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Gunkel Sharp, Grasshoppers on the Verge

Fish Farm Report for September 3rd

By Kevin Kraczkowski
Tyler Higgins struck out five in two innings for the Jumbo Shrimp

Transactions

Mike Kickham was activated from the temporarily inactive list by the Baby Cakes.

Triple-A

Pacific Coast League

New Orleans Baby Cakes 3, Nashville Sounds 4

9,032 were in the house to see the Baby Cakes (55-82) lose their next-to-last game of the season to the Sounds (OAK, 67-71), 4-3.

Mike Kickham, fresh off the inactive list, tossed seven strong innings, allowing two runs (but only one earned) on seven hits and zero walks. He struck out four, earned no-decision, and dropped his ERA to 4.28. Keyvius Sampson whiffed two in a perfect inning of relief.

The Cakes spotted the Sounds a run in the second inning, then in the fifth, Eury Perez earned an RBI the hard way, taking a bases-loaded beanball from opposing starter Daniel Mengden to tie the game at one apiece. Moises Sierra followed that with a two-RBI-single for a 3-1 lead. Chris Carter (9) got one back by going deep off Kickham in the seventh.

Severino Gonzalez came on for the ninth inning save, and promptly gave up the game-tying run on Jaff Decker’s (6) moon shot to center field. Chris Carter added a two-out sacrifice fly later in the inning to put Nashville up by a run, then Raul Alcantara came on to close out the Baby Cakes with a 1-2-3 ninth.

The Sounds outhit the Cakes, 9-to-7. Eury Perez led New Orleans’ offense with a single and double.

Sounds strike again in ninth-inning rally

Double-A

Southern League

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 2, Pensacola Blue Wahoos 1

Justin Bour hit a first inning home run for the Shrimp (69-70), then Pensacola (CIN, 73-66) pitching shut down Jacksonville for the next eight frames with 8,046 in attendance at the Baseball Grounds.

Bour’s homer was one of only four hits in the game for the Shrimp, who were outhit, 6-to-4. John Norwood, Alex Yarbrough, and Cam Maron each pitched in a single.

Joe Gunkel (6-10, 4.92) started and won, getting the first 14 hitters out before surrendering a two-out single in the fifth to Jonathan Reynoso. Pensacola capitalized on Gunkel in the sixth, scoring on RBI-singles from Gabriel Guerrero and Josh VanMeter. Gunkel struck out three and allowed five hits and the two runs in six frames.

Tyler Higgins whiffed five in two perfect innings of relief, getting 22-of-29 pitches over the plate. After tomorrow’s season finale against the Wahoos, the two clubs will motor back to Pensacola for the first two games of their best-of-five divisional playoff, on Wednesday and Thursday.

Wahoos even playoff preview, top Jumbo Shrimp, 2-1

Advanced-A

Florida State League

Jupiter Hammerheads 7, Fort Myers Miracle 2

The Hammerheads (67-68) ended their season on a high note, defeating the playoff-bound Fort Myers Miracle (MIN, 75-60) by a 7-2 final in front of 1,718 at CenturyLink Sports Complex.

Pablo Lopez earned no-decision and surrendered two earned runs on six hits and a pair of walks in 3 1⁄3 innings. Javier Garcia (1-0, 0.00) earned the win with 1 2⁄3 innings of hitless relief work. James Buckelew (two whiffs), Ben Holmes (two whiffs), Jose Quijada, and Jorgan Cavanerio each tossed a scoreless inning in the sixth through the ninth.

The Hammerheads outhit the Miracle, 11-to-7, based mostly on a five-run fifth inning. Jupiter first scored on Gunner Pollman’s first homer of the season in the third inning, then Junior Arrojo crossed the plate on a Brady Anderson wild pitch in the fourth. The Miracle scored two in the bottom of the fourth to tie things up.

