The GCL Jays became the second Blue Jay team to make the playoffs with a double header sweep yesterday. The Vancouver Canadians are the only other affiliate with a reasonable chance at reaching the playoffs but they lost yesterday thanks to some shaky defense. Elsewhere Buffalo had a nice win behind Scott Copeland and Jon Berti. Bluefield had a big comeback win. New Hampshire and Lansing both lost while Dunedin had the day off.
Buffalo 4 Lehigh Valley 2
Jon Berti hit a two run home run in the seventh inning to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead. Chris Heisey added a solo home run in the ninth. Jon Diaz scored the first run, he walked and scored when the Iron Pigs threw the ball away trying to complete a double play. Ty Kelly had two hits for the Bisons.
Scott Copeland pitched six innings, six hits led to two runs, one earned. Ryan Tepera loaded the bases in the seventh but escaped. Steve Delabar was perfect in his two innings. He had four K's.
New Hampshire 3 Portland 7
Scott Barnes was pressed into starting after all the pitching trades at the deadline. His first start was fantastic but since then its been downhill. Barnes just went three innings and surrendered five runs. Dustin Antolin followed and they scored two off him in the fourth and it was a 7-3 game. Chad Girodo pitched the eighth. Girodo could be a long shot for a call-up. In AA lefties are hitting .100 off him and he has only one walk while getting 38 plate appearances.
The Fisher Cats had only four hits. A wild pitch and a ground out scored the first two runs. Ryan Schimpf hit his twentieth home run for the third run.
Dunedin - off day
Lansing 2 Fort Wayne 3
Tom Robson was on the mound and he struggled early. In the first inning two singles put runners on first and second. A sac fly combined with a throwing error by Josh Almonte led to two runs. A solo home run in the second made it 3-1. Robson went four innings. Those three hits that led to the scores were all the hits he allowed. Colton Turner went three shutout innings.
Josh Almonte walked and scored when Austin Davis singled. This was in the second. In the eighth David Harris doubled and MVP Ryan McBroom singled him home. Davis, Harris and Michael De La Cruz each had two hits.
Boise 5 Vancouver 2
Gunnar Heidt played shortstop for the C's and for a team chasing the playoffs it was not the best decision. Heidt made an error on the first hitter of the game and he scored on a sac fly. in the third inning with a runner on third and two outs an infield single to short scored Boise's second run. Then in the sixth starter Josh De Graaf walked a couple of hitters. Reliever Turner Lee walked another. One run scored on a sac fly and two scored on a two out error by, you guessed it, Heidt. Heidt had homered in the fifth inning to tie the game at two. Andrew Guillotte had squeezed in the first run in the third.
Josh De Graaf went 5.1 and allowed four runs, two of which were earned. Offensively Guillotte, Justin Atkinson and Sean Hurley had two hits each.
Princeton 6 Bluefield 7
Bluefield came from behind with three runs in the eighth and a walk off run in the ninth. In that ninth Matt Morgan led off with a double. Pinch runner Juan Tejada was sacrificed to third and he scored on a ground ball to second when the Rays were unable to get the tag on him at home. In the three run eighth Christian Williams singled in a run and Nick Sinay doubled in two. Sinay led the offense with three hits. Rodrigo Orozco had two hits including a two RBI double to get the Jays on the board in the fifth inning.
The Rays outhit the Jays 15-10. Miguel Burgos took most of the abuse, he was hit around for 10 hits in his 4.2 innings. Zach Rodgers got the win by pitching two shutout innings.
GCL Yankees 1 GCL Blue Jays 5 - game 1
The Jays scored four runs in the first inning. The Yankee pitcher hit the first two batters and walked the third. Nash Knight and Bryan Lizardo singled in runs before an error brought in the fourth run. Kalik May homered in the second inning to complete the scoring.
Jose Nova, 20 years old, pitched six innings for the win. He had 7 K's. Kelyn Jose, also 20, pitched the seventh.
GCL Blue Jays 10 GCL Yankees 7 - game 2
The Jays led 10-0 heading to the bottom of the seventh and the playoffs were in view. But the teams focus must have gone, they let up seven runs in the last inning before nailing down the win and the division title. Yennsy Diaz, 18 years old, pitched five shutout innings for the win.
The Jays were outhit 6-5 but they capitalized on eight walks, two errors and three hit by pitches. The Jays had a seven run inning of their own, in the fifth. In that inning the Jays had five walks, two hit by pitches and two singles. Reggie Pruitt had two hits with one a triple.
3 Stars
3rd star: Nick Sinay
2nd star: Yennsy Diaz
1st star: Jon Berti
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