It remains to be seen who will win the long-term bragging rights for the best draft pick from 2007, but on Thursday Dunedin's Brett Cecil out-dueled Lakeland's Rick Porcello.
The Chiefs managed to win against knuckleballer Charlie Zink. Wayne Lydon led the way with three hits and a stolen base (his sixth on the season). Chip Cannon came out of his season-long slump and also had three hits, as well as a homer. Pedro Lopez was 2-for-3 with a run scored. Adam Lind had a pinch hit single. Bill Murphy received the start for Syracuse and was good once again. He went 5.2 innings and allowed two runs on seven hits. He struck out four and walked two. Tracy Thorpe received the win despite going only 0.2 innings. During that time, he managed to walk two and strikeout two, which is the story of his career. Mike Gosling got the save after pitching 2.2 innings, while allowing just one hit and no runs.
The Fisher Cats played some poor baseball on Thursday night, lead by starter Jean Machi, who has walked four or more batters in each of his last three starts. Over three innings, Machi allowed four runs on six hits. Daryl Harang allowed one run over 2.2 innings and Seth Overbey allowed two runs in 2.1 innings. Mike Gallo pitched a scoreless inning. In all, Fisher Cats hurlers walked nine batters. Offensively, Aaron Mathews led the way with a 3-for-5 night and he also scored a run. Chris Gutierrez was 2-for-5 with a run scored, but he also made an error. Ryan Patterson was 1-for-4 with a double and he drove in two runs. In his last five games, Patterson is 10-for-21 after starting the season off very slowly. Travis Snider was 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts. He is now batting .143 with eight strikeouts in four games.
Dunedin’s offence more or less took a holiday for the third straight day, as it managed only five hits. That said, four of those hits came against one of the best pitching prospects in the minor leagues – Rick Porcello, a No. 1 draft pick from the 2007 draft (out of high school, no less). But Dunedin’s Brett Cecil (a 2007 draft pick out of college) out-dueled the youngster, despite only being able to go three innings due to a strict pitch count. Cecil allowed one hit, did not walk a batter and struck out five. As well, of the four outs in play he recorded, all came on groundballs. Reliever Julio Pinto continued his impressive season and went five innings and allowed one run. Zach Dials recorded his league-leading seventh save of the season with a scoreless inning. Offensively, the five hits were spread out to Chris Emanuele, Brian Dopirak, J.P. Arencibia, David Smith, and Brad Emaus. Only three batters in the starting lineup (Cory Patton, Dopirak, and Arencibia) were hitting above .260 on the season.
Lansing – scheduled off day
Three Stars:
3. Aaron Mathews, 3-for-5 with a run scored
2. Wayne Lydon, 3-for-5 with an RBI, and a stolen base
1. Brett Cecil, for out-dueling Rick Porcello
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