Scorpions Eliminated in AFL Action

The Scottsdale Scorpions are in a tailspin in the Arizona Fall League. They hit rock bottom Wednesday night, losing to the Salt River Rafters 8-4 in AFL action. The loss, their fourth in a row, gives them the worst record in the AFL and officially eliminated them from title game contention. The Yankees’ bats and arms were relatively quiet Wednesday night as well.

It appeared that Scottsdale would run away with this game. They jumped on Colorado Rockies right-handed pitching prospect Christian Bergman for four runs in the bottom of the first. Josh Bell and shortstop Matt Reynolds would drive in top Yankees’ farm hands Tyler Austin and Greg Bird. That would be all the Scorpion action on the night, however, as five Rafters’ reliever combined for 8.1 innings of two-hit, shutout baseball. Bird would go 0-for-2 on the night, drawing two walks and scoring a run, however he also committed a costly error. Austin would finish 1-for-4 with a run scored. Dante Bichette, Jr. hit a double, finishing 1-for-4 on the evening. 

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It was more of the same from the Yankees’ minor league arms. Alex Smith came in for the eighth inning and instead of holding off the attack, he was once again scorched in the desert. He allowed two runs to score on four hits in his one inning and now has a horrendous 9.72 ERA on the AFL season. Kyle Haynes, however, has done what he has done for nearly all of the AFL season. He threw a scoreless seventh inning and carries a terrific 1.86 ERA on the season.

The loss drops the Scorpions to 10-15 in the AFL East. The Scorpions take on Peoria Thursday afternoon. Pirates pitching prospect Tyler Glasnow is scheduled to toss the first pitch at 3:35 PM EST.

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