Class AAA Tacoma Rainiers: Break out the “Buck-eee! Buck-eee!” chants, because Bucky Jacobsen is pounding the ball. The Rainiers’ designated hitter entered the weekend tied for third in the Pacific Coast League with 15 RBI, including four home runs that led the team.
The Rainiers entered the weekend 8-6 with a solid mix of offense and pitching.
First baseman A.J. Zapp was hitting .345 with a .534 slugging percentage; catcher Wiki Gonzalez .286 with three homers and seven RBI in the seven games he has played; and outfielder Hiram Bocachica .244 with six stolen bases, second in the PCL.
Right-hander Clint Nageotte is 3-0 with a 2.00 earned run average and 15 strikeouts in his 18 innings. Left-hander Bobby Madritsch is 1-0 with a 2.65 ERA in three starts, and left-handed reliever George Sherrill had one save, a 2.79 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings.
Class AA San Antonio Missions: The Missions aren’t pitching like they did last year when they won the Texas League championship, but they’ve won nine of their first 14 games with impressive offense.
They entered the weekend with a league-leading .290 team batting average and 16 home runs. Outfielders Shin-soo Choo and John Lindsey were tied for the league lead with four homers each. Lindsey’s .360 batting average was fourth-best in the league and third baseman Greg Dobbs was sixth with a .354 average.
Right-handed pitcher Gustavo Martinez was 1-0 with a 1.10 ERA that ranked second in the league, right-hander Chris Buglovsky was 1-1, 1.80 and right-hander Jared Hoerman had five saves.
Class A Inland Empire 66ers: The 66ers built an 8-6 record with some of the best pitching in the California League. Right-hander Felix Hernandez has 22 strikeouts in 15 2/3 innings (second in the league) and is 2-0 with a 2.87 ERA, left-hander Bobby Livingston is 1-0 with a 0.87 ERA that’s second in the league and right-hander T.A. Fulmer is 1-0 with a 1.00 ERA that ranks third. Fulmer had 21 strikeouts in 18 innings entering Friday.
Third baseman Matt Rogelstad’s .394 batting average ranked third in the league, and outfielder Gary Harris was batting .327 with a team-high four steals. Shortstop Michael Garciaparra has started slowly, hitting .175.
Class A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers: The Rattlers don’t have a .300 hitter and their .205 team average entering the weekend was last in the Midwest League.
They are, however, getting some pitching, with a 3.12 team ERA that ranks fourth. Right-hander Brandon Moorhead is 2-0 with a 0.49 ERA that is third in the league, and left-hander Thomas Oldham is 1-0 with a 0.60 ERA that ranks sixth. Left-hander Ryan Feierabend pitched a seven-inning complete-game shutout Wednesday against Burlington and raised his record to 2-1 with a 3.45 ERA.
Offensively, outfielder Wladimir Balentien was the best of a struggling bunch, hitting .256. Shortstop Adam Jones was batting .239 with a team-high six RBI.
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