Syracuse was the only club with a victory yesterday, as Jesse Litsch made his minor league debut for 2008. Lansing lost by one run and New Hampshire by two, while Dunedin lost both ends of a doubleheader by a combined four runs. The GCL Blue Jays had the worst showing on the day with a 3-run loss. The Jays affiliates suffered the loss in two walkoff victories for opponents as several reliable bullpen arms had poor outings. At least the usual suspects in Double-A continued to swing a hot bat.
Syracuse 6 @ Indianapolis 5 – Boxscore
It was a matchup of familiar faces as Jesse Litsch made his first start of the season for Syracuse. His opponent on the mound was former Blue Jay Ty Taubenheim. Litsch went 7 innings and struck out eight. He allowed five runs on seven hits and a walk. Taubenheim gave up four runs in 2.2 innings. Former Indianapolis Indian Jonah Bayliss pitched a scoreless eighth and relatively new SkyChief Rick Bauer picked up his 16th save of the year, but first for Syracuse.
Every SkyChief starter but Russ Adams got a hit. Wayne Lydon and Buck Coats had singles, while Robinzon Diaz was back at Syracuse and hit a double. Marcos Sandoval went 2-3 with a pair of runs, an RBI and a walk. The other SkyChief with a multi-hit game was Hector Luna, who was 2-4 with a pair of runs and 2 RBI. Luna hit a two out homer off Taubenheim in a four-run third. Kevin Melillo, Curtis Thigpen and Pedro Lopez each had one hit, with Melillo and Thigpen also adding an RBI and a walk.
New Hampshire 7 @ Reading 9 – Boxscore
The usual stars were at it again for the New Hampshire offence, as Scott Campbell, Travis Snider and JP Arencibia all made big contributions at the plate. Campbell went 3-5 with a pair of runs, a pair of RBI and a home run. Snider was 2-3 with two runs, two RBI, two walks, a double and a home run. Arencibia went 1-3 with a home run, 2 RBI and a walk. Arencibia’s homer came in the top of the ninth inning to tie the game at 7. Erik Kratz also added a solo home run. David Smith and Andrew Pickney added singles and Chris Gutierrez was 0-1 with three walks.
Kenny Rodriguez got the start for the Fisher Cats and went 4 innings, allowing five runs, four earned. Rodriguez gave up six hits, two walks and a pair of home runs and struck out five. He turned it over to Jean Machi, who gave up seven hits and two walks in 4 innings and was lucky to only escape with two runs against. Daryl Harang came on to pitch the nine inning in a 7-7 game and got the first batter he faced. After surrendering a single, he struck out the next batter and was one out away from sending the game to extra innings when he gave up a home run to Clay Harris to give the Phillies a walkoff victory.
Dunedin 0 @ Tampa 3 (Game 1, 7 innings) – Boxscore
Both pitchers threw complete games in the first game of a doubleheader. It was a quick game, lasting only an hour and twenty minutes as Zach McAllister of the Tampa Yankees outdueled Kyle Ginley of Dunedin engaged in a pitcher’s in a well-pitched game. McAllister went 7 innings, only allowing three hits. Adam Calderone, Brian Dopirak and Marcos Cabral each touched McAllister for singles, but that was all the offence the D-Jays could manage.
Ginley took the loss, going 6 innings and allowing three runs on nine hits. He also didn’t walk a batter and struck out three. A Seth Forntenberry homer broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning. In the fifth inning four singles brought home to two more runs for the Yankees and gave McAllister a couple of insurance runs.
Dunedin 7 @ Tampa 8 (Game 2, 7 innings)– Boxscore
Tampa took home both ends of the doubleheader with a big comeback in the bottom of the seventh. Adrian Martin started for Dunedin and gave up a pair of runs in 3 innings on four hits and two walks. He struck out five and left with Dunedin leading 4-2.