In the fifth, Isaac Galloway and Mason Davis greeted reliever Eduardo Del Rosario with consecutive singles, then Galloway stole home for a 3-2 Hammerheads lead. John Silviano hit a sacrifice fly, Justin Twine hit an RBI-single, then Pollman added a two-RBI-single to set Jupiter up with their five-run advantage.

Pollman, who hit .183 for the season and was correspondingly batting in the ninth position, had the best hitting stat line of the day for the Hammerheads. Davis added a double, Galloway added another single, and Joe Dunand hit a single and a double to join Pollman in the “two-hit club” for the game.

Galloway's run leads Jupiter to 7-2 win over Fort Myers

Single-A

South Atlantic League

Greensboro Grasshoppers 3, Hickory Crawdads 1

Michael King (11-9, 3.14) earned the win for the Grasshoppers (37-30) and put Greensboro in the driver’s seat for the second-half South Atlantic League Northern Division title. Simply put, if they win against the Crawdads (TEX, 37-32) tomorrow, they’re in. If they lose and the West Virginia Power (PIT, 38-31) also lose, the Grasshoppers are in. If the Power win and the Hoppers lose, then Greensboro goes home.

The Crawdads were eliminated from contention with the results of the day. Reid Anderson (1-11, 5.30) surrendered seven hits in 1 1⁄3 innings, for three runs to take the loss for Hickory. Chad Smith earned his seventh save of the campaign for the Grasshoppers, allowing a run on two hits and a walk in two innings. He also struck out two.

James Nelson started things out in the first inning with an RBI-double for a 1-0 Greensboro lead, then Brian Miller and Aaron Knapp added RBI-singles in the second to give the Hoppers a 3-0 advantage. The score would remain until there was one out in the ninth. That’s when Franklin Rollin and Brendon Davis hit consecutive singles off Smith to get the Dads on the board.

Each team collected nine hits for the game. Luis Pintor hit two singles and a double for the Grasshoppers, and Knapp added a second single to his total.

Pintor leads Greensboro to 3-1 win over Hickory

Short-Season-A

New York-Penn League

Batavia Muckdogs vs. Mahoning Valley Scrappers (postponed, rain)

Prospect Watch

Top 50 Prospects (according to ranker.com and Fish Stripes voters)

