A rough rehab start for Michael Pineda. Spencer Steer looks ready for AA. A bad game all around for the Kernels. The Mighty Mussels don't have very mighty muscles.
OMAHA 6, ST. PAUL 1 IN ST. PAUL
The Storm Chasers scored four in the second to take a 5-0 lead.
Batting stars: Drew Maggi was 2-for-4 with a home run, his third. Willians Astudillo was 2-for-4 with a double.
Pitching star: Juan Minaya struck out four in three shutout innings, giving up three hits and three walks.
Opposition stars: Rudy Martin was 2-for-4 with a walk. Erick Mejia was 2-for-5 with a home run (his second) and three RBIs. Marcelo Martinez struck out seven in 5.2 innings, giving up one run on five hits and no walks.
Starter: Michael Pineda pitched four innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on four hits and three walks and striking out one.
Good stats: Jose Miranda was 1-for-5 and is batting .438.
Bad stats: Keon Broxton was 0-for-4 and is batting .147. Roberto Pena was 0-for-2 and is batting .192. Ian Gibaut gave up a run in two innings and has an ERA of 8.22. Pineda made his Saints debut and has an ERA of 9.00.
Record: The Saints are 23-27, tied for fourth with Columbus in the AAA East/Midwest, ten games behind Omaha.
WICHITA 4, AMARILLO 3 IN AMARILLO
The Wind Surge scored three in the ninth to overcome a 3-1 deficit.
Batting stars: Spencer Steer was 3-for-5 with a home run (his second) and two RBIs. Aaron Whitefield was 2-for-5.
Pitching stars: Jovani Moran retired all seven men he faced, striking out five. Ryan Mason struck out two in 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits. Zach Neff pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit and striking out one.
Opposition stars: Mikey Reynolds was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer (his third) and a double. Luis Frias pitched four innings, giving up one run on one hit and three walks and striking out three.
Starter: Bryan Sammons struck out seven in four innings, giving up three runs on two hits and three walks.
Good stats: Steer is batting .385. Wilbis Santiago was 1-for-4 and is batting .375. Whitefield is batting .304. Moran has an ERA of 1.74. Neff has an ERA of 2.00. Mason has an ERA of 2.77.
Bad stats: Peter Mooney was 0-for-3 and is batting .160. Sammons has an ERA of 6.49.
Record: The Wind Surge is 30-21, in first place in the AA Central/North, one game ahead of Tulsa.
QUAD CITIES 12, CEDAR RAPIDS 3 IN QUAD CITIES
The River Bandits led 5-0 after three and made it a blowout with five in the eighth.
Batting stars: Michael Helman was 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs. Edouard Julien was 1-for-3 with two walks.
Pitching star: Ryan Shreve pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits and two walks and striking out one.
Opposition stars: Jake Means was 3-for-4 with a triple, a double, a walk, two runs, and three RBIs. Jimmy Govern was 3-for-5 with a home run (his fourth) and five RBIs. Anthony Veneziano struck out eight in four innings, giving up one run on two hits and two walks.
Starter: Cody Laweryson struck out five in three innings but allowed five runs on six hits and a walk.
Good stats: Shreve has an ERA of 2.89.
Bad stats: Julien is batting .182. Helman is batting .193. Laweryson has an ERA of 5.40.
Record: The Kernels are 27-24, in second place in the High-A Central/West, seven games behind Quad Cities.
BRADENTON 1, FORT MYERS 0 IN FORT MYERS
The game's lone run scored on a foul sacrifice fly in the second inning. The Mighty Mussels had just two hits.
Batting star: Aaron Sabato was 1-for-3 with a walk.
Pitching stars: Brent Headrick struck out four in four innings, giving up one run on four hits and five walks. Steven Cruz struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up a walk. Osiris German struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk. Denny Bentley struck out two in a scoreless inning.
Opposition stars: Daniel Lopez was 2-for-4. Santiago Flores struck out seven in six shutout innings, giving up one hit and two walks.
Good stats: Headrick has an ERA of 2.81. German has an ERA of 2.84.
Bad stats: Nick Anderson was 0-for-1 and is batting .100. Will Holland was 0-for-4 and is batting .169. Willie Joe Garry, Jr. was 0-for-1 and is batting .171. Charles Mack was 0-for-3 and is batting .186. Sabato is batting .188. Justin Washington was 1-for-3 and is batting .191. Misael Urbina was 0-for-4 and is batting .191.
Record: The Mighty Mussels are 28-22, in third place in the Low-A Southeast/West, six games behind Tampa.
TODAY'S TILTS
3:30 Bradenton at Fort Myers (2 games) (Zarion Sharpe, 2-1, 6.75 and Sawyer Gipson-Long, 4-2, 5.55)
6:30 Cedar Rapids (Tyler Beck, 1-0, 2.25) at Quad Cities
7:05 Omaha at St. Paul (Charlie Barnes, 3-2, 3.94)
7:05 Wichita at Amarillo (Chris Vallimont, 2-3, 3.41)
Oofta
I really don't understand why he's still around. They obviously don't look at him as a possible big-leaguer--they've played Nick Gordon and even Rob Refsnyder in the outfield ahead of him. Is there no one at a lower level that they'd like to bring up? Is there no one on the waiver wire who'd be better roster filler? Nothing personal--he may be a wonderful fellow for all I know--but I really don't know why he's still in the organization.
He has a good glove. That's all I can think of that could separate him from player and spectator.
I remember hearing in the past that his exit velocity when he hits the ball is incredible. But I'm guessing he doesn't hit the ball very often.
When someone's batting .147 two months into the season, I'm not particularly interested in their exit velocity. And it's not like he has a track record of ever batting well.
Maybe the staff loves him because he is one of those "coaches on the field" type players.
Or maybe they dont want to spend money on another player
🤷♂️
I know he's not a big guy and still not hitting his weight.