Las Vegas lost their bats at crucial points in last night’s game. Dunedin suffered a slow loss as their opponents chipped away and came back to win. Meanwhile, Deck McGuire shook off a couple of sub-par starts and turned in a fine performance for New Hampshire.
Las Vegas 4 @ Fresno 6 – Boxscore
The middle of the lineup had an off-day for Las Vegas, as Travis d’Arnaud and David Cooper combined to go for 0-for-8 with d’Arnaud drawing a walk. Travis Snider had a nice game, hitting a double over three at-bats with two walks. Anthony Gose and Adeiny Hechevarria, who have started the season on different paths, both went 2-for-5 with Gose showing his speed with a triple and Hechevarria notching two doubles.
Yan Gomes was 2-for-4 and Moises Sierra went 2-for-2 with a walk. Danny Perales added a single and Mike McCoy added a walk. If that sounds like the 51’s must have a lot of opportunities to score, it’s true. However, Las Vegas went 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position and had one two-out RBI all game. In other news, Sierra was caught stealing and picked off (it’s unclear if those were the same or different plays), Hechavarria made his second error of the year, d’Arnaud allowed his second passed ball of the year and Gose nabbed Ryan Langerhans wandering too far off first base on a fly ball.
Joel Carreno started for Las Vegas and didn’t do well in what may have been an audition for the much-coveted April 21st start (although Bauxite JB21 says Anthopolous says it’s down to Chavez or Hutchison). Regardless, Carreno gave up eight hits over 3 innings. He struck out one and allowed five runs, three earned. Carreno only threw 62 pitches. He was relieved by Bobby Korecky and Jim Hoey, who combined for 5 innings of one-run relief with four strikeouts against no walks. Korecky and Hoey combined to throw 40 strikes in 54 pitches over some very efficient innings.
Binghamton 0 @ New Hampshire 2 – Boxscore
There was a pitching matchup to write home about in Double-A, as Deck McGuire faced off against top prospect Zach Wheeler. McGuire, who had taken losses in his first two starts, fared much better yesterday. He picked up his first victory since August 2, 2011, with 6.2 innings of one-hit ball. McGuire walked three and also struck out three, one of them coming with runners on first and third and one out. Clint Everts struck out four over 1.1 innings of relief and Ron Uviedo notched his fourth save with a hitless ninth.
Wheeler pitched well, striking out eight and only allowing three hits. However, in the fourth inning Kevin Howard doubled home Mike McDade for the only run the Fisher Cats would need. New Hampshire added an insurance run in the 8th inning when John Tolisano walked and came around on a Ryan Goins single. Tolisano drew two walks and McDade was the only notable performer at the plate going 2-for-3 with a walk.
Dunedin
Scheduled day off. Dunedin tries to pick up its 11th win of the year when Asher Wojciechowski faces Brevard County tomorrow night.
South Bend 4 @ Lansing 3 – Boxscore
The Lugnuts lost a tough one as South Bend battled and clawed back with a run in each of the 7th, 8th and 9th innings to grab a come-from-behind victory. Marcus Walden started for Lansing and had a good outing. Over 5 innings, he only allowed one unearned run, allowing two hits and a pair of walks. Walden only struck out one, but got groundouts from 8 of the 9 batters he retired on balls in play. Kramer Champlin allowed two runs, one earned, over 2.2 innings, as he allowed three hits and two walks. Javier Avendano had a poor outing, surrendering two hits and three walks over 1.1 innings and taking the loss.
Kevin Pillar and Chris Hawkins led the offensive attack as each had a 2-for-4 evening. Pillar drove in two runs. Hawkins also contributed defensively with two outfield assists. The top of the lineup did its job in getting on base, as Marcus Brisker was 1-for-4 with a walk and Kenny Wilson was 1-for-3 with two walks. Brisker scored twice and Wilson came home with the other run. Carlos Perez drew a walk, as did KC Hobson, who also contributed with a double and an RBI. Kellen Sweeney was 1-for-4.
Three Stars:
3rd Star – Marcus Walden, 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
2nd Star – Mike McDade, 2-for-3, R, BB, 2 TB
1st Star – Deck McGuire, 6.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K
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