Some nights you really have to scour the boxscores to find performances worthy of being awarded a star for the evening and other nights you can find more than enough contenders without trying. Last night was one of the latter, with three strong pitching performances, some nice offensive lines in Lansing, a display of power by Dwight Smith Jr. and a standout line in an All-Star Game.
Pacific Coast League All-Stars 3 @ International League All-Stars 0 – Boxscore
Kansas City’s Wil Myers stole the headlines at the Triple-A All-Star Game in a contest that featured some prospects and some Triple-A veterans, such as Guillermo Quiroz (who went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts). Adeiny Hechavarria was 0-for-4 and Chad Beck threw a shutout inning.
Eastern League West All-Stars 4 @ Eastern League East All-Stars 5 – Boxscore
The Eastern League East All-Star won on a walk-off single in the bottom of the 9th inning. To recap the familiar faces, Aaron Loup threw a shutout inning, but Yohan Pino followed him and ran into trouble. He gave up two runs and retired only one batter. Ryan Goins was 1-for-3 with a double. Mark Sobolewski was 0-for-2 with an RBI. Mike McDade was the star on the game with a 4-for-4 evening that included a double and 2 RBIs.
Dunedin 4 @ Jupiter 0 – Boxscore
Asher Wojciechowski made another case to ensure that he wasn’t forgotten among Toronto’s collection of pitching prospects with 7 shutout innings against the Hammerheads. Wojciechowski allowed two hits and two walks while striking out seven. He retired 11 of 14 batters on balls in play on groundouts. Dayton Martze and Dustin Antolin each threw a shutout inning, the latter getting all three of his outs on strikeouts.
The D-Jays scored four runs on six hits. Jonathan Jones and Michael Crouse each went 2-for-4, with Jones contributing a double and Crouse a solo homer. Jon Talley and Kevin Ahrens each added singles and Jack Murphy worked two walks.
Quad Cities 7 @ Lansing 8 – Boxscore
It was a big day at the plate for Lugnuts batters as every starter but Shane Optiz had a hit. Chris Hawkins and Kevin Pillar led the attack by reaching base four times; each went 2-for-3 with a pair of walks. Hawkins and Carlos Perez, who was 1-for-3 with a solo homer and two walks, both scored three runs. KC Hobson went 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs. Kevin Patterson and Andy Fermin each added a hit and a walk. Kenny Wilson and Gustavo Pierre also contributed with singles.
A five-run 8th inning made this game much closer than it needed to be. Justin Nicolino got the start and had a fine start that was marred by a two-run homer. Nicolino struck out five and didn’t walk a batter. He surrendered six hits and retired nine of eleven batters on balls in play on groundouts. Philip Brua and Brandon Berl combined to turn the game into a one-run contest and then Ajay Meyer came in to pick up his 24th save of the year.
Vancouver 1 @ Boise 5 – Boxscore
Daniel Arcila hit a solo homer, but there wasn’t much else to write home about aside from some scattered singles. Javier Avendano gave up five runs over 6 innings. He surrendered six hits and struck out seven. The fabulously named Rock Shoulders hit a solo homer for Boise
Bluefield 4 @ Pulaski 2 – Boxscore
Deivy Estrada turned in a fine start for Bluefield last night. He went 6 innings and struck out two without walking a batter. Estrada didn’t allow a run and surrendered two hits. He turned the ball over to Griffin Murphy and the southpaw went 2 innings without allowing a hit. Denny Valdez allowed two unearned runs in the 9th inning.
Dwight Smith Jr. led off the game with a solo homer. He went on to pick up another hit and draw a walk. Dickie Thon followed him with a 2-for-5 evening. Matt Dean and Christian Lopes added doubles and Nico Taylor and Jacob Anderson contributed with singles. Three and four hitters Santiago Nessy and Art Charles went 0-for-9.
GCL Blue Jays 3 @ GCL Pirates 4 – Boxscore
Alonzo Gonzalez gave up three runs over 4 innings to take the loss and Tyler Gonzales allowed a run over 2 innings to lower his ERA to 31.91. The GCL Blue Jays only had four hits on the day with Dawel Lugo and Gabriel Cenas each picking up one. John Silviano drew two walks and DJ Davis went 0-for-5.
Three Stars:
3rd Star – Mike McDade, 4-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 5 TB
2nd Star – Deivy Estrada, 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
1st Star – Asher Wojciechowski, 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20120711235735754