By james art 
Game Results:
Monday, 28.10 | Salt River 3, Scottsdale 1
Tuesday, 29.10 | Glendale 7, Salt River 11
Wednesday, 10/30 | Peoria 5, Salt River 6
Thursday, 31.10 | Salt River 4, Mesa 17
Friday, 11/1 | Scottsdale 4, Salt River 1
Saturday, 26.10 | Mesa 3, Salt River 8
The Salt River Rafters went 4-2 on the week and are 12-10 overall on the season. That’s third place in the Arizona Fall League standings, and they’re a half-game out of second place going into the penultimate week of the season. One Twins prospect extended his hitting streak to five games, while another hit his first home run of the fall. On the pitching side, a pair of hurlers combined to allow one earned run in 9 2/3 innings pitched between them.
OF Kala’i Rosario
week: 3-for-15, 2 R, RBI, BB, 6 K (4 games)
In general: .295/.366/.426 (.792 OPS)
Rosario continued to beat at the heart of the Rafters line-up as he appeared at each of the outside corners and as a designated striker.
His first action of the week came in Tuesday’s win over the Glendale Desert Dogs. The Rafters moved into the lead thanks to his RBI single, their third in a row, in the bottom of the first. In the fifth, he was hit by a pitch, then immediately scored by his Twins teammate to make it 5-4 Glendale. Rosario wouldn’t reach base again in this one, but Salt River got a grand slam in the bottom of the seventh that put this one in the win column.
Rosario’s five-hit streak ended Wednesday against the Peoria Javelinas as he went 0-for-3 with a pair of hits, but he reached base via a walk. The Rafters won this one in the bottom of the ninth courtesy of a Ryan Ritter home run.
Thursday’s game against Mesa ended almost as quickly as it began, as the Solar Sox scored 11 runs in the bottom of the first inning. However, Rosario did his best to start another hitting streak with a single in a three-run eighth for the Rafters. Just like Tuesday, his Twins teammate was able to get him to score as the next hit. Unfortunately, Rosario struck out in each of his other three appearances.
Rosario closed out the week with another 1-for-4 effort in Friday’s loss to the Scottsdale Scorpions. He homered in his first appearance but didn’t reach base again as the Rafters managed just three hits and two walks as a team.
IF Ben Ross
week: 5-for-20, 4 R, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, BB, 4 K (5 games)
In general: .203/.329/.344 (.673 OPS)
Ross collected a hit in four of his five games during the week and, as mentioned, was responsible for bringing on Rosario on several occasions. He played shortstop in all four of his starts and came on as an injury replacement to play third base in the other.
In Monday’s win over the Scottsdale Scorpions, he led off the fifth inning with a single. He scored all the way from first on a double off the next batter to put the Rafters up 1-0.
Against Glendale on Tuesday, Ross put together his second hit game of the season, finishing 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, a run scored and an RBI. He drew his walk in the third inning to load the bases and the Rafters scored two in the frame to make it 4-3 after three. In his fifth, a two-out double scored Rosario to pull the Rafters within one after five. Leading off the seventh inning, Ross lined a single up the middle and would come around to score before Caleb Durbin put the Rafters ahead for good with a grand slam.
After a day off, Ross returned to the lineup against Mesa on Thursday and was responsible for 75 percent of the Rafters’ offense in the loss. Down 14-1 in the eighth inning, Ross came to bat after a walk and a single by Rosario put two runners on base. He hit an 0-1 over the wall in center for his first home run of the AFL campaign. He also reached base in the first inning on a fielder’s choice.
Ross entered Friday’s game in the third inning for starter Gino Gruver, playing third base. He went 0-for-3 and struck out to end the game, but there was little to talk about for either Rafters in a 4-1 loss to the Scorpions.
He finished his week with a 1-for-5 effort in Saturday’s win over the Solar Sox, helping the Rafters bounce back from a big loss earlier in the week. He led off the bottom of the fourth with one out and immediately stole second base. With the bases loaded a few batters later, he was brought home on a sacrifice fly for the home team’s eighth and final run.
IF Dani de Andrade
week: He hasn’t played.
The Venezuelan infielder hit .243/.333/.359 in 29 games with the Cedar Rapids Kernels before injuring his ankle in May. He spent the rest of the season on the injured list and the hope was that he would be able to make up some at-bats in the Arizona Fall League, but that has yet to happen.
