Wednesday saw a lot of close finishes. Buffalo took a five run lead to the ninth inning and turned the game over to Joba Chamberlain. Ezequiel Carrera had to throw out the tying run at the plate to preserve the win. Bluefield broke a tie in the top of the ninth for a one run win. The GCL Jays had a walk off win. New Hampshire went to extras but conceded a grand slam. Lansing went to extras and lost in a more routine fashion. Vancouver did it early, walking their way to a loss in the eighth. Dunedin had a non-close loss.
Andy Burns had three hits and four RBI's for Buffalo. Dalton Pompey had two hits. DJ Davis had a nice night. Sean Reid-Foley and Jose Espada ran hot and cold.
Rochester 5 Buffalo 6
What a bottom of the ninth! The Bisons led 6-1 and Joba Chamberlain on to lock it down. Joba loaded the bases with no one out, got a K, then a triple cleared the bases. That was it for Joba, Ben Rowen replaced him. Rowen gave up a single to the first hitter he faced and it was a one run game. Rowen got the second out, a ground ball that moved the runner to second. Another single looked to tie the game, the runner went home, Ezequiel Carrera threw a one hopper to Josh Thole for the final out and the win. Randy Wolf went six innings for the win. Of note, Steve Delabar struck out the side in his inning around a single.
Andy Burns was the offensive star, going 3-4. He doubled in two runs in the third and hit a two run home run in the fifth. Dalton Pompey had two singles and scored in the first and sixth innings. Jon Berti also had two hits. Burns has had a strong August so far and has raised his average to .298 from .269 on July 22nd. Burns doesn't have much power and doesn't walk a lot but he would be under consideration for a utility role in the majors.
Akron 7 New Hampshire 3 - 10 innings
Blake McFarland was lights out over the first half of the season and that got him a promotion to Buffalo. He eventually came back to AA due to roster shuffling and he hasn't been as sharp since he came back. On Wednesday, in the tenth inning he loaded the bases in part due to a walk and a hit batter and then Carlos Moncrief took him deep for a grand slam home run. Technically the runs were unearned because Jorge Flores dropped the ball on a potential caught stealing but I am sure McFarland would agree he didn't do his job. Taylor Cole started and he gave up a couple of home runs himself, both to the same hitter, Bradley Zimmer. Cole went seven innings, five hits, three runs.
Melky Mesa homered for the first run, Martin Medina tripled and scored the second. Medina singled in the eighth and his pinch runner scored on a Dwight Smith single. The Fisher Cats had just six hits.
Daytona 10 Dunedin 3
Ten runs on 15 hits was not a good night for the pitchers. But Sean Reid-Foley had some good to report. He walked the first hitter then allowed an RBI double. But he settled down and retired 11 straight. But with two outs in the fourth he went double, single, walk, walk, single, and he was out of the game. It is part of development to learn how to limit the damage. Brad Allen and Matt Dermody were roughed up too. Dermody had been pitching well recently until this game.
Anthony Alford singled to lead off the game for Dunedin, stole second, but was stranded. It was Alford's only hit of the night. The Jays only had six hits and didn't score until the eighth. Jorge Saez and JD Davis each had RBI singles. Andy Fermin added an RBI single in the ninth. Davis and Fermin had two hits each.
Lansing 5 Clinton 6 - 11 innings
Lansing scored a run in the seventh and in the ninth to tie the game. After an uneventful tenth, David Harris doubled and got to third base with one out in the eleventh. The Lugnuts were unable to bring him home and they paid for that in the bottom of the inning. A single, a passed ball and a single on a bunt loaded the bases and set up the game winning sac fly. Tim Mayza took the loss in his third inning. Jon Wandling made his first start for Lansing and was charged with five runs in five innings.
Lansing took a 3-0 lead in the second inning. In the first inning Chris Carlson, Richard Urena and DJ Davis all had hits leading to two runs. Juan Kelly doubled to lead off the second and scored on a fielders choice. DJ Davis scored the fourth and fifth runs, both times coming home on a wild pitch. Davis was 2-3 with three walks. Carlson, David Harris and Michael De La Cruz also had two hits each. Lane Thomas was 0-5 with a walk.
Vancouver 2 Hillsboro 3
This was a bad loss for Vancouver. Ryan Metzler hit his first home run of the year in eighth to break a tie and give the C's a 2-1 lead. They just needed six outs. Stuart Holmes then walked the bases loaded. Brandon Hinkle replaced him and he walked in a run. A sac fly plated the winning run for the Hops. Vancouver went meekly in the ninth. That ruined a nice start by Tayler Saucedo who pitched 5.2 innings with just three hits and one run allowed.
The other Vancouver run came in the second inning, Sean Hurley led off with a double and scored on a fielders choice. Both teams were held to three hits, it was the walks that killed vancouvers chances.
Bluefield 3 Pulaski 2
Through eight innings the Jays were out-hitting Pulaski 9-3 but the game was tied. In the top of the ninth Deiferson Barreto struck out but reached on an error by the catcher. Barreto stole second, moved up on a ground out and scored on a two out single by Andres Sotillo. The Jays other two runs came on solo home runs from Rodrigo Orozco and Juan Tejada. Barreto was 3-4, the only run he scored came on his one out. Orozco and Sotillo each had two hits.
Geno Encino, 18th round pick this year, made his first start and pitched five good innings. Joe Claver and Alberto Guzman each pitched two shutout innings.
GCL Yankees 7 GCL Blue Jays 8
The Jays took a 6-0 lead but saw the Yankees tie it before getting a walk off win in the ninth. The walk off was somewhat anti-climactic, a lead off walk followed by two errors scored the winning run. Cliff Brantley led the way for the Jays, 2-3, 2 walks and a home run. Bryan Lizardo also had two hits, with one a double. Reggie Pruitt went 1-4 with a walk. Danny Jansen caught six innings as he continues his rehab.
Jose Espada faced the minimum through four innings. The Yankees scored an unearned run off him in the fifth and in the sixth he went walk, single, RBI single before being pulled. Juan Nunez came on and allowed the other two baserunners to score. Espada was charged with four runs, three earned, on four hits but he pitched better than the record shows.
3 Stars
3rd star: DJ Davis
2nd star: Deiferson Barreto
1st star: Andy Burns
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