November 9 Arizona Fall League Report
By Jay Blue
Game 1
March 07, 2012; Melbourne, FL, USA; Washington Nationals pitcher Matt Purke (50) pitches during the spring training game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Space Coast Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports
The Mesa Solar Sox defeated the Surprise Saguaros by a score of 9-4 on Saturday. Nationals prospect Matt Purke threw four solid innings, giving up two runs on five hits and two walks while striking out three. On the other side, Cleveland’s Will Roberts got shelled over his three innings, giving up two home runs among the ten hits that led to eight of the Solar Sox’s nine runs. Both bullpens were strong with Richie Mirowski standing out, throwing two shutout innings and striking out a pair for Mesa while Lisalverto Bonilla struck out three but walked two in his inning of work.
The Angels’ prospects had a great day with C.J. Cron had another good game for the Solar Sox, going two for four with a double and a home run, driving in three runs and catcher Jett Bandy also went deep, one of his three hits on the day and he also drove in three. Detroit’s Tyler Collins went three for five with a double and Oakland’s Addison Russell had two singles and a walk. For the Saguaros, Baltimore’s Henry Urrutia knocked one out of the park, going three for four with a home run and two RBI while another Baltimore prospect, catcher Michael Ohlman, also hit a home run for Surprise, his only hit of the game.
Game 2
In a tighter game, the Glendale Desert Dogs beat the Scottsdale Scorpions 3-2 in a battle of the ‘dales. Miami’s Andrew Heaney was outstanding for Glendale throwing five hitless innings, walking just one and striking out four. The Scottsdale runs came off of relievers Jarret Martin and Yimi Garcia in the seventh and ninth innings. The Desert Dogs racked up eight hits, including two from Miami’s Brent Keys and Danny Black while the Dodgers’ Brian Cavazos-Galvez hit the only home run of the game.
Scottsdale starter Adalberto Mejia (Giants) had a rough start, getting tagged for two runs in three and two-thirds innings while Matt Benedict followed to give up the third run. Atlanta’s Juan Jaime came on in the sixth to strike out two of the three batters he faced and the Mets’ Cody Satterwhite finished the final two innings of the game, giving up just one hit. The Scorpions had only three hits with a double and two walks coming from Atlanta’s Tommy La Stella.
Game 3
The Salt River Rafters rode the white water to another victory, beating the Peoria Javelinas 7-2. Tampa Bay’s Grayson Garvin had a strong start for the Rafters, throwing five innings and giving up seven hits but limiting the damage to just two runs while striking out seven. The bullpen held one with Lee Stoppelman of the Cardinals organization shutting the door at the end of the game, striking out the side in the ninth while walking one. For the Rafters hitters, the Toronto Blue Jays duo of center fielder Kenny Wilson and first baseman Andy Burns each had a pair of hits at the top of the order. Wilson had a particularly good game, scoring twice, stealing a base and racking up two outfield assists, throwing out runners and second and third. Both players drove in one of the Rafters’ runs. Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed also had two hits while the Cardinals’ Stephen Piscotty cleared the bases with a three-RBI triple in the bottom of the sixth inning.
For Peoria, Houston’s Matt Heidenreich got the start and gave up three runs (two were earned) on seven hits and two walks in four innings. Heideinreich’s organization-mate with Houston, Andrew Robinson gave up another three runs in the sixth inning while Seattle’s Dominic Leone was the only real standout pitcher for Peoria, striking out all three batters he faced in the eighth. The Javelinas scattered nine hits and played a lot of their bench, getting five subs into the game. Delino DeShields had two hits including a triple while Jonathan Meyer went two for two with a double and an RBI.