Glendale played their second night game on Wednesday night, taking on Scottsdale on the road. At 5-2, the Desert Dogs had the best record in the Arizona Fall League coming into the night. Both Kevin Kramer and Mitchell Tolman were in the lineup, as they paired up for the Glendale double play combo for the third time this season. JT Brubaker would come out of the bullpen in the seventh inning, as the Desert Dogs lost 9-5.
Kramer was batting seventh and playing shortstop. He struck out swinging in the second inning with two runners on base. Kramer grounded out to third base in the third inning, driving in a run to make it 5-1 in favor of Glendale. He flew out to right field in the fifth inning, then walked in the eighth, leaving him 0-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.
Kramer hasn’t been busy on defense in any games yet, which isn’t what you want from someone who is playing a position for the first time in two years. On this night, the first ball was grounded to him for an infield single. In the second, he recorded all of the outs. A 6-4 putout involved both Pirates for the first out, then Kramer handled a 6-3 ground ball on his own. He also had the final out of the third inning on a grounder and another in the fourth, then plays in the fifth and sixth, so it ended up being his busiest day on defense.
Tolman doubled in his first at-bat, then scored on a double. It was already his fourth double of the AFL season in his first 14 at-bats and he ended the night tied for the AFL lead. Through his first 220 at-bats with Bradenton this season, he also had four doubles. He ended up hitting 16 more in his final 205 at-bats of the season. Tolman singled to start the fourth inning, then struck out to lead-off the sixth. He grounded out to end the eighth inning, leaving him 2-for-4 on the night. He now has a .294 average through five games.
JT Brubaker made his second appearance of the AFL season. He threw two shutout innings in his debut. Brubaker didn’t do as well this time, allowing a lead-off double, followed by two singles, which brought home a run. He got outs on a line out, a fly out and a strikeout swinging, limiting the damage to just one run. He threw 25 pitches, with 18 going for strikes.
** Glendale plays their final night game of the AFL season on Thursday night in Salt River.
