The Tacoma Rainiers lost 5-3 to the New Orleans Zephyrs today with Hector Noesi going to 0-4 with a 7.24 since his demotion to Tacoma. On the bright side, shortstop Nick Franklin went 1-for-4 with a home run and avoided striking out for the second straight game.
Yes, with 54 strikeouts in 42 games, it is relevant when he goes consecutive games without a K. In fact, he's struck out just three times in his last six games. Franklin had strikeout problems in his first two minor league seasons but improved significantly for Jackson to start the year. Those numbers spiked when he was promoted to AAA, but he may be getting it under control
Perhaps Noesi is also getting things under control. Despite picking up another loss, Noesi went 7 innings, allowing 6 hits, 3 R, 3 BB and 5 K. He went 7 innings in his previous start with just 1 walk allowed, and now has two quality starts in a row. We can be hopeful that he's figuring it out finally and will be able to contribute at the major league level at some point, even if it's next year.
Justin Smoak was 0-for-2 with 2 walks and is hitting .216 for the Rainiers, and Carlos Peguero also homered and walked twice.