Some good pitching, not nearly enough good hitting, and 3 wins in 7 tries down on the farm on a night when "promotions" were the key word -- and not the kind where the first 500 fans get free passes to see Catwoman at the Plaza Theatre.
Ottawa 5 Syracuse 2
Box score
Game story
Invasion of the Prospect Snatchers continues in Syracuse. With Gabe Gross called up to Toronto, the offensive threats in the Skychiefs’ lineup dwindle even more. Anton French, the hottest hitter this side of Adam Dunn, led off the game with a homer and later singled, but there wasn’t much more to write home about. Jorge Sequea and Shawn Fagan both had 2 hits, while Guillermo Quiroz singled and Russ Adams took the collar in four trips. Eric Crozier will be a welcome replacement in the lineup.
On the mound, Ryan Glynn started and was firing bullets, but clearly wasn’t sure where they were going: he walked 5 and struck out 6 in 5 innings, allowing only 1 run on 4 hits. Mike Nakamura pitched 2 scoreless innings, but Jason Kershner had a bad night and allowed 4 runs in a single inning of work -- 3 of them on an 8th-inning Chad Mottola bomb -- to take the loss. Adam Peterson finished up with a 1-K hitless ninth.
New Hampshire 3-4 Norwich 4-2
Box score
Box score
A doubleheader split for the Fisher-Cats, who nevertheless received some fine pitching performances. Josh Banks started the opener and threw very well, allowing 3 runs in 6 innings on 5 hits and a walk, striking out 5. All the damage came in the Norwich 3rd, when the Navigator batters went single-homer-strikeout-single-double; other than that, Banks was virtually perfect. Dan Jackson eventually took the loss in the bottom of the 7th. In the nightcap, the versatile and increasingly valuable Jamie Vermilyea fired 6 innings of 2-hit ball, allowing just 1 unearned run, with 1 walk and 6 strikeouts. Jordan DeJong allowed 1 run in the 7th for his 10th save.
On offence, John-Ford Griffin had 2 doubles and 2 singles in the 2 games, raising his average to .251. John Hattig and Maikel Jova chipped in with a double and 2 singles of their own. Aaron Hill went for 0-for-6 in the twinbill. Justin Singleton poked a solo homer in the nightcap.
Lakeland 6 Dunedin 2
Box score
Chad Pleiness was taken in the 5th round of the 2002 entry draft. He didn’t overpower the Florida State League in his first go-round last year; this season, unfortunately, he has probably regressed. Last night, he was raked for 5 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks and 2 HRs in 5 2/3 innings; his 7 strikeouts were the only good aspect of his outing. This year, he’s posted a 3-2, 3.63, 72 IP, 69 H, 31 BB, 41 K, 6 HR line. He’ll be 25 next spring and has a hard road ahead of him to get to the big leagues. Neomar Flores allowed a run on 4 hits in 2 1/3 relief IP, striking out 2. The good news was Felix Romero’s FSL debut, a scoreless inning with 1 hit.
The D-Jays were stymied by Tigers fireballer Joel Zuyama, who struck out 10 on the night, including Raul Tablado and Jason Waugh thrice each. Carlo Cota and Ron Davenport paced the offence with a double and single apiece, while Tablado also doubled. Big Vito wore the 0-for-4 crown.
Charleston 5 Savannah 0
Box score
Game story
Minute by minute, Michael MacDonald is creating an increasingly good impression. Making his Charleston debut after a fine performance at Auburn, the former Maine Black Bear fired 7 shutout innings, surrendering just 3 hits and a walk and striking out 5. Hometown hero David Smith led the Alley-Cats with 2 doubles and an RBI, while catcher Robinzon Diaz singled twice and drove in a run – from the leadoff spot. Every other starter had a single except for Jermy Acey, who went hitless in 4 trips, striking out twice.
Auburn 4 Hudson Valley 1
Box score
Another promotion, another winning start. Newest Doubleday Derek Tate celebrated his arrival from Pulaski with 5 innings of 1-run ball, scattering 4 hits and a walk and striking out an impressive 8 batters. Joey McLaughlin had one of his best outings of the year in relief, firing 3 shutout innings with 1 hit, 0 walks and 2 Ks. Dewon Day struck out the side for his 9th save. On offence, Curtis Thigpen belted a solo homer and also walked right before Adam Lind cracked his 2-run shot; it was the 4th homer of the campaign for each player. Jason Armstrong singled twice, while Aaron Mathews and Ryan Klosterman both posted rare 0-for-5 nights.
Johnson City 9 Pulaski 4
Box score
The P-Jays finally got a taste of the medicine they’ve been dishing out on the Appalachian League lately. Chi-Hung Cheng hit his first professional roadblock on an evening where his command deserted him: he issued 5 walks and 3 hits in 5 innings and was fortunate to give up only 2 runs; he also struck out 3. Bryan Gale took the loss by allowing 3 runs in just 2/3 of an inning on 2 hits (including a homer) and 2 walks.
First baseman David Hicks led the Pulaski attack with 2 singles, 3 walks, an RBI and 2 runs scored. Recently arrived catcher Joshua Lex had 3 singles of his own; in all, P-Jay batters drew 13 walks and cranked out 9 hits, but stranded a whole lotta baserunners. Catcher Brian Bormaster doubled and walked twice.
Your Three-Star Selection:
The Third Star: Auburn’s Derek Tate, who whiffed 8 in 5 4-hit innings in his NY-Penn debut.
The Second Star: Charleston’s Mike MacDonald, who threw 7 shutout innings, striking out 5 in his Alley-Cat debut.
The First Star: New Hampshire’s Jamie Vermilyea, with a 2-hit, 0-earned run outing in a 6-inning spot-start victory.
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