Dunedin put up a three-spot in the sixth inning to build up a 7-2 lead. Brian Dopirak had a rare hitless game and Chris Emanuele and Jonathan Diaz also went home without a hit. Brad Emaus went 2-4 with a pair of RBIs and a run scored, while Carlos Quintana went 3-4 with a pair of runs and an RBI. Cory Patton and Anthony Hatch each had a double and a run scored, while Jesus Gonzalez also had a hit and a run. Finally, Calderone went 1-2 with a pair of walks, a stolen base, a caught stealing and an outfield assist.
In the top of the seventh Dunedin turned the ball over to Cody Crowell, but he only retired one of the five batters he faced. After two hits, two walks and four runs scored the lead was down to one and Dunedin turned to Connor Falkenbach. The usually reliable Falkenbach blew his first save of the year, as he also faced five batters and didn’t retire one. After three hits and two walks, including a game-ending bases-loaded single, Tampa had their six-run inning and improbably comeback victory and Dunedin had a doubleheader to forget.
Clinton 5 @ Lansing 4 – Boxscore
Trystan Magnuson had a good start for the Lugnuts, as he tries to turn his season around over the last month of the campaign. Magnuson went 4 innings and gave up one run on two hits. He had three straight 1-2-3 innings before a double and a single led to a Clinton run in the fourth inning. Magnuson struck out four and turned the ball over to Joe Wice. Wice went 3 strong and gave up one hit. Unfortunately, that hit was Jonathan Greene’s 17th homer of the year. With Lansing leading 3-2, the Lugnuts gave the ball to the usually reliable Tim Collins, but he gave up three runs on two hits and two walks for his second blown save of the season and first loss of the year. The decisive blow was Greene’s 18th homer of the year; a 3-run shot with 2 out in the top of the eighth.
The Lugnuts had eight hits, but they all came from four players. Moises Sierra and Eric Eiland each had one hit but nothing else, while Yohermyn Chavez and Darin Mastroianni were both held hitless, but both reached base on a hit-by-pitch and came around to score. Eiland stole his 18th base of the year, while Mastroianni pilfered his 22nd. The 3-4-5 hitters were held hitless, as the bats of Jonathan Jaspe, David Cooper and Kevin Ahrens were all silenced. Cooper drew a pair of walks, but Ahrens had 3 strikeouts and Jaspe left 4 runners in scoring position with 2 out. The rest of the offence came from the leadoff and number two hitters, as Justin Jackson and Raul Barron each went 3-5 with a run scored. Barron had a pair of doubles and an RBI.
Williamsport 6 @ Auburn 7 (Suspended, 7th inning)
This game was suspended in the 7th inning and will be covered in a later minor league update.
GCL Braves 6 @ GCL Blue Jays 3 – Boxscore
Chase Lirette started for the GCL Blue Jays and went 3 innings. He gave up one run on four hits with two strikeouts. Lirette retired five of his six batters on balls in play on fly balls. Venezuelan Henderson Alvarez relieved Lirette and took the loss to fell to 1-3 on the season. He went 4 innings and gave up seven hits and five runs, three earned and the two on a Rob Pastornicky error. Conversely to Lirette, Alvarez retired seven of the nine batters on balls in play with groundballs. Corey Bachman pitched the last 2 innings and didn’t allow a run.
Shannon Stewart led off for the GCL Blue Jays, playing DH, and went 2-4 with a double and a strikeout. Pastornicky went 2-3 with a double, a run and an RBI. Jonathan Talley and Justin McClanahan each went 1-4, Talley with a double and a run scored and McClanahan with an RBI. Balbino Fuenmayor went 2-4 with a run, while hot-hitting outfielders Wellinton Ramirez and Marcus Brisker were among the Jays held hitless, but Ramirez threw out a runner at home plate and Kenneth Wilson had an outfield assist at second.
Edit: I know the links are dead. I don't know why it's not working, but I'll try to fix it when/if I can.
Three Stars:
3rd Star – Trystan Magnuson, 4 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
2nd Star – Scott Campbell, 3-5, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, 6 TB
1st Star – Travis Snider, 2-3, 2 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 6 TB
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