Dean Goes 4-for-4, Ard Hits Two Deep, and the Shrimp Drop 12 on Birmingham

Transactions

Kolton Mahoney was promoted from Batavia to Greensboro. Dustin Beggs was moved from Greensboro to Batavia.

Triple-A

Pacific Coast League

New Orleans Baby Cakes 4, El Paso Chihuahuas 2

Mike Kickham (1-1, 6.23) earned the win in a six-inning start, allowing a pair of earned runs on four hits and two walks. He struck out four Chihuahuas (54-59) before giving way to Brandon Cunniff, who struck out two in the seventh for his third save of the season for New Orleans (42-70).

The Baby Cakes scored all of their runs in the first inning, on a Cal Towey sacrifice fly, a Christian Colon RBI-single, and a Peter Mooney two-RBI-double. The outburst, which included all four of New Orleans’ hits through the game, was all the offense that they would need through the first game of the doubleheader. The Cakes went 0-for-18 from the plate after the first inning.

El Paso scored on a Kickham balk in the second and a Ryan Schimpf (15) home run in the sixth inning.

New Orleans Baby Cakes 5, El Paso Chihuahuas 1

Justin Nicolino (5-5, 3.19) started and won for New Orleans, to sweep the doubleheader and take the series, three-games-to-one. He struck out six and held El Paso scoreless through six innings, allowing five hits and a walk.

With 5,985 in attendance at Shrine on Airline for the twin bill, New Orleans was first on the board with third-inning sacrifice flies from Brian Anderson and Christian Colon, and an RBI-single from Ramon Cabrera to make it 3-0. The Cakes added another pair of runs in the fourth on an Anderson two-run-double. Peter Van Gansen hit an RBI-double in the seventh inning to prevent a New Orleans’ shutout.

Ramon Cabrera and Moises Sierra each collected a pair of singles for the Cakes, who are the only PCL team to have been officially eliminated from postseason contention.

Double-A

Southern League

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 12, Birmingham Barons 6

With 2,813 present at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville, the Jumbo Shrimp (51-62) doubled the Barons (44-68) by a 12-6 score, earning their third win in four games.

Dillon Peters (3-2, 2.89) earned the win, allowing three earned runs on seven hits and three walks in five innings. He struck out two. Andy Beltre whiffed five in two scoreless innings of relief.

Birmingham kicked things off in the top of the first with a pair of runs, scored on a Peters wild pitch and a Hunter Jones RBI-single. The Shrimp scored in the second on a Chris Diaz RBI-forceout, in the third on a John Norwood two-RBI-single, and in the fourth on an Austin Dean two-RBI-triple and a Norwood (16) two-run homer.

With a 7-2 lead, the Shrimp allowed Birmingham to score in the fifth on a Nick Basto RBI-groundout, but got it back in the bottom of the inning on a Taylor Ard (9) solo home run for an 8-3 lead.

Jacksonville scored three more in the sixth on a Norwood RBI-groundout and a Dustin Geiger (4) two-run homer. Ard (10) hit his second homer of the day in the seventh inning to give the Shrimp a nine-run lead.

In the eighth inning, the Barson scored on a Brett Austin (4) two-run shot and a Danny Mendick RBI-double, but that was all she wrote.

Dean ended up with a single, two doubles, and a triple. Ard added a single to his two homers, and David Vidal added a pair of singles as the Shrimp outhit the Barons, 13-to-11.

High-A

Florida State League

Jupiter Hammerheads 4, Fort Myers Miracle 5 (10)

The Miracle (60-51) completed a four-game sweep of the Hammerheads (57-53) in extra innings on Sunday afternoon with 717 in attendance at CenturyLink Sports Complex, finishing on top of a 5-4 advantage in 10.

Ryan Beckman (3-2, 1.33) lost in relief, striking out three in 2 ²⁄₃ innings, but allowing the walkoff game winner amongst his four hits allowed. Lukas Schiraldi tossed two perfect innings for the Hammerheads.

