First Hand Report: Lamb Takes Minor Deep on Opening Day

Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Breaking: Despite allowing three earned runs in just two innings of work, the Opening Day starter for the Mississippi Braves has a chance to be a very good pitcher at the Major League level. His name is Mike Minor.

After the rehabbing Atlanta Braves lefty struck out the first two Mobile Bay Bears he faced, Arizona Diamondbacks prospect  Jake Lamb started his 2014 season with a bang, driving a 1-2 fastball high above the fence to the opposite field. Though the homer was the third baseman’s only hit of the evening, he looked good at the plate. Lamb worked a walk off of Minor in his second at-bat and hit the ball hard twice in his final three at-bats, finishing 1-for-4.

In all, the Bay Bears scored three runs off of Minor in the first inning, which would be enough in the 5-2 victory. Minor struck out the side in the second inning.

After logging a bumpy 2013 season for Triple-A Reno, right-hander Chase Anderson was nearly unhittable for the Diamondbacks Double-A affiliate tonight, allowing just one hit over six scoreless innings. Working low in the zone much of the outing, Anderson induced three groundouts in the first inning and seven in the ballgame. Very few Braves even managed to make solid contact against Anderson. However, the lone hit he allowed was a sharply hit single to left by powerful outfield prospect Robby Hefflinger in the second inning. Anderson struck out six Braves and did not surrender a walk, leaving the game after tossing just 71 pitches.

The Bay Bears bullpen allowed two runs late in the ballgame. Pinch hitter Cedric Hunter singled in the eighth inning and scored on an RBI groundout by Emerson Landoni. In the ninth, Bay Bears reliever and D-Backs prospect Matt Stites surrendered a run when Hefflinger grounded out to score Seth Loman, who singled.

Among Atlanta prospects in action, right-handed reliever Shae Simmons worked a perfect ninth inning. The flamethrower needed just nine pitches to force a ground out and strike out two. Third baseman Kyle Kubitza went 0-for-4.

Left fielder David Peralta doubled twice and added a single, drove in two runs and scored two for Mobile.