Crickets could be heard all the way through the Angels farm system Monday night as Triple-A Salt Lake was the lone team in action and found themselves on the losing end of the ball game.
Player of the Day
Infielder Brendon Davis, who was promoted to Triple-A Salt Lake from Double-A Rocket City on August 25, continues to impress at the top of the batting order. The Lakewood, CA native kicked off the scoring for the Bees with a solo-home run, his second in Triple-A, to tie the game at one apiece. Davis would finish the game 2-for-4 with an RBI and Run Scored, which is his sixth multi-hit game with Salt Lake in 16 games played.
Brendon Davis with a leadoff HR for AAA Salt Lake pic.twitter.com/2Ncc8CmpTA
— Angels MiLB (@AngelsMiLB) September 14, 2021
Overall this season, Davis has played across three different levels (Tri-City, Rocket City and Salt Lake) combining to bat .282 (119 Hits) with 24 HR, 67 RBI, 72 R, 24 Doubles and 14 Stolen Bases. He was selected as the High-A West Offensive Player of the Week on two occasions (May 30 and July 4) during his time with the Dust Devils. In 11 September games, Davis is batting .405 with 2 HR and 6 RBI, while riding high with a 1.098 OPS.
Triple-A Salt Lake
Following the Davis home run tying the game at one, the Bees took a 2-1 lead five batters later as Preston Palmerio drove in Jose Rojas with the bases loaded for his 42 RBI of the season.
Preston Palmeiro with an RBI single for AAA Salt Lake pic.twitter.com/mn0jne2Fdg
— Angels MiLB (@AngelsMiLB) September 14, 2021
The Dodgers knotted the game up 2-2 on a Luke Raley single, which would be his second of three hits in the game. The wheels fell off for Bees’ starter Cooper Criswell in the fourth inning as three runs crossed the plate on a missed catch at first base for a potential force out. Oklahoma City added another run in the sixth courtesy of another Raley single that spelled doom for Criswell as he exited the game with one out.
Cooper Criswell Final Line: 5.1 IP | 12 H | 6 ER | 0 BB | 2 K | 1 HR (6.75 ERA)
Reliever Ben Rowen, thrusted into a bases loaded jam, escaped the tricky situation by recording back-to-back fly outs and limiting the damage. The submarine righty was the lone bullpen arm that recorded a clean night, tossing 1.2 shutout innings, yielding one hit and striking out a pair.
The Dodgers added six runs late in the game (five in the eighth and one in the ninth) for good measure, but it was definitely not needed. The Bees offense turned silent after a two-run, four-hit first inning, with only three total hits over their final eight innings at the plate and a runner getting as far as second base only once.
Falling in defeat by the final score of 12-2, the Bees (47-65) will look to salvage the finale against Oklahoma City tomorrow night and take at least two from the six-game series.
Double-A Rocket City
The Trash Pandas enter the final week of the 2021 season on the outside looking in for the Double-A South playoffs. Hopes were set high entering last week’s series against the first place Birmingham Barons (White Sox), but Rocket City fumbled and never recovered, getting swept right out of Regions Field. Their losing streak now sits at seven games and with an overall record of 53-55, they will be in search of finishing their inaugural season above .500 with a series win against the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Marlins) at home.
Outfielder Torii Hunter Jr. had a nice week at the dish batting .429 (9-for-21) with five doubles and four runs scored. September has been a great month for the 26-year-old as he slashes .314/.368/.543 with a home run in 10 games.
After five starts with Tri-City, 2021 1st Round Pick (9th Overall) Sam Bachman has been promoted to Rocket City. He totaled an 0-2 record with a 3.77 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in 14.1 innings. In a small sample size, Bachman is averaging 9.42 strikeouts per/nine innings and a 67% ground ball rate. The Angels No. 2 Prospect is expected to make his first start as a Trash Panda on Friday (9/17).
#Angels 2021 1st round pick Sam Bachman’s first professional inning for High-A Tri-City:
— Angels MiLB (@AngelsMiLB) August 9, 2021
Groundout
Infield Single
Double Play
Fastball was 96-97 mph, and the Slider was up to 90 mph. pic.twitter.com/Iwpnk5JTGG
High-A Tri-City
Covid-19 has put a damper on the Dust Devils final weeks of the 2021 season. After their final two games against the Spokane Indians (Rockies) were cancelled (September 4-5), the entire next series at home against the Hillsboro Hops (Diamondbacks) was cancelled as well for Covid-19 test tracing. To make matters worse, tomorrow’s series opener against the Eugene Emeralds has been cancelled, but according to the Dust Devils organization, both teams will get back into action on Wednesday night.
Low-A Inland Empire
The 66ers finished the home portion of the 2021 season losing four of six to their rival Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (Dodgers). With a record of 55-56, the Sixers have cemented a second place finish in the Low-A West-South standings and have the opportunity to finish the season above .500 for the first time since 2007 when they went 72-67 (.518) as a Dodgers affiliate. The squad looks to end the year on a high note beginning a six-game series on the road against the Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres) tomorrow night.
Outfielder Edwin Yon continues to show the pop in his bat is real. Over the past week, the 23-year-old is batting .357 with two home runs, five runs batted in, two triples and one double. Clutch hitting with two outs has also been a forte of Yon this season as he is slashing .309/.367/.836 with 24 of his 44 runs batted in coming in these 55 at-bat opportunities.
Edwin Yon with his second 2-run HR of the game for Low-A Inland Empire pic.twitter.com/kd681ayA5x
— Angels MiLB (@AngelsMiLB) September 12, 2021
Transactions
Double-A: RHP Sam Bachman assigned to Rocket City (AA) from Tri-City (A+)
High-A: INF Jeremy Arocho placed on the Temporarily Inactive list
Low-A: INF Jeremiah Jackson activated from the 7-Day Injured list.
Monday Scores
Oklahoma City Dodgers 12 | Salt Lake Bees 2
Tuesday Schedule
4:35 p.m. PT: Pensacola Blue Wahoos (RHP Kyle Nicolas) @ Rocket City Trash Pandas (RHP John Swanda)
5:35 p.m. PT: Oklahoma City Dodgers (RHP Andre Jackson) @ Salt Lake Bees (LHP Ryan Smith)
5:35 p.m. PT: Inland Empire 66ers (LHP Jose Salvador) @ Lake Elsinore Storm (TBD)
Tri-City Dust Devils @ Eugene Emeralds - PPD/Covid-19