Trey Mancini Hit Huge 9th Inning Homer, D-backs Affiliates Win 4 Games

The Arizona Diamondbacks minor league affiliates pulled off a rare sweep of all four games, with a veteran trying to make a comeback coming up with the biggest hit of all.

Triple-A Reno Aces 6, OKC Comets 5

Trailing 5-3 and down to their final strike, veteran first baseman Trey Mancini delievered the biggest hit of the season for Aces, blasting a three-run walk-off homer.

DOWN TO OUR LAST STRIKE TREY MANCINI TAKES THE LEAD OH MY GOODNESS pic.twitter.com/HTSU1fRtZl
— Reno Aces (@Aces) June 5, 2025

Mancini had been struggling of late. Over his previous seven games he had gone 4-for-25, and was 0-for-4 before the big ninth inning blast.

After fighting back from cancer and then injury and some decline, the 33-year-old has dedicated himself to sticking with the Triple-A club to try and complete a comeback to the majors. He had a good Spring Training for the Diamondbacks and decided to stay in the organization rather than opt out of his minor league deal.

Currently batting .279/.339/.447, .786 OPS he has 13 doubles, eight homers, and 39 RBI in 242 plate appearances. He's been a model veteran player for the younger players trying to make their way to or back to majors as well. Manager Jeff Gardner spoke about how much this meant.

Mancini’s 9th Inning Blast Stuns Oklahoma City in 6-5 Victory

Full Story ⬇️ https://t.co/zGmHSgFzHR pic.twitter.com/IJH7FEpyOv
— Reno Aces (@Aces) June 5, 2025

Whether he gets a crack at playing for the D-backs in 2025 remains to be seen. It would most likely take an injury to open up a spot for him.

Double-A Amarillo Sod Poodle 7, Tulsa Drillers 3

Avery Short went 6.2 innings, allowing three runs, two earned. It was his longest outing of the year, but also his fourth quality start in his last six outings. He's thrown 34 innings and a 2.38 ERA to lower his season ERA to 4.09.

He left the game with men on however and Alfred Morillo could not preserve the lead for him. The game ended up going extra innings, where the Sod Poodles scored four runs in the top of the tenth to take the victory.

Kristian Robinson singled home the ghost runner to give Amarillo the lead. No. 3 prospect LuJames Groover had an RBI single driving in Robinson from third in the inning. He also hit a two-run homer earlier in the game. Manuel Pena hit a two-run shot in the 10th inning to seal it. The Sod Poodles rapped out 12 hits in total and went 4-11 with runners in scoring position.

Back into the GROOVE(R)! 💣

LuJames Groover hits a two-run home run giving us a 3-0 lead! pic.twitter.com/2L6Z3sdL1J
— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) June 5, 2025

High-A Hillsboro Hops 8, Spokane Indians 5

Casey Anderson went five innings, allowing just one unearned run and left the game with an 8-1 lead. Most of the damage by the Hops offense came on a pair of three-run homers, one by catcher Gavin Logan, and the other by DH Jackson Feltner. For Logan, it was his his first homer of the year.

Ryan Waldschmidt and Cristofer Torin had two hits apiece and each scored a run. Nate Savino went 1.1 scoreless and struck out one to get the hold, and Sam Knowlton threw a scoreless ninth to record his first save.

Class-A Visalia Rawhide 3, Inland Empire 66'ers 2

Infielder Modeifi Marte hit a go-ahead RBI single in the seventh inning to put the Rawhide ahead for good. It was Marte's second hit of the game. He is on a six-game hitting streak and is 9-for-24 with a couple of walks during this run.

His season averages are up to .293/.379/.350, .729 OPS, or a 109 wRC+. Playing in his age-23 season, and standing at 6'1", 200 pounds, Marte has not yet tapped into his power this year, but is taking his walks and not striking out much.

Mervin Fell threw 4.1 scoreless innings to start, striking out six. Jonaton Bernal threw the final 3.1 scoreless innings in relief, striking out four to pick up his second win.