This MLU contains four victories, including one of the walk-off variety; strong relief pitching and timely hitting. It also contains pitchers batting, managers being ejected, one major leaguer on rehab, another waiting for September 1 and hoping for a recall and a third trying to correct what has largely been a disappointing season. It doesn’t contain any news about Travis Snider.
Syracuse 5 @ Lehigh Valley 2 – Boxscore
Brian Wolfe started and didn’t have his best outing. He went 3. 2 innings and gave up six hits and two walks and allowed a pair of runs. Chris George and Jordan de Jong combined for 4.1 innings of hitless relief, striking out eight. Bill Murphy pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save.
Hector Luna was the best hitter on the night. The first baseman went 3-4 with a pair of doubles, an RBI and a run scored. Kevin Melillo also had three singles, although all were singles. The big blow was delivered by Kevin Mench in the top of the third. Syracuse loaded the bases with none out and then Buck Coats singled, to plate the first run of the game. It looked like it might be a wasted opportunity as with the sacks still drunk and none down Danny Sandoval popped out and Russ Adams struck out. However, Mench came through with a 2-out, 2-run single and the inning only ended because Coats was thrown out trying to get to third. Wayne Lydon had a hit and an RBI. Curtis Thigpen and Sandoval were the only SkyChiefs held hitless.
New Hampshire 0 @ Portland 7– Boxscore
This game was scoreless through six innings. Although teams don’t get wins for scores through six, I’m sure if given the choice New Hampshire would have taken that score with no questions asked considering the lopsided pitching matchup: Jared Gothreaux vs. Clay Buchholz. Unfortunately, at that point New Hampshire had two hits and a walk and would not have a baserunner the rest of the game, so you don’t need to be a genius to figure out how this one ended up.
Buchholz went 8 innings for Portland and struck out 10. He was untouchable aside from an Eric Nielsen double and Erik Kratz’s single and walk. The most notable part of the offensive game for the Fisher Cats may have been that the team lost their DH in the fourth inning when Brian Dopirak had to leave the game. For some reason, he was replaced by the pitcher, which resulted in Gothreaux and Daryl Harang each having a plate appearance. Gothreaux executed a successful sac bunt and Harang struck out.
Gothreaux started and went five scoreless innings. He struck out one and walked two. Brian Pettway also walked two batters, but he only went 0.2 innings. Harang had a poor day all-around; surrendering two runs over 0.1 innings and took the loss. At least he fared better than Zach Dials, who had an absolutely miserable day. He gave up three hits, three walks and four runs over 0.1 innings. Let’s say no more.
Dunedin 7 @ Sarasota 1 – Boxscore
Kenny Rodriguez started for Dunedin and went 2.2 innings. He gave up four hits, a walk, a run and struck out three. However, the damage could have been a lot worse as he left the bases loaded with two out in the bottom of the third, but Nathan Starner retired Sarasota’s DH, Logan Parker, to escape the jam. Starner pitched another 2 scoreless innings before Jonas Cuotto threw 3 innings of one-hit ball. Celson Polanco finished the game with an inning and two strikeouts.
Brad Wilkerson leadoff at DH and went 2-4 with a double, a home run and two runs scored. Brad Emaus went 1-2 with a double and a walk and was replaced mid-game by Marcos Cabral, who drew two free passes of his own. David Cooper was 2-4 with a walk and a double and Anthony Hatch also picked up a two-bagger in his four at-bats. Adam Calderone and Jesus Gonzalez each had one hit and each used it to join the double parade. Luis Sanchez went 2-5 and was the only D-Jay with a hit who didn’t pick up a double. Matt Liuzza and Chris Emanuele went hitless, but each found other ways to contribute. Liuzza drew two walks, while Emanuele threw out a runner at home plate.
Lansing 4 @ South Bend 2 – Boxscore
A four-run second propelled Lansing to victory as the Lugnuts won a game where they had more runs scored than hits. CJ Ebarb and Kevin Ahrens led off the inning by drawing walks, but it seemed to be going nowhere as Manny Rodriguez and Moises Sierra struck out. However, Yohermyn Chavez and John Tolisano both showed good patience and also drew walks and cashed in the Lugnuts first run. Eric Eiland came through with a big single that scored Ahrens and Chavez and this was followed by a Raul Barron single that drove home Tolisano.
The Lugnuts only had one other hit in the game, which was a sixth-inning single by Ahrens, who was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double. Interestingly, the Lugnuts also didn’t draw a single other walk in the game, but they worked them when it counted. Lansing had one other baserunner when Chavez was hit by a pitch, which came in the same inning that manager Clayton McCullough was tossed after arguing a called third strike to Sierra. Sierra obviously disagreed with the call too, as he was thrown out of the game in the ninth.
Brian Letko started and went 2 innings, surrendering two runs on three hits and four walks. However, Lansing’s relief pitching came through in spades as Joe Wice, Danny Farquhar and Tim Collins combined for seven innings of one-hit ball. Wice had the longest stint with four innings, and he retired eight of his ten batters on balls in play with groundballs
State College 3 @ Auburn 4 – Boxscore
Auburn had one of their most exciting wins of the year, even if they were overshadowed by the parent club’s comeback win at Yankee Stadium. Joel Carreno started and went 4 innings. He struck out four, but he allowed one run on seven hits and was replaced after giving up a hit to lead off the fifth. Yorman Mayora came in and pitched 3 innings of one-run ball. He turned the ball over to Matthew Moody, who gave up a solo homer in the eighth to give State College a 3-1 lead. Matthew Daly pitched the ninth and struck out two batters.
The Doubledays took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second as Michael McDade doubled home Jonathan Del Campo with two out. They were unsuccessful in getting on the scoreboard in the next six innings, despite their best efforts. They drew two walks in the third and State College also threw a wild pitch, but they didn’t push a run across. Joel Collins was thrown out at the plate in the fourth after a Del Campo double and Auburn was unable to cash Bryan Kervin from second in the bottom of the seventh.
Thus, the Doubledays entered the bottom of the ninth down 3-1 and Auburn saw their hopes fade a little more when Collins flew out to begin the inning. Del Campo walked to bring the tying run to the plate and then McDade singled him. Del Campo advanced to third and McDade alertly went to second on the throw. With the tying run in scoring position Leance Soto singled, but pinch-runner Carlos Vasquez was held at the third. Soto’s hit brought the Doubledays to within one, but it looked like it might all be for nought when Kervin popped out. But Christopher Hopkins came through with a single that scored Vasquez and tied the game. Equally as importantly, Soto advanced to third and Bartolo Nicolas singled him home for the walk-off victory.
Three Stars:
3rd Star – Jonas Cuotto, 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
2nd Star – Hector Luna, 3-4, R, 2 2B, RBI, 5 TB
1st Star – Joe Wice, 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
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