Connor Phillips returned to the mound for Louisville, Quincy McAfee hit a home run and had two runs batted in for Chattanooga, Leo Balcazar hit a home run and had three runs batted in for Dayton in their comeback win, and Graham Osman pitched four scoreless innings with six strikeouts in Daytona’s win.
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The Louisville Bats lost 6:3. Result
Game Notes
Connor Phillips returned to the mound in a game for the first time in just over two months. It wasn’t the ideal outing, as he allowed three hits, walked four batters, hit another batter, and threw 71 pitches while recording just six outs. He left the game with the bases loaded and no outs in the 3rd inning, but was rescued by Justus Sheffield, who finished the inning without allowing a run.
Blake Dunn’s single in the 8th inning extended his on-base streak to 17 games.
Highest pitch speed: Connor Phillips – 98.2 mph (foul)
Highest exit speed: Rece Hinds – 110.1 MPH (Double)
Farthest hit baseball: Rece Hinds – 354 feet (flyout)
The Chattanooga Lookouts lost 4-2. Result
Game Notes
Chattanooga scored the first and last runs of the game, but Mississippi had the middle four and that was enough for the win.
Tyler Callihan went 0-3 with a walk to extend his on-base streak to 22 games.
Quincy McAfee had three goals in his last 13 games before scoring two on Wednesday night.
Daniel Vellojin had his first stolen base since July 15, 2023.
The Dayton Dragons won 4:3. Result
Game Notes
Dayton trailed 2-0 at the start of the fourth inning, but pulled back a run on a Leo Balcazar home run. They tied the game in the sixth inning. Cedar Rapids took the lead again by a run in the eighth. It didn’t take long for the Dragons to tie the game again, as Jay Allen II hit a bunt to open the inning with a single, stole second base, and then scored on an Ethan O’Donnell single. He then stole second base, advanced to third base on a groundout, and scored on a Leo Balcazar single, giving the Dragons the lead for good. The win was Dayton’s seventh in a row.
Leo Balcazar continues to hit well. He has appeared in 24 games over the last month and has a batting average of .344/.364/.529. All four of his home runs this season have come in his last 20 games.
Jay Allen II has also been in great form lately. In 17 games this month, he has a batting average of .340/.471/.453 with 11 walks, just eight strikeouts and he has also stolen eight bases.
Cam Collier went 0-3 with a walk, extending his on-base streak to 23 games.
Ryan Cardona continues his turnaround in the second half. He had a 4.76 ERA after his June 21 start, in which he allowed four runs in 2.2 innings. Since then, he has thrown 43.1 innings with a 1.63 ERA, allowing just 23 hits, walking just eight batters and posting 46 strikeouts.
The Daytona Tortugas won 7-1. Result
Game Notes
Yerlin Confidan posted his second consecutive multi-hit game, his third in four games and his fourth in seven games. He has also now issued a walk in five straight games while striking out just three times. Since June 21, he has a .294/.407/.512 hitting average with 32 walks, 43 strikeouts, 10 steals and 26 extra-base hits in 43 games played.
After a bit of a slump in the middle of the month, Sammy Stafura has rebounded over the last six days, going 7-19 with eight walks and three strikeouts. He has walked five games in a row.
Malvin Valdez had another hit and another walk – his third consecutive game – and in his 10 games in August he had as many walks as strikeouts (8).
Peyton Stovall made his professional debut in this game. The fourth-round pick also made a good first impression, hitting a triple and drawing two walks.
Graham Osman had a rough start in Daytona after being demoted from Dayton in mid-May. In his first four games with Daytona, he had allowed 10 earned runs in 7.2 innings. Since then, he has pitched in 14 games and thrown 41.2 innings while allowing just nine earned runs (1.94 ERA).
Ben Brutti has lowered his ERA every month this season. In April, he had a solid but unspectacular 4.05 ERA. In May, it was 3.46. In June, he hit a 2.75 ERA. In July, he followed that up with a 2.63 ERA. And now, in four games in August, he’s hit a 1.93 ERA. This season, he’s thrown 73.2 innings with a 2.93 ERA.
Luke Hayden made his professional debut, pitching the 9th inning. He allowed two hits and an unearned run, but also had two strikeouts. The 8th round draft pick pitched 78 innings for Indiana State this season as a starter, but worked out of the bullpen for the first time since his second season at Indiana.
Highest pitch speed: Luke Hayden – 96.1 mph (ball)
Highest exit speed: Esmith Pineda – 109.9 mph (Groundout)
Farthest hit baseball: Ricardo Cabrera – 370 feet (double)
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