John Silviano started the scoring in the first inning for the Hammerheads, with an RBI-single to score Colby Lusignan for an early lead. It didn’t last long, though. Tanner English (7) hit a three-run shot in the bottom of the inning, followed by Zander Wiel’s (9) solo shot one batter later.

Jupiter chipped away at the 4-1 Fort Myers advantage with a Zach Sullivan RBI-single in the second, a Boo Vazquez RBI-double in the third, and a Lusignan RBI-double in the fifth to tie it at four. Wiel walked Jupiter off in the 10th with an RBI-single.

Jupiter outhit Fort Myers, 14-to-9. Lusignan hit a single and two doubles, and Silviano hit a double with two singles to lead the Sharks. Vazquez hit a pair of doubles, and Justin Twine and Chris Hoo each hit a single and a double.

Single-A

South Atlantic League

Greensboro Grasshoppers 7, Kannapolis Intimidators 0

A trio of Hoppers’ (59-50) pitchers shut out the Intimidators (58-53) with 4,613 on hand at First National Bank Field on Sunday morning.

Ethan Clark struck out five in 3 ²⁄₃ innings, allowing three hits and three walks but no runs. Kolton Mahoney (4-5, 3.42) earned the win, allowing one hit in 4 ¹⁄₃ innings of work, and Nestor Bautista struck out two in a perfect inning.

Greensboro struck in the second on a Rony Cabrera two-run-triple, followed by a Luis Pintor RBI-single for a 3-0 lead. Eric Gutierrez (4) hit a two-run shot in the third, Brian Miller added an RBI-single in the fourth, and Jarett Rindfleisch added an RBI-double in the fifth to make it 7-0, good guys.

Greensboro also outhit Kannapolis by the same margin, 11-to-4. Miller, Jhonny Santos, and Pintor each hit a pair of singles to lead the Hoppers offense.

Short-A

New York-Penn League

Batavia Muckdogs 2, West Virginia Black Bears 3

With 636 in the house at Dwyer Stadium, the Muckdogs (16-28) dropped a 3-2 decision to the Black Bears (27-19) on Sunday afternoon.

Colton Hock (0-1, 8.33) started and lost surrendering three earned runs on four hits and two walks in 3 ¹⁄₃ innings. Ryan McKay allowed a hit in 2 ²⁄₃ scoreless innings, Kenny Koplove struck out three in two hitless innings, and Vincenzo Aiello struck out a pair in an inning of work.

Bubba Hollins opened the scoring in the second when he stole home to give the Muckdogs a 1-0 lead. The Bears tied it in the third on a Tristan Gray RBI-single, then took the lead in the fourth on a Jose Barraza (2) two-run homer. The Dogs scored on a Hollins RBI-single in the sixth to get within a run.

Hollins led Batavia’s offense with two singles, the only Muckdogs’ walk, plus the only RBI and a stolen base. Thomas Jones (3) and Mathew Brooks (4) also stole a base each.

Rookie

Gulf Coast League

GCL Marlins 8, GCL Astros 6

The Marlins (17-18) defeated the Astros (18-16) by an 8-6 final at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches on Sunday morning.

Alberto Guerrero (2-1, 2.19) earned the win despite walking five in five innings, with four hits for two earned runs. He struck out four. Tyler Kolek walked four and allowed a hit in ²⁄₃ of an inning, for three runs to push his ERA to 29.45 in 3 ²⁄₃ innings since his return. He has walked 14 and carries a WHIP of nearly five on this extended rehab assignment. Javier Garcia earned his third save with 1 ¹⁄₃ perfect frames, with a strikeout.

Offensively, Albert Guaimaro and Jared Barnes each hit a single and a double, Elliott Barzilli hit a single and a home run for three RBI, and J.D. Osborne hit a two-RBI-double.

Dominican Summer League

DSL Marlins

Fish Stripes Top 30 Prospect Watch

#1 Trevor Rogers

#2 Braxton Garrett

#3 Brian Anderson went 1-for-4 with a walk, a run, a double, three RBI and a strikeout to drop to .292 batting fourth for the Cakes in both games of their doubleheader.

