Farm Report: Dereck Rodriguez strikes out 10 in complete game victory

Triple-A: Syracuse Chiefs 3, Rochester Red Wings 2

Well this was a bit of a pitcher’s duel until the 6th inning, when both starters blew up. Seriously, all of the runs in the game were scored that inning. Unfortunately, though, Red Wings SP Aaron Slegers gave up one more run than Chiefs SP A.J. Cole, so the Red Wings lost.

The two runs the Red Wings did score were kinda lucky. SS Engelb Vielma scored the first run on a sac-fly by DH Matt Hague. Cole then threw two straight wild pitches allowing CF Zack Granite to reach third and score the second run for the Red Wings.

Overall, Vielma and Granite were the offensive starts of the game for Rochester too. Vielma went 3-for-3 while Granite went 3-for-4 with a double—the only extra base hit of the day for the Red Wings.

And hey, look at that: RP Michael Tonkin threw 1.1 scoreless innings, and RP Ryan Pressly threw a scoreless inning with three strikeouts (but did give up two hits).

[Box Score]

Double-A: Jackson Generals 3, Chattanooga Lookouts 2

The Lookouts were leading 2-0 going into the 6th inning, but that’s when RP Randy LeBlanc, allowing three runs to earn both the blown save and the loss. Maybe Jake Mauer should have left SP Ryan Eades in—he gave up only one hit in his five scoreless innings up to that point.

Top prospect SS Nick Gordon hit a solo home run, though, and 1B Jonathan Rodriguez went 2-for-3 with a double and two walks.

[Box Score]

High-A: Tampa Yankees 2, Ft. Myers Miracle 1 (Game 1)

CF Max Murphy hit a lead-off home run for the Miracle in the bottom of the first inning, but that was all the Miracle would score in the game. For what it’s worth, though, SP Brady Anderson did a good job for the Miracle, pitching 6 innings and giving up only four hits. The bad news is one of those hits was a two-run homer by Yankee C Francisco Diaz.

Murphy, overall, had a nice game at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a double, the home run, and a walk.

[Box Score]

High-A: Ft. Myers Miracle 2, Tampa Yankees 1 (Game 2)

The second game of the doubleheader was a gem for Miracle SP Dereck Rodriguez, son of Pudge, who threw all 7 innings and struck-out ten batters. He gave up only one run on four hits and a walk, which was enough to earn the complete-game victory in the doubleheader-shortened game.

D-Rod’s efforts were again supported by CF Max Murphy, who led off the 4th inning with a triple and scored the first run of the game on the following single by 2B Alex Perez. Perez scored the second go-ahead run after 1B Zander Wiel and DH Zander Wiel walked, and C Kevin Garcia grounded into a double play.

[Box Score]

Low-A: Clinton LumberKings 4, Cedar Rapids Kernels 1

SP Domenick Carlini struggled a bit for the Kernels, giving up all four LumberKing runs in his 5 innings of work. Though he gave up eight hits total, at least he didn’t walk anyone. Oh, and he had seven strike outs, too.

The offense just couldn’t get anything done, mustering only five hits in the game. The only one for extra bases was a double by C Ben Rortvedt.

[Box Score]

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