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| Mario Vásquez |
Vásquez has been San Diego's first-half MVP. In a season that has seen star first baseman Miguel Angel Ortíz struggle, that has seen Cornel Pîrcalab suffer a career-ending injury, and that has seen last year's sensation Steve Cherry struggle and fall victim to injury—in short, in a season in which the Hops offense has been ravaged by bad luck and injury, Vásquez has managed to rise to the occasion and keep things afloat. He comes into today's game with a .347 average and a .929 OPS, both team bests. Despite the bad luck, San Diego trails Montreal by only 3 1/2 games in the standings.
Today, Vásquez goes 4-for-4, doubling three times, scoring three times, and driving in two runs. Jason Bolyard (6-6) pitches 7 1/3 innings, allowing just two earned runs. Most impressively, Bolyard and reliever Aurelio Mata combine to hold Tom Becker hitless: Horseface goes 0-for-5 with three strikeouts.
July 1: Jersey 7, South Carolina 8. South Carolina comes back in dramatic fashion. They go into the bottom of the ninth, trailing, 7-4. An error, a single, and a double score one run and leave runners on second and third for weak-hitting Mario Antonio. Antonio (whose .245 average hides the fact that he rarely walks and has no power) grounds a single through the left-side hole. Miguel Torres and Gunner Smart come home to score the tying runs. However, the Bombers are unable to score the winning run, despite loading the bases with nobody out.
In the 13th, a Jersey error again triggers a Bomber rally. An error, a double, and an intentional walk load the bases for Roy O'Quinn. One of the prospects recently acquired by South Carolina in their mega-deal with Texas, the 21-year-old O'Quinn is playing in just his second game for the Bombers. He picks the perfect time to get his first Bomber RBI, grounding a single to right and driving home Ángelo Casas.
July 2: Nottinghamshire 20, So Cal 10. The Outlaws demolish the Republic. Not only do they score 20 runs on 20 hits, they score 13 runs in the third inning.
Jim Crawford leads off the third with a walk. After that, the inning proceeds thus: walk, double (1), singles (2), ground out, single (3), single (4), single (5), pitching change, single (6-7), single (Crawford again), single, double (8-9), hit batsman, single (10), pitching change, walk (11), fielder's choice (12), single (13), and ground out. The Outlaws bat around twice, sending 18 men to the plate.
Juan Soto goes 3-for-5 with a triple, a home run, three runs scored, and five RBIs. Leslie Whitney goes 4-for-4 with three doubles, two walks, four runs scored, and three RBIs.
On the Republic's side, Jeffrey Hensley and Ramón Guzmán each hit a pair of home runs. Guzmán's second homer is a ninth-inning grand slam.
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| Eric Black |
Well, let's just say that there's a reason that Eric Black has been nicknamed Flash.
Black, Mile High's center-fielder, is as quick as they come. In the first, he leads off with a walk, steals second, advances to third on a ground ball to second, and scores on another ground ball to second: the Mustangs' first run crosses the plate without the ball leaving the infield.
In the third, Black gets hit by a pitch, steals second, steals third, and comes home on a sac fly to right.
In the fifth, Black gets hit by another pitch, steals second, advances to third on a ground ball to second, and comes home on a Fernando Garza single.
Flash goes 0-for-1, walks once, gets hit by a pitch twice, steals four bases (giving him 21 for the season), and scores three runs!
Jim Fleming (0-2) pitches a great game but gets the tough loss. Tim Berry (7-3) pitches eight innings and allows only one run, striking out seven. David Reynolds pitches the ninth to earn his 18th save of the season.
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| Dave McNuir |
McNuir was drafted in the fourth round of the inaugural draft. In 24 minor league games, McNuir was undefeated, posting a combined record of 19-0 and an 1.83 ERA. He received the call to the big club last season, and pitched well but not dominantly: 7-10 with a 4.27 EA, and 81 strikeouts in 135 innings.
This year, at age 22, he is showing signs of emerging as a true ace. He is 7-5 with a 3.35 ERA. In his last four starts, he has pitched 30 innings and allowed a total of three earned runs, striking out 23 while walking only 5. With superstar Evan Warner joining him in the rotation, and the Brouillette brothers, Cohen and Lincoln, only a year or two away in the minors, So Cal looks to have a dominant rotation for years to come.
Ron Hutchins drives in two runs with a second-inning single. In the fifth, a pair of potential All-Stars cooperate to score a third run when Joe Frost singles in Jeffrey Hensley.
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| Roberto Guzmán |
Since the streak began on June 22, the Barn Owls have gained four games on Nottinghamshire and now sit just one game behind the division leaders.
July 6: Texas 13, Dallas 4. The Gunners snap their 16-game losing streak by defeating their interstate rivals. Francisco Concepción breaks out for four hits in six at-bats: he doubles, homers, scores four times, and drives in three.
July 6: Georgia 7, Las Vegas 8. The rest of the league may fear Gary Payne, but the Jokers do not. Tonight's scene was reminiscent of the 2012 playoffs: Vegas beat the then-Los Angeles Evil Empire, four games to two, winning games two and three by coming back against Payne.
