Saturday’s News & Notes

Rochester 3 Omaha 0
• Kilome (W, 1-0) 5⅔ IP, 8H, 0R, 2BB, 2K, HBP
• F. Perez (H, 5) 1⅓ IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 2K, 2-0 IR-S
• Noll 2-3, R
• Alu 1-3, R, HR, 2RBI

Four Rochester pitchers combined to shut out Omaha, 3-0, on nine hits. Franklyn Kilome pitched into the 6th in his return to AAA, allowing eight hits, two walks, and striking out two to pick up the win. Francisco Perez, Curtis Taylor, and Patrick Murphy each struck out two to preserve the win, with Perez and Taylor earning holds and Murphy getting the save. The two Jakes – Alu and Noll – led the offense with a two-run homer (Alu) and three singles (two by Noll).
Roster moves: OF Matt Lipka traded to Milwaukee for cash considerations.

Hartford 8 Harrisburg 2
• Herrera (L, 3-6) 5IP, 8H, 6R, 6ER, 4BB, 5K, HR(GS)
• M. Peña 2IP, 4H, 1R, 1ER, 0BB, 0K, HR
• Cluff 3-4, R, HR, RBI
• Dunn 2-5, GIDP
• 0-7 RISP; 12 LOB

The Yard Goats slammed Ronald Herrera in the 4th and the Senators, 8-2, for their third straight win. Herrera gave up six runs and eight hits total over five innings as he lost for the sixth time. He walked four and struck out five. Jackson Cluff extended his hit streak to seven games with two singles and his fourth homer while Jack Dunn singled twice to lead the Harrisburg offense.
Senators

Wilmington 18 Hickory 11
• Cuevas (W, 4-9) 6IP, 6H, 1R, 1ER, 1BB, 6K, HR
• Sinclair 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 1K
• Méndez 4-5, 2R, BB, 2-2B, 3RBI, SB, CS
• De La Rosa 2-5, 2R, 2BB, HR, 4RBI
• Martin 1-3, 3R, 4BB, 3RBI
• Barley 2-5, 2R, BB, RBI, 2SB

Wilmington sent 15 men to the plate in the 4th and nine of the came around to score to build a 14-1 lead. The Blue Rocks added four more to make it 18-1. Meanwhile, Michael Cuevas gave up a run on HR and six hits total over six innings for his fourth win and fourth quality start. Alas, the Wilmington bullpen handed their beer to the Hickory batters and they chugged it for ten runs and five HRs before Jack Sinclair took it back with a 1-2-3 ninth and preserve the 18-11 win. Every Blue Rocks starter had at least one hit, with Ricardo Méndez leading the 15-hit parade with two singles and two doubles and Rudy Martin drawing four of the 16 walks issued by the Crawdad throwers.
Roster moves: RHP Eris Filpo reassigned from the FCL; RHP Seth Shuman placed on the 7-Day I.L.

Augusta 9 Fredericksburg 4 – GAME ONE
• A. Lara (L, 2-5) 3+ IP, 7H, 8R, 7ER, 1BB, 3K, 2HR
• Collins 3IP, 5H, 1R, 1ER, 0BB, 3K
• Millas 2-3, R, HR, RBI, SB(5)
• Arias 2-2, R, 2B(5), SF, 2RBI

The wheels came off the bus in the 4th as the GreenJackets had their way with Andry Lara and the FredNats for six runs en route to a 9-4 smackdown. Lara was knocked for eight runs on seven hits, including two moonshot HRs, and a walk over three-plus innings as he lost for the fifth time in 15 starts. Brendan Collins mopped up after Lara, giving one run on five hits over the last three innings. He walked none and fanned three. Offensively, Drew Millas homered, singled, and stole a base while the “OA” (other Andry) Arias singled, doubled, and drove in two to pace the Fredericksburg offense.

Fredericksburg 10 Augusta 2
• Rutledge (W, 3-5) 6IP, 6H, 2R, 2ER, 0BB, 7K, HR, HBP
• Threadgill 1IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• Boisserie 3-4, R, HR, 2RBI
• Rivero 1-2, R, BB, 2B, RBI
• Martina 0-1, 2R, 3BB

Fredericksburg scored eight times with two out in the 6th to turn a 2-2 nailbiter into a 10-2 laugher as the FredNats stopped a three-game slide. Jackson Rutledge won for the third time with six innings of two-run ball on six hits and no walks. He struck out seven while notching his fourth quality start. Branden Boisserie singled twice and homered to account for three of the seven Fredericksburg hits while Junior Martina drew three of the eleven walks by the FredNats batters.

FCL Nationals 4 FCL Cardinals
• Harvey 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• Otanez 4IP, 2H, 0R, 3BB, 6K
• Quintanilla (W, 1-0) 1⅓ IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 1K
• Frizzell 2-4, R, 2RBI
• Fein 1-3, R, 2B, BB

The F-Nats took the continuation of the July 2 game, 4-2 to make it 17 days and 13 games since their last loss. Johan Otanez took the hill in the top of the 2nd and tossed four scoreless, allowing two hits and three walks and striking out six. The win went to Cole Quintanilla who got the last out of the 7th and worked around a two-out single in the 8th. He also benefited from a four-run rally in the bottom of the 8th, highlighted by a two-run single by Will Frizzel to tie and a Paul Witt RBI single to take the lead. The fourth run came in on a wild pitch.

DSL Nationals 3 DSL Reds 2
• R. Lara (W, 1-1) 5IP, 6H, 2R, 2ER, 1BB, 1K
• C. Sanchez (SV, 2) 2IP, 1H, 0R, 1BB, 1K
• W. Diaz 1-2, R, BB, HR, 2RBI, SB
• D. Martinez 1-3, RBI

The D-Nats stopped a four-game slide with a 3-2 win over the D-Reds. Randy “El Otro” Lara pitched five innings of two-run ball on six hits and a walk to pick up his first win of the year. He struck out one. Camilo Sanchez worked around a leadoff double and a walk in the 7th to earn his second save. Winder Diaz homered in the 1st to give the D-Nats a 2-0 lead while Dawry Martinez’s RBI single in the 4th extended the lead to 3-0. The D-Nats managed six hits total and drew one walk (also by Diaz)

MLB TO PAY $185M TO SETTLE SENNE LAWSUIT

Yesterday, the eight-year battle between minor-leaguers and MLB over minimum wage and overtime was settled for a reported $185M. While the payout per player is relatively small – about $6K, or what was for some two years’ salary – the most notable concession won was MLB eliminating the clause in the uniform contract forbidding players from being paid outside of the regular season, e.g., spring training, instrux, Arizona Fall League, etc.

The two sides began settlement talks in May after MLB had lost a key battle over the California portion of the lawsuit in March, not to mention growing public support for the minor-leaguers after their plight had come to light during the summer of 2020.

Unfortunately, while this may be a small victory for the minor leaguers, its financial effects may be mitigated if MLB gets its way and imposes an International Draft. As noted earlier this year, the MLBPA has a rather long history of throwing the minor-leaguers under the bus when negotiating with MLB, which means that an agreement is more likely than not.