Mariners minor league daily wrap up: June 4th, 2024
By Berlin Kofoed, edited by Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - It was a unique day on the farm for the Seattle Mariners minor league affiliates, as the lower level teams within the organization saw their losses while some of the top levels were able to put together some fun results. Here is what our Seattle Mariners minor-league contributor Berlin Kofoed has for the wrap up for the day of June 4th, 2024!
Mariners minor-league transactions
RHP Joseph Hernandez assigned to Everett AquaSox from ACL Mariners
Everett AquaSox placed RHP Nick Davila on the 7-day injured list
Everett AquaSox placed LHP Blake Townsend to the Development List
June 4, 2024 Wrap-Up
Dominican Summer League
DSL Mariners (0-2) - DSL Red Sox Red (2-0)
1 - 5
W: Merlin Bido (1-0)
L: Kendal Meza (0-1)
In the first full 9 inning game of the DSL season, the Mariners still struggled to come up with many runs versus the Red Sox Red team. Kendal Meza started things off, in his 10th career game. Last season, across 8 games/12.2 innings, he finished with an ERA of 12.08, but at 18 years old there is still plenty of time for growth and to learn the control that has become so known in the Mariners pitching staff. His current season ERA remains at 0.00 despite allowing 1 run because the runner that scored reached base on a walk, and ran home on a wild pitch. Not ideal, of course, but keeps Meza’s numbers untouched here at the start of the season.
Meza’s final line: 4.0IP, 0H, 1R, 0ER, 4BB, 3K, 0HR, 0.00ERA.
The bats do seem to be warming up, with Manuel De Cesare knocking his first double on a line drive to right field in the 1st inning. The team drew a total of 5 walks and 8 strikeouts across 26 at-bats, which hopefully isn’t indicative of things to come since there are strikeout issues across the Mariners and affiliates. The solo Mariners run came from a 2-out sac-fly from Kay Robles scoring Dewel Joseph in the 9th inning, but with the 5 already put up by the Red Sox Red, it wasn’t near enough. Zeus Nunez grounded out to third base to end the game and keep the DSL Mariners winless.
Arizona Complex League
ACL Mariners (12-11) - ACL Giants (10-12)
6 - 1
W: Jose Zerpa (1-0)
L: Mauricio Estrella (0-1)
Despite striking out nearly half of the times the ACL Mariners were at bat (14/32), they came away with a monster of a win over the ACL Giants, who currently sit 4th in the ACL East. Dylan Wilson started things off for his 5th game, coming up with no decision in the end. Wilson has been pretty consistently striking out 3-4 in each game he’s played, going at most 3.0 innings, and this was no different. Versus the ACL Giants, Wilson pitched 3.0 innings and struck out 3. Much like Kendal Meza from the DSL Mariners, Wilson is 18 and only in his second season in the rookie league.
Wilson’s final line: 3.0IP, 2H, 0R, 0ER, 2BB, 3K, 0HR, 2.03ERA.
The win (and blown save, I suppose) was awarded to Jose Zerpa in his first game of the 2024 season. Zerpa was recently assigned to ACL from DSL, and with this win, made a solid first impression on this team.
The game was quiet with some base appearances and doubles keeping the teams moving, but it wasn’t until the 5th that runs began to add up. On the 6th pitch faced in his plate appearance, Dervy Ventura homered (3) on a fly ball to right center field, starting things off. An ACL Giants homer tied things back up, but the ACL Mariners were quick to respond and make sure that Zerpa earned the win. Kelvin Alcantara knocked out his first homerun as the first batter up in the 7th. Jarrod Belbin scored another on a single. A Junior Gonzalez double scored 3. By the end of the 7th inning, the ACL Mariners had a monster lead of 6-1. They were able to keep that lead and keep those numbers paused for the remainder of the game.
Low-A: Modesto Nuts
Modesto Nuts (35-15) - Fresno Grizzlies (30-21)
0 - 3
W: Alberto Pacheco (3-2)
L: Brody Hopkins (2-2)
S: Sam Weatherly (4)
Game 01 (0-1)
A total of 12 batters left on base. Going 0-for-15 with runners in scoring position. Having 5 hits through 33 at bats. These all combined to cause the Nuts to be shutout in the first game of their series against the Fresno Grizzlies (Colorado Rockies). Brody Hopkins got his 10th start of the season, but earned the loss when all was said and done. For a team that normally dominates in hitting, they definitely were left struggling when faced with pitcher Alberto Pacheco from the Grizzlies.
Hopkins’s final line: 3.0IP, 5H, 3R, 2ER, 2BB, 4K, 0HR, 3.24ERA, 71-44.
Aidan Smith earned his 14th stolen base in the 3rd inning, advancing to 2B. Another walk was allowed, but both Smith and Connor Charping were left on base when Tai Peete lined out to the second baseman for the final out. Charping got on base once again in the 6th with a double (7), and again was left waiting as he watched the next three batters get out.
In the bottom of the 7th, Michael Arroyo tripled (5), which would have been massive if there had been runners on base, but unfortunately the team’s luck continued to work against them. Another notable play is that Carson Jones racked up his 18th stolen base in the 9th, but the game would end without a single player from Modesto crossing home.
Four photos from the Everett AquaSox game against the Vancouver Canadians, June 4th, 2024 at Funko Field. (Photos by Shari Sommerfield)
High-A: Everett AquaSox
Everett AquaSox (24-27) - Vancouver Canadians (23-24)
6 - 2
W: Ty Cummings (2-3)
L: Lazaro Estrada (0-2)
Game 01 (1-0)
The AquaSox fell behind 0-2 early on courtesy of solo home runs to the Vancouver Canadians (Toronto Blue Jays), and the feeling of the stadium was that it might be another low scoring, low energy game (despite the sheer amount of dogs that had shown up for Bark in the Park). However, the Frogs made sure that everyone knew how wrong they were as soon as they started up in the 2nd inning. Ty Cummings got his 10th start and earned his 2nd win. Cummings struck out 8, tying his career high from May 16, and only allowed 2 walks through 6.0 innings.