#4 Dillon Peters started for Jacksonville and won, allowing three earned runs on seven hits and three walks in five innings, striking out two and raising his ERA to 2.89.

#5 Tyler Kolek pitched ²⁄₃ of an inning for GCL, and allowed three earned runs on a hit and four walks. He’s at 29.45 for GCL this season.

#6 Merandy Gonzalez

#7 Brian Miller led off for Greensboro and went 2-for-5 with an RBI, improving to .313.

#8 Brayan Hernandez

#9 James Nelson

#10 Drew Steckenrider

#11 Jeff Brigham

#12 Cody Poteet

#13 Colton Hock started for Batavia and lost, allowing three earned runs on four hits and two walks in 3 ¹⁄₃ innings, striking out two. His ERA is 8.44 for the season.

#14 Thomas Jones batted second for Batavia and went 1-for-4 to improve to .192.

#15 Joe Dunand

#16 Riley Mahan

#17 Ryan Lillie

#18 Sam Perez

#19 Trevor Richards

#20 Brandon Miller

#21 Edward Cabrera

#22 Sean Reynolds batted fifth for GCL and went 0-for-2 with two walks, a run, and two strikeouts to drop to .231.

#23 Pablo Lopez

#24 Ricardo Cespedes batted second for Batavia and went 2-for-4 to rise to .237 for the year.

#25 Isael Soto

#26 John Norwood went 2-for-5 with a home run and three RBI to improve to .270 batting fourth for the Jumbo Shrimp.

#27 Austin Dean went 4-for-4 batting second for the Shrimp, improving to .316. He hit two doubles, a triple, drew a walk, and collected two RBI.

#28 Ynmanol Marinez

#29 Albert Guaimaro batted fourth for GCL and went 2-for-2 with two walks, two runs, an RBI and a double to improve to .239.

#30 Stone Garrett

Fish Stripes 10

The top 10 players (by user vote) not already represented in the “official” Top 30 prospects:

#1 Bryce Howe

#2 Ben Meyer

#3 Braxton Lee led off for Jacksonville and went 0-for-4 with a walk, a run, and a strikeout, dropping to .316.

#4 Ethan Clark started for Greensboro and struck out five in 3 ²⁄₃ innings, allowing three hits and three walks. His ERA dropped to 2.32.

#5 Michael King

#6 Mike Kickham started the first game of the New Orleans’ doubleheader and earned the win, allowing two earned runs on four hits and two walks while striking out four in six innings to improve his ERA to 6.23.

#7 Boo Vazquez batted fifth for Jupiter and went 2-for-5 with two doubles, an RBI, and a strikeout, improving to .293.

#8 Kyle Keller

#9 Cameron Baranek went 0-for-4 with an RBI and two strikeouts, dropping to .253 while batting third for GCL.

#10 Corey Bird led off for Jupiter and went 0-for-5 with a walk to drop to .333.

Later

10:30AM - DSL Braves (15-38) host the DSL Marlins (27-25).

Noon - GCL Nationals (21-12) host the GCL Marlins (17-18)

6:35PM - Scott Squier (4-6, 3.66) gets the start for Jupiter in their opener against the Charlotte Stone Crabs (53-57).

7PM - The Hickory Crawdads (51-62) will host the Grasshoppers in the first game of a four-game series.

7:05PM - Joe Gunkel (3-7, 4.78) will start for the Shrimp at home against the Barons.

7:05PM - Taylor Braley (0-0, 0.00) will start for Batavia at home against West Virginia.

8PM - The Baby Cakes will host the Albuquerque Isotopes (57-56) in the first game of a four-game set. Omar Bencomo (0-1, 4.50) will start for New Orleans.

Birthdays

None today.

Minor League History

Ryan Darr got the never-before-mentioned Diamond Sombrero by striking out six times in seven at bats for the Potomac Cannons in a 15-inning contest on this date in 2000.

Vote in the poll below if you think a player is too low or too high. It currently runs 240 Marlins deep, and is updated at least daily as players enter or leave the system. Players who are no longer considered “prospects” are not included.