The Georgia Gray take a four-run lead into the bottom of the ninth, but the Jokers lead off the inning with a pair of RBI singles. Georgia brings in Payne and his 1.78 ERA, but Dave Lewis and James Kernaghan double, scoring three runs. With Kernaghan on third, the pesky Troy Tracy grounds a single to right, tying the game, 7-7, and Payne leaves the game with a blown save.
Vegas wins it in the 10th by using small ball. José Ortíz singles, advances to second on a sac bunt, steals third, and scores on a Floyd Robbins sac fly.
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| Nathan Wilson |
"He wanted to go back out and pitch the 11th," said Manager Artie Baker after the game, "Can't say as I didn't consider doing it."
Eureka's Mike Miller takes a shutout into the seventh, but Will Bauer breaks it up with a solo home run. Miller leaves the game after pitching eight innings, and allowing one run on four hits and two walks.
In the 11th, Boston reliever R.J. Lukies retires the first two Eureka batters, but Clement Milford singles and Júlio Sánchez doubles down the right field line. The speedy Milford, who leads all of baseball with 37 stolen bases, easily makes it home. Veteran Jim Dorsey (incidentally rumored to be on the trading block) retires the bottom of the 11th in order to earn his third save of the year.
July 7: Montreal 1, Seattle 0. A 70-minute rain delay in the fifth inning kicks out the starting pitchers, but the bullpens hang tough. Nine pitchers combine to throw dueling shutouts. In the 10th inning, Montreal's Eric Ware hits his 20th home run of the year, and the Bandits once again frustrate the Sasquatch.
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| Gunner Smart |
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| Cale Hines |
Tonight, Hines hits a three-run home run in the top of the 13th to win the game for the Marauders.
Teammates Eric McSwan and Vic Jennings celebrate their selection to the Munson League All-Star team by homering. McSwan hits a solo home run in the first. Jennings goes 3-for-4 with two home runs, including a three-run blast in the eighth that ties the game.
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| Juan Rosado |
July 10: San Diego 2, Carolina 14. Carolina sweeps a three-game set with San Diego, scoring double-digits in each game and outscoring the Hops by a combined 39-7. Crush catcher Francisco Solano, known for his defense, today tees off on Hops pitching. Solano goes 4-for-5 with two doubles, a home run, and six RBIs. Scott Andrews goes 4-for-4 with a home run, three runs scored, and two RBIs. George Gilliam hits two solo home runs and scores four runs. Aurelio Ramírez (10-5) was recently announced as the All-Star Game starting pitcher for the Clemente League, and today he gives up two runs over eight innings of work.
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| Tom Becker |
The seventh inning begins innocently enough. Nate Davis strikes out, but the next 11 batters reach base: single (Becker), single, double (scoring two), intentional walk, double (scoring one), double (scoring two), intentional walk, single, walk (scoring one), Becker's grand slam, and single. A 6-4-3 double play mercifully ends the inning.
As we approach the All-Star break, Horseface already has 27 home runs and 89 RBIs—and he's batting .400 once again.
July 12: Boston 0, Jacksonville 5. Edgar McNeal (5-7) pitches the best game of his young ABL career, tossing a two-hit shutout. Both hits are singles. The 25-year-old Californian allows one walk, hits one batter, and strikes out six. Mark Reid doubles and homers, scoring twice and driving in two runs.
Boston's offense continues to decline. In 2012, Boston scored the third most runs among Munson League teams. In 2013, they ranked fifth. This year, the Cardinals offense has been anemic: they rank 10th in the league.
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| Mike Miller |
Miller, 26, has bounced between Triple-A and the big league the past two seasons, but it looks like he's in the majors to stay. He strikes out 11, walks just one, and surrenders four hits. He now leads Eureka with a 3.81 ERA on the season.
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| Javier Flores |
"When I was new to the league, I went 'round tryin' to strike 'em all out, and I just about could, too," said Flores, "But I'm older now, so I just pound the zone with my sinker and get 'em to ground to short. Best thing's now I gotta throw 'em only one pitch."
Today, the veteran is a master of efficiency, throwing 8 2/3 shutout innings on only 89 pitches—60 of those for strikes. Flores twice retires the side on seven pitches. Twice he retires the side on six. He strikes out only three, but he walks none, and he induces 16 ground ball outs.
Flores also allows just two hits. The first comes on his very first pitch: Jeffrey MacDonald lines a double down the third-base line. Flores retires the next 20 batters. In the seventh inning, Matt Welch laces a double into the right field corner.
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| Hunter Wine |
The Tornadoes, 47-41, head into the All-Star break trailing the Mustangs by 4 1/2 games. The Jesters, 40-49, head into the All-Star break trailing the Marauders by 5 1/2 games.
July 13: San Francisco 1, Mile High 3. A scoreless tie heading into the ninth, San Francisco takes the lead when Austin McCabe scores from second on a Jeff Harris single. Quake All-Star Ray Larson takes a shutout into the bottom of the ninth, but he quickly surrenders two singles and a walk. All-Star closer Ramón Rivera comes in, and he gives up a single to All-Star shortstop Callum Ritchie, tying the game, 1-1. A fly out and a ground ball double play gets Rivera out of the jam.
In the 11th, All-Star Fernando Garza hits a two-run home run, winning the game for the Mustangs and allowing both teams' players to begin their vacations—except, of course, for the All-Stars.
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