Mariners Minor League Game Action Recap for September 1
Almost at the end of the regular season ... but Pulaski extended its season by sweeping its best-of-three playoff series. And a surprise pitcher popped up for Tacoma.
AAA -- Tacoma 10, Sacramento 9 -- Box
Well ... the schedule said the starter would be James Paxton (Talk40 #3), but instead it was ...
Danny Hultzen (Talk40 #4): 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Now that's good to see. Hultzen will head to the Arizona Fall League.
Then came Paxton: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
Given that Taijuan Walker (Talk40 #2) will only get three MLB starts, I would expect that Paxton might get a couple later in September, but we'll see.
The bullpen gave up a torrent of runs, but offense kept right on slugging:
- Stefen Romero (Talk40 #11): 2-for-3, 2 HR (his 10th and 11th), 2 walks
- Xavier Avery: the new guy went 5-for-5 with a homer (his fourth), a double and two singles
- Ty Kelly: the less-new guy went 3-for-5 with a homer as well (also his fourth)
- Leury Bonilla: the journeyman had his second homer in as many days after not hitting any for the entire season prior to that (odd, that)
AA -- Huntsville 7, Jackson 0 -- Box
The Generals wrap up their season Monday, and let's hope it's a better outing than this one.
Trevor Miller (26intheMix) gave up 6 ER in 4.0 IP. Chris Taylor (Talk40 #28) did get two more hits, to take him to 164 on the season.
Athletic but offensively challenged Cavan Cohoes got a taste of AA, taking the roster spot vacated by James Jones (Watch List), who was promoted to Tacoma. He Went 0-for-1.
High-A -- Lake Elsinore 11, High Desert 1 [7 innings] -- Box
High-A -- High Desert 8, Lake Elsinore 7 [7 innings] -- Box
Game 1 was not pretty and could have been ended after seven via mercy rule. No, there is no mercy rule, just seven-inning double-header games. Kevin Rivers got three hits.
Game 2 was much better for the Mavericks. At least for the offense.
Rivers homered, to reach an even 20 for the year.
Jabari Henry (26intheMix) also went deep (his 11th overall), as did veteran Patrick Brady.
Low-A -- Clinton 3 Cedar Rapids 1 -- Box
A pitching gem emerged from a tag-team of relievers:
- Lefty Blake Holovach: 3.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K
- Righty Mark Bordanaro: 3.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K
Both have struggled with getting hit and giving up walks, but they came together nicely as a starting combo.
They got offensive help from Gabriel Guerrero (Talk40 #16), who hit his third home run.
Short Season-A -- Everett 3, Spokane 2 -- Box
Nate Koneski pitched five scoreless frames, but the offensive help didn't come until after he was gone.
Koneski: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K
In the 8th, a two-run blast from Chantz Mack was key. It was Mack's second of the season.
Appalachian League Playoffs -- Pulaski 6, Bluefield 4 -- Box
The Mariners advanced to the championship series!
Pulaski Mariners anyway.
Eddie didn't exactly cruise, but he had the strikeouts going:
Eddie Campbell: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 9 K
And since I keep making all these "Eddie and the Cruisers" references, I might as well embed the song by John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band, the pseudo-Springsteen song very popular in 1983 as a result of the "Eddie" movie:
Our new favorite Aaron Barbosa had a triple, a single and a walk, while Gabrial Franca (Talk40 #30) had two doubles.
Looking Ahead
Victor Sanchez (Talk40 #12) will have one final chance to set his vector for Clinton. Then the season is done for everyone except Everett and Pulaski.