How often is Charleston the scene of the biggest game of the night in Toronto's minor leagues? About as often as Roy Halladay loses. But the much-maligned Alley-Cats received one of the best pitching performances of the entire year from an unlikely source, complementing a night of solid pitching for the Jays' farm teams.
Ottawa 2, Syracuse 1
It's hard to root against the home team. Naw, it's not. The Ottawa Lynx are about as exciting to watch as you'd imagine the Orioles' AAA farm team would be. But they are winning a lot of games and they defeated the Skychiefs in extra innings last night. Pete Walker threw 4 shutout innings in what will likely be his final rehab start, 2 hits and 3 strikeouts. He was followed by Jason Arnold, who had his second consecutive solid outing, 5 frames of 1-run ball (2 hits, 3 walks, but just 1 strikeout). Jeff Tam and Bob File threw shutout relief innings, but the loss went to -- big surprise -- John Wasdin. Simon Pond had 3 hits for Syracuse and Jorge Sequea contributed 2 more, while Gabe Gross tripled and walked in 4 plate trips.
Norwich 7 New Haven 1
David Bush scattered 8 hits in 5 shutout innings, with good peripherals (1 walk, 5 strikeouts); it fell to overmatched Gustavo Chacin to surrender 5 runs in a single inning of relief and take the loss. Only 4 hits for the Ravens, and the largely forgotten Kurt Keene had 3 of them (including 2 doubles). Nothing to see here, move along....
Dunedin 3-5 Sarasota 2-4
A sweep for the D-Jays. Vince Perkins was effective in the opener, allowing 2 runs in 5 IP on 6 H, 3 BB and 6 Ks. He's still allowing too many walks, though, and he needs to get past the 5th innng at some point before he'll be taken seriously as a starter prospect. A move to the pen might be helpful. Nobody noteworthy pitched in the second game. At the plate, Jason Waugh was 3-for-8 on the day with his 6th homer, while Aaron Hill had 2 hits and scored twice.
Charleston (us) 7-2 Charleston (them) 3-0
It was the Battle of the Charlestons last nmight, as the good guys from West Virginia swept a twinbill from the usurpers from South Carolina, in a fabled matchup reminiscent of Yale vs. Harvard, Springfield vs. Shelbyville, or Roughriders vs. Rough Riders. In the first match, Sandy Nin got knocked around a little (5 innings, 3 runs, 7 hits, 1 walk and 3 strikeouts), but hung in there for the win; he still has the pinpoint control). Justin Owens doubled and drove in 2 runs, while infielder Scott Dragicevich continued trying to salvage a lost season with 2 more hits, bringing his season line to .246/.334/.315 with a 40/82 BB/K rate in 362 ABs. Hey, it's an improvement. But the big news was in the second game, when DJ Hanson simply exploded: 7 shutout innings, 3 hits, 2 walks, and 14 strikeouts, the best of any Jays prospect this year. Hanson had a strong outing in his last appearance too, and now sports a 117 IP-99 H-54 BB-94 K-19.4%KBF line, a real jump from his struggles earlier in the season. DJ has always had a power arm, and the organization was waiting for him to come back from his injuries last year and show his stuff. Don't expect this kind of masterpiece again, of course, but if Hanson can remain strong through the rest of the season, it gives Toronto another exciting arm at A-Ball.
Auburn 5, Oneonta 1
Nothing can stop Tom Mastny, now 7-0 after 5 solid innings (1 run, 4 hits, 1 walk, 1 K). But Tom's solid debut season (49 IP, 43 H, 10 BB, 43 K, 24.8% KBF) pales next to that of teammate Shawn Marcum, who finished up with a hit and 2 whiffs in a scoreless ninth: his own line now stands at a Vermilyeaesque 22 IP, 11 H, 4 BB, 33 K, 40.2% KBF. Keeping in mind that the NY-Penn League is pitching-friendly, these are still very promising results so far. A couple of lesser-known lights led the way on offence: second baseman Carlo Cota had two hits, scored twice and raised his line to .291/.398/.408 in 103 AB (excellent plate discipline), while utilityman Brian Patrick had 2 hits, scored once and drove in another, and is now hitting .311/.358/.377 in limited action (he'd been called up all the way to New Haven to fill a roster spot for a couple of weeks).
Pulaski 14, Johnson City 9
A little offence for you Arena Football fans out there. Another big night for catcher Joey Wolfe, who singled twice, doubled and homered to drive in 4 runs. In his first 74 ABs, Wolfe, who's splitting time behind the plate with Robinson Diaz, is batting .338/.479/.500 with a remarkable 16/15 BB/K rate. Another intriguing catching prospect, Diaz himself DHed last night and had 3 hits (2 doubles) to drive in 3, while Nick Thomas had 3 hits and scored twice. And check this out: home runs for diminutive Jeremy Acey and Jayce Tingler. Just goes to show, you never know what'll happen on any given night at the old ballyard.
