Diamondbacks Minor League Recap 9/2/2021

The Diamondbacks Minor League affiliates combined for a 3-1 record

AAA: Reno Aces 16, Tacoma Rainiers 7

Reno quickly jumped out to a monster lead, turning 19 hits and 8 walks into 16 runs, as the team went 8 for 19 w/ RISP. Every starter in the Reno lineup picked up a hit in this game. Luis Frias was the main beneficiary of this overwhelming offensive attack, although he was able to limit Tacoma’s offense to 1 run in 5 innings despite a K/BB of 2/4. Meanwhile Tacoma starter Ryan Weber was not as effective as Reno got him for 10 runs in 3-plus on 11 hits and 2 home runs. At one point, Reno had a 12-1 lead and pretty much cruised from there.

Pacing the offensive attack was Henry Ramos, who went 5 for 6 with an RBI and 4 runs scored. Cooper Hummel and Ildemaro Vargas each homered in this contest, both coming off of Weber. On the prospect side, Alek Thomas filled up the stat sheet by reaching base 3 times, stealing a pair of bases, scoring a run and driving in a run while Seth Beer reached 4 times (2 hits, 2 walks) and scored 4 runs. The top 7 hitters in Reno’s lineup would score a run in this game.

AA: Amarillo Sod Poodles 6, San Antonio Missions 5

Brandon Pfaadt turned in another solid start, allowing just 1 run in 5 innings on 1 hit, 2 walks, and 5 strikeouts. If you want to have an idea of how ridiculous his season has been, that’s the 16th time in 19 starts this season he’s allowed 3 runs or fewer. As soon as he left the game, the bullpen crumbled in the 7th. Blake Workman got into some trouble, as he would allow the tying run to score and leave a mess for Mitchell Stumpo to clean up. Stumpo had a rare off game himself, allowing 3 more runs to score and putting Amarillo in a 5-2 hole.

Undeterred by seeing such a collapse, the Amarillo hitters quickly turned the tables in the next half inning. With 1 out, Geraldo Perdomo would hit a double to right to score Ben DeLuzio. It’s been a challenging year for Perdomo, but since returning to the Amarillo lineup on August 5th, he has put up a .293/.389/.451 slash over 95 plate appearances. It’s a welcomed sign after seeing him struggle as bad as he has between Reno and the majors this year. After a Stone Garrett walk, Buddy Kennedy and Dominic Fletcher would hit back to back singles to tie the game and put the go-ahead runner at 3rd with 1 out. After Kennedy was cut down at home, Andy Yerzy would single home Fletcher to give Amarillo the lead back.

With the lead back in hand, Stumpo pitched around a 2-out double to deliver a scoreless 8th inning. Blake Rogers would take care of the 9th inning, pitching around a leadoff single and stolen base by retiring the next three hitters.

High A: Hillsboro Hops 6, Eugene Emeralds 5

Hillsboro’s game would follow a somewhat similar script as the Amarillo game. Kyle Backhus would put up zeros through the first 4 innings and Ronny Simon’s 2-run single in the 3rd inning gave the Hops an early 2-0 lead. Things came undone for Backhus in the 5th. After getting the first hitter to ground out to SS, he would allow 4 straight singles and was pulled from the mound in a 2-2 game for Kyler Stout. Stout would give up a walk and a single that scored 2 more runs before retiring the final two hitters of the inning.

Hillsboro had some work to do offensively, but they were not done scoring. A fielding error opened the door for the Hops to score twice in the 6th. Blaze Alexander would walk before Tristin English and A.J. Vukovich would drive home the next two runs. Hillsboro would take the lead for good in the 7th. Nick Dalesandro and Axel Andueza would open the innings with singles and then execut a double steal to get themselves in scoring position. That proved to be a critical play as Leodany Perez’s bloop to center would plate both of them. An 8th inning homer would put a small scare in for the Hops, but the bullpen was able to get the final six outs without coughing up the lead nonetheless.

Low A: Visalia Rawhide 2, San Jose Giants 5

Visalia’s offense was shut down for most of the game and bad situational pitching from the Visalia bullpen cost them big time. Joe Elbis would put up zeros in the first 4 innings, but fail to retire the first two hitters of the 5th before getting pulled for Eric Mendez. Mendez would surrender a 3-run homer to Patrick Bailey with 2 outs, a backbreaking blow for sure. Josh Swales would allow a run in the 6th and 7th inning each that allowed San Jose to take a 5-0 lead.

Visalia would score twice in the top of the 9th, making the ending the game a bit more dramatic than initially anticipated. A leadoff double by Caleb Roberts followed by a throwing error and single allowed Visalia to perhaps make a run here as they now had the tying run ion the on deck circle. A couple groundouts took some of the starch out of the rally, but a 2-out walk by Ryan Bliss got the potential tying run at the plate in Tim Tawa. Tawa would ground out for the final out of the game though.