Luke Wortman & Mac Lyons | May 21, 2024
Table of Contents
The Colorado Rockies MiLB Week 7 Recap! The Albuquerque Isotopes faced the Sugar Land Space Cowboys, achieving a 2-4 record with notable performances from Sam Hilliard and others. The Hartford Yard Goats split their series with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. The Spokane Indians had a successful series against the Vancouver Canadians, and the Fresno Grizzlies dominated the Stockton Ports.
Albuquerque Isotopes
Series Record: 2-4 | Season Record: 14-31
The Albuquerque Isotopes squared off against the Sugar Land Space Cowboys this past week. Despite having reinforcements in Kris Bryant and Nolan Jones, (who are on rehab assignments), the team stumbled to only a 2-4 record this week.
Notable Performers:
Sam Hilliard: 28 PAs, .381/.536/.857 (1.393 OPS), 8 H, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 7 BB, 10 K, 1 SB
Aaron Schunk: 24 PAs, .286/.375/.524 (.899 OPS), 6 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 3 BB, 3 K
Coco Montes: 28 PAs, .577/.607/1.000 (1.607 OPS), 15 H, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 2 BB, 1 K, 3 SB
Drew Romo: 18 PAs, .500/.556/.688 (1.244 OPS), 8 H, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K
Geoff Hartlieb: 2.2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP, 0 BB, 6 K
Dugan Darnell: 2.2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.750 WHIP, 1 BB, 2 K
John Curtiss: 2.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1.000 WHIP, 0 BB, 1 K
Matt Carasiti: 2.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1.000 WHIP, 1 BB, 2 K
Recap:
As stated above, despite having Bryant and Jones rehabbing with the team, the outcome was not favorable. Unfortunately, Jones and Bryant combined to go 4 for 29 (.138 Average), with 11 strikeouts. While the rest of the team performed better, it was a down week for the team. While there were many lows this week, there were also plenty of positives to take away. Veteran infielder Coco Montes absolutely demolished the ball, hitting a ridiculous .577 with a 1.607 OPS. He’s now hitting a great .373 with 6 home runs this season. It’s clear that he should be in the majors. Fellow veteran Sam Hilliard has also kept up his dominant stretch this year, hitting 3 bombs with a .381 average this past week. Like Montes, it’s clear that Hilliard deserves a spot in the show. Infielder Aaron Schunk has hit the ball great this month while playing solid defense across the infield. While he didn’t get as many plate appearances as he usually receives, Drew Romo hit a great .500 with 1 home run. While some expectations were dampened over his offensive performance the past few years, it’s looking more and more likely that Romo can be the Rockies backstop of the future. He’s currently hitting a great .382 with 4 home runs.
Most of you who read these weekly recaps will not be shocked to hear that the Isotopes pitching contingent struggled once again. The starting rotation in particular had a very rough week. However, there were a few bright spots in the bullpen. Relievers Geoff Hartlieb, Dugan Darnell, John Curtiss, and Matt Carasiti combined for 9.1 innings of scoreless ball. It was especially nice to see Hartlieb and Curtiss pitch well after the veteran relievers had struggled for most of the season.
In terms of transactions, the team placed outfielder Jimmy Herron and infielder Connor Kaiser were both placed on the 7-day injured list. Reliever Blake Goldsberry was called up from Hartford and infielder Christopher Navarro was called up from the ACL. Reliever Matt Koch was called up to the show after a dominant start to the season.
Call-Up Power Rankings:
- Coco Montes – INF – 2024 Season Stats: .373 AVG | 6 HR | 26 BB | 38 K | 4 SB
- Sam Hilliard – OF – 2024 Season Stats: .325 AVG | 11 HR | 30 BB | 45 K | 10 SB
- Drew Romo – C – 2024 Season Stats: .382 AVG | 4 HR | 2 BB | 29 K | 2 SB
Looking Ahead:
This week the ‘Topes are facing off against the Salt Lake City Bees. The Bees are the affiliate team of the Angels and have a 19-25 record.
Hartford Yard Goats
Coming off a series in which the ‘Goats went 1-5, the team rebounded to a respectable series split against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. The highlight of this week was Carson Palmquist’s dominant 12-strikeout performance on Sunday.