Ottawa 2, Syracuse 1
It's hard to root against the home team. Naw, it's not. The Ottawa Lynx are about as exciting to watch as you'd imagine the Orioles' AAA farm team would be. But they are winning a lot of games and they defeated the Skychiefs in extra innings last night. Pete Walker threw 4 shutout innings in what will likely be his final rehab start, 2 hits and 3 strikeouts. He was followed by Jason Arnold, who had his second consecutive solid outing, 5 frames of 1-run ball (2 hits, 3 walks, but just 1 strikeout). Jeff Tam and Bob File threw shutout relief innings, but the loss went to -- big surprise -- John Wasdin. Simon Pond had 3 hits for Syracuse and Jorge Sequea contributed 2 more, while Gabe Gross tripled and walked in 4 plate trips.
Norwich 7 New Haven 1
David Bush scattered 8 hits in 5 shutout innings, with good peripherals (1 walk, 5 strikeouts); it fell to overmatched Gustavo Chacin to surrender 5 runs in a single inning of relief and take the loss. Only 4 hits for the Ravens, and the largely forgotten Kurt Keene had 3 of them (including 2 doubles). Nothing to see here, move along....
Dunedin 3-5 Sarasota 2-4
A sweep for the D-Jays. Vince Perkins was effective in the opener, allowing 2 runs in 5 IP on 6 H, 3 BB and 6 Ks. He's still allowing too many walks, though, and he needs to get past the 5th innng at some point before he'll be taken seriously as a starter prospect. A move to the pen might be helpful. Nobody noteworthy pitched in the second game. At the plate, Jason Waugh was 3-for-8 on the day with his 6th homer, while Aaron Hill had 2 hits and scored twice.
Charleston (us) 7-2 Charleston (them) 3-0
It was the Battle of the Charlestons last nmight, as the good guys from West Virginia swept a twinbill from the usurpers from South Carolina, in a fabled matchup reminiscent of Yale vs. Harvard, Springfield vs. Shelbyville, or Roughriders vs. Rough Riders. In the first match, Sandy Nin got knocked around a little (5 innings, 3 runs, 7 hits, 1 walk and 3 strikeouts), but hung in there for the win; he still has the pinpoint control). Justin Owens doubled and drove in 2 runs, while infielder Scott Dragicevich continued trying to salvage a lost season with 2 more hits, bringing his season line to .246/.334/.315 with a 40/82 BB/K rate in 362 ABs. Hey, it's an improvement. But the big news was in the second game, when DJ Hanson simply exploded: 7 shutout innings, 3 hits, 2 walks, and 14 strikeouts, the best of any Jays prospect this year. Hanson had a strong outing in his last appearance too, and now sports a 117 IP-99 H-54 BB-94 K-19.4%KBF line, a real jump from his struggles earlier in the season. DJ has always had a power arm, and the organization was waiting for him to come back from his injuries last year and show his stuff. Don't expect this kind of masterpiece again, of course, but if Hanson can remain strong through the rest of the season, it gives Toronto another exciting arm at A-Ball.
Auburn 5, Oneonta 1
Nothing can stop Tom Mastny, now 7-0 after 5 solid innings (1 run, 4 hits, 1 walk, 1 K). But Tom's solid debut season (49 IP, 43 H, 10 BB, 43 K, 24.8% KBF) pales next to that of teammate Shawn Marcum, who finished up with a hit and 2 whiffs in a scoreless ninth: his own line now stands at a Vermilyeaesque 22 IP, 11 H, 4 BB, 33 K, 40.2% KBF. Keeping in mind that the NY-Penn League is pitching-friendly, these are still very promising results so far. A couple of lesser-known lights led the way on offence: second baseman Carlo Cota had two hits, scored twice and raised his line to .291/.398/.408 in 103 AB (excellent plate discipline), while utilityman Brian Patrick had 2 hits, scored once and drove in another, and is now hitting .311/.358/.377 in limited action (he'd been called up all the way to New Haven to fill a roster spot for a couple of weeks).
Pulaski 14, Johnson City 9
A little offence for you Arena Football fans out there. Another big night for catcher Joey Wolfe, who singled twice, doubled and homered to drive in 4 runs. In his first 74 ABs, Wolfe, who's splitting time behind the plate with Robinson Diaz, is batting .338/.479/.500 with a remarkable 16/15 BB/K rate. Another intriguing catching prospect, Diaz himself DHed last night and had 3 hits (2 doubles) to drive in 3, while Nick Thomas had 3 hits and scored twice. And check this out: home runs for diminutive Jeremy Acey and Jayce Tingler. Just goes to show, you never know what'll happen on any given night at the old ballyard.
