A rainout in the Gulf Coast League meant that five affiliates were in action and four of those games were decided in the last inning. If I tell you that Auburn was the team not involved in one of those aforementioned games and that the affiliates went 3-1 in those games, could you guess which team took the loss? I hope you’d at least be able to narrow it down to two pretty quickly. Lansing won in extras behind a couple of 4-hit performances, Travis Snider went 2-4 in Triple-A and David Cooper hit his first homer in High-A. Rehabbing big leaguers did not do so well, as Shannon Stewart and V-Dub both were hitless and Jeremy Accardo gave up a pair of runs.
Syracuse 6 @ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 7 – Boxscore
Syracuse took a 6-2 lead into the bottom of the eight inning, which surely meant victory for our beloved SkyChiefs, correct? You probably know the team well enough to know that you can’t assume anything with Syracuse. Bill Murphy gave up a pair of runs over 4.2 innings, but he gave up four hits and walked five batters, so it wasn’t a particularly good night. After 104 pitches, the bullpen was already in the game in the fifth inning and Sean Stidfole and Chris George pitched 1.1 scoreless innings. After George walked a batter, Jordan De Jong came into the game and gave up a single. However, he struck out Shelley Duncan and Juan Miranda and after walking another batter was able to retire Ben Broussard on a line out to left. Still nothing to worry about, right?
However, single, single, walk loaded the bases with one out. A fielder’s choice brought home a run and then two wild pitches to the same batter allowed another to score. With De Jong having fallen behind Shelley Duncan, he was intentionally walked to load the bases for Juan Miranda and Mike Gosling came into the game to get a favourable pitching matchup. A two-run double later and the game was tied at 6. Gosling got out of the eighth without further damage and got the first out of the ninth. Two walks and two singles later and Scranton had a walk-off win.
This loss came despite the presence of two certified major league outfielders in Syracuse’s linuep. Shannon Stewart went 0-4 and Vernon Wells was 0-2 with a walk. The offence from the outfield instead came from Buck Coats, who was 2-4 with a pair of runs, 2 RBI, a double and a triple. Russ Adams was 2-4 with a double, a run and an RBI, while Hector Luna was 1-3 with a walk and two runs and Danny Sandoval was 1-4 with a run. Robinzon Diaz was 2-3 with a double and an RBI and, I know you’ve all been waiting for this, Travis Snider was 2-4 with 2 RBI and a strikeout. Curtis Thigpen was 0-4 and for some unknown reason is still playing first base.
New Hampshire 5 @ Binghamton 3 – Boxscore
Michael Antonini of the Bighamton Mets must hate solo home runs. Alternatively, he must be grateful they’re only solo home runs and not multi-run blasts. He gave up three runs to the Fisher Cats over 6 innings and they were all scored on solo blasts. Eric Nielsen and JP Arencibia went back-to-back with one out in the first and Ryan Patterson added one in the fourth. Meanwhile, Robert Ray went 7 strong innings and gave up five hits and no walks. He struck out five and gave up three runs, only one earned. The Mets hit a two-run homer in the third with two out, but the runner reached on a Brian Dopirak error and since the homer came with two down, both runs were unearned. The Mets hit a solo shot with none out in the seventh to tie the game.
Daryl Harang and Seth Overbey pitched a scoreless eighth and then Ryan Patterson led off the ninth with a single. Andrew Pickney wanted to win the game, but wasn’t about to let a run not score on a homer, so he promptly took the Mets yard for the Fisher Cats’ first two-run shot of the game. Overbay worked a scoreless ninth for the win, as all eight runs scored on homers.
Dunedin 8 @ Lakeland 6 – Boxscore
The lineup split itself nicely between guys who got no hits, those who got one and those who had two. To start with the worst news, Chris Emanuele, Marcos Cabral and Luis Sanchez all went hitless. However, Emanuele and Sanchez each drew a walk and scored, with Emaneule scoring twice. Cory Patton had a hit and 2 RBI, Anthony Hatch had a solo home run and a walk and Adam Calderone was 1-2 with a pair of walks and a solo homer. Brad Emaus, David Cooper and Matt Liuzza all had a pair of hits. Cooper homered in the first with two on and none out to give Dunedin three important runs, while Emaus hit a solo homer in the third. In fact, Dunedin hit a home run in each of the first four innings. Matt Liuzza’s two hits were both harmless singles.
