Phillies Minor League Roundup - May 20, 2014

Lehigh Valley 3, Buffalo 2

Barry Enright - 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, K, 7 GB, 4 FB
Cesar Jimenez - 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, K
Ken Giles - 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K
Tyson Gillies - 1 for 4, 2B, K, CS
Tyler Henson - 0 for 4, 3 K
Maikel Franco - 0 for 4
Darin Ruf - 2 for 3, 2 2B, BB
Jim Murphy - 1 for 4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 K

Barry Enright out-duels top Toronto Blue Jay's prospect, Marcus Stroman, for the win. After trailing 2 runs in the, Jim Murphy would smack a 3 run homer in the top of the 4th (his 7th on the season and 3rd in the last 5 games). Darin Ruf was absolutely crushing the ball yesterday. I had the privilege to watch the last few innings of the game. Cesar Jimenez was dealing and Ken Giles' looked pretty darn good as well. He pitched a clean 8th before having to come out for the 9th to get the 2-inning save. He started the 9th with back-to-back walks. A sacrifice would move both runners up a base. Giles would then strike out the last two batters to end the game. Tyler Henson is starting to come back to earth and Maikel Franco is left off the scoresheet. Lehigh has off today.

Reading 4, New Hampshire 3 (12 innings)

Jesse Biddle - 6 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 K, HR, 4 GB, 4 FB
Nefi Ogando - 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, K
Albert Cartwright - 1 for 5, BB, 2 K, CS (throwing error)
Zach Collier - 0 for 2, BB, K
Brock Stassi - 3 for 5, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, BB, K
Cam Perkins - 2 for 5, 2B, 2 K
Sebastian Valle - 1 for 5, HR, 2 RBI, K (passed ball)
Aaron Altherr - 0 for 4, BB, K (outfield assist, home)

Jesse Biddle wasn't particularly sharp this time out, but does cut down on his walks. It was the fewest he had given up since April 23. Reading was losing 2-1 in the bottom of the 9th, but would receive a groundout-RBI from Valle to score Brock Stassi. Stassi had led off the inning with a single and moved to 3rd on a Perkins double. It wasn't looking good in extra innings when a Valle passed ball allowed the go ahead run to score in the top of the 12th. Who else but Stassi to deliver a 1-out two-run home run to end the game. Stassi (24 yr old) is seeing the ball really well right now. He is slashing .308/.396/.500 on the season (120 AB) and has more walks (17) than strikeouts (12).  It's also worth noting that Altherr saved a run with a throw at home, which would have put New Hampshire up 3-1.

St. Lucie 10, Clearwater 3

Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez - 2.1 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 5 BB, K, 3 GB, 2 FB
Luis Paulino - 4.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K, WP
Roman Quinn - 3 for 5, K, CS
KC Serna - 1 for 3, 2B, RBI, BB
Peter Lavin - 0 for 3, BB, 2 K (outfield assist, 3B)
Andrew Knapp - 0 for 4, 3 K
Brian Pointer - 1 for 3, R, BB, 2 K
Angelo Mora - 2 for 4, 2 RBI

Remember when I said it was going to be a long road for MAG? This just says it all. Everything I've read says he is so far from competing at a high level, that he likely won't make it to AA this year. Between the injuries and the layoff, the Phillies were smart in their assessment and handing him the smaller contract. Roman Quinn has his first 3 hits on the season, but is caught stealing for the first time as well. Andrew Knapp continues to struggle at the plate. Is his surgically repaired elbow hampering his swing? One day runners will realize not to try to advance an extra base when the ball is hit to Peter Lavin. He picks up his 12th outfield assist. Luis Paulino pitches in relief, though I'm not sure why they don't put him back in the rotation. Any insight on that, fellow prospectheads?

Lakewood 6, Rome 4

Julio Reyes - 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K, 4 GB, 4 FB
Cody Forsythe - 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 K
Carlos Tocci - 1 for 4, RBI, BB
Andrew Pullin - 1 for 3, R, 2 BB, K
JP Crawford - 3 for 5
Willians Astudillo - 3 for 5, R, RBI
Dylan Cozens - 1 for 5, HR, 2 RBI, K
Mitch Walding - 0 for 4, K
Wilmer Oberto - 1 for 4, R, 2B
Deivi Grullon - 0 for 2, R, HBP
Jiandido Tromp - 1 for 4, 3B, 2 RBI, K

Julio Reyes is put back into the rotation and has some fantastic results. He is a guy who has had success as a starter the previous season with Williamsport, but did have some issues with the free passes (30 in 63 innings). He looks to have cut that down dramatically so far. Carlos Tocci gets the leadoff spot, while Crawford hits 3rd in the lineup. Lakewood was leading the game 3-0 before Ulises Joaquin imploded for 4 runs in the top of the 8th. The Blue Claws would get one back in the bottom of the inning via a RBI single from Tocci. Entering the bottom of the 9th, Willians hits an infield single to bring up Cozens. All he would do was rip his 5th homer over the right field fence to end the game.