Matt Newman has been scuffling at AA but he hit two home runs Friday as New Hampshire continued their winning ways. Buffalo went to extra innings and won in walk-off fashion. Sean Nolin made his first start in almost a month. Dunedin were shutout and Lansing were blown out.
Toledo 4 Buffalo 5 - 10 innings
Sean Nolin returned for his first start since May 13th. He was on a 50 pitch limit so he just went 3.1 innings, two hits, two walks, two K's, One run. Ryan Rowland-Smith followed Nolin and he immediately gave up three runs.
In the tenth AJ Jimenez led off with a single. Matt Tuiasosopo added a single and Andy LaRoche laid down a sac bunt bringing Kenny Wilson to the plate. Wilson hit a ground ball and the pitcher tried to get the out at home but Jimenez beat the play. In the first inning Dan Johnson hit his twelfth home run, a two run shot. In the fifth AJ Jimenez doubled in two runs to tie the game. Jimenez, Johnson, Tuiasosopo and Jared Goedert each had two hits.
Erie 2 New Hampshire 9
Matt Newman homered twice and drove in three runs. In total the Fisher Cats had ten hits, other than Newman with two every hitter had one hit. Jon Jones and Jorge Flores each drove in two. Flores is an interesting player. He is listed as 5'5" and is just 22 years old. His numbers were unremarkable until this year but now he has hit 300 in both Dunedin and New Hampshire. You wonder if he can keep it going but some players develop at age 22. Because of his size he has little power but he can take a walk.
Two Fisher Cat pitchers who are just down from AAA carried the day. Austin Bibens-Dirkx pitched five innings and Richard Bleier pitched three and each were charged with a run. The run charged to Bibens-Dirkx was unearned.
St Lucie 5 Dunedin 0
When Matt Boyd starts you think your chances are good. And Boyd did well he pitched a two hitter over five innings and was charged with an unearned run when Dwight Smith made a bad error in the first. Jesse Hernandez gave up the second run and Justin Jackson the last three.
The Jays had six hits and KC Hobson had half of them. That makes it hard to string some rallies together.
South Bend 13 Lansing 5
Alberto Tirado has had some good starts and some bad ones. This one was a stinker. Tirado was pulled in the second having hit two batters, walked three and allowed four hits. Yeyfry Del Rosario had been pitching well out of the bullpen but he was torched for five runs, three earned. In total the Lansing pitchers walked seven and gave up 15 hits.
Mitch Nay scored the first run, he singled in the infield and scored on an error. DJ Davis homered for the second run. The Lugnuts added three consolation runs in the ninth. Jason Leblebijian had three hits, Mitch Nay and Matt Dean had two each.
Three Stars
1st Star: Matt Newman
2nd Star: AJ Jimenez
3rd Star: Dan Johnson
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