Matt Skole returned to the lineup and Anthony Rendon extended his hit streak, but a four-run rally in the second by Scottsdale put the game away early as the Scorpions sunk the Salt River Rafters, 9-2.
Skole went 0-for-4 with a strikeout as the Salt River DH. As mentioned in the comments, he tweaked a hamstring last week and had been held out as a precaution, per Byron Kerr’s feature story yesterday.
Rendon singled, tripled, and scored a run for a 2-for-4 game that pushed his average to .291. He’s hit safely in his last six contests. Defensively, however, he was charged with his third error of the fall, a fielding miscue in the bottom of the 1st.
Cole Kimball turned in another scoreless outing, letting in both inherited runners with the “help” of an interference call by an infielder. He allowed no runs of his own, one hit, one walk, and struck out one over an inning and two-thirds, with strikes on 17 of 32 pitches thrown.
With the loss, Salt River drops a ½ game behind Scottsdale in the AFL East with less than two weeks left in the season. Tonight is the “Rising Stars” showcase, pitting the East Division vs. the West Division*. Aaron Barrett, Brian Goodwin and Rendon were named to the East roster. Starting lineups have not yet been announced. * Apparently, American League vs. National League was too obvious?
The game will be played at the Salt River Fields at Talking Stick tonight at 8 p.m. and televised on the MLB Network.
