Asdrubal Cabrera was the big reason Syracuse had to settle for a doubleheader split at Alliance Bank Stadium, spoiling a good effort from a tall Canadian righthander. Meantime, New Hampshire came up with a rare (and I do mean rare!) come from behind victory on the road while Dunedin had a promising start but a not-so-promising finish while having a rough night on the basepaths.
Game 1 - Buffalo 3 Syracuse 0 (7 Innings)
Syracuse, NY - The Chiefs had two golden chances to get on on the board against Bisons starter Matt Ginter. They loaded up the bases with one out in the second inning but Pedro Lopez struck out looking on a questionable call by the home plate umpire according to the Syracuse broadcast while Wayne Lydon flied out to end the rally. In the third inning, Danny Sandoval and Matt Watson led off with singles but Hector Luna lined out to the mound and Kevin Mench completed the rally kill with a "Lyle Overbay Special", a GIDP.
Former Jays farmhand Zach Jackson, acquired by the Tribe in the deal that sent "Crooked Cap" Sabathia to Beertown, made his first appearance with the Cleveland organization a good one by yielding just one single in two scoreless frames.
Meantime, Chiefs starter Scott Richmond kept the Bisons off the board by scattering just two hits in the first five innings, including an Asdrubal Cabrera double. However, Cabrera burned Richmond in the sixth with a solo homer to give Buffalo a 1-0 lead. Richmond was victimized again by the long ball in the seventh when Chris Gimenez connected for a two-run homer, his first in AAA, to cap off the scoring. Preston Larrison allowed only a Russ Adams walk to save the win for Zach Jackson.
Boxscore Notes - Scott Richmond gave up three runs on five hits with no walks while punching out just one in his complete-game effort. He threw 56 of 88 pitches for strikes with 9 of his 20 outs in play on the ground. Despite being 0-2, the tall righty has an ERA of 2.25 with a 14-3 K/BB mark over 20 IP while holding batters to a .213 mark. However, his ground-out/fly-out ratio is just 0.73. Still, I hold out hope we'll see Richmond in the Rogers Centre before the year is out......On "offence", the Chiefs matched the Bisons with 5 hits with Chip Cannon getting two singles while Russ Adams and Matt Watson had a single and walk each.
Game 2 - Syracuse 4 Buffalo 3 (7 Innings)
Syracuse, NY - The Bisons got hits from their first three batters to grab a 1-0 lead in the first but Chiefs starter Chris George rebounded to get three outs in a row, thanks to an inning-ending double play. Syracuse scored its first run of the doubleheader in the home half of the first when Matt Watson's sac fly off former Jay farmhand Edward "Bubbie" Buzachero cashed in a Wayne Lydon double.
Chris George didn't last too long in this one. He survived a pair of singles in the second but he loaded up the bases in the third with two singles and a walk. He gave way to Jonah Bayliss, who did a fine job to limit the Herd to a sac fly. The Chiefs responded quickly again when Danny Sandoval came through with a run-scoring single to right and a throwing error from right fielder Todd Linden led to another run to give the Chiefs a 3-2 lead.
Curtis Thigpen came up with a big play behind the plate in the fourth when he threw out a runner trying to steal. That proved to be key when Asdrual Cabrera doubled afterwards but the Herd did not score. Syracuse added an insurance run in the fourth when Wayne Lydon drew a bases loaded walk. However, a Jordan Brown homer in the fifth cut the Chiefs advantage to 4-3. Jordan De Jong was able to get the two-inning save but he did make things interesting by allowing a single and a walk in the sixth and a two-out single in the seventh before wrapping things up.
Boxscore Notes - Jonah Bayliss got the win to improve his Chiefs record to 2-0 after going 0-3 with Indianapolis. Though he gave up a homer among his two hits, he did strike out three in his three innings without a walk.....Chris George isn't finding the International League to his liking. Since arriving from Colorado Springs, batters are hitting .472 against him and his ERA is 9.39. He gave up seven hits and a walk in two-plus innings............Wayne Lydon did a nice job at the leadoff spot, going 1-for-2 with a double, a walk and two runs scored.....Chip Cannon also had a hit and a walk.
Portland, ME - The Fisher Cats pounced on Portland starter Adam Mills for a pair of runs, courtesy of RBI singles by J.P. Arencibia and Kyle Phillips. Ricky Romero would give that lead right back to the Red Sox affiliate by allowing single runs in the first two frames, including a homer by Jeff Corsaletti.
New Hampshire grabbed the lead in the third when Phillips picked up another RBI single but Romero again couldn't hold the lead into the next half-inning when he gave up three straight singles for the tying run. A fourth single nearly led to another run but Travis Snider threw out a runner from left field to end the innning.
The F-Cats grabbed the lead again in the fourth when Chris Gutierrez tripled home a double by former Raptor "Easy" Andrew Pinckney (I know it's Easy Ed, relax!) and Scott Campbell's RBI groundout scored Gutierrez to provide New Hampshire with a 5-3 lead. Romero bounced back with three scoreless innings, navigating his way past a leadoff walk in the fourth and a walk and double in the fifth when he got a comebacker to the mound to end that threat. His last inning was his best as he sat down the side in order, including two punchouts.
However, Romero saw his "W" go out the window when Orlando Roman gave up a three-run bomb to Aaron Bates in the seventh to pull the Sea Dogs ahead 6-5. The F-Cats showed their mettle by tying the game in the eighth when Futures Game selection Scott Campbell delivered a clutch two-out double to score an Eric Nielsen leadoff walk.
