Athletics Minor League Baseball Blog

The River Cats took care of the Cubs in a 3-1 win and it was Vin Mazzaro who picked up the win.  He improved to 2-2 and he gave up just one unearned runs on four hits and a walk with six strikeouts in six innings of work.

Eric Patterson had just one hit but it was a two run blast in the third inning.  Daric Barton drove in the other run with a solo shot in the second inning.

I’ve come to learn that Demarini baseball bats are the only way to go.  I went from hitting chump to a slugger with my double wall and the ball just springs off the bat.  I picked up my bat as well as a nice new Rawlings glove over at Baseball Rampage.  I may be in the 35 and older league, but I’m hitting like I did in high school.

The River Cats came back from a 2-0 deficit in their series with Salt Lake but they won their last three games to pull off a dramatic come behind series win to move on to the PCL championship.  Daric Barton had the big hit of the game with a huge three run homer in the fifth inning that turned out to be the winning runs.

Shawn Kohn got it done after a shaky start by Bobby Cramer.  Kohn gave up just three hits in four shutout innings to pick up the win.

Next up for the River Cats is a five game series with the New Orleans Zephyrs.  The Zephyrs beat Nashville three games to one to move into the championship series.

Talk about a tough loss.  The River Cats came back from a 6-2 deficit to tie the game and send it into extra frames.  Then, they take a two run lead in the tenth inning only to have Jeffrey Gray give up three runs in the bottom of the tenth to seal the River Cats fate in a 9-8 loss.   Gray didn’t get batter out in the tenth, he just gave up five consecutive hits.

Daric Barton had a big day at the plate with two homers and four RBIs.  Nicholas Blasi doubled twice and he scored three times in the loss.

Just about everyone was a hitting star in the River Cats 10-3 win over Fresno but Kevin Melillo had an exceptionally good day at the plate.  He went two for four with a homerun and three RBIs.  Daric Barton also had a great game and he went two for three with a homerun, two RBIs and two runs.

Dan Meyer improved to 5-1 with the win.  He gave up three runs on nine hits and three walks with two strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.

The River Cats beat up on Salt Lake 8-6 and it was Daric Barton who got it done at the plate again.  He went four for five with a double, an RBI and two runs.  Dee Brown went two for five with a three run homer.

Brad Ziegler picked up the win with 1 2/3 innings of shutout relief.  He gave up one hit and he struck out one and the win pushes his record to 2-2 on the season.

Mario Ramos improved to 1-0 on the season with a nice start in the River Cats 3-0 win. He gave up six hits and four walks with four strikeouts in five shutout innings.

Donnie Murphy went three for five in the win.  Daric Barton went two for three with a double, two runs and a walk.

Alex Zumwait gave up three late runs to the Suns and he took the loss in the River Cats 5-3 loss to Jacksonville.  A nice start by Dallas Braden went to waste and he gave up two runs (one earned) on four hits and a walk with four strikeouts in six innings.

Daric Barton was the hitting star in the loss. He went two for four with a double and two RBIs.

Dan Meyer dropped to 3-1 on the season with his worst start of the season in the River Cats 8-3 loss to Las Vegas.  He gave up six runs on six hits and three walks with four strikeouts in five innings.

Jason Perry went two for four with a two run homer.  It was his fifth long ball of the season.  Daric Barton also had a nice game and he went three for four.

The River Cats had a tough time even getting a hit in a 9-2 loss to Tuscon. Daric Barton had two of the five River Cats hits. He doubled twice, drew a walk and scored a run.

Shane Komine dropped to 2-8 on the season. He gave up six runs on eleven hits and one walk with one strikeout in 4 1/3 innings.

Brad Knox got it done on the mound for the River Cats in their 7-2 win over the Sky Sox.  He gave up two runs on six hits and three walks with three strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings.

Daric Barton was a perfect four for four in the win.  JD Closser went two for four with a homerun, two RBIs and a run scored.

Jason Perry hit a huge first inning grand slam to push the River Cats to an 8-1 win over the Sky Sox.  Daric Barton had a great day at the plate.  He went four for five with a double, a run and an RBI.

Lost in all the offense was a nice start by Kazuhito Tadano.  He gave up five hits and a walk with seven strikeouts in six shutout innings.  He’s now thrown 12 2/3 shutout innings since getting promoted to Sacramento and he’s struck out 14.

Jason Windsor had a tough start in the River Cats 7-2 loss to Salt Lake. He gave up seven runs on ten hits and three walks with three strikeouts in six innings.

Daric Barton went two for four with a solo homerun in the loss. Kevin Melillo went two for four with a double and a solo homerun.

Kevin Melillo had a huge day at the plate in the River Cats 10-0 win over Salt Lake.  He went three for five with a double, a homerun, four RBIs and three runs.  Daric Barton drove in three runs and Charles Thomas went two for four with a double and two runs.

Colby Lewis improved to 2-1 with seven shutout innings.  He gave up just three hits and a walk with six strikeouts.

This was ugly as the River Cats were destroyed by Portland 17-3. Jason Windsor took the brunt of the damage in his start. He gave up nine runs on eleven hits and a walk with three strikeouts in two innings of work.

Daric Barton doubled, scored a run and drove in one. Kurt Suzuki went two for four.

Antonio Perez hit a solo homerun in the tenth inning to push the River Cats to a 6-5 win over Portland.  He finished the game with two hits, two runs and two RBIs.  Kevin Melilo (two hits and three walks) and Daric Barton (three hits and two walks) each reached base five times.

Dallas Braden threw a very nice game that the pen subsequently tried to blow.  He gave up just three hits and a walk with seven strikeouts in six shutout innings.  Marcus McBeth gave up the tying run in the bottom of the ninth but he shutout Portland in the tenth and he picked up the win.

Shane Komine took it on the chin in the River Cats 6-5 loss.  He fell to 1-2 and he gave up five runs on six hits and three walks with two strikeouts in five innings of work.

Daric Barton drove in two runs in the loss.  Kevin Melilo tripled, walked and scored twice.

The River Cats poured on the offense in their 9-1 win over Portland.  Jason Stokes led the way with a big game at the plate.  He went two for three with a homerun and five RBIs.  Daric Barton was two for two with two walks and two runs.

Lost in all of the run scoring was a solid start by Jason Windsor.  He gave up just a single run on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts in seven innings.

The River Cats came back from two down to take a three run lead only to see that get blown in the ninth.  Fortunately, Kevin Melillo drew a walk off RBI bases loaded walk to end the game before it went into extra frames.

Melillo had a huge day at the plate.  He went two for three with three walks, three RBIs and a run.  Kurt Suzuki scored three times on two hits and Daric Barton went two for five with a homerun and two RBIs.

The pitching wasn’t as good.  Jason Windsor gave up four runs on seven hits and two walks with four strikeouts.  Erasmo Ramirez picked up the win by getting the final two Tacoma batters out and Conner Robertson gave up the three runs in the ninth.