Buffalo, NY — The game was delayed by an hour and 30 minutes thanks to rain and it really did not let up all that much throughout the evening. Casey Lawrence (0-1) received a rude introduction to Triple-A baseball after being promoted from Dunedin. He was burned for four runs in the first inning. Errors by shortstop Ryan Goins and left fielder Ryan Langerhans were also contributing factors. Lawrence gave up six runs over four frames on 10 hits and two walks. He struck out three and five of his seven outs in play were on the ground. Buddy Carlyle allowed a run in each of his two innings of work, including a home run, but also averaged a K an inning. Lefty Alex Hinshaw scattered two hits and two walks over innings with five punchouts. Neil Wagner worked a one-hit ninth with a pair of groundouts. The Chiefs racked up 16 hits in total, four of them from Vancouver native Jimmy Van Ostrand.
The Herd's lone run came in the seventh when a Mike McCoy grounder cashed in an Eugenio Velez double, the only extra-base hit for Buffalo. Both McCoy and Velez had two hits apiece. Langerhans and Moises Sierra each reached base three times with a hit and two walks. Goins and Luis Jimenez singled in four official at-bats. Anthony Gose and Mike Nickeas were both 0-for-4 but Gose did draw a walk. The Bisons were 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base.
New Hampshire 15 Trenton 7
Manchester, NH — The Fisher Cats trailed 1-0 after one-half inning but they responded with five runs in the bottom of the first. Kenny Wilson singled and stole second and came home on a Kevin Pillar single to tie things up. A Kevin Nolan RBI single, bases-loaded walks by Brad Glenn and Sean Ochinko and an RBI groundout by John Tolisano accounted for the other four runs. In the fourth, Clint Robinson doubled home two runs and Glenn doubled in another. Ryan Schimpf added an RBI single in the fifth and New Hampshire added six more runs in the eighth. Ochinko cleared the bases with a three-run double, Tolisano grounded out to plate another, Robinson drew a bases-loaded walk and Nolan took one for the team to bring home the final run. Robinson went 3-for-5 with a walk and Ricardo Nanita was 2-for-4 with two walks and a stolen base. Also getting on base four times were Brad Glenn with a double and three walks and Schimpf with a single and three bases on balls. Wilson had two hits, a walk and a stolen base while Nolan had a pair of hits to go with his HBP.
Ryan Tepera (1-0) had trouble keeping the ball in the park as the Yankees affiliate got to him for two homers. However, he quieted down the Thunder to three runs on two hits and two walks over five innings. He struck out four and racked up six outs on the ground. Randy Boone was beat up for four runs in two-thirds of an inning but just one of the runs was earned because of a Nolan error at short. Nolan had two clanks on the evening. Tommy Hottovy inherited two Boone runners and allowed both to score. He did pitch 2 1/3 scoreless frames with two strikeouts by working around two hits and a walk. He earned a hold for his efforts. Joel Carreno struck out the side in the ninth.
Dunedin — Scheduled day off.
Bowling Green 4 Lansing 3
Bowling Green, KY — Lefty Daniel Norris did not put together a sterling performance in his first start of 2013. The bad news was a line of three runs on six hits and two walks in just three innings with zero strikeouts. The good news was a scoreless final inning of work and four of his five outs in play remained in the diamond. Wil Browning (0-2) pitched 2 2/3 hitless innings but the one walk he issued eventually came in to score. The run was unearned as the runner advanced on an error by Kellen Sweeney at second base. A run-scoring groundout saddled Browning with a tough-lock loss. That was one of five groundball outs for Browning. Tucker Donahue stranded a runner for Browning and worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings with a strikeout and just one hit allowed. Chuck Ghysels overcame a walk with two strikeouts in a scoreless eighth.
The Lugnuts were held down by the Rays affiliate to just one single over the first five innings. However, they tied the game with a three-run sixth. Ronald Melendez's RBI groundout got the Lugnuts on the board before Gustavo Pierre knocked a two-run homer over the wall in left field. The inning could have been bigger but Emilio Guerrero was picked off at third base by the catcher before Dalton Pompey's single and Pierre's home run. The Lugnuts had a couple of chances to tie the game. A Santiago Nessy two-out double in the seventh was stranded and a Sweeney one-out single in the ninth with a passed ball put the potential tying run in scoring position. However, the Hot Rods struck out the side to preserve the win. Chris Hawkins and Carlos Ramirez also joined the hit parade for Lansing. Only Melendez and Balbino Fuenmayor did not make a dent in the hit column.
Boxscores
*** 3 Stars!!! ***
3. Ryan Tepera, New Hampshire - Now 8-3 in his Double-A career with Monday's win.
2. Ricardo Nanita, New Hampshire - Overcame a combined 0-for-9 in the previous two games with a two-hit night.
1. Clint Robinson, New Hampshire — Hitting .412 so far this season.