice fly to right plating Vizcaino Jr. to trim the Inland Empire lead to 5-4. Carbonell, the possible tying run, also advanced to third on the play. Holland though induced the next hitter, Reynolds, to ground out to first on the first pitch of the next at-bat to quickly end the game. Inland Empire starter Jose Rodriguez (4-2) picked-up the win after tossing five innings with one run allowed. Rodriguez surrendered five hits, struck out six and did not issue a walk. Holland earned his fourth save of the year.
McCasland (0-4) was saddled with the loss for the Giants after yielding three runs (all earned) over the first five innings. The right-hander allowed six hits, walked four and struck out five during his 84-pitch outing. Notes * The Giants were swept at home in a four-game series for the first time since June 4-7, 2016 vs. Bakersfield. It marked only the third time San Jose suffered a four-game sweep at home over the last six seasons. * Three of the four wins by Inland Empire in the series came by one run. * The Giants have lost 13 out of their last 16 home games overall. * Heath Quinn was added to San Jose's roster from Extended Spring Training before the game. Quinn, the #7 prospect in the San Francisco organization according to MLB.com, went 1-for-4 with a double in his season debut on Monday. * In a corresponding roster move, pitcher Connor Kaden was placed on the 7-day DL. * McCasland's matched his season-high with five strikeouts. His four walks were a career-high. * San Jose manager Nestor Rojas was ejected in the top of the sixth inning for arguing a call at home plate. On Deck The Giants next travel to Visalia for a three-game set beginning on Tuesday night at Recreation Park. First pitch of the series opener is scheduled for 6:00 PM. Conner Menez (2-1, 3.73 ERA) is slated to start on the mound for San Jose while the Rawhide are expected to counter with Joel Payamps (2-0, 3.27 ERA). The game can be heard live on sjgiants.com with coverage beginning at 5:40 PM. Another GreenJackets Rally Falls Short Thirteen Hits Not Enough for GreenJackets Augusts, GA-The Augusta GreenJackets and the Lexington Legends combined for 28 hits Tuesday afternoon at Lake Olmstead Stadium. The game went to the Legends 6-4, dropping the GreenJackets to 12-25 on the season. The Legends jumped on top of the GreenJackets early on and took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first against GreenJackets starter D.J. Myers. They added a run in the third and another run in the fourth ending the day for Myers who allowed four runs off of nine hits in just four innings. With Sandro Cabrera on in relief for the GreenJackets in the fifth, Lexington added two more runs to go up 6-2. Cabrera went back out for the sixth and pitched a scoreless inning. Wilson Santos followed with two innings of shutout ball in the seventh and eighth in his GreenJackets debut and Jeff Burke threw a scoreless ninth to keep the GreenJackets within striking distance. Lexington got five and two thirds innings out of starter Travis Eckert. Eckert was solid in giving up four runs off of nine hits. He only gave up two of those runs and five of those hits in the first five innings. He ran into trouble in the sixth when Frandy De La Rosa homered with one out cutting the lead to 6-3. The GreenJackets fed off of that and continued to rally. Jacob Heyward followed with a single. With two outs, Ryan Kirby singled advancing Heyward to third. Brandon Van Horn followed with a double to score Heyward and make it 6-4.
Van Horn's double ended the night for Eckert who was relieved by Walker Sheller. Sheller got Cristian Paulino to foul out to third, stranding a pair of runners in scoring position. He returned and pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth and Grant Gavin recorded the save with a scoreless ninth. After an off day on Wednesday, the GreenJackets will be back in action Thursday night for game one of a four game series against the Charleston RiverDogs at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05pm. Garrett Williams (0-0, 0.00) will make his first career start on the mound for the GreenJackets against Brian Keller (3-2, 3.89) for the RiverDogs. The next game at Lake Olmstead Stadium will be Monday May 22 against the West Virginia Power. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05pm with the gates opening at 6:00pm. It is the first Taste of Augusta of the season as part of Feed Your Face Monday presented by Little Caesars and WRDW News 12 WAGT 26.