AZ Advanced Instructional League

Aristides Aquino and Jose Siri belted solo home runs, providing just enough offense to allow the Reds to edge the Angels/Cubs co-op team 2-1 in AZ Advanced Instructional League game action Wednesday afternoon on Field #1 at the Riverview Baseball Complex in Mesa, AZ. 

The game was pre-planned as a seven-inning affair. 

Here is the box score from the game (Cubs players highlighted in bold & underlined): 

Humberto Arteaga and Chris DeVito smacked back-to-back RBI doubles with two outs in the 5th and Brandon Downes (solo blast in the 7th) and Ben Johnson (two-run shot in the 8th) belted home runs as part of a 15-hit attack, as the Royals cruised to an 8-5 victory over the Angels/Cubs co-op team in AZ Advanced Instructional League game action Tuesday afternoon on Field #1 (AKA "George Brett Field") at the Kansas City Royals Player Development Complex in Surprise, AZ.   

SP Joe Gatto hurled four innings of shutout ball and Andrew Daniel (two RBI singles) and Eddy Julio Martinez (RBI triple and RBI FC) knocked-in two runs a piece for the Angels/Cubs squad.

Here is the box score from the game (Cubs players highlighted in bold & underlined;

Ian Rice (representing the tying run) laced a triple into the right-centerfield alley with one out in the bottom of the 9th, but closer Alex Massey induced Donnie Dewees and Julio Garcia to ground out and leave the runner stranded at 3rd, as the Royals survived the threat and edged the Angels/Cubs co-op team 2-1 in AZ Advanced Instructional League game action Thursday aftenoon at Diablo Stadium in Tempe, AZ. 

Amalani Fukofuka singled twice, stole a base, and scored a run for the Royals, and Donnie Dewees singled twice and stole a base for the Angels/Cubs.

There just wasn't much offense in the game (only ten hits total combined between the two teams). 

Here is the box score from the game (Cubs players highlighted in bold and underlined): 

Blake Trahan lofted a sacrifice fly to left with one out in the 7th to tie the game and Daniel Sweet followed with a two-out RBI single to give his team a 3-2 lead, and Nick Senzel (Reds 2016 1st round draft pick - 2nd overall pick in the draft) provided an insurance run with a gargantuan home run over the scoreboard in right-centerfield leading off the bottom of the 8th, as the Reds rallied late and then held-on to edge the Angels/Cubs co-op squad 4-3 in AZ Advanced Instructional League game action Tuesday afternoon on Field #1 at the Cincinnati Reds Player Development Complex in Goodyear, AZ.  

Brendon Sanger (Angels) and Alberto Mineo (Cubs) belted solo home runs and Mineo also doubled and scored on a Jason Vosler (Cubs) two-out RBI single to account for the three Angels/Cubs runs.  

Although they lost the game, Angels/Cubs pitchers (actually they were all Cubs pitchers) fanned 14 Reds in the game (11 swinging). 

Nick Senzel continues to wow scouts & spectators alike with his awesome power to all fields. Reds fans didn't have a whole lot to cheer about this past season, but I would expect the University of Tennessee product to make the Riverfront Stadium scene sooner rather than later, providing misery to Cubs pitchers (and to all opposing pitchers) for years to come. He could be the next great young stud MLB third-baseman, following in the footsteps of Josh Donaldson, Nolan Arenado, and Kris Bryant. 

The Reds starting lineup featured four players who will be playing for the Peoria Javelinas in Arizona Fall League beginning next week, including SS Zach Vincej (singled and scored), CF Brian O'Grady, 1B Chad Wallach (RBI double), and 3B Brandon Dixon. Wallach is the son of long-time MLB third-baseman Tim Wallach (Expos, Dodgers, Angels).  

Here is the box scoere from the game (Cubs players highlighted in bold and underlined):

Donnie Dewees smacked two triples, scored a run, and drove-in another, Yeiler Peguero laced an RBI triple (back-to-back RBI triples with Dewees in a three-run 3rd) and a single, scored a run, and knocked-in a run, Alberto Mineo doubled twice and scored a run, Ian Rice drilled a two-run single, walked, and scored a run, Jason Vosler doubled, walked, and scored a run, Eddy Julio Martinez hammered an RBI double, SP Garrett Richards (on LAA MLB 60-day DL since May with a torn elbow UCL) tossed 2-1/3 innings of perfect baseball, and the bullpen threw four innings of no-hit shutout ball to close the game out, leading the Angels/Cubs co-op team to an 8-4 victory over the Rangers in AZ Advanced Instructional League game action Monday afternoon on Field #1 at the Riverview Baseball Complex in Mesa, AZ.

Yeyson Yrizarri smashed a two-run double to highlight a four-run 5th inning rally and Melvin Novoa and ex-Cub Frandy de la Rosa each singled twice, walked, and scored a run for the Rangers in a losing cause.  

Here is the box score from the game (Cubs players highlighted in bold and underlined): 

Jonah McReynolds and Yeyson Yrizarri drilled run-scoring doubles to highlight a four-run 7th, Willy Diaz belted a three-run home run with two outs in the 8th, and Jairo Beras crushed a two-run HR to cap a three-run 9th, as the Rangers rallied for ten runs over the final three innings to tie the Angels/Cubs co-op team 11-11 in AZ Advanced Instructional League game action Friday afternoon on Field #1 at the Riverview Baseball Complex in Mesa, AZ.

Christian Villanueva (acquired by the Cubs along with Kyle Hendricks from the Texas Rangers for Ryan Dempster in 2012) knocked-in five runs with an RBI double off the LF fence in the 3rd and a monster grand slam HR over the left-centerfield fence in the 8th and Angels 2016 1st round draft pick Matt Thaiss (sacrifice fly in the 1st and RBI single in the 3rd) and Brendon Sanger (two-out two-run single in the 5th) drove-in two runs a piece to provide the lion's share of run production for the Angels/Cubs squad.

Ex-Cub minor league INF Frandy de la Rosa (traded to Texas for RHRP Spencer Patton last November) entered the game at 3B in the bottom of the 6th and reached base all three times he batted (two walks and a single) and scored two runs for the Rangers.

The Rangers scored five unearned runs in the game thanks to five costly errors by the Angels/Cubs (including three errors by first-baseman Alberto Mineo in the top of the 9th). 

Here is the box score from the game (Cubs players highlighted in bold and underlined):

Donnie Dewees (three singles and a walk) reached base four times, stole a base in the 5th, drove-in his team's first run in the 6th, and scored the first run in a three-run 7th, leading the Angels/Cubs co-op team to a 6-2 victory over the Royals in AZ Advanced Instructional League game action Wednesday afternoon at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, AZ. 

It was much more Cubs than Angels on the field today, with seven Cubs and only two Angels in the co-op starting lineup, and all five pitchers employed by Manager Pedro Feliciano and Pitching Coach Ron Villone were from the Cubs organization as well.    

The game featured Cubs C-1B Alberto Mineo and Royals SS Marten Gasparini, two Italian players signed out of the MLB Eurpoean Academy in Turin, Italy, and the duo took the opportunity to fare una chiacchierata in front of the visiting team's dugout prior to the start of the game. 

Here is the box score from the game (Cubs players highlighted in bold & underlined)