It’s all over for the minor league regular season, save 3 more games for Auburn. Syracuse goes out on a winning note, New Hampshire and Lansing not so much.
Buffalo 6 @ Syracuse 11
John-Ford Griffin said goodbye to Syracuse with a 2-for-4 night, featuring a double and his 102nd and 103rd RBIs. It was a strong .254/.335/.475 campaign for the former first rounder, healthy (512 AB) for the first time since coming to the Toronto organization. His Major League audition begins tonight.
JFG wasn’t the star of this thumping of the division champs, however, as Kevin Barker, Chad Mottola, and Danny Solano each went yard and Justin Singleton reached the seats twice. Leadoff man Desi Relaford doubled and walked thrice. Chris Baker pitched a solid 8 frames (9 hits, 3 earned runs of 5 total, 4-0 K-BB) to wrap up the season with an 8-7 record.
It’s rather fitting that a team that struggled as much as the Fisher Cats did this year should be shut out in their final game of the season. Curtis Thigpen doubled, singled, and walked, but the rest of the team managed just 2 walks and a double. Thigpen, the Blue Jays 2nd-round pick in 2004, finishes the season with a line of .287/.397/.413 in 293 single-A at-bats and .284/.340/.426 in 141 double-A at-bats. Plenty to like there from a 22-year-old catcher.
Meanwhile, back at the ball game Bubbie Buzachero turned in a pretty good 4 innings of 2-run ball, striking out 6 and walking one while surrendering 4 hits. Jordan De Jong was charged the other 3 Navigator runs (2 earned), and Jesse Carlson worked one more scoreless frame to close things out.
The Blue Jays host the Lakeland Tigers tonight in the opener of their best-of-3 Division Series. Lefty Kurt Isenberg takes the ball for Dunedin.
A pitcher’s duel in Lansing saw Russ Savickas go 6 innings and allow just one run on 4 hits and a walk while punching out 6. The Whitecap pitchers were just as stingy, however, and Aaron Tressler surrendered the go-ahead run despite whiffing 5 in two innings and allowing just one hit. Unfortunately, that one hit was a triple and it was preceded by a hit batsman. Scott Roy presided over an uneventful 9th.
David Corrente was the only Lugnut with a multi-hit night (2 singles), and Christian Snavely had the only extra-base knock (a double).
With 3 games remaining and a commanding lead in their division, the DoubleDays are in get ready for the playoffs mode. They had a nice session yesterday, rapping out 11 hits in disposing of the Scrappers. Catcher Brian Bormaster had a 4-hit night (including a double), Joey Metropoulos and Nick Thomas each hit solo dingers, and CF Matt Cooksey reached three times with two singles and a walk out of the leadoff spot. Randy Dicken went 5 shutout, 3-hit innings for the win, ably supported by Ed Rodriguez, Adrian Martin, and Paul Phillips (save number 13).
The Third Star: Aaron Tressler, Lansing. Punches out 5 of 8.
The Second Star: Justin Singleton, Syracuse. Knocks out 2 of 4.
The First Star: Brian Bormaster, Auburn. Reaches 4 of 4.
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