Minor League Recap: PCL not kind to Litsch

Las Vegas (lost 9-10)

Jesse Litsch gave up 7 runs in 3 innings, registering 3 strikeouts and no walks. Almost half of the balls hit in play were on the ground, so he wasn't particularly bad. Sometimes you get the feeling that it's easier harder to pitch in the PCL than it is to pitch in the AL East.

David Cooper drew three walks, Adam Loewen was 1-for-4 with a walk and Ryan Shealy hit a grand slam and had 7 RBI in total. Darin Mastroianni was 3-for-5 with a triple, a walk and two strikeouts on his return from the Disabled List.

New Hampshire (won 11-1)

Chad Jenkins, innings eater by profession, ate eight innings with just one run allowed. He only struck out four but he also walked just one batter. There was a lot to like on the hitting side of things. Anthony Gose fell a single shy of the cycle, going 3-for-5 with a homer, a triple, and a double but also two strikeouts. Adeiny Hechavarria drew a walk and struck out in a 1-for-4 effort.

Michael McDade was 3-for-5 with two doubles, while recently promoted Justin Jackson was 1-for-3 with a walk. Travis d'Arnaud struck out twice but got a hit, Moises Sierra didn't get a hit but was hit by a pitch.

Dunedin (won 5-2)

Nestor Molina went five innings, striking out six and walking none, giving up 2 earned runs in one unlucky inning. His K/BB on the season is 87/8, which is just crazy. His groundball rate has dropped after he got injured though. I hope Nestor can stay injury free and develop into a Dan Haren type of pitcher.

Kevin Nolan went 1-for-5 but homered, Jonathan Diaz went 2-for-4 with a walk, Sean Ochinko went 3-for-5 with a strikeout and Brad Glenn went 2-for-3 with a double, a walk and two strikeouts.

Lansing (lost 4-7)

Danny Barnes had a tough second start in his conversion from reliever. He had a perfect 1st inning with two strikeouts and a groundout, but wouldn't get out of the second inning. Bryson Namba (great May, awful June) showed signs of life with the bat, hitting a triple and drawing a walk, but the rest of Lansing's offense didn't turn up.

Vancouver (lost 3-7)

Justin Nicolino may have given up 3 runs, 2 of which were earned, in 4 innings, but he was still pretty dominant as he struck out 7. He walked three and got half of the balls hit in play to be groundballs.

Bluefield (lost 4-5)

Aaron Sanchez did get through 5 innings this time, and he gave up only a single walk. However, he also struck out one, so he's obviously commanding his stuff the way we had hoped. Myles Jaye completed the remaining four innings, getting 3 strikeouts and walking one but he did give up 2 runs to get the loss.

GCL Blue Jays (lost 2-6)

Griffin Murphy's start was skipped (I hope he's not injured, he was doing very well) and Andrew Liebel (on rehab) went instead. Dalton Pompey hit a double and walked. The young center fielder had a rough start but he's a definite sleeper who, so far, has shown a good eye.

Joe Musgrove should probably make his first start in the coming week, having tweeted that he would make his first start within two weeks on June the 28th. He is throwing bullpen session while all the other high draft picks from the 2011 draft have yet to sign.