Minor League Ball Gameday, November 7th

League Standings

Game Recaps

Glendale 6 - Mesa 4

The normally reliable Mesa bullpen was torn to shreds by Corey Seager and Jared Mitchell. Seager finally put the Desert Dogs on the board in the 8th inning, down by four, by squaring it up 4-4 with a grand slam. That was the short stop's only hit of the night but he certainly made it count, also striking out once. Mitchell was 2-5 with the go ahead two-run home run in the 9th inning, also striking out once and was picked off first. Right fielder Brandon Jacobs was 2-5 as well with a pair of strike outs, a double, and a run scored. Catcher Chris O'Brien stole his first bag of the fall while going 1-2 with two walks and a strike out. Lead off man Marcus Semien was 1-4 with a walk and two runs scored to go with a strike out. First baseman Max Kepler made the only goof on defense with a fielding error, his third of the fall. Starter Michael Lorenzen continued to struggle, allowing three runs on four hits and a walk with a strike out in three innings. Kevin Vance followed with a clean frame, working around a hit and walk with a strike out. Jarrett Martin allowed a two out solo shot in his inning of work with two strike outs while AJ Achter struck out one while setting the side down in order. Yimi Garcia did the same in an inning of work without the punch out and Chris Bassitt earned the win with a scoreless 8th inning, allowing a hit while striking out two. Nick Wittgren came in and did his best Kimbrel impression, sitting all three batters down with strike outs to earn the save.

Mesa's offense did its job putting up runs, but the pen just imploded. They had a solid start from Blaine Hardy, going three innings while only allowing a hit and two walks with three strike outs and a pick off at first. Cam Bedrosian, Lendy Castillo, Armando Rivero and Robert Benincasa followed with scoreless innings each, though Castillo did allow a walk with a strike out, Rivero gave up a hit and walk with a punch out and Benincasa allowed a hit and a walk. That got them to the 8th inning when Corey Knebel came in to pitch. Up to this point Knebel had only allowed one run in six innings but that changed when he allowed four runs (three earned) on three hits with a strike out and a grand slam allowed in 0.2 innings. Mike Morin followed with 1.1 innings of relief where he took the loss as he allowed two runs on a walk and a home run with two strike outs. On offense, second baseman Taylor Lindsey went deep, his second of the fall in a 1-3 performance with a run scored, two RBI, a sac fly and a strike out. Line up anchor Kris Bryant was 2-3 with a walk, run scored, a stolen base and a punch out. Taxi-squad stand out Steven Souza was 2-4 with a double, RBI and a pair of strike outs. Short stop and lead off man Addison Russell knocked a double as well, his only hit in four at bats with a run scored and his third error of the fall.

Peoria 6 - Surprise 5

The Javelinas won their sixth game on the road this fall in dramatic fashion, scoring twice in the top of the 9th inning for the win. The biggest man in pro baseball, Japhet Amador, went deep to start the 9th and tie it up, his only hit in five trips to the plate. He also struck out twice. Center fielder Aaron Altherr knocked a pair of doubles and a single, scoring three times with one driven in and a stolen base in five at bats. Jonathan Meyer also had three hits but with two RBI and a strike out as well playing the hot corner. Designated hitter Cameron Rupp was 2-4 with two doubles, a walk, run scored and struck out twice. Catcher Jake Lowery reached base three times via two walks and a single with a sac fly and an RBI in five plate appearances. Lane Adams also drove in one going 1-4 with a walk and a strike out too. Starting pitcher Brandon Maurer had a so-so start allowing two runs on three hits and three walks with three strike outs in four innings. Dennis O'Grady came in and recorded another scoreless inning with a hit allowed. Angel Baez almost let it get away the next inning when he allowed two runs on two hits and two walks with a strike out. Southpaw Austin Wright also allowed a run on a home run and another hit in one inning before Andrew Robinson tip toed around a pair of hits for a shut out inning and the win. Dominic Leone got the save by not allowing a run in the 9th but had to work around two hits as well.

The league leading Saguaros got big days from a pair of Orioles prospects/Cuban imports and a guy named Mookie. Henry Urrutia and Dariel Alvarez both tallied three hits with Urrutia knocking in one with two strike outs and Alvarez driving in two. Second baseman Mookie Betts was 2-4 with a solo shot, a walk, two runs scored, a stolen base and was caught stealing as well. Designated hitter Jorge Alfaro was 2-4 as well, scoring once while third baseman Garin Cecchini was 1-3 with two walks, a run scored, and a stolen base. Catcher Michael Ohlman made the onle defensive miscue, allowing a passed ball and going 0-4 with a walk, a run scored and struck out once at the plate. Starter Taylor Jungmann put them in an early hole, allowing four runs on five hits and two walks in just 2.1 innings with one strike out and a hit batter. This was Jungmann's first start since 10/14 and the rust showed. Tyler Cravy followed with 1.2 scoreless innings, allowing two walks and a hit with a strike out. Lisalverto Bonilla made his AFL debut going two shut out frames with three strike outs and two hits. Nick McBride went 1.2 scoreless with a wild pitch and two hits allowed and David Goforth blew the save and took the loss, allowing two runs on three hits and a home run with three strike outs in 1.2 innings of work.

