D-backs Farm Rumblings: Down the stretch they come

Reno Aces (Triple-A Pacific Coast League)

For the Week: 4-3
On the Season: 65-61
In the Standings: 2nd place in Pacific Northern Division; 7.0 games behind Fresno

Clarke just rolling along – Right-hander Taylor Clarke was fantastic Monday night in a 5-0 shutout win over Sacrmamento. Clarke went seven innings, scattered four hits and walked one while striking out two. Silvino Bracho and Albert Suarez came into to complete Reno’s third shutout of the season. Over his last five starts, Clarke is 4-0 with a 2.67 ERA, 21 strikeouts and seven walks.

Late drama – The Aces rallied for three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to beat Salt Lake 7-5 Thursday night. Trailing 5-4 entering the frame, Kevin Cron led things off with a home run, his 21st of the season, to right field. Alberto Rosario later drove in Rey Fuentes and Kristopher Negron with an RBI single to put Reno up by two runs. Bracho then came in and worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning to pick up his seventh save of the season.

Déjà vu? – Another rally, this one in the bottom of the ninth, gave the Aces an 8-7 win over the Bees Friday night. Socrates Brito knocked in Ildemaro Vargas with a double to pull the Aces to within a run with one out. Salt Lake reliever Miguel Almonte uncorked a wild pitch, which allowed Juniel Querecuto to score and then Cron knocked in Brito with a fielder’s choice to give the Aces another one-run win.

Game Winner! pic.twitter.com/1u6WDt5suE

— Reno Aces (@Aces) August 18, 2018

They’ve been everywhere, man – The Aces held a tribute to the great Johnny Cash Saturday night. Cash, of course, wove Reno into one of the most famous lyrics he ever wrote.

🖤 TONIGHT’S MERCH for a Tribute to Johnny Cash Night 🖤

✅ Jersey Auction at Section 1️⃣0️⃣4️⃣
✅ New Era #Aces10 Fitted in Team Shop pic.twitter.com/50dZmKwI4W

— Reno Aces (@Aces) August 19, 2018

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Jackson Generals (Double-A Southern League)

For the Week: 3-4
On the Season: 27-29 (2nd half)
In the Standings: Tied with Birmingham for 3rd place in North Division; 5.5 games behind Montgomery

Right where he left off – Right-hander Jon Duplantier combined with Tyler Mark, Michael Blazek and Kevin Ginkel on an eight-hit shutout in a 2-0 win over Montgomery Friday night. Duplantier allowed five hits and walked four over 4.1 innings, but the bullpen came in and allowed just three more hits the rest of the way. Since returning to the Generals on Aug. 1, Duplantier has allowed just one earned run over 16 innings.

Jon Duplantier for @jacksongenerals 👀
🔥 Tonight: 4.1 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 4 K
🔥 Past 4 starts: 15 1/3 IP, 9 H, 1 R, 8 BB, 9 K
Duplantier is the #Dbacks No. 1 prospect: https://t.co/QXr05IVtBq pic.twitter.com/uQejvsLCOJ

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 18, 2018

Nice start from a familiar face – Right-hander Barry Enright pitched his best game of the season, allowing seven hits and just one run while striking out seven over 6.2 innings in Jackson’s 4-3 win over Montgomery. The 32-year-old, who pitched in 24 games for the D-backs in 2010 and 2011, re-signed into the organization in mid-July. Enright also spent two seasons in the Mexican League, in 2015 and 2016, and compiled a 17-8 record with a 33.4 ERA over 215 innings.

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Visalia Rawhide (High-A California League)

For the Week: 4-2
On the Season: 26-30 (2nd half)
In the Standings: Tied with Stockton for 1st place in North Division; 3.0 games ahead of Modesto

Ellis and Bain influence a win – Third baseman Drew Ellis hit a two-run homer and right-hander Jeff Bain pitched five scoreless innings in Visalia’s 4-1 win over Modesto Tuesday night. Bain earned his third straight decision while scattering six hits, and walking and fanning five. Since being elevated to High-A in late July, the 22-year-old is 3-1 with a 2.86 ERA, a 1.23 WHIP and 14 strikeouts over 22 innings.

More from Drew – Ellis connected on a two-run shot for the second straight day and Visalia also got long balls from Marcus Wilson and Anfernee Grier in a 6-4 win over Modesto Wednesday night.

An ‘A’ for Anfernee – Grier’s solo home run with two outs in the top of the ninth inning lifted Visalia to a 3-2 win over Stockton Friday night. Grier, the D-backs’ top overall draft pick out of Auburn two summers ago, took Stockton reliever Andrew Tomasovich deep. It was Grier’s third home run of the season — all of which have come in his last seven games.

Smith getting right – The Rawhide pounded out 16 hits en route to a 13-2 thrashing of Stockton Saturday night. All the hits came from six players who each had more than a knock on the night. First baseman Pavin Smith went 4-for-5 with a double and four RBI to lead the way, while Ellis and Adam Walton each had three hits. Smith, last summer’s first-round pick out of Virginia, raised his batting average to a season-high .253 in the process.

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Kane County Cougars (Single-A Midwest League)

For the Week: 6-1
On the Season: 30-25 (2nd half)
In the Standings: 5th place in Western Division; 3.5 games behind Cedar Rapids

Southpaw shutout – Left-hander Franklyn Soriano pitched seven shutout innings and then handed things over to fellow southpaw Bryan Valdez for the last two frames in Kane County’s 5-0 win over Burlington Tuesday. Soriano allowed six hits and struck out six in earning his first full-season Class-A win. The 23-year-old started the season with Hillsboro and went 2-1 with a 4.08 ERA.

