The biggest news from the minors didn’t come on the field yesterday, but came off of it when it was announced that the Jays decided to promote JP Arencibia to fill in for John Buck, who was forced to the 15-day DL after taking a foul ball off his thumb. While Las Vegas, perhaps missing one of their star bats, lost big to Memphis, New Hampshire shut out their opposition, while Dunedin won a slugfest. The Lugnuts were shut out, but Auburn doubled Vermont and the GCL Blue Jays won a tight affair against the GCL Pirates.
Memphis 14 @ Las Vegas 5 – Boxscore
The Redbirds went ahead 7-1after 2 innings and didn’t look, scoring 7 more runs, including 3 in the 9th, on the way to a 14-5 victory. Lance Broadway was left in to absorb the damage and absorb it he did. Broadway allowed 15 hits and 11 runs over 6.2 innings. Broadway struck out three, but fell to 2-10. Jesse Carlson went 1.1 innings of scoreless relief, but Merkin Valdez gave up 3 runs and 5 hits in his 1 inning.
Mike McCoy and Mike Jacobs each had a pair of hits and added a walk. Jarrett Hoffpauir also reached base three times as he went 1-for-3 with a triple and a pair of walks. Dan Perales and Adam Calderone each hit home runs in the losing effort. With JP Arencibia receiving the news he’s dreamed about his whole life, Raul Chavez started at catcher and went 1-for-4 with a double.
New Hampshire 9 @ Richmond 0 - Boxscore
Shawn Hill continued his successful return from injury with another fine minor league start in his first start at Double-A. Hill pitched 7 strong innings and struck out four. He surrendered two hits and walked a pair, but it was another strong sign in Hill’s comeback effort and the Mississauga native has begun to put himself on the map for September, should the Jays need to shut down some of the club’s current starters to avoid undue strain on their arms. Alan Farina and Trystan Magnuson each pitched a scoreless inning to preserve the shutout.
Several hot Fisher Cats batters continued their recent strong performances. Darin Mastroianni was 1-for-2 with two walks and a pair of runs. Adeiny Hechevarria went 3-for-5 with a double, an RBi and two runs. Eric Thames was 3-for-5 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. David Cooper and Shawn Bowman were each held hitless, although Bowman drew a couple of walks and scored a run. Jonathan Diaz was 3-for-4 with three singles, a stolen base and a caught stealing. Matt Liuzza was 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI, Luis Sanchez was 1-for-1 and Adam Loewen only had one hit in four at-bats, but it was a triple that drove home a pair of runners. Although the Fisher Cats scored 9 runs, they left 11 runners on base and it could have been worse for Richmond.
Palm Beach 9 @ Dunedin 11 – Boxscore
Chuck Huggins had a rare off-start, surrendering 6 hits and 3 walks in 2 innings. He allowed 6 runs, but left with an 8-6 lead. Dumas Garcia had a solid relief effort, with 4 scoreless innings that only included 3 hits allowed. Frank Gailey surrendered 3 runs, 2 earned, over 2.1 innings after spelling Garcia. Matt Daly struck out two batters over 0.2 innings to pick up his 24th save.
Every Dunedin hitter had at least one hit as the team racked up 15 hits and 11 runs. Lead-off hitter Anthony Gose was 3-for-4 with a pair of triples and a walk. Brad McElroy was 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles and a pair of runs and Brian Van Kirk followed him and also went 2-for-5 with a double, a run and 2 RBI. Mike McDade wasa 1-for-4 with a double, a walk and a pair of runs. Mark Sobolewski was 2-for-4 with a double, a run and an RBI and Jon Talley had a pair of doubles and a pair of runs. The power came from the bottom of the lineup, as Yan Gomes hit a 3-run homer and Justin McClanahan added a solo shot during Dunedin’s 7-run 1st inning.
