Cincinnati Reds Minor League Game Review: April 30, 2023

It was another tough day for Louisville in a blowout loss, Eduardo Salazar struck out four batters in relief for Chattanooga, Blake Dunn homered for the third straight game in Dayton’s blowout win, and Cam Collier picked up his first home run of the season and had a walk-off hit in the other game, but Leo Balcazar was injured on the final play of the game and had to be carted off of the field.

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The Louisville Bats lost 13-0. Box Score

• Elly De La Cruz went 1-4.
• Jhonny Pereda went 2-3.
• Silvino Bracho threw 1.1 perfect innings with a strikeout.
• Ryan Nutof threw a perfect inning with a strikeout.
• Joel Kuhnel threw a perfect inning with a strikeout.

Game Notes

Louisville was outscored 31-2 in the final two games of the series. That doesn’t include the 18-16 loss they suffered on Thursday. It was a tough series for the Bats pitchers. Louisville only had three hits in the game.

Christian Encarnacion-Strand went 0-1. He was hit by a pitch in the first inning in his left shoulder blade. Two innings later he grounded out. But when he was due up in the 6th he was pinch hit for (he was the designated hitter, so he wasn’t in the field during the game).

Top Pitch Velocity: Ryan Nutof – 95.1 MPH (groundout)

Top Exit Velocity: Elly De La Cruz – 102.8 MPH (groundout)

Furthest Hit Baseball: Nick Martini – 340 feet (twice – flyout and lineout)

The Chattanooga Lookouts lost 6-1. Box Score

• Jacob Hurtubise went 1-3 with an RBI.
• James Free went 2-4.
• Quincy McAfee went 1-4 with a double.
• Daniel Vellojin went 1-4.
• Allan Cerda went 0-1 with 2 walks.
• Steven Leyton went 1-2 with a triple.
• Lyon Richardson allowed 1 earned in 2.0 innings with 2 walks and a strikeout.
• Spencer Stockton threw 3.0 shutout innings with a walk and 2 strikeouts.
• Eduardo Salazar was charged with an unearned run in 2.0 innings with a walk and 4 strikeouts.

Game Notes

Chattanooga struck out just four times on the day but when they made contact they didn’t do a whole lot with it. The Lookouts pitching staff walked 10 batters in the game. The defense made three errors.

Eduardo Salazar’s ERA dropped to 1.00 on the season and he now has 2 walks and 14 strikeouts in 9.0 innings pitched out of the bullpen this season.

The Dayton Dragons won 8-1. Box Score

• Blake Dunn went 2-4 with a walk and a home run (5).
• Edwin Arroyo went 1-4 with a double, steal (1), and a run.
• Austin Callahan went 1-5 with a double and an RBI.
• Austin Hendrick went 1-3 with 2 walks and a run.
• Mat Nelson went 1-4 with a double and a run.
• Ruben Ibarra went 1-4.
• Justice Thompson went 2-4 with 2 runs scored.
• Trey Faltine went 2-2 with a double, 2 walks, and a run.
• Jose Acuna allowed a run in 4.0 innings with 3 walks and 4 strikeouts.
• Brooks Crawford threw 3.0 perfect innings with 2 strikeouts.
• Jayvien Sandridge threw a perfect inning with 2 strikeouts.

Game Notes

This game could have been won by an even wider margin. Up 8-1 in the bottom of the 8th with one out, Dayton had the bases loaded when the skies opened up and it was a downpour that led to the game being put into a rain delay. It didn’t last all that long before the game was called as official.

Blake Dunn needs to be playing in Chattanooga on Tuesday. He homered for the third straight game, hitting the first pitch he saw on the day out of the ballpark and onto the street. He’s hitting .386/.538/.702 with 12 walks, 13 strikeouts, and 11 steals in 19 games played.

Mat Nelson doubled in the game. It was his 6th extra-base hit of the season, but his first that wasn’t a home run.

Justice Thompson has gone 7-19 over the last five games with four walks. That stretch has raised his OPS from .597 to .764 on the season.

Brooks Crawford lowered his ERA to 1.29 on the season with his 3-shutout innings on Sunday. He’s pitched in five games and has thrown 14.0 innings, giving up just eight hits along the way.

The Daytona Tortugas split a doubleheader

Game 1: 10-5 loss. Box Score

• Cam Collier went 1-4 with a home run (1).
• Carlos Jorge went 2-3 with a double, steal (5), and a walk.
• Leonardo Balcazar went 1-4.
• Cade Hunter went 1-4 with a run.
• Logan Tanner went 2-2 with a double, walk, and 2 runs.
• Hector Rodriguez went 0-1 with a walk, run, and he was hit by a pitch.
• Michel Triana went 1-3 with a double and 2 RBI.

Game 2: 7-6 win. Box Score

• Ariel Almonte went 1-4.
• Carlos Jorge went 2-4 with a home run (2), 2 runs, and 2 RBI.
• Leonardo Balcazar went 1-4 with a double, run, and 2 RBI. (see notes below)
• Cam Collier went 1-4 with 2 RBI.
• Yassel Pino went 1-2 with a walk and a run.
• Andruw Salcedo went 2-3 with a run.
• Kevin Abel allowed a run in 3.0 innings with a walk and 8 strikeouts.
• Jacob Heatherly threw 2.0 shutout innings with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts.

Gameday Notes

Leo Balcazar scored the winning run in the second game of the doubleheader, but it was costly. The shortstop injured himself after scoring and was down on the field. According to broadcaster Brennan Mense the medical staff was checking out his right leg and Balcazar eventually was carted off of the field on the back of the grounds crew’s vehicle.

Cam Collier picked up his first home run of the season in game one on a ball that stayed just fair down the left field line. In game two he hit a walk-off, 2-run single.

The April swings of a good day at the plate can be fun to see. It was one of those days for Carlos Jorge. He got on base five times in the doubleheader and picked up two extra-base hits. That raised his OPS 104 points on the day and he’s now hitting .323/.408/.532 on the season through 18 games played.

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