Bus Leagues Express: August 19

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Omaha edges Nashville to clinch playoff berth: It was only a matter of time, but the Omaha Storm Chasers became the first full-season league team to clinch a playoff spot Saturday with their 5-3 win over Nashville. Now at 76-52, they’re 17 games ahead of Nashville, and they were able to clinch so soon because the American Northern Division is the only one in the PCL with fewer than three teams above .500. In fact, Omaha is the only one. Ryan Verdugo pitched seven strong innings for the Storm Chasers in their win and was supported by some late insurance runs to ensure the victory. Omaha owes their success to one of the league’s best pitching staffs with the midseason addition of Jake Odorizzi putting them over the top.

Futures at Fenway rough for Red Sox: The Red Sox are having a tough year at Fenway Park, and for Saturday, that applied to their minor league affiliates playing the Futures at Fenway feature. Lowell dropped the first game 6-5 to Hudson Valley, and Pawtucket followed them up with a 2-0 loss to Buffalo. More significantly than the scores, the game got off to a terrible start when the second pitch of the game was lined off pitcher Brian Johnson‘s face, forcing him to be taken off the field on a stretcher and to a local hospital. He has several broken bones in his face, but he’s expected to be okay beyond that.

Martin improves to 4-0 with Phillies: Ethan Martin looked like he would never fulfill his potential, but in 2012 he made a remarkable turnaround that has continued since the trade deadline deal that sent him to the Phillies. He outdueled Brett Brach in Reading’s 1-0 win over Akron Saturday, giving himself four wins in four starts in his new organization. Plagued by control problems in the past, Martin has only walked seven batters in 24.1 innings. His 1.48 ERA and 0.99 WHIP with 20 strikeouts has given Reading a boost in the middle of their playoff chase in the Eastern League.

Walker, giant killer: Former first rounder Keenyn Walker now has three home runs in high-A in 24 games with Winston-Salem. That’s not especially remarkable, but his first came against Dylan Bundy, and two came last night against Kevin Gausman in his high-A debut. The first led off the game, and the second came an inning later when his inside the park home run scored three runs. At that point, Winston-Salem led Frederick 4-0, but they would go on to lose 8-4. Gausman wasn’t particularly sharp, but he did end his outing with a quick 3rd inning. In all, he allowed four runs on four hits and a walk in three innings with a strikeout.

South Bend 10 run inning sinks Bowling Green: Bowling Green has had one of the best and deepest pitching staffs in the Midwest League all year, but everyone has a bad night or two. That night was last night for Futures Game participant Felipe Rivero when he allowed seven runs (six earned) in two innings of work in Bowling Green’s 11-10 loss to South Bend. He was pitching in relief as the Rays try to manage the staff’s workload to end the season, and he’s struggled in that role in five appearances. In the 6th inning when South Bend took a 10-4 lead, the Silver Hawks had six hits and seven runs across before Bowling Green could even record an out, and Rivero was chased from the game. Bowling Green countered with six runs of their own over their next two innings, but they eventually lost in the 9th on an infield single.

Dahl keeps hitting: Although his 27 game hitting streak was snapped on Thursday, David Dahl quickly resumed hitting with four hits in the two games since. His three hit game Saturday was instrumental in Grand Junction’s 10-1 win over Great Falls. Two of those hits were for extra bases, and he drove in three of the Rockies’ runs. It was Dahl’s 11th three hit game of the season and 25th overall out of 53 games, impressive no matter how much the league is in favor of hitters. He leads the league in hits, extra base hits, slugging and is fractions of a percentage point behind the league leader in batting average. He’s 3rd in the league in OPS, and the Rockies have to be pleased with the start of their first rounder.

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