Minor Leagues: Posey's hitting .538 at Fresno; Bumgarner Rocked

Madison Bumgarner had the worst outing of his professional career on Friday night as the Reno Aces beat the Fresno Grizzlies, 8-5, in Pacific Coast League Class AAA play on Friday.

Catcher Buster Posey couldn't be much hotter at Fresno, hitting .538 after consecutive two-hit games Friday and Saturday.

Bumgarner, the 20-year-old who entered spring training with a tentative hold on the No. 5 spot in the San Francisco Giants starting rotation, gave up 11 hits and four runs in just three innings on Friday. He struck out two and walked two. He yielded a home run to Reno cleanup hitter Brandon Allen.

The left-hander threw 79 pitches, but just 46 strikes.

Posey simply smokin'

Posey went 2-for-4 with two singles, one a blooper to right field on Friday. He came back Saturday night to go 2-for-4 and raise his average to .538. He doubled and tripled Saturday to up his season total to 7-for-13.

The Grizzlies beat Reno 6-2 on Saturday night.

Fred Lewis continued his rehabilitation stint with a double, two walks and a run scored on Friday, followed by his solo home run on Saturday. He scored two more runs

Brett Pill had a single and a walk on Friday, but went hitless with a strikeout on Saturday.

Hinshaw ejected

After journeyman lefty Horacio Ramirez worked two innings, southpaw Alex Hinshaw gave up two runs in 2/3 of an inning to absorb the loss.  After the Grizzlies scored five to tie the game in the top of the sixth, Hinshaw yielded a double to John Hester. With two out and Hester at third, Hinshaw was called for a balk to make it 6-5. He was ejected from the game for arguing the balk call.

Hinshaw came back to pitch a scoreless inning, striking out two, on Saturday night.

Rohlinger out; Downs struggling

With Ryan Rohlinger still sidelined after being hit by a pitch in the opener, Matt Downs has taken over at shortstop in Fresno. He's hitting just .167 through three games without an extra-base hit. He made a throwing error on Saturday night.

Kieschnick, Neal help Squirrels

The Class AA Richmond Flying Squirrels pounded out 11 hits in a 6-4 loss at Bowie.

Left fielder Thomas Neal was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. He walked once and struck out. Right fielder Roger Kieschnik was 2-for-5, but struck out three times. He  had 1 hits and fanned twice in a 5-4 loss on Saturday. Kieschnik is 4-for-14 with six Ks this season. Neal is 2-for-12.

Kieschnik threw out his second runner of the season at home plate on Friday.

Third baseman Connor Gillaspie had a double and two RBIs, but had two hits including a home run with three RBIs on Saturday. He is 4-for-12 with five RBIs.

Centerfielder Darren Ford was hitless in five plate appearances on Friday, then went 2-for-6 with a double in Saturday's loss. He struck out twice.

Shortstop Brandon Crawford singled to go with a walk and a strikeout on Friday. He was 1-for-2 and walked three times on Saturday to improve to 4-for-10 on the young season.

Second baseman Nick Noonan was 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored Saturday. He’s hitting .364.

San Jose wins behind Wescott

The Class A San Jose Giants won on the road at Modesto, 4-3.

Prized shortstop prospect Ehire Adrianza had a single, while fanning twice. Second baseman Ryan Lormand, 24, went 3-for-4 with an RBI.

Adrianza went hitless Saturday in a 3-1 win on Saturday. Lormand had two hits and is 5-for-7 this season.

Right-hander Craig Wescott pitched four scoreless innings in his first start of the season. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound 24-year-old struck out three, walked two and gave up three hits.

Kid Salsbury sparkles at Augusta

B.J. Salsbury, a 20-year-old right-hander, pitched six-hitless inning to get the win in an 8-2 victory for Augusta in Class A play against Greensboro on Saturday. He struck out four and walked just one.

Salsbury was chosen by the Giants in the 14th round of the 2009 draft.

                                                    ------

Ted Sillanpaa is a San Francisco Bay Area sports writer and columnist. Contact Ted at: [e-mail]