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2003 season

October 5, 2003

The Peoria Saguaros, led by a balanced hitting attack and strong pitching from a mostly unheralded staff, are the only undefeated team after the first week of AFL action.

Big flies:

Saguaro first baseman Adrian Gonzalez (Rangers - 1B) smacked the league's first grand slam, a solid shot to right center, Wednesday night to lead his team to an 11-2 win over the Scottsdale Scorpions ... The most impressive blast of the week came off the bat of the Solar Sox' Jason Dubois (Cubs - OF), who launched a rocket off the scoreboard that sits atop the grassy knoll beyond the left field fence at Mesa's Hohokam Park. It was the second homerun of the week for the right-handed hitting Dubois, who also tripled twice in the same game. He ended the week batting .500 ...

Dan Johnson with a homerun swing

Dane Sardinha (Reds - C), back for his second AFL stint, hit a pair of round-trippers on Friday. The native Hawaiian is 4 for 7 in his first two games, and is starting off strongly for the second consecutive Fall ... Dan Johnson (A's - 1B) went 8 for 16 in the opening week, capping his week with a line drive shot to left center in his final at bat ... As a member of the Mesa Desert Dogs ' taxi squad, left-handed hitting Luke Scott (Indians - OF) is eligible to play on in games on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Scott, who hit a combined 20 homeruns between high Class A and AA, made the most of his limited playing time, going 3 for 5 with a homerun, triple and double ... At 20 years old, David Wright (Mets - 3B) is one of the younger players in the AFL, having never played above Class A. The former first round choice doesn't appear to be intimidated by his more experienced opponents, as he went 3 for 9 with a homerun this week.

Top Pitching Performances:

22-year-old Ramon Ramirez (Yankees - P), who signed with the Yankees last year after they purchased his rights from the Hiroshima Carp of the Japanese leagues, had two strong outings in his AFL debut. The Dominican right-hander pitched five scoreless innings, yielding three hits and one walk, while fanning six batters ... After a shaky opening day appearance, Dewon Brazelton (Devil Rays - P), was sharp in yesterday's three inning stint against Grand Canyon. The former number one choice of the Devil Rays earned his first win with three scoreless innings, giving up only one hit while striking out three ... Brazelton's AFL teammate, right-hander Chris Buglovsky (Rockies - P), started the game with three no-hit innings. A trio of relievers followed Buglovsky and Brazelton to complete the shutout for a 5-0 Rafter win ... 6'10" Chris Young (Expos - P) was impressive in his first outing for the Peoria Javelinas, giving up only two hits in his three innings of work against the Saguaros.

Speed burners:

Rich Thompson (Pirates - OF) leads the league in stolen bases by swiping three bags in the first week of action. One of those was on the front end of a double steal on opening day ... Ramon Nivar (Rangers - OF), spent some time this season in Texas' starting lineup. Formerly known as Ramon Martinez, the switch-hitter has a nice line drive stroke and plenty of speed on the base paths. Nivar went 5 for 11 with one stolen base ... 2003 number two overall draft choice Rickie Weeks (Brewers - 2B) started strongly, picking up a pair of stolen bases to go with a 4 for 9 week for the Saguaros.

Looking ahead:

Team USA starts play this Friday with an afternoon game at Mesa. Manager Frank Robinson and pitching coach Dave Stewart were spotted at a Giants-Athletics Instructional League game at the A's Papago Park complex on Saturday morning. The United States squad will play 12 games against AFL opponents before heading for the Olympic qualifying tournament in Panama.

--- Bill Mitchell

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All photos on the Arizona Fall League Report are credited to Bill Mitchell, unless noted otherwise, and are not to be used for any other purpose without express permission.