Offensive Desert Dogs shred Woerman, Javelinas 13-4

Ryan Mullins

Peo Javelinas 4 at Phoenix 13

W: R. Mullins (1-0, 2.84); L: J. Woerman (2-2, 6.86)
HR: PEJ: M. Tuiasosopo (1). PDD: R. Sweeney (1).

The Phoenix Desert Dogs turned into an offensive machine Wednesday afternoon at the Phoenix Municipal Stadium, pounding the Peoria Javelinas 13-4. Peoria's loss, coupled with the Rafters win, means that the Dogs will face Surprise in the Championship Game on Saturday (which is probably not much of a surprise to anyone).

Peoria got onto the board first when Brett Gardner (NY Yankees) singled to start out the game and moved to 2nd on Dexter Fowler's (Colorado) sac-bunt. Following Jordan Schafer's (Atlanta) strike out and a walk to Justin Maxwell (Washington), Kory Castro (Washington) would reach on a fielding error by Minnesota's Matt Macri which would also bring Gardner home. Starter Ryan Mullins (Minnesota) would get Devan Ivany (Washington) out on strikes to end the inning.

The Dogs then surprised Peoria. With one out, Cliff Pennington (Oakland) singled and Nolan Reimold (Baltimore) and Ryan Sweeney (Chicago White Sox) both drew walks. Jason Delaney's (Oakland) line drive would plate Pennington. Macri would strike out swinging, but a Chris Getz (Chicago White Sox) walk forcing in Reimold. Drew Butera's (Minnesota) fly ball single then brough in Sweeney and Delaney to make it 4-1 Dogs.

In the top of the 3rd, Gardner walked and moved to 3rd on Schafer's single to 2nd. After Maxwell took a walk off Mullins to load the bags, Castro ground into a force out to score Gardner. Ivany would again end the inning for the Javelinas, this time on a fly out.

Delaney walked to start the bottom of the 3rd, but he was taken out at 2nd on Macri's force out. Getz and Butera both took walks off Seattle's Joe Woerman to fill up the bases again. Blake Davis' (Baltimore) sngle to right brought in Macri and Gets. Nyjer Morgan (Pittsburgh) would get plunked by a pitch. Pennington would hit a sac-fly to bring in Butera, but the Dog's were not yet done. A wild pitch by Woerman moved David and Morgan, and the pair would score on Reimold's grounder to left field, making the score 9-2.

Matt Tulasosopo (Seattle) would homer off Mullins in the top of the 4th as the Javelina's chipped away at the Dogs' lead.

Adam Russell (Chicago White Sox) would relieve Mullins in the top of the 5th, getting Fowler out on strikes before giving up back-to-back singles to Schafer and Maxwell. Castro would take a walk to load the bags and Ivany would single to bring in Schafter. But Tulasosopo ground into a double play to end the inning and the Javelina's scoring threat.

A pair of singled by Morgan and Pennington and a Reimold double saw the Dogs take another point at the bottom of the 6th.

Phoenix was not through though, as Morgan reached on a fielding error in the 8th and Pennington would walk, before Sweeney hit a Darren Clarke (Colorado) pitch over the right center-field fence to finish off the Dog's definative statement.

Mullins final line score would be be 3 runs (2 earned) on 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out 3 in 4 innings, picking up his first win of the AFL season. Eddie Morlan (Minnesota) worked the sixth inning, allowing only 1 hit during his 1 frame on the mound.

Macri would go 1-for-5 at the plate with 1 run, while the scrappy Butera was 1-for-3 with a walk, a run, and 2 RBIs.

The Rafters would edge out the Saguaros 6-5 with Michael Aubrey (Cleveland) and John Mayberry (Texas) each picking up their 5th home run of the AFL season for Surprise. That win gives them a 2 game lead over the Javelinas with one left to play, locking up their playoff berth. Scottsdale would edge Mesa, 1-0, with Milwaukee's Steve Hammond taking the hard luck loss in the game.