Working OT – Tim Susnara’s sac fly in the 10th inning scored Yoel Yanqui, giving the Cougars a 2-1 win over Quad Cities Wednesday night. Kane County starter Jayson McKinley was outstanding, allowing just four hits and one run while striking out eight in five innings of work. The bullpen trio of Luis Castillo, Carlos Hernandez and Kyler Stout combined on five innings of scoreless, one-hit relief.

Solid – Cole Bartlett allowed just one run over eight innings while striking out seven, helping Kane County to an 8-3 road win over Quad Cities Friday night. Bartlett, a 23-year old whom Arizona drafted out of Missouri in the 25th round in 2017, picked up his first win as starter in just his fifth pro start. His first 40 pro appearances all came as a reliever.

Kane County #Cougars pitcher Cole Bartlett shakes off bad start, settles into starting rotation https://t.co/IpzsVCxS7t@KCCougars #Dbacks @Dbacks @MizzouBaseball #mizzoubaseball

— Beacon News Sports (@BeaconNSports) August 15, 2018

Everyone gets a hit – The Cougars bested the effort of their Visalia brethren Saturday, rapping out 21 hits in an 8-3 win over Clinton. Yanqui and Yan Sanchez each had four hits, while Jose Caballero, Jancarlos Cintron and Jose Herrera each had three for Kane County.

#YourCougars clobber LumberKings in opener

RECAP: https://t.co/RkFjOUuP0v pic.twitter.com/EpolzWNPKa

— Kane County Cougars (@KCCougars) August 19, 2018

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Hillsboro Hops (Short Season-A Northwest League)

For the Week: 6-1
On the Season: 16-8 (2nd half)
In the Standings: 1st place in South Division; 4.0 games ahead of Eugene

Tabs on Tabor – Matt Tabor, the D-backs’ 10th-best prospect, was outstanding in a 3-2, 10-inning win over Tri-City Monday night. Tabor pitched five innings of scoreless baseball, allowing just one hit and one walk in the process. On Saturday, it was more of the same, as the 20-year-old right-hander went five innings, allowing just two hits with two strikeouts. Tabor has a sterling 1.23 ERA over his last five starts but doesn’t have a win to show for it.

Matt Tabor wasn’t fooling around tonight

5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K 👏👏#AllHoppedUp pic.twitter.com/DCTNQh4T9f

— Hillsboro Hops (@HillsboroHops) August 14, 2018

Yerzy red-hot – Andy Yerzy, the D-backs’ 15th-best prospect, had himself a night Sunday. The 20-year-old Canadian went 4-for-5 with two runs scored, two home runs and three RBI in the Hops’ 9-8 win over Salem-Keizer to complete a three-game sweep.

“I feel really good,” Yerzy told MiLB.com. “I saw the ball really well. I got some pitches I could handle and I’m glad I didn’t foul them back.”

Yerzy’s eight RBI were the most in the D-backs’ minor league system during the week.

💣 Andy Yerzy 💣
The #Dbacks‘ No. 15 prospect is 4-for-5 with 2 solo homers & 3 RBIs for the @HillsboroHops tonight, his 1st multi-homer game of the year. The 20-year-old catcher is hitting .303 with 7 home runs in 51 games this season. @Dbacks Top 30: https://t.co/QXr05Jd500 pic.twitter.com/pkbkBnje15

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 20, 2018

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Missoula Osprey (Rookie Pioneer League)

For the Week: 3-3
On the Season: 12-9 (2nd half)
In the Standings: 2nd place in North Division; 3.0 games behind Billings

Wrecking the league – Zack Shannon got things off to a quick start Saturday with a three-run shot in the first inning of Missoula’s 7-4 win over Orem. Shannon added an RBI-double in the third inning to boost his total to 48 on the season, which is the second-best mark in the Pioneer League. Only Idaho Falls’ Reed Rohlman (51) has more. The home run was Shannon’s 11th in 47 games, which leads the league.

Zack Shannon OPS watch: Shannon drives in another run in the 3rd with a double. Now hitting .348/.434/.659 for a 1.093 OPS. The only player with a higher OPS in the minors this year is Vlad Guerrero, Jr. who, um, you might have heard of. @ospreybaseball up 6-2, top 4

— Andrew Houghton (@AndrewH202) August 19, 2018

Zeroing in – Right-hander Denyi Olivero combined with Jake Polancic and Mailon Arroyo on a four-hit shutout during an 8-0 win over Orem Sunday. Olivero, a 20-year-old from the Dominican Republic, scattered three hits over five innings while walking one and striking out 10.

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DSL D-backs 1 (Rookie Dominican Summer League)

For the Week: 3-3
On the Season: 44-22
In the Standings: 1st place in Baseball City Division; 5.5 games ahead of Blue Jays

Alvarez update – Jhosmer Alvarez, a 17-year-old right-hander from Venezula was more than solid Monday night in an 8-1 win over the Orioles. Alvarez pitched five scoreless innings, while giving up five hits and striking out six. It was his fourth outing of pitching five innings or more without allowing an earned run. It was also the youngster’s first win since June 14.

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DSL D-backs 2 (Rookie Dominican Summer League)

For the Week: 2-4
On the Season: 22-44
In the Standings: 8th place in San Pedro Division; 25.0 games behind Rangers 2

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AZL D-backs (Arizona Rookie League)

For the Week: 5-1
On the Season: 9-5 (2nd half)
In the Standings: 2nd place in East Division; 1.5 games behind Cubs 1

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