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Road To Arlington: Rangers Farm Report (8/29)

Triple-A: @Iowa 4, Oklahoma City 2

RHP Bryan Corey (6-8; 5.69) only lasted four innings, giving up six hits and four walks to go with three runs. RHP Willie Eyre (0-0; 2.23) pitched three dominant innings of relief, holding the Cubs scoreless on only one hit.

All five RedHawk hits came from the first four batters in the lineup, with SS Joaquin Arias, LF Casey Benjamin, and 3B Esteban German all going 1-4. The remaining hits came from the cleanup hitter, 1B Justin Smoak (.240/.362/.359), who singled and blasted his fourth homer at triple-A. Although Smoak’s combined OBP for the season is .410, he’s managed just 12 home runs in 381 at bats.

Double-A: Frisco 9 @ San Antonio 5

RHP Blake Beaven (4-4; 4.07) posted a nearly identical start to his last one on August 22 against NW Arkansas. In each of his last two games, Beaven’s shut out the opposition on five hits and a walk in seven innings, though he did manage to improve slightly on his last start, doubling his strikeouts from two to four.

The RoughRiders took a 9-0 lead into the bottom of the 9th when things got interesting. RHP Andrew Laughter (3-1; 4.75), who pitched the 8th, only managed to get two outs in the 9th before getting yanked with a man on second and two runs already in. RHP Thomas Diamond (1-3; 3.36) then faced four batters, allowing a single, a walk, a double, and another walk. That brought Laughter’s run in from second as well as two more runs on Diamond’s ledger.

Frisco put up plenty of offense, with C Chris Gradoville (.222/.253/.259) going 3-4 with a homer and three RBI. RF Steven Murphy (.213/.273/.400) also had a 3-4 game, doubling twice in the process, while DH Marcus Lemon (.268/.333/.340) had a pair of singles and a walk.

Advanced-A: @Modesto 6, Bakersfield 2

Things got ugly early for LHP Richard Bleier (7-10; 4.61), who allowed five runs on eight hits in six innigs. Before Bleier could get an out, he gave up three singles and a triple, leaving a man at third and three runs already in. The fourth run of the inning followed on a sac fly, but Bleier would retire 17 of the next 21 batters, allowing only a single run the rest of the way.

The Blaze only pieced three hits together all game, with two of them coming back-to-back in the 8th. C Doug Hogan (.188/.350/.313), who singled and walked twice, drew a base on balls to lead the inning off. Two batters later, CF David Paisano (.278/.350/.421) singled and SS Jacob Kaase (.257/.278/.359) brought them both home with a double.

Low-A: @Lexington 6, Hickory 2

RHP Jacob Brigham (2-9; 5.60) got roughed up for five runs on five hits and two walks in four innings. RHP Carlos Pimentel (5-4; 2.96) allowed one run over the next three innings, fanning three along the way, while RHP Fabio Castillo (3-5; 3.99) shut the Legends down in the 8th.

Hickory only had a pair of extra base hits, with LF Cristian Santana (.224/.274/.464) and 3B Matt West (.231/.333/.333) doubling for their only hits in four at bats each. C Leonel De Los Santos (.266/.291/.348) was 2-4 with a pair of singles and an RBI.

Short-season: @ Spokane 7, Boise 2

RHP Matt Thompson (4-4; 4.37) lasted five strongs innings, allowing just four hits and a run while punching out five. LHP Gueris Grullon (0-1; 7.52) followed with two innings of work in which he surrendered an unearned run on one hit. He struck out two batters.

RF Miguel Velazquez (.301/.362/.539) had a big game going 2-2 with a homer, single, two walks, and four runs score. C Alberto Puello, SS Denny Duron, and LF Jared Prince all had 2-4 games, while DH Daniel Lima had one hit in four at bats. Prince and Lima both doubled and drove in two runs.