The AFL regular season concludes on Thursday with Surpise hosting the Desert Dogs in a preview of Saturday's Championship game at 12:35 pm.

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Dogs continue to dominate Javelinas

Minnesota's Eddie Morland

Phoenix 6 at Peo Javelinas 2

W: J. Egbert (1-0, 3.77); L: G. Mock (0-1, 2.95)
HR: None.

Trevor Plouffe (Minnesota) when 2-for-3 with 1 walk, 2 runs and 1 RBI for the Phoenix Desert Dogs which continued their dominence over the Peoria Javelina's 6-2.

Chicago White Sox prospect Jack Egbert allowed 1 run on 3 hits and 3 runs while striking out 3 in 4 innings to pick up the win for Phoenix at the Peoria Sports Complex.

Chris Getz (Chicago White Sox) lead off with a single in the top of the third inning for the Dogs, and was followed onto the bases by Plouffe. A Drew Butera (Minnesota) single scored Getz. Nyjer Morgan (Pittsburgh) and Nolan Reimold (Baltimore) then drew a walks which loaded the bases and pushed Plouffe over the plate. Ryan Sweeney (chicago White Sox) would hit into a double play that would take Morgan out at 3rd and Reimold out at 2nd, but Butera managed to pass the plate to give the Dogs a 3 run lead in the inning.

For the Javelinas, Reegie Corona (NY Yankees) took a walk off Egbert to lead off, and advanced to 2nd on a balk. A wild pitch moved him to 3rd, and he'd cross the plate on Brett Gardner's (NY Yankees) ground out to put the Javelinas on the board. Dexter Fowler (Colorado) would walk and steal his way to 2nd, but Jordan Schafer (Atlanta) struck out and former Tampa Yankee Juan Miranda (NY Yankees) ground out to end the inning.

The Dogs took advantage of pitcher change as Plouffe took a walk off Steve Jackson (NY Yankees). Butera would ground out, moving Plouffe over to 2nd. Morgan's 1st double of the AFL season out to left saw Plouffe home. Morgan then stole 2nd and scored on Sweeney's line drive to center adding to the Dog's total.

With Adam Russell (Chicago White Sox) on the mound in the sixth, Miranda doubled then came in on a Justin Maxwell (Washington) single to give the Javelinas their second run in the game.

Phoenix would not finish off until the ninth, when Getz walked, advanced to 2nd on a balk and to 3rd on a wild pitch by Zechry Zinicola (Washington). Plouffe's single would put Getz over the plate. Butera and Morgan both drew walks to load the bases, but with 2 outs, Reimold hit into a force out to retire the side.

The Javelinas would get nothing off Baltimore closer Bob McCrory who sent them back to their dugout on 2 strikes and a Corona line out.

Butera finished off 1-for-3 at the plate with 1 walk and 1 RBI. Eddie Morlan (Minnesota) pitched the 8th inning, striking out 1, and taking 2 of the 3 batters he faced out on ground outs.

Former Lakeland Flying Tigers ace Burke Badenhop picked up the win after pitching 2 innings as the Peoria Saguaros downed the Surprise Rafters, 4-1. San Diego's Will Venable was 3-for-4 at the plate with 1 run and 1 RBI. Philladelphia catcher Tuffy Gosewisch was 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs for the Saguaros.

Mike Carp, who played 1 whole game with the St. Lucie Mets last season, was 2-for-4 with 1 run and 2 RBIs to lead the Scottsdale Scorpions over the Mesa Solar Sox, 7-3. Toronto's Travis Snider hit his 3rd home run of the AFL season, while Caleb Stewart (NY Mets) knocked his fifth over the wall.

The Dogs take on the Scorpians Tuesday in Phoenix at 12:35 PM. Phoenix remains in 1st place in the East Division, 3 games ahead of the Solar Sox and 4.5 game in front of Scottsdale. Surprise leads the AFL West, 2 games over the Javelinas.