Fort Wayne 5 @ Lansing 0 – Boxscore
Josh Spence started for the TinCaps and struck out 6 batters over 3 innings. Spence allowed one hit and one walk and then turned the ball over to the bullpen. Three relievers each pitched 2 innings and combined to allow 2 hits to the Lugnuts. Kevin Nolan had the best evening at the plate, picking up two of Lansing’s three base knocks. Kevin Ahrens drew the walk and Jake Marisnick went 1-for-3 with a double.
Ryan Shropshire started and gave up a pair of runs over 6.1 innings. While Shropshire lowered his ERA, this wasn’t his best outing as he allowed 6 hits and 4 walks. Although Shropshire struck out 6, the damage could have been much worse. He retired 10 of the 13 batters on balls in play via fly balls. Aaron Loup came in with an inherited runner and allowed him to score for the second run against Shropshire. Loup only escaped further damage with the help of a Bradley Glenn assist at home plate. After he allowed two runners to reach base in the 8th inning, he was replaced by Steven Turnbull, who escaped the frame unscathed before surrendering 3 runs in the 9th.
Auburn 6 @ Vermont 3 – Boxscore
Jonathan Jones led off for Auburn and went 1-for-3 with a triple, a run and a walk. Oscar Dominguez followed him with another 1-for-3 line that included a double, a run and a walk. Matt Nuzzo was held hitless, but drew a walk and picked up an RBI. Marcus Knecht continued to swing a hot bat, going 2-for-5 with a solo homer and 3 RBI. Jack Murphy also hit a solo homer and Stephen McQuail went 2-for-3 with a run and a walk.
Jesse Hernandez started for the Doubledays and turned in a fine performance. He went 6 innings and struck out 7 batters. Hernandez only allowed two baserunners, one on a hit and one on a walk. With a 4-1 lead Drew Permision came in from the bullpen to protect the lead and went 2 strong innings. Permision allowed a hit and struck out four. Dayton Marze had a far less successful day, surrendering three hits and a pair of runs in 0.2 innings. Zach Anderson picked up the last out of the game on a strikeout for his second save.
GCL Blue Jays 2 @ GCL Pirates 1 – Boxscore
The GCL Blue Jays fell behind 1-0 in the first, but Deivy Estrada persevered and ended up pitching 6 innings of one-run ball. Estrada allowed four hits and a walk while striking out 2. The Venezuelan turned the ball over to Matthew Morgal, who struck out 2 batters in his inning of relief. Morgal was sandwiched between a second Venezuelan, as Alesone Escalante threw 2 inning of relief and ended up as the pitcher of record.
After falling behind 1-0, the GCL Blue Jays got one back in the 6th, as consecutive doubles by Christopher Hawkins and Michael Crouse tied the game. This led off the inning and Crouse advanced to third on a passed ball to put the GCL Jays in great position to pull ahead during the inning. However, Crouse committed a cardinal baserunning blunder and was picked off third with none out in the inning. For good measure, the next batter, KC Hobson, singled. The game was still tied in the top of the 9th when Carlos Ramirez walked with one out. Bryson Namba singled Ramirez to second and then Pierce Rankin singled him home to take the lead. Namba and Rankin advanced a base on a passed ball and the bases were then loaded on a hit by pitch. The GCL Pirates put Rinku Singh, one of the pair of native Indians on the roster, into the game and he retired the last batter.
DSL Blue Jays 6 @ DSL Braves 7 – Boxscore
The DSL Blue Jays lost by one run in a tightly fought affair against the DSL Braves. Cesar Sanchez started and allowed 4 runs in 5 innings, although 2 runs were unearned. Sanchez walked two and struck out 7. The best performances at the plate were turned in by Santiago Nessy, who went 3-for-4 with 2 RBI, Aderlin Gonzalez, who went 2-for-3 with 2 RBI, Alvaro Blanco and John Delgado, each of whom went 2-for-4.
Three Stars:
3rd Star – Anthony Gose, 3-4, R, 2 3B, BB, 7 TB
2nd Star – Jesse Hernandez, 6 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
1st Star – Shawn Hill, 7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
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