2005 Arizona Fall League Daily: Games Of October 28

Edited by Chris Kline
October 29, 2005

Peoria Javelinas 7, Peoria Saguaros 0

Strong pitching and defense enabled the Javelinas to blank the Saguaros on Friday and record the season-series victory in the battle of Peoria.

The Javelinas have won all four games they've played against the Saguaros this season with three more to play.

Starter Steven Hammond (Brewers) set the tone for the Javelinas pitchers, going four strong innings while allowing just one batter to reach base. Pirates slugger Brad Eldred hit a leadoff single off Hammond in the second.

Padres prospect Rusty Tucker (2-0) picked up where Hammond left off in the fifth, tossing two hitless innings to pick up the win. Andy Mitchell (Orioles), Mike Flannery (Marlins) and Brian Wolfe (Brewers) combined to pitch the last three innings. No Javelinas pitcher recorded more than one strikeout, but did get opposing Saguaros hitters to ground into four double plays.

The Javelinas grabbed the lead in the top of the second thanks to George Kottaras (Padres). Kottaras delivered a bases-loaded single through the right side of the infield to score two runs. The Javelinas scored three more runs in the eighth, highlighted by an RBI double by the Mariners' 2005 first-rounder Jeff Clement. The visitors tacked on another one in the ninth.

The Saguaros struggled for most of the game, sending more than three batters to the plate in an inning four times. Brandon Moss (Red Sox) was the only Saguaro to reach base safely twice, on a single and a walk. Red Sox righthander Chris Smith (0-3) took the loss, allowing three runs on three hits and two walks over four innings.

Mesa 5, Grand Canyon 2

Brad Snyder and Ryan Garko (Indians) keyed a three-run seventh-inning rally as the Mesa Solar Sox topped the Grand Canyon Rafters on Friday afternoon.

Reds righthander Allan Simpson (4-0) continued his magic touch, limiting the Rafters to one hit over three innings to become the first four-game winner in the AFL. He struck out one and walked one. Righthander Bubba Nelson (Reds) tossed two hitless frames, working around a pair of walks to pick up his first save.

With the score tied 2-2 in the seventh, Grand Canyon reliever Ricky Barrett (Twins) walked Kody Kirkland (Tigers) and Kevin Howard (Reds). Snyder cleared the bases with a two-run triple to center field and came home on a single by Garko.

Snyder and Garko each went 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

Rafters starter Glen Perkins (Twins) allowed two runs on five hits, while striking out five and walking one in a five-inning no-decision. Logan Kensing (Marlins) and T.J. Beam (Yankees) contributed a scoreless frame apiece.

Garrett Jones (Twins) and Lastings Milledge (Mets) both collected two hits for Grand Canyon. Milledge belted his fourth homer.

Phoenix 9, Surprise 5

Andre Ethier (Athletics) and Andy LaRoche (Dodgers) kept swinging hot bats as they powered Phoenix over Surprise on Friday.

The game was a prototypical AFL slugfest in which all but three batters between the two teams had at least one hit, run or RBI. But the Scorpions stranded twice as many base runners, and all four of the hurlers they sent to the mound were hit hard.

Ethier hit a two-run homer off Scorpions righthander Jered Weaver (Angels) in the first inning to give the Desert Dogs an early lead. LaRoche delivered three crucial insurance runs in the eighth and ninth innings. Ethier went 2-for-4 and scored twice, while LaRoche was 3-for-5.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia (Braves) also had a productive afternoon, going 2-for-3 with a homer, a double and two RBIs. Jason Pridie (Devil Rays) chipped in a couple runs with a two-run triple in the sixth.

Devil Rays farmhand Brian Stokes (2-0) maintained his spotless record with five solid innings, holding Surprise to a run on six hits while fanning two and walking two. Doug Slaten (Diamondbacks) struck out the side in the sixth, but made things interesting by allowing three consecutive one-out singles to load the bases before punching out the last two batters.

Weaver (0-3) took the loss as he surrendered three runs on five hits and two walks over 4 2/3 innings. Three Surprise relievers combined to allow six runs on eight hits and a walk without recording a strikeout over the final 4 1/3 innings.

Courtesy of milb.com.