Minor League Ball Gameday, November 10th

Hello baseball aficionado's. We have less than a week left in the AFL before the championship game. So far Mesa and Surprise have shown to be the powerhouses out west with Salt River trying to make a case as well. Who do you think is going to make it into the championship game? Yesterday we saw Andrew Heaney dominate the Scottsdale line up, Mesa destroyed Surprise starter Will Roberts and the night cap was highlighted by Stephen Piscotty knocking in three.

League Standings

TEAM	WIN	LOSS	TIE	GB
AFL EAST
Mesa Solar Sox	15	11	1	-
Salt River Rafters	15	12		0.5
Scottsdale Scorpions	10	17		5.5
AFL WEST
Surprise Saguaros	16	10	1	-
Glendale Desert Dogs	13	12	2	2.5
Peoria Javelinas	10	17		6.5

Game Recaps

Glendale 3 - Scottsdale 2

Even more stellar pitching was on display here with Glendale starter Andrew Heaney tossing five no-hit innings with just a walk and four strike outs. Their bullpen did allow a pair of runs, one of Jarrett Martin and one off Yimi Garcia who earned the save. Martin allowed two hits and a walk along with a strike out and wild pitch in his inning of work and Garcia hit a batter and allowed a hit. Kevin Vance and Craig Stem threw perfect three-up, three-down innings a piece with Vance striking out one. Right fielder Brian Cavazos-Galvez provided the thump, hitting a solo shot and also striking out once in four at bats. Brent Keys and Danny Black had the only multi-hit games. Keys knocked a pair of singles and stole a base with an RBI and a run scored. Black hit a double and single and came around to score once. Jared Mitchell was 1-2 with a walk, hit by pitch and a stolen base while Marcus Semien was 1-4 with a double and an RBI.

The Scorpions only managed three hits on the day with two walks, two hit batsmen and two runs to show for it. Elmer Reyes came around to score both runs, part of a 1-3 effort at the plate with a hit by pitch while manning third base. DH Tommy La Stella was 1-2 with a double and two walks. Right fielder Alex Dickerson got the only other hit, going 1-4 with a single. Left fielder Robby Hefflinger was credited with the only RBI as he went 0-3 with a sac fly. On the bump, Adalberto Mejia continued to struggle as he allowed two runs on five hits with a home run and two strike outs in 3.2 innings. He also plunked a pair of Desert Dogs. Matt Benedict allowed the decisive third run of the game in 1.1 innings, allowing two hits and a walk with a strike out. Juan Jaime and Cody Satterwhite took care of the final three innings. Jaime struck out two of the three batters he faced in an inning and Satterwhite threw two frames, striking out one with one hit.

Mesa 9 - Surprise 4

The whole Mesa line up pitched in to destroy opposing starter Will Roberts on the mound. CJ Cron continued his torrid pace, going 2-4 with a double, home run, three RBI, a walk and a run scored. The 7-8-9 portion of the Solar Sox line up went 8-15 yesterday with three RBI, six runs scored, a double, home run and three strike outs with a stolen base to boot. Catcher Jett Bandy contributed three hits, three RBI, a home run and scored twice from the nine spot. Tyler Collins had three hits as well, scoring twice with a double and two punch outs while right fielder Steven Souza was 2-5 with two runs scored, his 10th stolen base and a strike out. Addison Russell also had a two-hit day, walking once with a run scored, an RBI and a punch out. Matt Purke took the mound to start for Mesa, throwing four innings while allowing two runs on five hits, two walks and three strike outs, getting the win. Cam Bedrosian and Armando Rivero took care of a scoreless inning a piece with Bedrosian walking one and striking out one while Rivero allowed a hit and struck one out. Richie Mirowski struck out two in two perfect frames and Jeff Urlaub got rocked in the 9th, allowing a pair of solo home runs with a single and a strike out.

Surprise's starting pitching did not even give their offense a chance yesterday, putting them down by six after just two innings. Roberts lasted three innings, allowing eight runs on 10 hits with three strike outs and two home runs allowed. Tyler Cravy was brought in after and also allowed a run (unearned) on three hits and a walk with a strike out and a wild pitch in two innings. Lisalverto Bonilla made things interesting, walking two in one inning but striking out the side. Tyler Sturdevant, Keone Kela, and David Goforth finished it with an inning each. Sturdevant allowed a hit with a strike out, Kela allowed a hit and Goforth struck one out in the 9th. Henry Urrutia was the star, going 3-4 with a home run, two RBI, and a run scored while playing left field. DH Michael Ohlman went yard for a solo shot, his only hit of the night while also striking out. Jorge Alfaro had a tough night defensively, allowing a passed ball and committing a throwing error while goint 1-2 with a walk and an RBI at the plate. Brett Nicholas came on as a defensive replacement, slapping on the gear for the first time this fall. Travis Shaw and Tyler Naquin each smacked a double, walked and scored once. Shaw also struck out once. Third baseman Ryan Rua was 1-4 with three strike outs and Derrik Gibson tallied his third hit of the fall in 36 at bats.