Former Miracle Nick Blackburn (Minnesota) is in line for AFL Pitcher of the Year honors. After getting hammered by Surprise in his first appearance -- he allowed three runs on four hits in two innings -- Blackburn has allowed only three hits in 11 scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 2.08. He struck out five and didn't walk a batter in four innings in his last outing on Tuesday against Surprise. In addition, in his last three starts, all of which came at home, opponents are hitting .086 (3-for-35) against him.

The Desert Dogs are the only AFL team with an ERA below 3.00 at 2.79. Should they continue to pitch to that mark, they will break the league record of 2.84 set by Scottsdale in 1992.

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Dogs slaughter Javelinas 12-5 in Phoenix

Peoria Javelinas 5 at Phoenix Desert Dogs 12

W: D. Haehnel (2-2, 9.00); L: J. Woerman (1-1, 1.98)
HR: PDD: J. Baisley (3).

In a case of sports imitating nature, the Phoenix Desert Dogs ganged up and slaughtered the Peoria Javelinas, 12-5 Saturday at Phoenix Municiple Stadium.

Baltimore's Hayden Penn took the start for the Desert Dogs and kept the Javelinas off the board for the first inning before Juan Miranda (NY Yankees) hit a double to start off the 2nd inning and then traded places with Justin Maxwell (Washington), who also doubled, out to left. Devin Ivany (Washington) would ground out, and Maxwell would steal 3rd, but he'd get no further as Matt Tulasosopo (Seattle) struck out and Brandon Hicks (Atlanta) ground out to end the inning.

Penn hung on until the 4th inning when he started out issuing walks to Kory Castro (Washington) and Miranda. Maxwell would single in Castro, then steal 2nd base. Ivany would strike out, but Tulasosopo hit a soft fly ball out to right that brought in Miranda and Maxwell. Hicks would be called out on strikes, but Penn's time on the hill came to an end. David Haehnel (Baltimore) replaced him on the mound, getting J. C. Holt (Atlanta) to hit a fly ball to retire the side.

That's when the Desert Dogs' bats came alive. Ryan Sweeney (Chicago White Sox) singled and Jeff Baisley (Oakland) would reach on a force attempt after 2nd baseman Corey Wimberly (Colorado) missed a catch. Jason Delaney (Oakland) would strike out swinging, but Andrew McCutchen (Pittsburgh) drew a walk to load the bases. Jeff Fiorentino (Baltimore) hit a grounder that brought in Sweeney and Baisley. Catcher Donny Lucy (Chicago White Sox) put a fly ball out to center to plate McCutchen, while Fiorentino moved to 3rd on Maxwell's throw to the base. Blake Davis (Baltimore) singled and stole 2nd before a Chris Getz (Chicago White Sox) singled, plating Lucey and Davis. Getz would make to 2nd as Maxwell was slow to get the throw off again. A passed ball by Ivaney moved Getz to 3rd. Cliff Pennington (Oakland) was issued a walk, which prompted the Javelina's field manager to take a walk to the mound. Alex Morales (Washington) replaced Joseph Woerman (Seattle), but that did not end the Javelinas woes, as another passed ball by Ivany brought Getz in.

The 6th run 4th put the Dogs into the lead, but the Javelinas tried to make it up some of the difference in the 5th. A Wimberly single, a Dexter Fowler (Colorado) double and a walk to Castro, who was hit by a pitch, loaded the bases. Miranda would hit a sac-fly to plate Wimberly, but Maxwell would ground into a double play, ending the inning before the Javelina's could extract more damange.

Baisley would walk to start out the bottom of the 5th, but Delaney ground into a force out. Delaney then stole 2nd and McCutchen walked to fill up the space. Fiorentino then walked to load the bases. Lucy would strike out before a wild pitch by Morales brounght Delaney home. Davis hit a line drive to score 2 more. Morales would be replaced by former Tampa Yankee Steven White, who got Getz to fly out to end the inning.