Zachary Dials worked a clean eighth inning and the F-Cats grabbed the lead in the ninth as Travis Snider and J.P. Arencibia hit back-to-back jacks for a two-run cushion. Dials set down the side, punching out the final batter with a reverse K to give the visitors a satisfying win over those smug rat-bastard Boston affiliates.
Boxscore Notes - It is a quality start but Ricky Romero gave up three runs on seven hits, four walks and a hit batter in his six innings of work. On the flip side, he struck out six and eight of his eleven outs in play were on the ground..........Scott Campbell, Ryan Patterson, Travis Snider, J.P. Arencibia and Kyle Phillips each had multi-hit games with Arencibia leading the way with three. His batting average is now .304......Patterson wound up leaving the game in the eighth, running into the wall on Aaron Bates' home run. That led to an outfield shuffle that resulted in New Hampshire losing the DH as David Smith came in to play left, Eric Nielsen replaced Patterson in center while Snider shifted from left to right....Before last night's comeback, the Fisher Cats were 1-50 when trailing after seven innings.
Daytona, FL - The first four-and-a-half innings were great for Kyle Ginley and the D-Jays, who held a 4-1 lead. Brad Emaus homered in the first, Sean Shoffit tripled home another run in the second and David Corrente homered in the fifth to go along with Emaus' RBI single.
Ginley was nicked for a run in the first but retired seven of eight hitters before surviving a wacky fourth. He gave up a leadoff single and allowed another runner to reach on his throwing error. He then deflected a single into right field off his foot but Adam Calderone threw out a runner at the plate in a putout that was scored 1-9-2. Ginley got hammered though in inning number five when he gave up four runs on a triple, two doubles and two walks. Adrian Martin came out out of the pen to get the final out of the inning but not before allowing an inherited runner to score on a single. Martin was nicked for a run in the sixth on a sac fly and Edward Rodriguez didn't fare any better in the seventh when he gave up a couple of runs on two doubles and a single before working a one-hit eighth. Dunedin got the final run of the game when Anthony Hatch connected for a run-scoring triple.
Boxscore Notes - Kyle Ginley had an outing to forget by allowing 11 runners to reach (7 hits, 4 walks) over 4 2/3 innings, giving up five runs while striking out only three. He also had a throwing error.........Anthony Hatch had a three hit night and is batting .571 with an OPS over 1.700 since being demoted from AA. Too bad it's only 7 at-bats.......Hitting .333 over his last 10 games, Brad Emaus belted his seventh homer of the year as part of a 2-for-4 day at the plate......Luis Sanchez and Adam Calderone also had two hits apiece. Sanchez was one of four Dunedin runners caught stealing. Anthony Hatch, Chris Emanuele and Sean Shoffit were also gunned down for attempted pilferage.
Lansing - Scheduled Day Off.
Auburn - Scheduled Day Off.
GCL Yankees vs. GCL Blue Jays - Postponed Due To Rain, Re-Scheduled For Today.
*** 3 Stars!!! ***
3. Zachary Dials, New Hampshire - 2IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 2K = W.
2. Travis Snider, New Hampshire - 2/5, 2R, GW HR, 2 RBI, Outfield Assist.
1. J.P. Arencibia, New Hampshire - 3/5, R, 2B, HR, 3RBI.
Honourable Mentions........
Syracuse - Scott Richmond, Jonah Bayliss, Jordan De Jong, Wayne Lydon, Chip Cannon, Danny Sandoval, Matt Watson, Russ Adams, Curtis Thigpen.
New Hampshire - Kyle Phillips, Scott Campbell, Ryan Patterson, Andrew Pinckney, Chris Gutierrez, Ricky Romero.
Dunedin - Brad Emaus, Anthony Hatch, David Corrente, Adam Calderone, Luis Sanchez, Sean Shoffit.
Standings/Streaks...........
Syracuse - 49-43, 3rd place - IL North (9.0 GB of Pawtucket), 4-6 Last 10, W1.
New Hampshire - 34-56, 6th place - EL North (21.0 GB of Trenton), 2-8 Last 10, W1.
Dunedin - 12-5, 1st place - FSL West (2.5 GA of Lakeland), 7-3 Last 10, L1.
Lansing - 12-7, 2nd place - MWL East (1.0 GB of South Bend), 6-4 Last 10, W2.
Auburn - 12-9, 2nd place - NYP Pinckney (2.0 GB of Jamestown), 5-5 Last 10, L3.
GCL Blue Jays - 7-9, 4th place - GCL North (5.5 GB of GCL Phillies), 7-3 Last 10, W6.
Today's Schedule/Probable Starters........
GCL Blue Jays @ GCL Yankees (Game 1), 11:00 a.m. EDT, TBA vs. TBA.
GCL Yankees @ GCL Blue Jays (Game 2), Game Time TBA, TBA vs. TBA.
Dunedin @ Dayton, 12:05 p.m. EDT - TBA vs. TBA.
Buffalo @ Syracuse, 7:00 p.m. EDT - LHP John Halama, BUF (4-2, 5.66) vs RHP Michael MacDonald, SYR (1-0, 2.48).
New Hampshire @ Portland, 7:00 p.m. EDT - RHP Robert Ray, NH (3-2, 2.10) vs. RHP Michael Bowden, POR (8-4, 2.36).
Cedar Rapids @ Lansing, 7:05 p.m. EDT - RHP Jordan Walden, CR (4-6, 2.33) vs. RHP Trystan Magnuson, LAN (0-8, 6.53).
Auburn @ Aberdeen, 7:05 p.m. EDT - TBA vs. TBA.
Bonus Materials....
Game Story from the New Hampshire Union Leader on last night's win by the Fisher Cats.
A feature on Lugnuts catcher Jonathan Jaspe from the Lansing State Journal.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20080708173706325