The parent club might have experienced some bad luck last night, but the farm system needed no karmic assistance at all: a rare and welcome organizational sweep was punctuated by a power outburst in Dunedin and a couple of simply superb pitching performances. It all started, as everything seems to these days, with a late grab for power in Ottawa.
Syracuse 5 Ottawa 4
The Skychiefs rallied in the top of the ninth inning to take 3 of their 4 games in Canada’s capital. Lynx starter Dave Borkowski stuck around one inning too long, allowing leadoff singles by Bryant Nelson and Gabe Gross, both of whom scored on a double by reliable vet Chad Mottola. Aaron Hill followed with another double to plate Mottola with the winning run. Chris Baker got the win for one inning of relief, while Jason Arnold shut down the Lynx in the ninth for his fourth save. Ottawa plans to bring a vote of non-confidence to the league office in hopes of getting the loss to their arrogant and decrepit opponents overturned, though it's quite clearly a pathetic ploy to score some cheap political points and further their own careers. Ahem. Moving along....
Chad Gaudin started for Syracuse and was lucky to dodge bullets all night, scattering 9 hits over 7 innings and allowing all 4 Lynx runs to score. He struck out 5, but encouragingly, walked nobody. Nelson reached base three times via 2 singles and a walk and scored twice, while Gross singled twice and drove in a run. Justin Singleton doubled and singled in 4 trips, while Hill’s double was his lone safety.
New Hampshire 7 New Britain 3
Lots of storylines to explore here, but I have to lead off with a helluva performance from Vince Perkins. The big Canadian allowed 2 runs on just 3 hits over 6 innings (including a homer); he walked 4 batters, as is his wont, but more than made up for that by striking out 11 batters. Steve Andrade followed up with 3 terrific innings of relief, whiffing 4 and allowing just 1 run on 2 hits and a walk. The pitching continues to carry the Fisher Cats, but as the weather warms up, so too do the bats.
It was a multi-pronged attack for New Hampshire last night -- Kevin Barker led the way with a solo home run and 2 walks, while Carlo Cota doubled and singled from the leadoff spot. An intriguing story, however, continues to be the current resurgence of Miguel Negron, who doubled, singled and scored 2 runs, raising his average to (a relatively impressive) .238. Negron had some hot streaks in Dunedin last summer, too, so it remains to be seen whether he can continue this recent surge. Rob Cosby drove in 2 runs with a double, and catcher Erik Kratz was the only F-Cat starter not to record a hit.
Dunedin 9 Brevard County 5
The bats continued to boom down in the Florida State League. Last year’s Grand Old Man of Charleston is this year’s Grand Old Man of Dunedin, and Clint Johnston clearly has something to prove. He hammered a pair of 2-run homers to lead the D-Jays to victory; coming into the game, Johnston was batting .311/.394/.400, and power was all that was missing from his repertoire. He sure found some tonight. Another home run came, quite unexpectedly, off the bat of light-hitting shortstop Manny Mayorson. D-Jay mainstay Adam Lind doubled and walked twice, driving in a run and scoring another. Second baseman Ryan Roberts doubled and drove in 3 runs.
Starter Mike MacDonald did not bring his A-game to the ballpark tonight. He was lucky to escape with the win after allowing 3 runs on 6 hits and 4 walks in 5 innings; he did strike out 5, but that’s an uncharacteristic number of baserunners for the suddenly hittable MacDonald. Tracy Thorpe supplied the best relief outing of the night, 2 innings of 2-hit shutout ball, striking out 1. Yesson Berroa and Milton Tavarez mopped up pretty sloppily after the D-Jays scored 6 in the 6th inning.
Lansing 4 Southwest Michigan 3
The Lugnuts completed the rare organizational sweep with a comeback win against Southwest Michigan (and what kind of a team name is that? What, do they play in a cornfield in the middle of nowhere? There isn’t a single town in the vicinity willing to adopt this team? Lugnut Fan, help us out here). SM trailed 1-0 heading to the top of the 8th, but scored 3 times off tiring starter Kyle Yates and reliever Joey McLaughlin. Lansing was lucky to escape with just 3 runs, however, as corner outfielders Erik Nielsen and Luke Hetherington each gunned down SM runners at third base and home plate, respectively. Lansing promptly tied the game on a pinch-hit 2-run homer by Joey Wolfe, and David Hicks drove in the eventual winning run by plating Christian Snavely, who had doubled.
Yates deserved a better fate after throwing one of his best games of the season, allowing just 2 runs in 7 and 1/3 innings on 6 hits and a walk, striking out 8 opponents. McLaughlin vultured the win, while Danny Hill had little trouble earning his 8th save in the top of the ninth. Curtis Thigpen and Chip Cannon each doubled and singled, while Snavely’s two-bagger was Lansing’s only other extra-base hit.
Your Three-Star Selection: It’s a tough call tonight, with so many deserving candidates:
3. Kyle Yates, Lansing: Eight strikeouts and 2 runs allowed in 7 and 1/3 superb innings.
2. Vince Perkins, New Hampshire: Eleven strikeouts in 6 innings, holding the opposition to 2 runs; he'd be the first star but for…
1. Clint Johnston, Dunedin: A pair of 2-run homers powers the D-Jays to victory and helps ensure the organizational sweep.
I have to work all day Saturday -- urgh -- so I won't have time to locate game reports from the local papers. So Bauxites should feel free to post news reports on this evening's games, and those who attended the Lynx-Skychiefs match are particularly encouraged to share their impressions.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20050506232903373