Four teams, three losses, one rainout, and some truly ugly pitching lines for your Junior Jays yesterday.
AAA
Buffalo 7, Syracuse 4
Hitting: Third baseman Tony Zuniga was at it again, with two hits including his second homer in two days. Zuniga, a six-year minor-league free agent, came to the Jays by way of San Francisco, in whose minor-league system he’d toiled unremarkably for the past several years.
Pitching: Corey Thurman couldn’t find the plate against Buffalo, walking 5 batters and yielding 4 hits to produce 3 runs in 5 innings; at least he struck out 4. Dan Reichert continued to impress with two scoreless innings in relief, while Scott Wiggins is no closer to Toronto after getting knocked around for two insurance runs out of the pen.
AA
Norwich 5 New Haven 4
Hitting: Recently promoted from Dunedin, little-known shortstop Kurt Keene had two hits and a run scored. Outfielder Rich Thompson singled twice and stole two bases, while Guillermo Quiroz just can’t stop the music, going 2-for-4 with a double, run and RBI.
Pitching: A great performance by Jason Arnold (5 2/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 4 K, though with 4 BB) was wasted, as reliever Hugo Castellanos gave up four runs in 2/3 of a ninth inning. No truth to the rumour Hugo’s teammates now call him Kelvim.
High-A
Vero Beach 14, Dunedin 3 (ouchie)
Hitting: Rehabbing Jayson Werth showed off a healthy wrist with 2 hits, including his third home run. That’s pretty much it.
Pitching: The roof fell in on Justin Maureau, buried under 5 runs (though only 3 earned, thanks to two infield errors) on 7 hits and 2 walks in just 1 2/3 innings. Then the floor gave way underneath Neomar Flores, overburdened by 5 earned runs in 2 2/3 IP relief. Let’s just forget this ever happened.
Low-A
No game in Charleston last night, so the day wasn’t a total loss for the farm system.
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