I've been waiting all season for a perfect 5-0 day from the affiliates. Could the final Sunday of the season be the one?
Las Vegas 3 Portland 2 (10 innings)
Not even a homer by Russ Adams could beat the 51s on this night. Poor ol' Russ isn't exactly tearing it up with the Beavers, putting together a .680 OPS over 35 games. In any event, J.P. Arencibia had a decent night, going 3-for-5 with an RBI. Jason Lane chipped in his 41st double while Brian Dopirak was 0-for-5.
Marty McLeary started this one for Vegas and pitched well, going seven while allowing two runs on four hits. Rommie Lewis picked up the win in relief while Free Jeremy Accardo secured his 13th save in pitching a scoreless tenth.
New Hampshire 8 Portland 3
What's with all the Portland teams? Anyway, the Fisher Cats actually trailed this one 3-2 heading into the 8th until Moises Sierra smacked his first AA homer, and made it a two-out Grand Slam to boot. David Cooper also homered for New Hampshire, his tenth. Sierra, Cooper, Brad Emaus, and Scott Campbell each had two hits making it a nice night for the better AA prospects.
Andrew Liebel started for the Cats and pitched well in going five innings, allowing a run on five hits and two walks while striking out seven. Tim Collins was roughed up a bit in relief, but got the win anyway, giving up two runs on two hits and three walks in two innings. He also struck out a pair, obviously. Danny Farquhar worked two innings for his 15th save.
Dunedin 8 Lakeland 1
Jesus Gonzalez and Brian Van Kirk did most of the damage in this one with each smacking a three-run homer. Sean Shoffit supplied this rest with two doubles and a pair of RBI while Raul Barron was 3-for-4 to give him his third straight multi-hit game.
Ryan Page took the hill and threw a nice one for the D-Jays, going seven and allowing just a run on six hits while striking out three. Matthew Daly went the final two and struck out three to keep his Hi-A ERA at 0.00 though 9.1 innings.
Lansing 11 South Bend 10
Now this was a back and forth affair. South Bend led 6-1 before a nine-spot put the Lugnuts up 11-7. Then they nearly blew that in the ninth before holding on for dear life 11-10. Johermyn Chavez swung the big bat on Sunday going 5-for-6 with two doubles and two RBI. In his support, Kenny Wilson picked up three hits while Mike McDade and Ryan Goins had two apiece.
John Anderson started and struggled so Chase Lirette picked up the win in relief thanks to three shutout innings. Yorman Mayora worked two shaky innings for his 4th save.
Auburn 6 Williamsport 7
And there's the loss that killed the perfect day. Ah well, maybe next year. Despite the defeat, a few Doubledays put together a nice afternoon. Yan Gomes, Ryan Schimpf, and Sean Ochinko all went 2-for-5 while Karim Turkamani had three hits.
Steven Turnbull started for Auburn and allowed a run on five hits in four innings while striking out four. Matthew Morgal took the loss in relief while a trio of relievers followed and kept the game close.
Three Stars:
3rd Star: Andrew Liebel; 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
2nd Star: Moises Sierra; 2-for-4, R, HR, 4 RBI
1st Star: Johermyn Chavez; 5-for-6, 2 2B, 2 RBI
And that's the end of that, for me, anyway. Thanks for reading this year, folks and see you on Monday mornings next year.
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