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Ronny Henriquez, the 18 year old 5’10” righthanded pitcher making his stateside debut for the Texas Rangers this year, had his fourth start of the season tonight for Hickory, and was quite dominant. In 4 shutout IP, Henriquez faced 14 batters and struck out 8 of them. He walked none and allowed 2 hits, and Mark Parker said he was throwing in the mid-90s and busting his slider inside on lefty batters.
Emerson Martinez, meanwhile, continued his up and down season with a very up performance for Frisco tonight. 7 IP, 6 hits, 1 walk, 5 Ks, 1 run allowed. Martinez is an interesting case, an intriguing arm who is still just 24 and who shows flashes that suggest he could be in the majors some point.
Emmanuel Clase also pitched tonight for Frisco, and went double-walk-walk to the first three hitters before striking out two of the next three to end things. He’s finding the ride at AA bumpier than at his previous stops, but again, he was in extended spring, over a month away from starting short season ball, this time last year. He will learn and adjust.
As far as hitters go, with Hickory, Pedro Gonzalez continued his recent production, registering a pair of hits, and Jonathan Ornelas got, of course, another hit. Leody Taveras had a hit and a walk for Down East, and Sam Huff went 1 for 4 with a double.