Fish Farm Report: May 12th

Triple-A

Pacific Coast League

New Orleans Baby Cakes 4, Reno Aces 9

With 5,054 in attendance at Greater Nevada Field, the Aces of Reno (21-14) dispatched Odrisamer Despaigne and the Baby Cakes (12-22) by a 9-4 final count.

Despaigne took the loss by giving up five runs (four earned) over four innings on 10 hits and two walks for an in-game WHIP of 3.000. He struck out one batter, and earned a 20 GameScore by getting 57-of-88 pitches into the strikezone. Opposing starter Eric Jokisch (2-0, 7.03) earned the win by allowing two runs on five hits and a pair of walks over five innings.

K.C. Serna continued his hot start at Miami’s triple-A level by hitting three-for-four on the night to increase his average to .571. He also scored a run and knocked one in. Moises Sierra hit a pair of doubles, and Matt Juengel hit a double, a triple, knocked a run in, and scored twice.

Kelvin Marte tried to stop the damage by relieving Despaigne in the fifth inning, but ended up allowing three runs in two innings on four hits and a walk. Five of the six outs he recorded were strikeouts, as he got 26-of-37 pitches over the plate. Drew Steckenrider lowered his ERA to 1.59 by pitching a scoreless seventh inning, allowing only one hit.

Double-A

Southern League

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 3, Biloxi Shuckers 4

Biloxi (19-16) completed a five-game sweep of the Jumbo Shrimp (13-22) last night with 6,904 on hand at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.

Omar Bencomo couldn’t find the magic, earning no-decision after going six frames and allowing three runs on nine hits. He struck out five and finished with a 54 GameScore, getting 65-of-97 pitches into the strikezone. Greg Nappo (0-1, 1.00) took the loss, allowing an unearned run on three hits over the final two innings. He struck out a pair.

The game was punctuated with a little excitement in the seventh inning, when Shrimp manager Randy Ready was ejected for confronting homeplate umpire Brandon Butler. The argument ensued when, with the score tied at three, Johnny Davis threw out Alex Yarbrough trying to score from second on a John Norwood single.

Biloxi ended up winning the game on a Jacob Nottingham RBI-single with two out in the ninth.

David Vidal hit safely four times, raising his batting average 21 points to .331. He scored twice, hitting three singles and a double. Norwood hit three singles as well, and is now hitting .282 this season. The rest of the Shrimp, unfortunately, hit just two-for-23 (.087).

Advanced-A

Florida State League

Jupiter Hammerheads 6, St. Lucie Mets 2

Jupiter (15-21) earned the only win in the Marlin system last night with a 6-2 triumph over the St. Lucie Mets (15-21) in front of 577 at Roger Dean Stadium.

Trevor Richards (4-2, 2.55) struck out five over six innings, allowing a lone run on three hits and two walks. He delivered 58-of-92 pitches over the plate, earning a 68 GameScore. Tyler Kinley was the most impressive of the three relievers who followed, pitching a perfect eighth while striking out two.

For Jupiter, every batter save Angel Reyes collected at least one hit for the game, and the club combined to go 12-for-36 (.333). Reyes did contribute with a sacrifice fly RBI. Kyle Barrett hit two singles, walked twice, and stole a base, Brad Haynal hit a single and a double, scoring a run, Dexter Kjerstad hit two singles with a pair of RBIs and a run scored, and Brian Schales went two-for-four with a run.

Single-A

South Atlantic League

Greensboro Grasshoppers 1, Lexington Legends 3

There were 5,578 on hand at Whitaker Bank Ballpark to witness the Legends (14-21) put a stop to Greensboro’s (19-15) seven-game winning streak by a 3-1 final score.

Aaron Knapp and James Nelson each hit a pair of singles, but were the only Grasshoppers to finish with more than one hit.

Dustin Beggs (2-3, 1.85) took the loss, giving up three earned runs on six hits and a walk over four innings. He struck out three batters. Ben Meyer was impressive in relief, striking out six and allowing just one hit over three innings of work.

Minor Leaguer of the Day

Trevor Richards earns the honor of pitcher of the day with a 68 GameScore, just three hits allowed over six innings, and five whiffs.

David Vidal raised his average to .331 by going four-for-four from the plate, and is now ranked third in the Southern League amongst qualified batters.

Prospect Watch

#3 Brian Anderson grounded out in a pinch hit appearance in the ninth, and is hitting .234 this season for Jacksonville.

#8 Stone Garrett hit a double and scored to raise his average above the Mendoza line to .196 for the Hammerheads.

#9 Drew Steckenrider threw one scoreless inning of relief, allowing one hit.

#10 James Nelson went two-for-five to raise his average to .357 for Greensboro.

#20 Roy Morales went one-for-four with a walk, and is hitting .333 for Jupiter.

#26 Justin Twine went one-for-three with two walks, and is hitting .152 this season for the Grasshoppers.

#27 John Norwood went three-for-four with an RBI and is hitting .282 for the Jumbo Shrimp.

#30 Destin Hood struck out and went 0-for-5, dropping to .239 for the Baby Cakes.

Transactions

Over the last few days, shortstop Mike Aviles was assigned to New Orleans, Tomas Telis was optioned from Miami back to the Baby Cakes, the Helena Brewers traded SS Nick Noonan to the Cakes, and Miami then called up Aviles to the major league level.

Greg Nappo was sent down to the Shrimp from the Cakes yesterday, and Joe Gunkel, earlier recalled to the Marlins, was outrighted back to Jacksonville. Rehiner Cordova was also assigned to the Shrimp.

Yesterday, Horacio Acosta was assigned to Jupiter, and the Hammerheads granted Travis Ballew his release. Ballew was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 23rd round of the 2012 MLB amateur draft out of TCU. He’s posted a 21-19 record and a 4.30 ERA overall at five levels of minor league ball over six seasons.

Today

The Baby Cakes will play game three of their four-game series against the Aces at 9:35PM ET. They’ll put their money on starter Stephen Fife (1-2, 4.85) opposite Reno’s Frank Duncan (1-4, 7.22).

Jacksonville will begin a five-game stretch in Mobile against the Bay Bears. Severino Gonzalez (0-2, 3.28) will start against Alex Klonowski (1-2, 3.54) starting at 8:05 ET.

Jupiter will host the St. Lucie Mets in the final game of the three-game set. They’ll go for the sweep with Cody Poteet (2-1, 1.91) on the hill. Joe Shaw (2-3, 4.88) will start for the baby Mets.

After getting their seven-game winstreak broken against the Legends last night, the Grasshoppers will visit the Hickory Crawdads for the first game of a four-game series starting at 8PM ET.