Series Record: 3-3 | Season Record: 18-18
Notable Performers:
Yanquiel Fernandez: 23 PAs, .227/.261/.500 (.761 OPS), 5 H, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 SB
Sterlin Thompson: 19 PAs, .188/.316/.313 (.629 OPS), 3 H, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K
Ryan Ritter: 26 PAs, .333/.538/.500 (1.038 OPS), 6 H, 3 RBI, 7 BB, 5 K
Nic Kent: 24 PAs, .304/.333/.304 (.637 OPS), 7 H, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 4 K,
Adael Amador: 27 PAs, .136/.296/.136 (.432 OPS), 3 H, 2 RBI, 5 BB, 7 K, 3 SB
Connor Van Scoyoc: 5.0 IP, 3.60 ERA, 1.000 WHIP, 3 BB, 1 K
Carson Palmquist: 12.0 IP, 0.75 ERA, 0.833 WHIP, 4 BB, 16 K
Jaden Hill: 2.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.500 WHIP, 1 BB, 4 K
Brendan Hardy: 2.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP, 0 BB, 2 K
Angel Chivilli: 4.0 IP, 3.33 ERA, 1.500 WHIP, 3 BB, 7 K
Jarrod Cande: 5.0 IP, 3.60 ERA, 1.400 WHIP, 2 BB, 7 K
Mason Albright: 6.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.833 WHIP, 0 BB, 4 K
Recap:
The lineup has struggled over the past few weeks as Benny Montgomery, and now Zac Veen have hit the injured list. It also does not help that top prospect Adael Amador has struggled badly all season. The only two standout performers in the lineup this week were infielders Nic Kent and Ryan Ritter, who both played exceptionally well. Ritter showed improved plate discipline drawing 7 walks in only 26 plate appearances while Kent continued to hit the ball well.
If there was one main takeaway this week, it was the dominant performance by the pitching staff. The rotation led the team with 4 of the 5 dudes tossing great performances. Lefty Carson Palmquist threw 12 great innings, only giving up 1 run. His start on Sunday saw him strike out 12 batters, which is a Hartford record. After struggling to start the season, lefty Mason Albright has heated up as of late, with his 6-scoreless inning start being a solid example of this. The bullpen saw many solid performances led by Jaden Hill and Angel Chivilli. While Chvilli did give up a run in his three innings of work, he also struck out 7 batters.
Call-Up Power Rankings:
- Carson Palmquist – LHP – 2024 Season Stats: 1.84 ERA | 44.0 IP | 64 K | 19 BB
- Andrew Quezada – RHP – 2024 Season Stats: 3.03 ERA | 32.2 IP | 26 K | 12 BB
- Jaden Hill – RHP – 2024 Season Stats: 3.00 ERA | 12.0 IP | 19 K | 4 BB
Looking Ahead:
This week the Yard Goats will square off against the Portland Sea Dogs. The Sea Dogs have a 20-17 record this season.
Spokane Indians
Series Record: 5-2 | Season Record: 21-14
Notable Performers (Series Stats):
Dyan Jorge – 32 PA, .333/.344/.367 (0.710), 10 H, 7 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 7 SO, 2 SB
Braiden Ward – 29 PA, .393/.414/.607 (1.021), 11 H, 7 R, 8 RBI, 0 BB, 5 SO, 2 SB
Kyle Karros – 31 PA, .321/.387/.500 (0.887), 9 H, 5 R, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 7 SO, 0 SB
Robby Martin Jr. – 29 PA, .370/.414/.630 (1.043), 10 H, 8 R, 10 RBI, 2 BB, 6 SO, 0 SB
Bryant Betancourt – 23 PA, .444/.545/.889 (1.434), 8 H, 5 R, 6 RBI, 4 BB, 3 SO, 0 SB
Victor Juarez – W (1-1), 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 6 K
Zach Agnos – 2 SV, 3.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
Davison Palermo – W (1-1), 3.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Series Recap:
Spokane battled with the Vancouver Canadians in their second series against each other this season, even though the two teams were only able to play two of the six scheduled games back in April. The Indians were looking to spark their struggling offense against a Canadians team that they’ve had success against in the past, but Spokane didn’t find their offensive footing right away, even while they won a defensive battle on Tuesday by a score of 4-1 before falling Wednesday by a score of 6-2. The offense finally woke up on $10K Grand Slam Night, sneaking out a 7-6 victory, but the Spo weren’t able to maintain their run support and lost 7-3 on Friday. However, the offense remained resilient and came back to form for both games of Saturday’s double-header, winning 7-6 and hammering the Candians 17-1 in the game two. Spokane finished the series in thrilling fashion, winning a wild walk-off by a score of 10-9.
