Four wins in six tries for the affiliates. But you'll have to read the details to believe some of the stuff that went on.
David Purcey took the hill for the 51s and was his usual wild self.......wait, what? He pitched a shutout?! And how. Purcey went the distance on three hits and no walks with five strikeouts. It took just 106 pitches to dispatch of the Aces, a total Purcey usually hits around the 5th inning.
To continue with the craziness, J.P. Arencibia went 3-for-4 with two homers and three RBI. Brian Dopirak nearly matched him with a 3-for-4 of his own but with just one homer. Dopirak's AAA OPS is sitting at a healthy .897. Aaron Mathews added a three-run homer of his own.
Portland 3 New Hampshire 5 (Game One)
The Fisher Cats scored all five of their runs in the first off a rehabbing Daisuke Matsuzaka to coast to victory in the opener of a double-header. Todd Donovan helped supply the offense with a two-run shot while David Cooper and Brian Jeroloman added RBI doubles.
Luis Perez started and went six, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits and two walks against five strikeouts. Danny Farquhar pitched a perfect seventh, striking out the side.
Portland 2 New Hampshire 4 (Game Two)
Well, a double-header sweep of the Red Sox affiliate exacts some revenge, right? There wasn't much to this one either as the Fisher Cats were led by a two-run shot from Nick Gorneault and two hits from Brian Van Kirk.
Nate Starner took the hill for the Cats and went four shutout frames before being relieved by Wil Ledezma who picked up the victory in going the final three.
No surprise here in that the D-Jays managed just a run on two hits (Jesus Gonzalez and Matthew Liuzza) but the affiliates stayed perfect thanks to a great start from Robert Bell who went six and allowed just two hits and two walks with four strikeouts. Daniel DeLucia and Matthew Daly protected the one run lead over the final three frames.
Well, the Lugnuts spoiled the party thanks to a drubbing at the hands of the Dragons. Chad Beck was rocked for eight runs (seven earned) on ten hits in just three innings. Five shutout innings from the bullpen didn't make much difference at that point.
Both Lansing runs were driven in by Wellinton Ramirez while Ryan Goins picked up a pair of hits. Everyone else was pretty much silent.
Auburn 4 Batavia 5 (10 innings)
The Doubledays dropped this one despite a 4-for-5 night from Sean Ochinko. Ochinko's destroying the NYPL with a .514 average over his past ten games and a .975 OPS to date. The 21 year-old might be looking at a jump straight to Dunedin for next year.
Scott Gracey started for Auburn and was perfectly mediocre allowing three runs on three hits and three walks against five strikeouts in five innings. Casey Beck took the loss in relief.
Three Stars:
3rd Star: Sean Ochinko; 4-for-5, 2 2B
2nd Star: J.P. Arencibia; 3-for-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI
1st Star: David Purcey; 9 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
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