Conine Clubs Cubs

Socrates Brito broke a scoreless tie in the sixth with an RBI double and Patrick Kivlehan cracked a solo home run in the seventh to put the Herd in the win column against the Pirates affiliate. Kivlehan had a pair of hits on the night. Andy Burns supplied the other Buffalo extra-base knock with a double. Other hits came from Anthony Alford, Reese McGuire and Richard Urena with Alford stealing a base. Roemon Fields walked and also pilfered a bag. Jordan Patterson was hitless in four at-bats and Billy McKinney came up empty in his three turns at the plate. Jonathan Davis pinch-hit for McKinney and drew a walk.

David Paulino scattered two hits and a walk over four innings and rung up six batters. Zach Jackson got the win with three strikeouts and three groundouts in two shutout innings. Justin Shafer struck out one in a scoreless seventh. Buddy Boshers got around three hits and recorded a pair of K's in two scoreless frames.

Only four hits and a walk. That was all New Hampshire could manage against the Orioles affiliate. Kevin Smith had a double while Alberto Mineo, Christian Williams and Andres Sotillo singled. Nash Knight was the only Fisher Cat to work the count to ball four. Forrest Wall and Santiago Espinal were 0-for-4 while Josh Palacios and Chad Spanberger turned in 0-for-3 efforts.

Yennsy Diaz took the loss after yielding four runs on seven hits over six innings but he struck out two and did not walk anyone. Vinny Nittoli punched out one in a shutout seventh. Jackson McClelland struck out one but was victimized for two unearned runs in the eighth with a hit and two walks over two-thirds of an inning. Jake Fishman stranded a pair by getting the final out of the frame.

Logan Warmoth brought in the game's first run with an RBI double after Cal Stevenson led off the game with a bunt single. Stevenson drove in the second run with a single to cash in a Samad Taylor double. Bo Bichette had a double but was charged with two errors at short. Chavez Young and Kacy Clemens added one each to Dunedin's hit total. Alejandro Kirk walked but Ryan Noda and Demi Orimoloye were 0-for-3.

T.J. Zeuch enjoyed a solid 2019 debut by yielding just a hit and a walk over four shutout innings, getting seven strikeouts and three groundouts. Graham Sparker spun 2-2/3 shutout innings but had to work around a hit and two hit by pitches to get the win. He induced six groundball outs. Brad Wilson stranded a runner for Spraker by striking out a batter to get the save.

With a Florida State League playoff berth clinched after winning Game 1, the D-Jays celebrated with a can of whoopass on the Braves affiliate in Game 2. Bo Bichette was 4-for-5 with a double and Chris Bec was 3-for-5 with a double, a stolen base and three RBI. Kevin Vicuna reached base three times with a double, a single and a walk. Logan Warmoth and Samad Taylor had a base hit and a base on balls apiece. Kacy Clemens and Demi Orimoloye doubled. Cal Stevenson and Norberto Obeso also singled to give all Dunedin hitters at least one safety in their 15-hit explosion.

Joey Murray made it through five innings and shut down the Fire Frogs on a hit and two walks, striking out six for the win. Kyle Weatherly pitched a clean sixth with one punchout. Dany Jimenez gave up a hit but got his revenge by striking out the side.

Midwest League pitchers have not figured out Griffin Conine yet. The son of Jeff bashed two home runs and doubled as part of a four-hit night against the Cubs. Hagen Danner hit a two-run dong and was part of the two-hit club that featured Reggie Pruitt, Nick Podkul and Ryan Gold. Podkul was plunked to reach base three times. D.J. Neal and Jesus Severino also made an entry into the hit column with Neal stealing a base. Hunter Steinmetz was 0-for-5 and Luis De Los Santos was 0-for-4.

Troy Miller was mauled for five runs (four earned) over four innings on six hits, three walks and a plunk. The former Michigan Wolverine struck out a pair. Joey Pulido got the victory by tossing four shutout innings of three-hit relief, striking out five to match his groundout total. Cre Finfrock coughed up two runs on a hit, a plunk and two walks but struck out one to complete the ninth.

The Jays could not make leads of 7-3 and 8-5 stick as they were walked off. Gerardo Santana plunked the first hitter in the ninth, the runner stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a single. Yaifer Perdomo was pounded for five runs on seven hits over three innings but had a K-BB ratio of 5-1. Marc Civit worked a scoreless fourth despite a hit and two walks and had a strikeout. Jorman Gonzalez added two more zeros by allowing just one hit while whiffing two. Juan Martinez allowed a run in the seventh thanks to two plunks and a balk. A hit, two walks and a passed ball in the eighth saw Winder Garcia get charged with the blown save as he allowed two runs while striking out one.

Emmanuel Sanchez opened the scoring with a bases-loaded walk in the first. A two-run double by Adrian Montero, a two-run triple by Yeison Jimenez and a sacrifice fly by Amell Brazoban highlighted a six-run third. Jimenez doubled home another run in the fifth. Javier D'Orazio had a perfect day at the plate with a 3-for-3 day at the plate with two walks. Adrian Montero had two hits and a stolen base. Wilfrann Astudillo had a hit and two hit by pitches.

C's Plus Baseball has coverage of manager Casey Candaele's introductory press conference.