The Arizona Diamondbacks' minor league affiliates combined for a 2-2 record on Sunday. Here's a recap of all the action.
The Aces scored seven runs in the first two innings and never looked back in this game. All nine starters in the lineup recorded at least one base hit.
Blaze Alexander did the most damage out of the five hole. Alexander doubled twice, singled, and drove home three runs. He's now batting .284 with a .892 OPS in 54 games with Reno this season.
The early offensive barrage made Casey Kelly a winner, picking up his first win of the year. Kelly allowed three runs on six hits but struck out five in five innings.
The patchwork bullpen for the Aces limited the damage to just one run over the final four innings. Yilber Díaz completed a scoreless inning, but still walked two hitters and didn't record a strikeout. The organization appears to be shortening him up, as he's thrown no more than 37 pitches in an outing since returning to Reno.
Amarillo caught a break in the top of the ninth inning when Naturals' right fielder Diego Hernandez overran a Tommy Troy fly ball. While the tying run would have scored anyway, with Jose Fernandez on third, it put the go-ahead run on base. LuJames Groover singled through the right side to bring home Troy.
That sequence of events saved Alfred Morillo, who allowed Northwest Arkansas to take the lead in the previous half inning. Inheriting a 5-4 lead, Morillo gave up a double, two singles, and a stolen base in the bottom of the eighth.
Roman Angelo served up two home runs, allowing four runs in six innings with nine strikeouts. The strikeout total matched his season-high, previously doing so on May 25 at Corpus Christi.
Groover reached in all five plate appearances, with two singles, two walks, and a hit-by-pitch.
Despite being gifted seven walks in the game, the Hops were unable to make much of it. They went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine on base. Slade Caldwell drew three of those walks. Ryan Waldschmidt went 1-for-5 with a stolen base.
Lorenzo Encarnacion had allowed just one baserunner in the first two innings, but the wheels fell off in the third. Encarnacion allowed three straight singles, threw a wild pitch for the second run, then surrendered a three-run home run. Following another walk, he was lifted for Victor Morales with two outs in the inning.
The Hillsboro bullpen pitched scoreless baseball for the final 6.1 innings. Nate Savino continues to put up zeros, with two more strikeouts in two scoreless frames.
Visalia outhit Fresno 5-3, but that did not show up on the scoreboard. Two of Fresno's three hits left the ballpark, and the Rawhide walked seven hitters.
Erick Reynoso allowed three runs in five innings, surrendering all three on the long ball. Logan Mercado struggled to throw the ball over the plate, walking four in the sixth and watching another runner score on a hit-by-pitch.
Visalia didn't get any runs home until the bottom of the ninth. Three of their five singles came in the inning, but a pop-up and a double play ball ended the threat with the tying run stranded in the on-deck circle.
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