Down on the farm, the Ravens and D-Jays are into their post-season tourneys. New Haven defeated New Britain 3-1 in their opening playoff game, as my man Dave Gassner did his best Jackie Chan impression, dodging bullets all night long (5 hits and 4 walks in 4 innings) but emerging unscathed (no runs, 3 Ks). Alexis Rios' 2-run homer in the first gave the Ravens all the runs they'd need, though the red-hot Tyrell Godwin chipped in with a double, two singles, a run scored and the team's third RBI. The win went to Gustavo Chachin, the Tanyon Sturtze of the Ravens' bullpen, while the one-two relief punch of Jordan DeJong and Adam Peterson closed with 2 1/3 scoreless frames. Catcher Guillermo Quiroz is recovering rapidly from his collapsed lung, so much so that he could play Saturday if he gets medical clearance. To say the least, that's impressive.
Dunedin didn't fare as well, losing 9-3 to Fort Myers to even their series 1-1. Vince Perkins got hammered by the Miracle, giving up 7 runs (5 earned) on 5 hits and 4 walks in 4 innings, whiffing just 3. Mikail Jova cracked a two-run homer in the ninth after the game was well out of reach. Rehabbing Eric Milton threw 3 scoreless innings for Fort Myers, striking out 3.
In the lower minors, the regular season ended last night for the NY-Penn League. The Doubledays lost 2-1 to Batavia, despite another double and RBI from Vito Chiaravalotti -- and our heartiest congratulations to Big Vito for capturing the NYP's Triple Crown with an amazing .351-12-67 season in just 228 AB. His final line of .351/.469/.605 and 47/48 BB/K rate is just as eye-catching. The pitching line of the night belonged to reliever Justin James, who spun 3 hitless innings, walking 1 and striking out 7. James has struggled a little out of the box this year, but his line now stands at a respectable 2-1, 3.20, 39 IP, 34 H, 11 BB, 42 K, 26.4% KBF in 13 games (8 starts). Auburn ends the regular season with an astonishing 56-18 record (.756 ball). Pulaski and the rest of the Appalaichan League are already finished for the year.
And finally, a spot of very good news: according to BA's Jim Callis, Francisco Rosario is actually ahead of schedule in his recovery from Tommy John surgery. Keeping in the forefront of our minds that the only thing riskier than an A-Ball pitcher is a post-surgery A-Ball pitcher, here's what Callis says about Frankie R.:
I'd give Dustin McGowan an edge because he hasn't had health problems, but there isn't another pitcher in the Jays system whose ceiling is as high as Rosario's. I'd suspect he'll start 2004 in high Class A, and he could reach Toronto at some point in 2006.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20030904014712999