Reider Gonzalez got the start and gave up nine hits and a pair of runs in 5 innings. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out six. Celson Polanco gave up a two-run homer in the sixth and Jeremy Accardo surrendered one in the seventh in his only inning of work. Accardo struck out a pair, but that solo homer tied the game. Cody Crowell and Connor Falkenbach each pitched a scoreless inning of relief, with Crowell improving to 5-0 when the D-Jays scored in the top of the ninth and then Falkenbach came in for his 25th save.
The winning run scored in the top of the ninth when Sanchez walked and Emanuele then reached on a pitcher error on a sac bunt attempt. Emaus got down a successful sacrifice, so Cooper was walked to load the bases for Patton. Patton had the game-winning RBI as he singled home both runners. Liuzza got a hit to load the bases again, but Hatch and Cabral were retired without further damage.
Dayton 6 @ Lansing 7 (11 innings) – Boxscore
It was 3-2 Dayton after two innings, but then Lansing took a 6-3 lead into the ninth inning. Brian Letko had got the start and allowed three runs, two earned, on six hits and a walk with five strikeouts. After Letko pitched 4 innings, Michael Barbara came in and pitched 3 innings and only allowed a pair of hits. Edgar Estanga had a 1-2-3 eighth inning, so he was given the ball to start the ninth with a 3-run lead. A double and a single promptly put runners on first and third with none out, so the Lugnuts turned to trusty Tim Collins. After one out, a wild pitch scored Dayton’s fourth run of the game and then a triple putting the tying run on third with one out. A well-placed fly ball tied the game, as Collins blew only his third save of the season. Collins worked a scoreless tenth and then the game went to eleventh, where Joe Wice gave up a couple of hits, but escaped unscathed.
Meanwhile, with the bats Jonathan Baksh and Jonathan Jaspe both had four-hit games. Baksh went 4-5 with two double, a home run, two runs, 2 RBI and a walk, while Jaspe went 4-6 with a double, an RBI and a run. Justin Jackson and John Tolisano both had a triple and a run, while Tolisano also had an RBI and a walk. Kevin Ahrens, Manny Rodriguez, Moises Sierra and Eric Eiland each had one single and a walk, and none scored a run. Rodriguez and Eiland each had an RBI, as Yohermyn Chavez went 2-5 with a run.
Could there be a third victory for a Jays affiliate in their last inning up to bat? Given this year you’d have thought no, but improbably the answer is yes. The winning run scored in the eleventh, when Jaspe singled and advanced to second on the centre-fielder’s error. Darin Mastroianni got to third on a wild pitch, so Dayton walked Ahrens and Rodriguez loaded the bases. Chavez struck out and it must have seemed like Lansing was about to follow a play designed by the Blue Jays. However, Dayton spoiled the script, as Sierra grounded to third and the third baseman went home to try to force Mastroianni, but the catcher missed the ball and Lansing had a wild walk-off victory with Wice the winner.
Auburn 2 @ Vermont 5 – Boxscore
Auburn outhit Vermont 7-5, but a combination of a lack of extra-base hits, defensive miscues and wildness on the mound less a 5-2 loss. Every batter in the starting lineup but Michael McDade and Luis Rivera had one hit, but only Chris Demons and Bryan Van Kirk had extra-base hits and both had doubles. The Doubledays scored both of their runs in the ninth when Christopher Hopkins pinch-ran for Van Kirk and came into count on a Bartolo Nicolas ground out. Bryan Kervin then drove in Robert Sobolewski with Auburn’s second run. The Doubledays left five runners in scoring position with two out and stranded eight in the course of the game.
Josh Wells started and gave up one run over 4 innings. He allowed two hits, walked three and struck out six. Southpaw Evan Crawford then pitched an inning and allowed an unearned run. Wildness doomed Jason Roenicke, as he pitched 0.2 innings and gave up a pair of runs on four walks without surrendering a hit. Matthew Daly allowed both of Roenicke’s runners to score on a single and a walk, but after that he retired four consecutive batters. Robert Bell surrendered a pair of hits, but escaped the bottom of the eighth unscathed, before Auburn had their mini-comeback. Sobolewski, Van Kirk and Amar all committed errors and Joel Collins had a passed ball.
GCL Blue Jays @ GCL Tigers (Postponed)
The game was postponed because of rain.
Three Stars:
3rd Star – Robert Ray, 7 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
2nd Star – Jonathan Jaspe, 4-6, R, 2B, RBI, 5 TB
1st Star – Jonathan Baksh, 4-5, 2 R, 2 2B, HR, 2 RBI, BB, 9 TB
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