RHP Devin Kirby
week: W, 2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB (1 appearance)
In general: 1-0, 6.75 ERA, 1.75 WHIP, .185 BAA, 9 BB, 4 K (8 IP)
The bullpen hitter made one appearance on the week, picking up the win in Salt River’s loss to Glendale on Tuesday.
Kirby was brought on to start the sixth inning with the score 5-4 in favor of the Desert Dogs. He got a pair of hits from the first two hitters before giving up a single followed by an RBI triple to put the visiting team up by two. His foul tied the game at six before coming back for the seventh. Kirby gave up a pair of walks and a passed ball that put Glendale back in front, but its offense took a commanding five-run lead in the bottom of the seventh that put it in line for the win. He surrendered two earned runs on two hits and a pair of walks in his two innings. Of his 38 innings pitched, 17 went for strikes (45%) and the two hits he allowed came off his fastball.
RHP Jack Noble
week: 5 IP, 3 H, ER, 2 BB, 3 K (2 appearances)
In general: 1-0, 1.64 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, .206 BAA, 6 BB, 9 K (11 IP)
Noble was the first reliever called out of the bullpen in Tuesday’s comeback win over Glendale, pitching the fourth and fifth innings. He gave up a leadoff single to the first batter he faced, but swiped it on a double play ball and faced the minimum three hitters in a scoreless frame. With the score 4-3 Desert Dogs in the fifth, Noble walked a pair of hitters and gave up an RBI single, but also picked up a strikeout to close out the game.
In Saturday’s revenge game against Mesa, Noble entered the fourth inning and dominated the Solar Sox until the sixth. He went one-two-three in each of the fourth and fifth innings, taking a hit in each. He allowed a one-out single in the sixth, but again wiped out that runner on an inning-ending double play ball. In his three innings, he faced the minimum and lowered his ERA to 1.64 for the AFL season. He needed just 35 passes in this one, with 24 of them for strikes (69%).
LHP Cade Bragg
week: 4 2/3 IP, H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K (2 appearances)
In general: 0-1, 1.86 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, .094 BAA, 7 BB, 10 K (9 2/3 IP)
Like Noble, Bragg also played in two games during the week and was even more dominant from a statistical standpoint.
The left-hander held on in Monday’s win over Scottsdale, coming out of the bullpen to start the fifth inning. He walked the leadoff man, but immediately got him out at first base for the inning’s first out. He then retired the next two hitters for a scoreless frame. Back for the sixth, he alternated three strikeouts around a walk and a single to complete the scoreless inning.
His second appearance of the week came in Friday’s loss to the Scorpions, entering the game to start the sixth inning. With his team already 4-1 down, he retired the side in order, earning a strikeout in the process. In the seventh, he got two quick outs before a pitch and walk put multiple runners on base, but closed it out with another K. Out again for the eighth inning, he picked up his third strikeout before being lifted with two outs.
RHP Jacob King
week: 1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 K
In general: 0-0, 3.38 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, .200 BAA, 1 BB, 5 K (5 1/3 IP)
King made his only appearance of the week Wednesday, entering the eighth inning against Peoria. The Rafters led 5-3 at that point, but before it was over, he would be credited with a botched save. He gave up a leadoff single followed by an RBI double, then two batters later an RBI single to tie the game at five. He did settle down to strike out the last two hitters he faced, but that meant the Rafters now needed the home run they got in the bottom of the ninth.
RHP Liam Rocha
week: 2 2/3 IP, H, ER, 2 BB, 2 K (1 appearance)
In general: 1-0, 3.12 ERA, 1.62 WHIP, .235 BAA, 6 BB, 7 K (8 2/3 IP)
Rocha also had just one outing in Week 4, but like Kirby, Noble and Bragg before him, his was for multiple innings. Unfortunately for him, that came in their blowout loss to Mesa on Thursday. It wasn’t his fault, though, as 11 of the Solar Sox’ 17 runs came in the first inning and he didn’t enter until the fifth. He was called on after a walk with one out in the fifth and retired both hitters he faced to keep that frame scoreless. A leadoff double in the sixth put an earned run in his ledger, but he struck out the final batter of the inning to keep the damage to one. He finished by allowing a walk in the seventh but otherwise retired the remaining three hitters, including a second strikeout to get the game going.
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