Jake Arrieta (Baltimore) replaced Haehnel on the mound for the 6th and struck out 3 Javelinas to retire the side. Penning took a walk in the bottom of the inning, then stole 2nd. Sweeney would single him in before Baisley hit one over the left field fence to give the Desert Dogs their 12th run of the game.

While Friday's game feature 6 Twins players, Saturday's contest saw the Dogs without any Minnesota players in their line up. While this was not popular with any Twins fans tuned in for the broadcast, it is an unfortunate side effect of co-op league baseball.

The Twins kids will take two days off as the League takes Sunday off. Phoenix travels to the Peoria Sports Complex to face the Javelinas again on Monday for an evening (7:05 PM MST) game.

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Javelina's down Desert Dogs, 9-5

Phoenix 5 at Peo Javelinas 9

W: M. Nix (3-0, 3.52); L: D. Haehnel (1-1, 9.53)
HR: None.

The Game between the Phoenix Desert Dogs and the Peoria Javelinas quickly turned into a slugfest, which saw the Javelinas take 9 runs on 11 hits to come out on top.

The Javelinas got on the board in the 3rd inning when Corey Wimberly (Colorado) singled, then stole 2nd. Brett Gardner's (NY Yankees) bunt moved Wimberly to 3rd and Gardner stole 2nd. Dexter Fowler (Colorado) doubled the pair in a fly ball to center.

Phoenix answered back in the top of the 4th with Blake Davis (Baltimore) and Trevor Plouffe (Minnesota) walking. Chris Getz (Chicago White Sox) sac-bunt moved the pair into scoirng position. Oakland's Jason Delaney singled them in with a line drive. The Javelinas then took Garrett Mock (Washington) off the mound, replacing him with Rich Orta (Seattle). The change did little go as Matt Macri (Minnesota) doubled to score Delaney and put the Desert Dogs on top.

They pulled away in the 5th when Minnesota's Drew Butera singled, but was taken out on Davis' force out. Davis then stole 2nd and advanced to 3rd then Javelina catcher Jeff Clement (Seattle) overthrew the base. Plouffe singled Davis in.

But the Javelinas tied the game up in the sixth, with J.C. Holt (Atlanta) taking a single off Jess Chavez (Pittsburgh) followed by a Reegie Corona (NY Yankees) ground ball single which pushed Holt to 3rd. He came home on Yung Chi Chen (Seattle) sac-fly. Corona then stole second and scored on Gardner's line drive to left.

A wild pitch by Michael Nix (Atlanta) saw Davis, who'd been walked move over to 2nd then 3rd on Getz' fly out. Delaney would double in him to put the Dogs up by one again.

It did not stay that way long however, as Clement took a double off Baltimore's David Haehnel, who then walked Kory Castro (Washington). With 2 outs, Corona took a walk to load the bases. Chen singled a pair in. A pair of walks to Gardner and Fowler forced Corona over the plate. Fernando Hernandez (Chicago White Sox) came in to get the last out.

Sunk Ki Jung (Atlanta) and Eric Wordekemper (NY Yankees) combined to shut the Dogs offense down during the next two innings, giving Peoria the win. Meanwhile the Javelinas tacked on 2 more runs in the 8th to rub salt into the Dog's wounds.

Haehnel came away with both a blown save and a loss in the game. while Nix picked up his 3rd win of the Arizona Fall League season.

Plouffe was 1-for-3 at the plate with a run, 2 walks and an RBI. Macri was 1-for-4 with a double, and Butera was 1-for-3. Plouffe walked in the 1st, but was caught stealing with Delaney at the plate to end the side.

Pheonix plays at home against Peoria Saguaros Thursday at 12:35 PM MST.

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Macri leads Pheonix over Javalinas. 7-5

Phoenix 7 at Peoria Javalinas 5

W: J. Chavez (1-1, 3.60); L: M. Rivera (0-1, 10.38); SV: B. McCrory (4)
HR: PDD: M. Macri (2), N. Reimold (1).

Twins prospect Matt Macri was 2-for-4 with 2 runs, including a home run in the top of the 6th, to help lead the Phoenix Desert Dogs over the Peoria Javelinas 7-5 Thursday afternoon.

