Minor League Ball Gameday, Oct 27/28: Arizona Autumn League

Hello baseball junkies. Quite a game three out in St. Louis last night with the game ending on a run scoring interference call, Cardinals 5, Red Sox 4. I know for a fact I have never seen a game end that way. Hopefully John can chime in at some point with his thoughts, health permitting. Now, on to the prospecty goodness of the Arizona Fall League.

League Standings

Game Recaps

Salt River 20 - Peoria 0

Talk about a barn burner. The Rafters scored in all but two innings, and put up five in two different innings. They used 17 hits, nine walks and a pair of errors by Peoria to get to 20 runs. Second baseman Cristhian Adames went 4-5 with four runs scored, four RBI's, a double, home run, walk, strike out and his third error of the AFL. Catcher and nine hole hitter Dustin Garneau also brought the thump, hitting a pair of home runs, one being a grand slam, 6 RBI's, and one walk in six trips to the plate. First baseman Richie Shaffer had himself a day as well, going 3-4 with two walks, five runs scored, two doubles and two RBI. Right fielder Stephen Piscotty worked a walk and three singles in six plate appearances, scoring three times and getting caught stealing. Third baseman Andy Burns went 2-5 with two runs scored, a walk, RBI, stolen base and made his fourth error. Left Fielder Mike Freeman also pitched in a pair of doubles, scoring once, driving in two and he struck out once. Short stop Nick Ahmed also got in on the home run fever, sending a solo shot out with a walk and two runs scored in six plate appearances. On the hill, Salt River was just as dominant. Starter Bo Schultz threw five shut out innings, only allowing two hits and struck out five. Henry Garcia, Mike Montgomery, and Dean Kiekhefer each allowed a hit in a scoreless inning. Garcia had two strike outs and Montgomery struck out one. Cole White threw the 9th with a nice 20 run cushion, walking one, uncorking a wild pitch and striking out two in a scoreless inning. Peoria just couldn't get anything going at the plate and everything they threw found the barrell of Salt River's bats. Jason Adam started the game, allowing six runs on seven hits and one walk in four innings. He struck out three and gave up a pair of gopher balls along with two wild pitches. Mike Nesseth was the only Javelinas pitcher to not allow a run, walking one in a shut out inning. Noel Arguelles allowed two runs on two hits with two wild pitches and two walks in an inning of work. Carson Smith gave up five runs on three hits, three walks, a wild pitch and a home run allowed. Andrew Robinson also allowed five runs, but none of his were earned, giving up two hits, two walks and a home run. At the dish, second sacker Chris Taylor had a pair of singles and strike out in four at bats and also made his second error of the fall. Third baseman Jonathan Meyer also made an error, his third of the fall, and went 1-4 at the plate with two punch outs. Catcher Jake Lowery and center fielder Delino DeShields were the only other Javelinas to get a hit. Lowery was 1-3 and DeShields was 1-3 as well with a strike out.

Glendale 5 - Scottsdale 2

The Desert Dogs were in control from the start of the game, using three hits from Travis Mattair and a "Johnny Everyman" approach on the mound. Mattair had a pair of singles, a home run, two runs scored and struck out once. Third baseman Colin Moran was 1-4 with a double, RBI and a punch out while catcher Chris O'Brien went 1-2 with a double, walk and a pair of RBI's. Byron Buxton had a rough showing, punching out in three of his four at bats. Designated hitter Jared Mitchell worked a pair of walks, scored once and stole a base in four trips to the dish. Jamie Walczak got the start for Glendale, going two perfect innings with two punch outs. Jarrett Martin followed with two more innings, allowing a run on a hit and two walks with two strike outs as well. Chad Rogers, Edgar Olmos, Drew Hayes and Colby Suggs each threw scoreless innings of relief, with Rogers and Hayes allowing a hit with a strike out. Chris Bassitt finished it up allowing a run in the 9th on two hits and two walks with a pair of strike outs. Scottsdale just couldn't string together much yesterday. There were no Scorpions with a multi-hit game, but third baseman Kyle Kubitza did reach base twice with two walks. He also scored and drove in a run in four trips to the plate. Cam Maron and Aderlin Rodriguez were both 1-4 with a double and two strike outs. Second baseman Elmer Reyes also had a double, his only hit in three at bats. Alen Hanson was 0-3 but hit a sacrifice fly to get an RBI. Aaron Northcraft toed the rubber first for Scottsdale, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk in three innings. He allowed a home run and struck out three. Kyle Crick made his first relief appearance, throwing one scoreless innings with a punch out. Fred Lewis also had a scoreless inning with just a walk allowed. John Cornely pitched the 9th with two of three outs coming via the K

Surprise 6 - Mesa 1

Rangers catching prospect Jorge Alfaro was the big star in this contest, going 3-for-5 with a pair of RBI for Surprise. He is now hitting .432 in the Fall League. Cubs outfield prospect Jorge Soler was the highlight for Mesa with a double and a run scored. Surprise starter Miguel Pena threw four strong innings allowing one run with three strikeouts.

Probable Starters

No games Sunday folks. Be sure to check out our selection of fine clickables in the next section. Games resume Monday with all three kicking off at 3:35 PM. Salt River is at Mesa, Peoria is at Scottsdale and Glendale is visiting Surprise.

Links

****MLBPipeline has a ton of good stuff including Jonathan Mayo busting open the inbox, their Winter League roundup, and Jim Callis went over day 1 and day 2 of the WWBA World Championships.

***Andrew Ball at Beyond the Boxscore asks: should Carlos Martinez start for the Cardinals in 2014?