Salt River 7 - Peoria 2

Salt River pitchers struck out 14 batters en route to a 7-2 win. Grayson Garvin started it off with seven strike outs over five innings, allowing two runs on seven hits and a walk. Dan Houston worked an inning, walking a pair and striking out one. Southpaw Kraig Sitton struck out two and gave up two hits in an inning. Henry Garcia struck out one in an inning and Lee Stoppelman struck out the side with a walk mixed in. On offense Stephen Piscotty drove in three, was hit by a pitch and tripled. Kyle Parker also knocked a triple, scoring once with a strike out as well. Kenny Wilson and Andy Burns set the table by each going 2-5 with an RBI and a strike out. Wilson scored twice, stole his league leading 11th base, and threw out two runners from center while Burns scored once. Short stop Nick Ahmed was 2-4 with an RBI and was picked off first. Jake Lamb and Mike Freeman each knocked a double and scored. Lamb also walked and struck out once while Freeman struck out twice and knocked in one.

Starting pitcher Matt Heidenreich kept the Javelinas close but the pen couldn't keep it that way. He allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits and two walks with three strike outs and a hit by pitch in four innings. Joe Wieland made his AFL debut, allowing a run on two hits with a strike out in one inning. Andrew Robinson really let it get away when he gave up three runs on a walk and three hits with one punch out in an inning. Alex Sogard and Dominic Leone didn't allow a hit or run in the final two frames with Sogard striking out one and Leone working around a walk to strike out the side. They were down 4-2 by the time they turned it into a spring training scorecard, substituting three players in as pinch hitters and one later as a defensive replacement. Center fielder Delino DeShields smacked a triple, singled, and struck out once in four at bats. Third baseman Jonathan Meyer was 2-2 with a double and an RBI before being lifted for Patrick Kivlehan who walked and struck out in his two trips. Right fielder Lane Adams was 1-2 with a pair of walks, a strike out and he also booted a ball in right. Chris Taylor was 1-4 with a double, strike out and a run scored.

Somewhat Probable Starters

There will be no games played today. Games will resume tomorrow afternoon, Monday the 11th with all three starting at 2:35 PM EST

Mesa @ "Peoria"

Mesa - TBD

Peoria - TBD

Salt River @ Glendale

Salt River - TBD

Glendale - RHP Stephen McCray (2-1, 17 IP, 12 H, 7 R, 3 ER, 8 BB, 8 K, 3 HR, 1.53 GO/FO)

Surprise @ Scottsdale

Surprise - TBD

Scottsdale - RHP Hansel Robles (0-1, 15 IP, 13 H, 4 R/ER, 4 BB, 15 K, 0 HR, 0.26 GO/FO)

League Leaders

HITTERS (min 40 PA)

CATEGORY		PLAYER	TEAM	POS
AVG	.410	Henry Urrutia	BAL	OF
OBP	.491	Andrew Susac	SF	C
SLG	.746	Kris Bryant	CHC	3B
OPS	1.182	Kris Bryant	CHC	3B
wOBA	.538	Kris Bryant	CHC	3B
wRC+	227	Kris Bryant	CHC	3B
H	36	Tyler Naquin	CLE	OF
R	20	Tyler Naquin	CLE	OF
2B	8	Mitch Haniger	MIL	OF
3B	3	Cory Vaughn	NYM	OF
HR	6	Kris Bryant	CHC	3B
RBI	19	Mitch Haniger	MIL	OF
SB	11	Kenny Wilson	TOR	OF
BB	16	Tommy La Stella	ATL	2B
	16	Richie Shaffer	TB	1B
K	4	Tommy La Stella	ATL	2B
	4	Wes Darvill	CHC	3B
ISO Power	.419	Kris Bryant	CHC	3B
Total Bases	50	Kris Bryant	CHC	3B

PITCHERS (min 10 IP)

CATEGORY		PLAYER	TEAM	POS
ERA	0.00	Chasen Bradford	NYM	RHRP
	0.00	Derek Law	SF	RHRP
WHIP	0.55	Zack Thornton	PIT	RHRP
Wins	4	Sammy Solis	WAS	LHSP
Hits	35	Will Roberts	CLE	RHSP
ER	20	Will Roberts	CLE	RHSP
BB	16	Jarrett Martin	LAD	RHRP
K	25	Grayson Garvin	TB	LHSP
	25	Alex Meyer	MIN	RHSP
	25	Sammy Solis	WAS	LHSP
K/9	14.66	Angel Baez	KC	RHRP
BB/9	12.19	Noel Arguelles	KC	LHRP
K/BB	11.0	Dominic Leone	SEA	RHRP
FIP	0.89	Nick Wittgren	MIA	RHRP
IP	28.1	Bo Schultz	AZ	RHSP
BAA	.085	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	RHSP
HR	6	Will Roberts	CLE	RHSP
SV	5	Dominic Leone	SEA	RHRP
Loss	5	Aaron Northcraft	ATL	RHSP

Links

****Sam Evans at Fish Stripes looked at the top five future power hitting Marlins prospects.

****Federal Baseball looked at Matt Purke with background info and quotes from him.

****The Charlotte Knights will host the 2014 Triple-A Championship Game at their new ball park.

****Corey Seager spoke with Josh Jackson at MiLB.com for a Q&A.

****Quinn Roberts and Cash Kruth teamed up for the Winter League round up at MLB.com.