  1. James Nelson went 1-for-4 with an RBI and two whiffs for the Grasshoppers. He’s at .307. In 101 games with Greensboro this year, he’s slashed .307/.353/.455 with 31 doubles and 59 RBI.
  2. Dillon Peters awaits his turn in Miami’s rotation. He’s set to face the Washington Nationals on Wednesday.
  3. Brian Anderson has collected a hit in each of his first three major league games for the Marlins. He’s at .273 after 11 at bats, with two walks.
  4. Brian Miller went 1-for-5 with an RBI, a stolen base, and three strikeouts for the Grasshoppers. Since getting selected in the competitive balance round of the 2017 draft, he’s slashed .326/.383/.422 with 20 stolen bases.
  5. Trevor Richards is 12-11 this season between Jupiter and Jacksonville, with a 2.53 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. He’s set to face the Blue Wahoos in game two of the best-of-five later this week.
  6. Merandy Gonzalez closed out his time with the Hammerheads at 1-0, 1.11 over 24.1 innings. He limited opposing hitters to a .212 average and a 0.95 WHIP. Look for him next season with Jacksonville.
  7. Matt Givin tossed 23.1 innings for the GCL Marlins, and allowed one earned run. He struck out 19 and walked six, allowing 16 hits and holding opposing batters to .198, with a 0.94 WHIP. He may start next season with Batavia, but could possibly start in Greensboro.
  8. Ben Meyer was selected in the 29th round in 2015 out of Minnesota. This season, he separated himself from the pack with a 6-3 record between the Hoppers and the Sharks, going 6-3 with a 2.02 ERA, a 0.93 WHIP, and a .206 opp BA.
  9. Ethan Clark joined the Grasshoppers in the Adeiny Hechavarria trade, and has gone 3-2 with a 2.05 ERA in 11 starts for Greensboro.
  10. Braxton Lee also came over in the same deal, and slashed .290/.397/.357 in 59 contests for the Shrimp. He went 0-for-3 with a walk.
  11. Bryce Howe recently made his short-season-A debut with the Muckdogs. In 15 combined appearances between Batavia and GCL, he went 1-3 with a 1.45 ERA and a .216 opposing batting average.
  12. Austin Dean was limited to 60 games for the Shrimp, and slashed .283/.324/.429. He went 0-for-3 with a walk.
  13. Brayan Hernandez has hit .311 in 11 games with the Muckdogs.
  14. Braxton Garrett went 1-0 with a 2.93 ERA in four starts for the Grasshoppers before undergoing Tommy John surgery in June.
  15. Max Duval got a late start this season, but since joining the Grasshoppers has gone 4-0 with a 2.09 ERA in six starts. He’s struck out 38 in 38 2⁄3 innings, holding opposing hitters to a .197 average and a 0.85 WHIP.
  16. Kyle Keller spent the season with the Grasshoppers, and in 35 appearances went 2-0 with a 2.39 ERA, a .216 opposing BA, and a 1.09 WHIP. He whiffed 80 in 64 innings.
  17. John Norwood went 1-for-4 today. This season with the Jumbo Shrimp, he’s appeared in 134 games and hit .263/.338/.410 with 19 homers and 62 RBI.
  18. Michael Mertz quietly put up a 9-1 record with the Hoppers this season. He has a 1.82 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP, and a .180 OPP BA in 74 innings. He’s whiffed 78 and walked only 28.
  19. Colby Lusignan went 1-for-4 with a walk and a run. In 126 games between Greensboro and Jupiter this season, he’s hit .259/.327/.429 with 15 homers and 74 RBI. Unfortunately, he’s also whiffed 165 times, but he’s only a second-year player. Look for him to trim down the whiff-itis next season.
  20. Michael King went 11-9 with a 3.14 with the Hoppers this season over 25 starts. Not a strikeout pitcher, he’s limited his free passes to just 21 in 149 innings. He won last night’s game against Hickory.
  21. Joseph Dunand
  22. Albert Guaimaro
  23. Evan Beal
  24. Andy Beltre
  25. Trevor Rogers
  26. Corey Bird
  27. Sean Reynolds
  28. Yeral Encarnacion
  29. Riley Mahan
  30. Tyler Higgins
  31. Vincenzo Aiello
  32. Tyler Kinley
  33. William Cuevas
  34. Parker Bugg
  35. Ben Holmes
  36. Alberto Guerrero
  37. Jarett Rindfleisch
  38. Daniel Paulino
  39. Kolton Mahoney
  40. Dustin Beggs
  41. Osman Gutierrez
  42. Brian Schales
  43. Thomas Jones
  44. Evan Estes
  45. Marcus Crescentini
  46. Rodrigo Vigil
  47. Lukas Schiraldi
  48. Roy Morales
  49. Michael Donadio
  50. Pablo Lopez

Later

1:00PM - The Crawdads will try to play spoiler against the Grasshoppers in the SALLY regular season finale.

1:05PM - The Muckdogs will host a doubleheader against the Scrappers. Osman Gutierrez (1-0, 1.50) and Remey Reed (3-4, 4.34) will start game one and game two, respectively.

2:00PM - Victor Payano (4-3, 3.70) will take the “baby bump” for the Baby Cakes against the Sounds in the final triple-A game of the season.

2:05PM - Recently promoted James Needy (0-0, 0.00) will make his second start for the Shrimp opposite the Wahoos.

Birthdays

Jarett Rindfleisch turns 22 today. A ninth-round selectee in 2016, the catcher is hitting .242/.358/.358 for the Grasshoppers in 88 games this season.

This Day in History

In 1933:

In a Labor Day doubleheader, Joe Hauser, playing for the Minneapolis Millers in the American Association, slugged three home runs, raising his season total to 65, setting a new record in organized baseball.

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