Dyan Jorge quickly erased the recent slump he’d been in at the plate when the series kicked off on Tuesday. Jorge went 3-4 and added a run, his first multi-hit game since May 3rd. Jorge would build off of Tuesday and return to the plate hot on Wednesday, going 2-4 and adding two RBIs before slowing down through Thursday and Friday’s games with just one hit through 10 ABs. Tuesday night, the Indians were helped by the long ball. Juan Guerrero sparked the comeback in the fourth inning when he sent the first pitch he saw over the wall in left field, and it wasn’t until Robby Martin Jr.’s two-run shot in the seventh inning did the Indians add some insurance to seal the win.
Victor Juarez earned his first win of the season in only five starts after shutting down the Canadians offense, touting a final line of 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, and 6 K. From the bullpen, the team got help from Braxton Hyde, Carson Skipper, and Zach Agnos, who combined allowed only three hits through 4.0 IP and gave up no runs. Agnos picked up the save, his fifth of the season.
Spokane couldn’t build upon Tuesday night’s win and lost on Wednesday by a score of 6-2. Once again, the Indians offense was held to only five total hits. Dyan Jorge’s double in the first inning brought Cole Carrigg home, but after that the offense went quiet until the fifth. Nick Bush was making his return to Avista Stadium where he hasn’t been since the 2021 season. Bush was making his first scheduled start on his rehab assignment; he hadn’t pitched since the 2022 season, missing the entire 2023 season with a shoulder injury. Unfortunately, the Indians weren’t able to build off of Bush’s solid work through 3.2 IP where he allowed six hits, one earned run, 2 walks and four strikeouts. The bullpen took over from there and Spokane used a total of five pitchers to get them through the game, but it was ultimately Felix Raimires’ rough outing in the seventh that cost them the game. Ramires struggled right away, allowing three of the first four batters he faced to reach before the Canadians poured on four runs.
Spokane bounced back after Wednesday’s loss and found the runs that had been alluding them for the past week. Bryant Betancourt jump-started the offense early in the second inning when he crushed a two-run shot to left center field, Betancourt’s second HR of the season. There was no shortage of hits on Thursday night either as four Indians players had multi-hit games, including Kyle Karros, who’d gone hitless over the first two games against Vancouver. Juan Guerrero stayed hot, finishing 3-4 and adding 2 RBIs.
On the mound, Mason Green got the job done and picked up his third win of the season. Through 5.0 IP, Green gave up only six hits, two earned runs, three walks, and six strikeouts, a season-high for him in that category. The Indians utilized the law offices of Agnos & Skipper to end the game, Skipper setting up Agnos, although Agnos’s outing wasn’t as clean as they usually are, allowing three hits and finally surrendering his first earned run of the season.
Friday night was a much different story, and the first time all season that Sean Sullivan—much like Zach Agnos—has looked human. Even though Sullivan would finish his six innings of work with seven strikeouts, he gave up six hits and six earned runs, two of which were home runs. The Canadians got after Sullivan in the third with a two-run shot and then piled on during the troublesome fifth inning where he allowed another two-run shot. If the stats are correct, then this is Sullivan’s first recorded loss since May 27th, 2023, against the Miami Hurricanes when he was still with Wake Forest. For Sullivan, going nearly a year without a loss is an incredible feat.
While the speedster Braiden Ward didn’t add any stolen bases on the night, he did crush two home runs, accounting for all of the Indians’ runs in the game. He had a solo home run in the sixth inning and returned to the plate to crush a two-run shot to right field. In one night, Ward was able to pass the total number of HRs he had last season, therefore, it was his first multi-HR game of his minor-league career.
On Saturday, the Indians played a double-header as part of the makeup from their series in April that was tarnished by the weather. If the offense seemed to be struggling before Saturday, once the day was over, those speculations went out of the window. The Spo started strong in the first game, getting runs early in the second inning thanks to Jesus Bugarin and Bryant Betancourt, and even after the Canadians took the lead, Betancourt crushed his second HR of the series, a solo shot. After the Canadians took the lead, the Indians would have to rely on a little luck to win the game, and they did just that when Braiden Ward drove in a 3-run, bases-clearing single, helped in part by a throwing error by Vancouver first baseman Glenn Santiago, that gave Spokane the walk-off win.
Chase Dollander worked through four innings and finished with a line of 6 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, and 6 K. All of Dollander’s four earned runs came with two outs in the fourth inning after he let five consecutive batters reach. Luis Amoroso came into the game for Dollander, and through 2.0 IP he gave the lead back to the Canadians on two hits and two earned runs, including one wild pitch. Davison Palermo entered the game and shut down the Canadians, securing his first win of the season.
