The affiliates dropped three of four on Sunday. To be honest, there wasn't a lot to get excited about.
Colorado Springs 3 Las Vegas 1
Not a whole lot to this one for the 51s. Russ Adams was the only player to reach base twice, with a triple and a walk. Other than that, well, J.P. Arencibia singled and scored. And that's about all. On the mound Brian Burres, whose MiLB photo looks like it was taken in 1992, took the loss despite allowing only two runs on three hits in six innings. Brian Wolfe added a scoreless inning of relief.
New Hampshire 2 New Britain 12
Yikes. The Fisher Cats actually led this one 2-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth but that's when the Rock Cats put up an 11 spot. Wait, what the hell's a Rock Cat? Their Wikipedia page doesn't lend any help to the origin of the name, but it does appear to have been updated by some disgruntled former employees. For instance, in the 'Trivia' section, it is noted that, "It can take upwards of one year for the Rock Cats to pay any Workman's Compensation claim." Also, there's a section on their former mascot, Hydration Man, which includes the following description (Warning, sics throughout): "Hydration Man, played by a very hansom young man, donned a muscle-suit
occompanied by other accessories that added to his mystique and flair." Looks like Hydration Man knows his way around the Internet.
Anyway, back to the game, though, honestly, it's not nearly as interesting. Todd Donovan and Brian Jeroloman each had two hits for the Fisher Cats while Brad Emaus and David Cooper added one each. After a bit of a rough start, Cooper's line is up to .282/.364/.436.
On the mound Reidier Gonzalez put up an odd line: 5 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 4 K. You don't see that every day. It was once he left that things went straight to hell. Rommie Lewis had a day to forget picking up a Blown Save, a Loss and 4 ER off two hits, a hit batter and a walk without all without retiring a batter. David Shinksie sucked almost as equally, as did Nate Starner. Zach Dials turned in a scoreless ninth.
Well, after all that, here's something to cheer you up or freak you out: "The Rockcats! A Live Band of Amazing Cats, Yes Cats!" (The almost certainly crazy lady who uploaded the video came up with the excited title.)
Dunedin 3 Brevard County 6
Andrew Liebel made his third start for Dunedin and continued his theme of slightly improving on his previous outing. Liebel went five innings and allowed two earned runs on two hits while walking three and striking out five. Following him was Tim Collins who allowed the first runs of his Hi-A career. Collins loaded the bases with one out in the sixth but escaped without any damage on a strikeout and a fly out. The seventh brought a single, a hit batter and two more strikeouts before Collins gave way to Ross Buckwalter who promptly allowed both runners to score.
At the plate, Kevin Ahrens smacked a two-run double, while Justin Jackson continued to struggle with three strikeouts in an 0-for-5 performance. Eric Thames added a single of his own while Darin Mastroianni doubled and stole his ninth (!) base of the young season.
West Michigan 3 Lansing 4
Hey, a win! And a walk-off one to boot. Josh Wells got the start for the Lugnuts and went five and a third innings allowing three runs on four hits while striking out six. Matt Daly picked up the win in relief. At the plate, Brian Van Kirk and Justin Mclanahan both went deep and Johermyn Chavez pitched in with two hits, a run and a stolen base.
The Lugnuts won this one thanks to a leadoff single from Van Kirk who was replaced by pinch-runner Markus Brisker. Brisker then stole second and advanced to third on a fielding error before scoring on a sacrifice fly off the bat of A.J. Jimenez. The win improved Lansing to 2-7 on the year though they're already 7.5 games behind the 10-0 Fort Wayne TinCaps.
Three Stars:
3rd Star- Johermyn Chavez- 2-for-4, R, SB
2nd Star- Reidier Gonzalez- 5 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 4 K
1st Star- Justin Mclanahan- 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20090419203935591