Minor League Recap - 5/18/07

Triple A - Las Vegas won 6-1

Tony Abreu - 4 for 5, 3B, RBI
Matt Kemp - 0 for 5, R, SB
James Loney - 1 for 4, 2B, R, BB, 2 K's

The 51's took advantage of 4 Portland errors and a brilliant outing from Eric Stults in this win. Stults, who had given up at least 6 ER in his last 4 starts, allowed just 1 run over 6 innings while striking out 7. He earned his 3rd win of the year. Abreu was the offensive MVP tonight, collecting his 5th multi-hit game in the last 10 and raising his average back to .360. He also collected his 5th triple of the season. Kemp stole his 4th base and Loney hit his 12th double. Delwyn Young got his 13th double of the season and is hitting .372 over his last 10 games. Vegas has two day games over the weekend with Portland, continuing tomorrow at 2:05pm.

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2007_05_18_lvgaaa_poraaa_1&t=g_box&did=milb


Double A - Jacksonville won 6-3

Chin Lung Hu - 0 for 3, R, 2 BB, K, SB, E
Xavier Paul - 1 for 4, R, 2 K's
Cory Dunlap - 0 for 1, 3 BB, K
Anthony Raglani - 0 for 3, K

Jon Meloan - 1.2 IP, Hit, ER, 2 BB, K

The Suns went 6 innings without collecting a hit, but Eric Cyr's strong performance kept them in the game. Cyr allowed just 1 ER on 1 hit over 6.1 innings, taking a 1-0 lead into the 7th. But Jon Meloan, had his 2nd difficult outing in a row, blowing his 3rd save of the season and Jacksonville saw their lead turn into a 3-1 deficit. But the Suns came back in the bottom of the 8th, as Juan Gonzalez and Xavier Paul singled, followed by a Dunlap walk to load the bases. Marshall McDougall doubled to tie the game, and after an intentional walk to again load the bases, AJ Ellis hit another 2 run double to put the Suns ahead. Wesley Wright came in for the save, allowing a single but no runs and striking out 2. Hu drew 2 more walks, giving him 10 on the year. Dunlap drew 3 and now has 16 in 31 games. Raglani and Paul struggled, and are hitting .289 and .244 respectively. Paul has just 4 hits in his last 6 games, while Raglani is 0 for his last 10. Jacksonville again hosts Carolina tomorrow at 4:05pm.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_05_18_cmcaax_jaxaax_1


High A - Inland Empire lost 9-8

Jamie Hoffman - 0 for 5, R, 2 BB, 2 K's
Lucas May - 2 for 5, 2 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB, K
Russell Mitchell - 2 for 7, 2B, HR (5), 4 RBI, R, 2 K's, E
Travis Denker - 1 for 2, K
Ivan De Jesus Jr - 4 for 5, 2 2B's, R, 2 BB, K
Blake DeWitt - 1 for 7, RBI, R, K

A 13 inning affair, the 66ers stayed in this slugfest by mounting a late comeback. They took a 3-0 lead early, but the Modesto Nuts (Hehe) chipped away by scoring 2 in the 2nd and another in the 5th to tie the game. The Empire took a 1 run advantage in the top of the 6th, only to surrender 4 runs in the bottom of the inning. Another Empire run in the 7th brought them within 2 and Mitchell's 8th inning blast put them ahead by 1. But Mitchell's fielding error was followed by a 2 out single that evened the score and sent the game to extra innings. Finally, in the bottom of the 13th, Modesto loaded the bases and took the game on a walk-off single. De Jesus Jr had his best game in recent memory, raising his average to .250 and his doubles total to 8. Mitchell hit HR #5 and double #15. May continues drawing walks, and is up to 16 on the season. DeWitt's batting average is creeping towards the Mendoza line, sitting for the moment at .217. The Empire can sleep in tomorrow, as their next contest with Modesto starts tomorrow night at 7:05pm.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_05_18_inlafa_modafa_1


Low A - Great Lakes won 9-2

Josh Bell - 1 for 4, 2B, RBI, R, BB, SB
Preston Mattingly - 1 for 5, 2 RBI, K, SB
Scott Van Slyke - 0 for 4, R, BB, K

An offensive explosion from the Loons is about as common as Juan Pierre hitting the ball on the ground, but I guess anything's possible. Clayton Kershaw was supposed to start the game but was scratched in favor of Cody White at the last minute. I dont know the reason but I expect Kershaw to make an appearance this weekend. It was back and forth in the first few innings, as the Loons took a first inning lead, gave it up in the 2nd and tied the game in 3rd. But Great Lakes scored a pair in both the 6th and 7th along with 3 more in the 9th to blow out Kane County. Bell stole his 2nd base and drew another walk, while Mattingly stole his 5th base playing his 2nd game at second base. Van Slyke had an off night but managed a walk. SS Francisco Lizarraga was a triple short of the cycle, while James Peterson and Eduardo Perez also had 3 hits including a HR. The Loons stay in Kane County over the weekend, playing tomorrow at 2pm.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_05_18_swmafx_kccafx_1