Riding the high of their walk-off victory, Spokane didn’t let up throughout their second game on Saturday. The game was a lot closer than the box score reads, by the fifth inning the score was 2-1 before the Spo added four runs, adding the remaining 11 runs in the seventh inning. It was stat night for a lot of the Indians players: Robby Martin Jr., Juan Guerrero, and Braiden Ward each had three or more hits in the game and also three RBI, while Jesus Ordonez finished the game 4-5 with four RBI. It’s the first time Spokane has scored 17 runs in a game since April 27th of the 2023 season, a 17-8 victory against the Everett AquaSox. From the mound, Blake Adams returned to the win column, picking up his third victory of the season after going 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, and 5 K. The Indians offensive drought was long overdue for some much needed success.
The Indians finished their series against Vancouver with another thrilling walk-off victory and this time Kyle Karros played the hero. Spokane took an early 4-0 lead in the game thanks to Jose Cordova’s two-run double in the second inning followed by Robby Martin Jr.’s two-run shot in the third before the lead was extended to 7-2 in the sixth from Bryant Betancourt’s double that earned him his fifth and sixth RBIs of the series. Robby Martin Jr. is now tied for third in the Northwest League with 21 RBI on the season.
It was a bullpen game for the Indians who used a total of seven pitchers including Zach Agnos who pitched the eighth inning before exiting at the start of the ninth with what seemed to be some soreness in his throwing arm. Tyler Ahearn replaced Agnos and quickly gave up Spokane’s three-run lead, making the score 9-7 in favor of Vancouver. With the game tied in the bottom of the ninth, Karros embraced the heroics and crushed the first pitch he saw from Vancouver’s Johnathan Lavalee far beyond the left center field wall for the game-winning three-run home run. For Karros, it was his second home run of the season and first since April 13th against Tri-City. A storybook ending to an incredible series played by the Indians.
What’s Up Next Preview:
After going 5-2 and finding their winning groove against Vancouver, the Indians will go back on the road and head towards the coast to face off against the Eugene Emeralds. For the Emeralds and the Indians, it’s the teams’ second series against each other in the month of May, where Spokane went 2-3 over the weather-shortened series. For Spokane, hopefully the bats can stay hot and hopefully the anchor of their bullpen, Zach Agnos, is not held out of the lineup for a significant amount of time.
Fresno Grizzlies
Series Record: 5-1 | Season Record: 22-16
Notable Performers (Series Stats):
Braylen Wimmer – 22 PA, .409/.409/.545 (0.955), 9 H, 7 R, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 6 SO, 2 SB
Aidan Longwell – 23 PA, .429/.520/.714 (1.234), 9 H, 3 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 2 SO, 1 SB
Jake Snider – 22 PA, .474/.565/.737 (1.302), 9 H, 6 R, 6 RBI, 4 BB, 2 SO, 2 SB
Jason Hinchman – 16 PA, .333/.438/.667 (1.104), 4 H, 2 R, 6 RBI, 3 BB, 5 SO, 0 SB
Jace Kaminska – W (3-1), 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Welinton Herrera – W (3-1), 5.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
Isaiah Coupet – 5.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
Bryson Hammer – 2 W (2-1), 3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Series Recap:
The Grizzlies trekked over to Stockton for another series against the Ports, looking for the same results they had earlier this year against Oakland’s Single-A affiliate. Fresno started the series strong, earning wins on both Tuesday and Wednesday by scores of 3-2 and 7-5 before dropping Thursday’s game by a score of 13-1. Fresno quickly erased the memory of Thursday by winning 4-2 on Friday, 5-2 on Saturday, and taking care of business on Sunday as they always seem to, securing the 9-4 victory.
The Grizzlies returned to action after a hard-fought series against Modesto and picked up right where they left off, earning the win by a score of 3-2. Andy Perez and EJ Andrews Jr. got the Grizzlies started in the third inning, both knocking in runs, but the offense would seemingly go quiet from there until Jake Snider hit a go-ahead HR in the top of the ninth inning to give the Grizzlies the lead back.
Fresno’s pitching staff started off great courtesy of Alberto Pacheco and Welinton Herrera who each pitched great through 4.0 IP and 2.0 IP respectively, Pacheco only allowing two hits while fanning four, while Herrera allowed no hits and fanned three. Stu Flesland III got the Grizzlies into trouble and gave up the lead in the eighth inning, but after Snider’s HR, Bryson Hammer was able to come in and earn his first win of the season before he’d also enter the game late and pick up his second win of the season on Friday.
