WEEK IN REVIEW (3-4): Boise suffered their first losing week of the season, dropping two of three to California and splitting a four-game series against Long Beach. For the most part, the bullpen was responsible for two late-inning losses and the Spuds received some inspired pitching performances, as well as seeing Yunosuke Terada and Joaquín Torres having their best offensive weeks to date. Despite the sub-.500 week, Boise remains in second place in the Frontier Division and third in the Frick Wild Card standings.ORE-IDA® TATER-TOTS EMOJI SUMMARY OF THE WEEK:
HITTER OF THE WEEK: Joaquín Torres - 5-for-12, 3 HR, 4 RBI (.417 AVG, 1.867 OPS)
PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Pancho Germán - 2-0, 12 IP, 10 K/5 BB, 0.75 ERA
GAME OF THE WEEK: On May 5th, the Spuds ended a two-game skid by defeating the Long Beach Surfers 8-0 in what could only be called a 'team effort'. Seven Boise starters collected a hit, including four home runs, two from Torres and one each from Dennis French and Alfredo Salazar. On the pitching side, Germán went 5⅓ IP, allowing only one hit before handing the ball off to Marko Efremov, who tossed 3⅔ shutout innings, striking out four and walking one. It was Efremov's first save of the year and kept his ERA at 0.00 thru 7 IP on the season.
Frick League Frontier Division Standings
| TEAM | WINS | LOSES | WIN% | GB | RD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle Storm | 21 | 11 | .656 | - | +40 |
| Boise Spuds | 17 | 14 | .548 | 3.5 | +12 |
| Calgary Pioneers | 15 | 17 | .469 | 6 | -23 |
| Edmonton Jackrabbits | 12 | 20 | .375 | 9 | -17 |
| Vancouver Mounties | 11 | 19 | .367 | 9 | -45 |
NEWS AND NOTES: Germán was named the Frick League Pitcher of the Month for May, posting a 5-0 record with a sparkling 2.58 ERA...on April 29th, the Spuds sent SP Maxim Makin and $2M in cash to Madison in exchange for three-time BBA All-Star Francisco Ruíz...Ruíz had spent the last two seasons with Madison and Edmonton after six years with Brooklyn...it is believed that Ruíz's role will be as a high-leverage, inning-eating reliever, adding another piece to an already improved bullpen...RHP Joe Clements was optioned to Triple A Salt Lake City to make room for Ruíz...2B Ramón Vela has hit .355 over the last two weeks to raise his season numbers to .284/.354/.534...French has reached base safely in 28 of Boise's 31 games and continues to lead the BBA in WAR (2.2)...the next three weeks will be a pivotal part of the schedule for the Spuds, as they will be on the road for the next sixteen of nineteen games...so far on the season, the Spuds are 4-2 away from Grigg Memorial Stadium with the six road games the lowest total in the BBA
DOWN ON THE FARM: Salt Lake City (AAA) had their first winning week (4-3) of the season but remain last in the division...LF Jim Des Jardien continues to swing a hot bat (.331/.381/.537)...SP Matt Mills opted out of his minor league contract with the Alpines after not making it to Boise after the season's first 30 days, making him a free agent...on the season, Mills was 1-2 with 4.40 ERA in 30⅔ IP...Mills' replacement in the rotation will be the recently-optioned Joe Clements...SS Motonobu Yamashita continues to impress at Buffalo (AA), hitting .271 with five steals in five attempts while playing BBA-ready defense...Tulsa (A) lost three of four games last week, dropping them to third in the division with a 16-14 record...the Drillers breakout star thus far has been 19-year-old Masamichi Kubo, who has shown improved power from last season while leading the Baxter League in runs and tied for second in doubles and stolen bases...Boise scouts made a significant international amateur signing last week, inking Mehari Jitu, a 16-year-old southpaw from South Africa...Jitu, or "Hog" as he's known in Johannesburg, has a plus-fastball with good velocity for a teenager along with a promising slider...Jitu will likely spend the next two or three years developing at Boise's international complex...Boise recently had New York high school prospect Robin Cooper workout for the team in advance of the upcoming amateur draft...Cooper, 18, is a crafty left-handed pitcher with make-up scouts have called "well beyond his years"...the Spuds select #7 overall in the draft and Cooper is believed to be high on their board