Cummings’s final line: 6.0IP, 2H, 2R, 2ER, 2BB, 8K, 2HR, 4.56ERA, 73-48.
The bottom of the 2nd was a messing affair, but it played directly into the hands of the AquaSox. A throwing error allowed Jared Sundstrom to reach base and, after a couple of outs, Andrew Miller singled to center, just deep enough to get Sundstrom home. The next two batters up to the plate walked. With bases loaded and Victor Labrada batting, the pitcher balked. Miller scored, and runners advanced. Labrada doubled (9) into left field, clearing the bases of the remaining batters and putting the AquaSox into a 4-2 lead.
A wild pitch and a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 5th scored the final 2 runs for the Frogs. In the 6th, Labrada earned his 16th and 17th stolen bases, going back to back while Josh Hood was up to bat. Bill Knight earned his 10th and Brock Rodden earned his 16th stolen base. If there is one thing that can be said about the majority of this team, it’s that they are fast and constantly threatening to move behind the pitching mound.
AA: Arkansas Travelers
Arkansas Travelers (30-21) - Springfield Cardinals (30-22)
3 - 1
W: Logan Evans (6-2)
L: Leonardo Taveras (1-1)
S: Troy Taylor (5)
Game 01 (1-0)
In a game with few hits and too many strikeouts (let me know if you’ve heard that before), the Travelers were able to succeed in taking game one from the Springfield Cardinals (St. Louis Cardinals). Danny Wirchansky got things going in his 9th game, going a total of 5.0 innings and only allowing one hit. Logan Evans - currently trying his hand at being a relief pitcher while talk of him getting a promotion have started surfacing - comes out to be awarded his 6th win. There was a run allowed during his time, but that was due to a hit-by-pitch and a throwing error, so the run wasn’t charged against Evans’s line.
Wirchansky’s final line: 5.0IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 2BB, 2K, 0HR, 4.54ERA, 62-37
Evans’s final line: 2.0IP, 2H, 1R, 0ER, 1BB, 1K, 0HR, 1.18ERA, 36-24
Troy Taylor was utilized in the final inning to earn himself his 5th save of the season. Through his first 8 appearances and 8.0 innings since his promotion to Double-A, Taylor has maintained a 0.00ERA and a 0.75 WHIP. The promotion seems to be fitting Taylor nicely, as he’s dominating and proving himself to be a very powerful closer.
The game went scoreless until the run mentioned earlier happened, and Arkansas was quick to answer back. Even though Spencer Packard grounded out when he came up to bat, he still managed to score Harry Ford who had managed to advance to 3B after his single. The Travelers didn’t allow Springfield to add on, and they tacked on another two runs in the 7th inning to take the lead. Hogan Windish stole his 9th base, advanced on a Jared Oliva single, and made it home when Morgan McCullough drew a walk. A final sacrifice fly from Young left the total a 3-1. Pitcher Garrett Davila held it down through the 8th, with Taylor coming in for the save in the 9th.
AAA: Tacoma Rainiers
Tacoma Rainiers (31-27) - Reno Aces (28-30)
15 - 6
W: Dallas Keuchel (5-4)
L: Austin Pope (2-2)
Game 01 (1-0)
By the 6th inning, game one versus the Reno Aces (Arizona Diamondbacks) was beginning to feel like a wash. Down 1-5, with little movement, it was easy to just mentally move on to the next game and hope that Tacoma could knock it out then. However, that’s when things got exciting and just a bit chaotic, just as expected from a Mariners organization team.
Dallas Keuchel started things off in his 10th game, and the veteran was definitely struggling to keep the Aces from scoring. When he allowed 8 hits and 5 runs, the Rainiers rallied to turn things around for him, giving him the run support that he needed to finish out his 6.0 innings and earn his 5th win.
Keuchel’s final line: 6.0IP, 8H, 5R, 3ER, 4BB, 4K, 2HR, 5.00ERA, 95-59.
The first few innings, the plate appearances weren’t impressive. Some walks and singles were all that the Rainiers were able to piece together, earning themselves 1 run in the bottom of the 4th. After Reno knocked out their 2nd home run of the game, it was clear that Tacoma had to step it up or risk losing at the start of the series.
A double. A single scoring Leo Rivas. A single scoring Nick Solak. Two walks, loading the bases and scoring Michael Papierski. Another walk brings home Jonatan Clase. A throwing error moves Jason Vosler to first and scores Luis Urias. A double from Leo Rivas - back up after scoring earlier in this inning - brings in Tyler Locklear, Jake Slaughter, and Vosler. That’s 8 runs in just the 6th inning, half of those runs coming after 2 outs. The inning ends with the Rainiers up 9-5.
The 7th inning just brings more damage to the Aces. Bases loaded from walks and a fielding error. A double from Urias brings in Clase and Samad Taylor. Slaughter knocks his first homerun out of left center field to bring himself and Urias in. Yet anotherbases loaded walk brings in Rivas. The Aces can’t seem to bring a stop to the sudden strength from Tacoma, and they also can’t get anymore runs in for themselves aside from one lone RBI following a groundout, ultimately losing the game 15-6.
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Check out our previous CSS Futures articles here.
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Please welcome Berlin to the team, as they will be helping our Mariners coverage, primarily with the minor league affiliates! Follow them on Twitter by clicking here!
Cover photo by Shari Sommerfield.
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