While Fresno and starting pitcher Bryan Perez got themselves into trouble early in the game on Wednesday, the Grizzlies didn’t stay down for long. While Fresno got on the board in the first inning thanks to RBI-singles by Jake Snider and Jason Hinchman, the Ports responded as Perez gave up hits to their first four batters in what would become a four-run first inning. However, Perez still struck out three of the final four batters, and that became a trend in a night where he would have 12 Ks. While Perez’s last two starts have proved troublesome—he allowed seven runs through 2.1 IP against Modesto—he proved on Wednesday night that he can recover from his early struggles. Perez would go on to earn the win and his 12 Ks are the highest for a single game this season for a Grizzlies starting pitcher.
Along with Hinchman and Snider, Aidan Longwell drove in two runs including a solo home run in the fifth inning in what would be a night where he went 4-5 at the plate. Snider finished with three RBIs while Braylen Wimmer also had himself a game, finishing 3-5.
While Wednesday’s game was a reason to celebrate, Thursday’s game was the exact opposite. The 13-1 loss is the highest number of runs Fresno’s allowed this season and it’s their worst loss since the 17-2 beatdown Modesto put on them on September 9th, 2023. The Grizzlies were dealt the most damage by Stockton’s third baseman Luke Mann who finished the night 5-5, 2 2B, 2 HR, and 6 RBI. Austin Emener and Jake Madden both had rough nights, Emener allowing 7 ER through 3.0 IP and Madden allowing 4 ER through 2.0 IP.
The score honestly should not have been as bad as it was, especially when the Grizzlies had 10 total hits on the evening. Their problem was hitting when it mattered as they went 1-for-9 with RISP. The only run they scored on the evening was in the seventh on a wild pitch that Caleb Hobson was able to reach home safely on.
Fresno looked to wash away Thursday night, and they did just that, winning by a final score of 4-2. Jack Mahoney didn’t do anything out of this world on the mound Friday, but he did control the game through his 5.2 IP, allowing 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, and 3 K. The game was deadlocked at 2-2 after Fadriel Cruz brought Fresno within one run courtesy of a solo shot to right-center field, and then Glenallen Hill Jr. saw his opportunity in the sixth inning and stole home after a Braylen Wimmer strikeout. The Grizz fought hard and scored two runs in the ninth inning, once again thanks to Fadriel Cruz who drove in a run with his second hit of the evening and also by Ben McCabe who added some insurance when he grounded into a double play that allowed Andy Perez to score.
Fresno continued their success on Saturday when they won by a score of 5-2, thanks in part to another pair of tremendous performances on the mound from Isaiah Coupet and Welinton Herrera. Coupet surrendered two runs early on the night on only two hits, but settled down from there as he went on to not allow another hit while fanning six batters. Herrera would eventually pick up the win, deservingly so after he had 3.0 IP, with 0 H, 1 BB, and 5 K.
The Grizzlies and Ports traded home runs early in the game, and Jason Hinchman sent a fastball over the middle of the plate out to left center field, a two-run jack and his first long ball of the season. Hinchman wouldn’t stop there either, driving in two more runs on a sac fly in the seventh inning and a double in the ninth that would give the Grizzlies some room to breathe. Hinchman finished 2-3 with 4 RBI, raising his season-total to 14 and his BA to .300.
Sunday was more of the same for Fresno as they took care of business and ended the series with a 9-4 victory, their tenth win over Stockton in 12 games so far this season. The Grizzlies jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, scoring seven of their nine runs through the first two innings, most of the damage being dealt once again by Jake Snider and Braylen Wimmer, both of which had multiple RBIs through their first two at-bats.
On the mound, Jace Kaminska dominated in his usual Sunday Special, delivering five strikeouts through six innings of work, allowing no runs, one walk, and only three hits during that span. Kaminska would go on to earn the win, making it his third of the season and tying him for the team lead in wins with Welinton Herrera and Isaiah Coupet. Kaminska’s ERA now rests at a staggering 1.26, the lowest among qualified starters for the Grizzlies, while his K% is now 28.5. The Grizzlies cruised through the rest of the game with a 9-0 lead until they gave up some late-inning runs to the Ports in the ninth.
What’s Up Next Preview:
Fresh off of their continued dominance against the Stockton Ports, the Fresno Grizzlies will be returning home to take on the Visalia Rawhide, the Single-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Fresno played a complete series against Stockton, they had smart at-bats, incredible pitching, and superb defense. With this under their belt, the team is looking to keep up their momentum heading back to Chukchansi Park.
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