A personal note first. I'm leaving tomorrow morning for Seattle until Saturday. My wife's little brother is getting married and my three year-old daughter is going to be the flower girl. Heaven help them.
I should have my laptop and I should be able to use it in the hotel, but I can't predict when I'm going to be free to write the Wrap the rest of the week. I imagine it will be late each night. The wedding is Thursday night and my wife and I are going to see the Mariners play on Friday. Saturday night will definitely be very late or even Sunday morning as I'm not scheduled to get back home until after midnight.
People could help me out a bit by making nominations for the June player and pitcher of the month. Logan Watkins will definitely be among the hitters, but that's all I've got for now. I probably will not open the voting until Sunday night.
Iowa Cubs
The Iowa Cubs were positively better than the Albuquerque Isotopes, 10-4, completing a four-game sweep.
Casey Coleman started and collected the win with seven strong innings. Coleman allowed three runs on seven hits. All three runs scored on a pair of home runs. Coleman struck out four and only walked one.
Marlon Byrd looked good today as he played the whole game in center field and hit a three-run home run in the seventh inning. Byrd also doubled and walked in a 2 for 4 game. He scored twice.
Darwin Barney didn't play the whole game, but he did go 2 for 3 with a double and a stolen base. He scored twice. Jonathan Mota took over second base for Barney in the sixth inning and doubled twice in two trips to the plate. Mota had two RBI and scored once.
Shortstop Marwin Gonzalez was 3 for 4 with a double and a steal. He had two RBI and scored once. Right fielder Brad Snyder went 2 for 4 with a walk and a steal. He had one RBI. Third baseman Scott Moore went 2 for 5 and scored twice.
Tennessee Smokies
The Smokies smoked the Carolina Mudcats, 12-11.
Starter Trey McNutt is pitching his way back to health, and tonight he only went three innings. He allowed four runs on six hits. McNutt walked three and did not strike out anyone.
Ryan Searle allowed a three-run home run in the fourth inning, but pitched well the rest of his relief appearance and got the win. Searle went three innings and allowed three runs on four hits. He walked one and struck out five.
Jeff Beliveau allowed a two-out solo home run, but that was the only baserunner he allowed in the ninth to get his first save. Beliveau struck out the other three batters he faced.
After scoring zero or one run in four of the past five games, the Smokies bats came alive tonight. Both left fielder Rebel Ridling and second baseman Ryan Flaherty had five RBI tonight. Ridling had two home runs tonight, including a grand slam in the third inning and a solo blast in the seventh. Ridling was 3 for 4 and now has twelve home runs this season.
Flaherty hit one home run, a three-run blast in the third, which was his 14th this season. Flaherty was 3 for 4 and scored twice.
The Smokies had one more home run, a solo shot by shortstop Junior Lake in the sixth inning. Lake was 2 for 3 with a walk and he scored three times. Lake now has eight home runs this season between Tennessee and Daytona.
Catcher Blake Lalli was 2 for 4 with a double. He scored once and had one RBI.
Daytona Cubs
The Daytona Cubs were shut out by the Dunedin Blue Jays, 3-0.
Juan Serrano started and took the loss. He pitched four innings and allowed two runs on five hits. He walked two and struck out four.
The D-Cubs only had five hits tonight. Right fielder Michael Burgess was 1 for 3 with a double and a walk.
Peoria Chiefs
The Peoria Chiefs now have a two-game winning streak as they defanged the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, 4-1.
Graham Hicks pitched the first 3.1 innings and he gave up one run on three hits. He walked two batters and did not have a strikeout
Brett Ebinger got the win because Hicks didn't go five, but Ebinger truly deserved the win. He entered the game with the bases loaded and one out and got a pop up and a fly out end the inning with no further damage done. Ebinger pitched 4.2 innings and allowed only one hit. He did not walk anyone and struck out three.
Patrick Francescon pitched the ninth inning and collected his first save. He gave up one hit but no runs. He struck out two and walked nobody.
First baseman Richard Jones hit two home runs tonight. He hit a solo home run in the fourth and a two-run home run in the sixth. Jones went 2 for 3 and was hit by a pitch.
Second baseman Pierre LePage was 2 for 4.
Boise Hawks
The Boise Hawks cleaned up the Tri-City Dust Devils, 3-2 for their fifth straight win.
Starter Yao-Ling Wang gave up a solo home run in the sixth inning, but no other runs en route to his second win. Wang pitched 5.1 innings and gave up five hits. He walked one and struck out four.
Bryce Shafer came in with one out in the ninth and runners on second and third. He allowed one inherited runner to score on a ground out, but then struck out the final batter for his fourth save.
RIght fielder Reggie Golden hit his first professional home run, a two-run line drive that left the park in the sixth inning. Golden was 1 for 4.
Third baseman Willson Contreras went 4 for 4 with a double. He scored once.
AZL Cubs