Madera pitchers close month on hot streak
Courtesy of Phrake Photography
Former Madera ace Alec Gamboa walks off the mound during one of his outings for the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Arizona Rookie League affiliate. He finished the season with a 2.88 ERA with 33 strikeouts over 25 innings pitched.
Former Liberty Hawks ace Connor Brogdon has become one of the best relievers for the Philadelphia Phillies Triple-A affiliate, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.
In his last 10 outings, dating back to Aug. 6, Brogdon has pitched 11 1/3 innings and allowed just one run on three hits. He has 14 strikeouts in that span with a 0.79 ERA.
Overall, with Lehigh Valley, Brogdon is 2-1 with a 3.38 ERA in 29 1/3 innings pitched. He has 39 strikeouts against 12 walks.
With three clubs in 2019, Brogdon is 5-2 this season in 49 games. He has allowed 22 runs in 73 innings pitched for a 2.71 ERA with 101 strikeouts.
J.J. Santa Cruz (Liberty) as also been enjoying success. He is 3-0 with a 2.00 ERA over his last 10 outings for the August GreenJackets, the Single-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants.
In the past month, Santa Cruz has seen his in-game production increase, averaging two innings an outing. Since he allowed three runs in an August 3 outing and one run in an August 8 outing, he didn’t allow a run and allowed just one hit over his next nine innings through five games. He had 14 strikeouts in that span.
With Augusta, Santa Cruz is 6-1 with a 2.44 ERA in 26 games. He has 67 strikeouts over 48 innings with just 13 walks.
Overall, with three different teams, including Triple-A affiliate Sacramento, Santa Cruz is 6-2 with a 2.87 ERA. he has 84 strikeouts over 69 innings.
After a rocky beginning, former Madera ace Alec Gamboa settled down for the Arizona League Dodgers, the rookie league affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Over his last 10 games, Gamboa was 1-1 with a 3.13 ERA in 23 innings. He has 32 strikeouts against just two walks in that span, allowing just 19 hits.
Gamboa didn’t allow a run over a five-outing stretch into August. He allowed just four hits in a 13 2/3 inning stretch where he struck out 20 batters and didn’t walk one. In his last outing, Gamboa allowed a run on two hits with four strikeouts over three innings.
Overall, Gamboa is 1-1 with a 2.88 ERA with seven starts. He has 33 strikeouts over 25 innings pitched with just two walks.
The Bakersfield Train Robbers completed the 2019 Pecos League season and former Madera South standout Garrett Alvarez had a hand in the team reaching the Pecos League championship game.
Alvarez finished the season with a 6-3 record to go with a 3.31 ERA in 11 starts. He struck out 108 batters in 76 innings pitched and walked just 33 batters.
Alvarez also had 28 plate appearances and recorded seven hits with two RBIs for a .323 batting average. He also scored two runs.
