Dunedin won both ends of a doubleheader over Tampa to stay in the playoff spot. With one week to go in the season they lead and have a magic number of six. Buffalo, New Hampshire and Vancouver all lost.
Buffalo 2 Worcester 5
Portland 5 New Hampshire 0
Vancouver 3 Spokane 4
Dunedin 7 Tampa 3 - game one
Dunedin 5 Tampa 4 - game two, 8 innings
This is what I noted from yesterday's games.
Same pitching story for Buffalo, five pitchers used, three of them were scored upon. Just five hits for the Bisons, two by the number one hitter, Vinny Capra and two by the number five hitter, Rafael Lantigua. It's hard to get a rally going like that.
Buffalo are 3-7 in their last ten and are falling back in the playoff hunt. They have just over three weeks left in their schedule.
Jimmy Robbins started for New Hampshire and was taken deep twice for three runs. He did go five innings with six hits and four K's. Yosver Zulueta came off the IL to pitch an inning. He struck out the side but gave up a run on two hits.
Five hits for the Fisher Cats, Orelvis had two to get his average back over .200.
For Vancouver, Nathanael Perez pitched well for three innings but back to back home runs in the fourth rocked him. A walk, an error and a double followed to make it four runs allowed and his night was done.
On the hitting side, Dasan Brown had two hits and his batting average is over .300. It has been a great season for the 20 year old who had been hurt by the Covid shutdown.
In the first Dunedin game Manuel Beltre hit his first home run at this level. It was one of his two hits. Josh Kasevich and Devonte Brown had two hits each.
Nate Pearson pitched the first inning. Conor Larkin, also on rehab, pitched the second. Rafael Sanchez went three innings for the win, allowing two runs.
In game two, Dunedin scored a run in the seventh to tie the game and two in the top of the eighth for the win. Roque Salinas had hit a two run home run in the fourth inning to account for the runs as the Jays trailed 3-2. In the seventh, with two outs, Ryan McCarty walked and Josh Kasevich singled. Estiven Machado then doubled to tie the game. In the eighth a ground out moved the ghost runner to third. After a walk, another ground out scored the run, Dylan Rock then doubled in the runner for a two run lead. Tampa scored their ghost runner in the bottom of the inning with a ground out but that was all.
Josh Kasevich had two more hits in game two. Kendry Rojas started and gave up three runs in three innings. Eliander Alcalde, recently promoted from the FCL, went 3.1 shutout innings.
Three Stars
Third Star - Roque Salinas
Second Star - Estiven Machado
First Star - Josh Kasevich
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