Lawrenceville, GA - This game saw the Bisons fall behind three different times to the Braves before they settled things with a four-run ninth. Dan Johnson worked a bases-loaded walk before Matt Tuiasosopo cleared them with a three-run double. Johnson had an RBI single in the fifth and Kevin Pillar tripled home an Anthony Gose single in the seventh. The Herd's first run came on a throwing error. Pillar was 3-for-3 with two walks with his only blemish being a caught stealing. Johnson had two walks to go along with his RBI single. Gose singled twice and stole a pair of bases. Darin Mastroianni singled and walked.Austin Bibens-Dirkx lasted four innings, yielding two runs on five hits and a walk. He struck out five and four of his five outs in play were on the ground. Ryan Rowland-Smith made his organizational debut, which saw the Aussie lefty give up a run on two hits with one strikeout over two frames. Gregory Infante (1-1) struck out two over two perfect innings. Bobby Korecky finished up by striking out two of the three men he faced in the ninth.
New Hampshire 5 Binghamton 0
Manchester, NH - Andy Fermin launched his first home run of the year in the third inning and the Fisher Cats never looked back. They added two more runs in the third on a Jonathan Jones RBI groundout and a Jon Berti bunt single. A.J. Jimenez doubled home a run in the eighth and Mike McDade followed with a run-scoring single. Berti and Brad Glenn had two-hit nights with Glenn getting a double. Fermin also got on base twice by earning a ball four. Berti stole his 12th base of the year.Scott Copeland (3-3) was one inning shy of a complete game, scattering four hits, a walk and a hit by pitch. He struck out three Mets and racked up 15 of his 19 outs in play on the grass. Copeland was never going to receive credit for going the distance anyway because Casey Janssen was given the start. The rehabbing righty gave up a pair of hits but got two ground ball outs and a flyout to complete a scoreless first.
Dunedin 8 Tampa 3
Dunedin, FL - The D-Jays had four different two-run innings against the Yankees. Adam Lind started things off with a single in the first and scampered home on a Dwight Smith Jr. triple. Smith then scored on a Kevin Patterson sacrifice fly. Jorge Flores cashed in a Marcus Knecht triple with a base hit and scored on a Christian Lopes base knock in the fourth. Lind's seventh inning double came in to count on a Dalton Pompey fly ball and Knecht would follow with an RBI double. A Lopes RBI single and a Lind RBI double would round out the scoring in the eighth. Lind and Smith had three-hit performances with Smith adding a stolen base. Knecht, Lopes and Flores had two hits apiece with Flores swiping a base.Daniel Norris had some electric stuff working, striking out 10 batters over 4.2 scoreless innings. The lefty allowed eight base runners on five hits and three walks. Blake McFarland (2-0) came to the rescue by stranding two inherited runners from Norris. The Yankees would get to McFarland for a two-run home run over his 2.1 innings of work. Danny Barnes also served up a gopher ball in the eighth but lefty Chad Girodo finished up with a shutout ninth.
Lansing 4 Fort Wayne 2
Lansing, MI - The Lugnuts got on the board in the third inning with a Mitch Nay sac fly and grabbed their first lead in the fourth when Carlos Ramirez lined one up in the middle. The Lugnuts added single runs in the sixth and seventh on an error and a Justin Atkinson base hit. Dawel Lugo had a three-hit performance and D.J. Davis had two hits and a walk but was caught stealing for the fifth time. Nay, Matt Dean and Santiago Nessy all had one base hit and one walk apiece.Tom Robson (2-3) is starting to find his footing in the Midwest League. He limited the Padres affiliate to just one run on two hits over six innings, striking out eight. Five of his eight outs in play did not escape the infield. Roberto Espinosa gave up a run in 1.1 innings but struck out a pair. Lefty Scott Silverstein retired the two hitters he faced and fellow southpaw Griffin Murphy worked a one-hit ninth with two K's for his fourth save.
Linescores
*** 3 Stars! ***
3. Tom Robson, Lansing - Another one run, six inning effort lowered the Ladner, BC native's earned run average to 5.40.
2. Kevin Pillar, Buffalo - The reigining International League Hitter of the Week extended his hitting streak to 17 games, with four multi-hit efforts in a row. His batting average is up to .295.
1. Scott Copeland, New Hampshire - Only one run allowed over his last 16.1 innings.
Tuesday's Games & Probable Starters...
Fort Wayne @ Lansing - 10:35 ET - RHP Alberto Tirado (1-0, 3.15).
Tampa @ Dunedin - 11:00 am ET - RHP Kendall Graveman (0-1, 4.50).
Buffalo @ Gwinnett - 6:35 pm ET - RHP Liam Hendriks (4-0, 1.26).
Binghamton @ New Hampshire, 6:35 pm ET - LHP Matt Boyd (0-0, 4.50).
Extra Innings...
The Lansing State Journal has an article on the recently promoted Kendall Graveman.
The Toronto Sun's Bob Elliott catches up with Dalton Pompey.
The Tampa Bay Times has an editorial calling for the continued spring training partnership of Dunedin and Toronto.