Minor League Odds and Ends

The Halos organization put together a rare, system-wide sweep last night, winning at every level while the MLB team caught up on some much-needed R&R. Highlights include: 

• Tommy Mendoza kept AAA Salt Lake's division title hopes alive with 6 innings of shutout ball to beat the second place Tacoma Rainiers.  In four starts for the Bees, Mendoza has a 2 and 1 record with a 2.94 ERA over 21.2 innings, yielding 18 hits and 11 walks while K'ing 10.  Elsewhere in the PCL, last-place Portland denied first-place Colorado Springs the win that would have eliminated Salt Lake from contention.  The Bees are 3.5 games back with just 4 to play, so everything has to break right for them to win the division crown.
• Cedar Rapid's Tyler Chatwood tamed the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers with his distinctive brand of effectively wild mound work, yielding only 1 run in 5 innings despite issuing 5 BB's.  Mike Trout played right field for the Kernels, going 1 for 4 with a single and 2 K's, while former ASL teammate Rolando Gomez made his A-Ball debut at 3rd base and went 1 for 3. 
• In advanced rookie ball, recently promoted Fabio Martinez Mesa and Tyler Skaggs teamed up to defeat the Dodger's affiliated Ogden Raptors. Martinez Mesa K'd 7 in 5 IP, giving up 2 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks. Skaggs pitched 2 scoreless innings with 3 K's to keep his professional career ERA at 0. He's tossed only 8 innings since signing last month, but has limited the opposition to 5 hits and just 1 walk while K'ing 10.  2009 12th round pick, center fielder Travis Witherspoon, plated 4 Orem runs, going 3 for 4 with a triple and a homerun and falling just a double short of the cycle. 

• Arkansas southpaw Mike Anton has had a disappointing season in AA, going 3 and 8 with a 5.07 ERA. He pitched like a stud last night, claiming the win for the Travs with a 7 inning, 1 run, 9 strikeout performance. 
• Matt Shoemaker of the Quakes, who signed with the Angels last year as a minor league free agent out of Eastern Michigan University, pitched 6 innings of 1 run ball to get the win for the Quakes.  In 3 High A starts, he's held the opposition to a .212 BA.