Scottsdale 7 - Salt River 4

The Scorpions jumped to a huge lead, putting up six runs by the time they made six outs. Catcher Andrew Susac was 2-3 with two walks, a homer, three RBI and a run scored. Lead off man Alen Hanson got on base three times, scoring twice with an RBI and two stolen bases. Center fielder Jarrett Parker was 1-5 with a triple, two RBI, a run scored and a strike out. Third baseman Kyle Kubitza knocked a triple and walked, scoring once in four trips to the plate with an error while Elmer Reyes was 2-3 with a walk, punch out, and an RBI. Designated hitter Cory Vaughn went 1-5, scoring once with a strike out. Addison Maruszak saw time at first last night, walking three times  with a strike out and two runs scored. Phil Irwin got the win allowing a run in 2.1 innings on three hits and two walks with two punch outs. Matt Benedict covered 1.2 innings, allowing a solo home run with a strike out. Vidal Nuno took the bulk of the duty, tossing the 5th through 8th innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits and a walk with four strike outs. The save went to Zack Thornton with a perfect inning.

The Rafters couldn't manage to guide their way back to the lead after falling behind early. Drew Hutchison got torn apart for the first time this fall, allowing six runs on seven hits (including a home run) and a walk with two strike outs. Dan Houston followed with a run allowed on two hits and a walk with a strike out in one inning. That would be the end of the scoring as the next five innings from the bullpen were scoreless. Two innings came from Mike Montgomery as he walked three and allowed one hit with a strike out. Merrill Kelly threw two innings as well, walking one and striking one out. Lee Stoppelman struck out two as he worked around a walk and hit in an inning. Jake Lamb stood out with an absolute bomb to right in the third. He finished 2-4 with a run scored, two strike outs and two RBI. Mike Freeman knocked a double, his only hit in four at bats with an RBI, a stolen base and a punch out. Kenny Wilson stole his 10th bag of the year, going 0-4 with a walk and a strike out and made the catch of the Fall on a fly to left center then doubling up the runner at second. Nick Ahmed and Andy Burns both finished 1-4 with a run scored and Burns struck out once. Catcher Derrick Chung was 1-3 with a walk.

Probable Starters

Mesa @ Glendale - 3:35 PM EST

Mesa - LHP Michael Roth (1-0, 17 IP, 14 H, 7 R/ER, 9 BB, 9 K, 0 HR, 1.31 GO/FO)
Glendale - RHP Jamie Walczak (2-0, 9.1 IP, 7 H, 4 R/ER, 6 BB, 11 K, 0 HR, 2.25 GO/FO)

Surprise @ "Peoria" - 3:35 PM EST

Surprise - LHP Miguel Pena (2-1, 19.2 IP, 18 H, 9 R, 8 ER, 7 BB, 13 K, 1 HR, 0.91 GO/FO)
Peoria - LHP Kyle Hunter (0-2, 13.1 IP, 22 H, 11 R, 10 ER, 4 BB, 9 K, 1 HR, 1.17 GO/FO)

Scottsdale @ Salt River - 9:00 PM EST on MLB Network

Scottsdale - RHP Aaron Northcraft (1-4, 13 IP, 19 H, 13 R, 11 ER, 10 BB, 15 K, 2 HR, 1.18 GO/FO)
Salt River - RHP Bo Schultz (2-0, 23.1 IP, 19 H, 7 R, 5 ER, 7 BB, 22 K, 0 HR, 1.56 GO/FO)

Winter League Standings

Mexican League

Venezuelan League

Dominican League

Puerto Rican League

Australian League

Los Linkos

****FanGraphs' David Laurila had a Q&A with Cardinals prospect and AFL participant Stephen Piscotty.

****Carson Cistulli also posted his weekly AFL recap with SCOUT leaderboards.

****Arguably the top overall prospect, Byron Buxton, has been pulled from the AFL with a shoulder injury.

****Scott Merkin spoke with Courtney Hawkins about his struggles this year in his first full season.

****The Pipeline Perspectives series debated who the better hitting prospect is. Jim Callis says Oscar Taveras, Jonathan Mayo goes with Nick Castellanos

****Bernie Pleskoff profiled Phillies relief prospect Ken Giles.

****Scott Weber at Lookout Landing reacted to the Baseball Prospectus Top 10 list of the Seattle Mariners.

****The Crawfish Boxes did the same with BP's Top 10 of the Astros.

More from Minor League Ball:

• Minor League Ball Gameday, November 7th
• Minor League Ball Gameday, November 6th
• Minor League Ball Gameday, November 5th
• Failure is not an option
• Minor League Ball Gameday, Fall Stars Edition
• Prospect Retrospective: Billy Butler, DH, Kansas City Royals
• How I became a Minor League Fan
• Minor League Ball Gameday, Nov 2: Arizona Fall League
• The Boston Red Sox and How I became interested in the minor leagues
• Brian Poldberg named new Omaha Storm Chasers manager
• Minor League Ball Gameday, Nov 1: AFL Edition
• Minor League Ball Gameday, Oct 31: AFL Edition
• How Matt Wieters and the Baltimore Orioles made me a minor league baseball fan
• Minor League Ball Gameday, Oct 30: Arizona Fall League Action
• Learning to love the game at Rosenblatt