Phoenix took an early lead when Cliff Pennington (Oakland) walked, moved to 3rd on Ryan Sweeney's (Chi Sox) single, and crossed the plate when Macri reached on a throwing error by Brandon Hicks (Atlanda). A wild pitch by Garrett Mock (Washington) saw Sweeney home to give the Dogs 2.

The Javelina's answered back when Atlanta's Jordon Schafer singled, stole 2nd then came home on a line drive by former Tampa Yankee Juan Miranda.

Peoria took the lead in the 2nd when they tallied 3 runs, including Matt Tulasosopo's (Seattle) marker that came on a throwing error by Twins prospect Drew Butera.

Macri's yard-ball single tied the score up in the 6th.

Butera drew a walk in the 7th, then came home on Pennington's double, along with Jeff Fiorentino (Baltimore), who had also walked his way onto base.

They added 2 more in the 8th after Macri singled his way onto base, then came home on Norlan Reimold's (Baltimore) home run. Butera would double in the inning, but it was for naught as Fiorentino would pop out to retire the side.

Butera finished up the game 1-for-3 with 1 run and 1 walk, while former Mircle shortstop Trevor Plouffe was 1-for-4 at the plate.

Jesse Chavez (Pittsburgh) took the win for the Desert Dogs, allowing 1 hit and striking out 1 in 1 innings worth of work. Seattle's Mumba Rivera suffered the loss, while Atlanta's Sung Ki Jung was charged with the blown save for the Javelinas.

The Desert Dogs take on the Surprise Rafters at home Friday at 12:35 MST.

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Phoenix turns big 5th inning to win

Trevor Plouffe

Peo Javelinas 3 at Phoenix 6

W: J. Arrieta (1-0, 0.00); L: C. Lo (0-1, 19.64); SV: F. Hernandez (1)
HR: PDD: J. Baisley (2).

Former Miracle shortstop Trevor Plouffe was 2-for-5 Wednesday with a run and 2 RBIs as the Phoenix Desert Dogs overcame the Peoria Javelinas 6-3.

Ryan Mullins worked the start for the Desert Dogs, giving up 2 runs (both earned) on 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3.

Corey Wimberly (Colorado) turned a walk into a run in the first inning after moving to 3rd on Dexter Fowler's (Colorado) fly ball single. A sac double-play by Jordon Schafer (Atlanta) sent Wimberly over the plate for the Javelinas early lead.

Peoria turned a second run in the 2nd inning with catcher Devin Ivany (Washington) drawing a walk off the former Mircle starter, moving to 2nd on a ground out and coming across the plate on a Christian Colonel (Colorado) single.

Phoenix used a big 5th inning to do all their damage. After Pittsburgh's Andrew McCutchen got caught stealing 2nd, Ryan Sweeny (Chicago White Sox) would singled his way onto base. With two out BlaKe Davis (Baltimore) bunted his way onto the bags and Nyjer Morgan (Pittsburgh) walked ot load the bags. A fly ball single by Plouffe scored 2, followed by a Jeff Fiorentino (Baltimore) double that brought in Morgan and moved Plouffe to third. Jeff Baisley (Oakland) then put one over the left field wall to make the final total for the inning 6.

Plouffe doubled in the bottom of the 8th with 2 outs, but was left stranded when Fiorentino was called out on strikes.

Baltimore's Jake Arrieta earned the win for Dogs. Twins prospect Matt Macri was 1-for-3 at the plate with 1 walk.

The Javelinas feature several former Tampa Yankees' players including short stop Reegie Corona and pitcher Eric Wordekemper from the 2007 season.

The two teams rematch Thursday at 12:35 MST in Peoria.

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Yankees prospects on the Javelinas: Steve Jackson (p), Kevin Whelan (p), Steveb White (p), Eric Wordekemper (p), Reegie Corona (ss), Juan Miranda (1b), Brett Gardner (of)