By Brian Waller, AngelsWin.com Columnist
Salt Lake Bees (8-4) The Bees continued their winning ways Tuesday night as they beat the 51’s 3-2 in front of 3,091 at Cashman Field. Brad Mills pitched 7.0 strong innings allowing only one earned run off four hits while walking three and striking out three. His 2012 ERA is a sparkling 1.38. I personally wouldn’t mind seeing him up with the big club considering how he has been pitching since spring training. David Pauley came out of the pen and pitched two innings, blowing the save but picking up the win. It was Ryan Langerhans who helped propel the Bees to victory as he went 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI. A day after pumping the dynamic 1-2 combo of Mike Trout and Alexi Amarista; the pair collectively went 1-for-8 with two strikeouts.
Next up: Eric Hurley takes the mound Wednesday night for the Bees opposite 51’s starter Joel Carreno.
Arkansas Travelers (4-8)The Travelers won a close one against the Frisco Rough Riders as they won 5-4 in front of 5,381 at Dr. Pepper Ballpark. John Hellweg pitched 7.0 innings giving up four earned runs off four hits and three walks while striking out six. Steven Geltz looked sharp out of the bullpen as he pitched 2.0 innings of one hit baseball. Outfielder Matt Long had only one hit in the game but it was a big one, a three run triple in the second inning that gave Arkansas the lead. Long also walked and subsequently stole second base, his fourth of the season. Jean Segura continues to struggle in 2012; he went 1-for-5 in yesterday’s game and has only 9 hits in his first 40 at-bats. Although the picked up the win, the Travs’ were just 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base.
Next up: Wednesday is an off day for the Travs’.
Inland Empire 66ers (7-5)After a comeback win the previous night, the 66’ers lost to the Modesto Nuts 3-2 in 10 innings at San Manuel Stadium on Tuesday in front of 1,742. 66’ers pitcher Nick Maronde pitched 7.0 strong innings allowing just one earned run on three hits while striking out four and walking only one. It was a nice “bounce back” game for Maronde who lasted only 4.0 innings his last outing, giving up five earned runs while walking five. Bobby Cassevah, Tyler Kehrer, and Bryant George would come out of the pen to pitch the final 3.0 innings giving up two earned runs off of three hits while walking three. As the Angels’ bullpen continues to struggle one has to think that Bobby Cassevah will get a shot with the big league club at some point this season. So far for the 66’ers he has pitched fairly well; in 5.0 innings he has given up one earned run, walked two and struck out four. Centerfielder Travis Witherspoon continues to play well for the 66’ers this season. He went 2-for-4 in yesterday’s game, with one of his hits being a triple. Witherspoon has always been a solid defender with great speed on the base paths but it appears that he is really figuring it out at the plate this season for the 66’ers. Second baseman Taylor Lindsey looks to be breaking out of an early season slump as he went 1-for-2 with a home run and a walk.
Next up: The 66’er and the Nuts will play the final game of the three game series tonight as Manaurys Correa will start for Inland Empire. The Nuts have yet to name a starter for the game.
Cedar Rapids Kernels (6-6) The Peoria Chiefs rallied in the later innings to edge the Kernels 7-6 at O'Brien Field in front of 587. The Kernels lead 6-2 after the top of the sixth inning, but the Chiefs scored one run in the sixth, three runs in the seventh, and one more in the eighth for the victory. The Kernels offense looked good as they appeared poised to take game two of the three game series. They got early home runs from second baseman Kevin Moesquit and first baseman Gary Mitchell. DH Matthew Scioscia had a solid game as he went 2-for-3 with one run and one walk. The offense was 4-for-8 with runners in scoring position but their timely hitting wasn’t enough to overcome the shaky pitching. Kernels’ starter Michael Clevinger only lasted 5.0 inning, giving up two earned runs off of six hits. Clevinger didn’t walk any batters but he had five strikeouts and had a lot of deep counts which made his pitch count rise fairly quickly. Jacob Negrete came on in relief and got rocked. In only 1.0 inning he gave up three earned runs off of three hits and a walk. Joe Melioris who pitched the 8th inning and Carmine Giardina who pitched the 9th would not fair much better as they gave up a combined four walks and two runs which would be all the Chiefs needed.
Next up: Ryan Crowley will take the mound tonight for the Kernels opposite Chiefs’ hurler Jose Rosario in the final game of the three game series.
4/17/12 Box Score
AngelsWin.com Top 10 Prospects
1. Mike Trout (CF) (AAA) ..... 1-4, 1 Run. Hitting .407
2. Garrett Richards (RHP) (AAA) ..... 2-0, 2.14 ERA – 21 K’s in 21 IP. 0.76 WHIP
3. Jean Segura (SS) (AA) ..... 1-5. Hitting .239
4. John Hellweg (RHP) (AA) ..... 7.0 IP, 4 ER, 3 BB, 6 K’s on Tuesday. ERA stands at 3.71.
5. C. J. Cron (1B) (A+) ..... 1-4, 1 RBI. Hitting .277.
6. Taylor Lindsey (2B) (A+) ..... 1-2, 1 HR, 1 RBI. Hitting .225
7. Matt Shoemaker (RHP) (AAA) ..... 2-0, 3.26 ERA.
8. Luis Jimenez (3B) (AAA) ..... Did not play. Hitting .294.
9. Kole Calhoun (OF) (AAA) ..... 1-4. Hitting .288
10. Kaleb Cowart (3B) (A) ..... Did not play. Batting .349.