Ho-hum. Another sweep for the Jays' minor-league affiliates. Two shutouts, a 7-1 blowout, and a five-run comeback in the bottom of the ninth capped by a one-out, bases-loaded, game-winning double by one of the Jays' best prospects. Oh, and Vito Chiaravalloti's up to .452/.561/.903 in 41 PA. Yawn.
Syracuse 8, Pawtucket 7
Trailing 7-3 in the bottom of the ninth, the SkyChiefs stormed back with five runs to win for the fourth time in five games. Howie Clark led off the ninth with a walk. After Glenn Williams struck out swinging, Gabe Gross singled through the right side and Guillermo Quiroz walked to load the bases. Russ Adams hit another single through the right side to score Clark and Gross, cutting the lead to 7-5 and moving Quiroz to second base. At this point, Marty Pevey put Shawn Fagan in to pinch-run for Quiroz, which seems like an unusual strategy; I'm not sure whether Quiroz was hurt. Anyway, the next batter was Jorge Sequea; his groundball to short was thrown away by former SkyChief Jimmy Alvarez, scoring Fagan and putting runners on second and third. Pawtucker manager Buddy Bailey intentionally walked Noah Hall to set up a double-play and a force at the plate, bringing Alex Rios up to bat. On a 1-0 count, Rios drove a fastball from Anastacio Martinez over the head of Jeremy Owens in centre field to bring in the tying and winning runs.
Andy Dominique drove in all seven runs for the PawSox on a pair of homers and a pair of doubles. Rios went 3 for 5 with the double. Gross had a single and a double in four trips and scored twice. Howie Clark had a double, a walk, and two runs scored, and Glenn Williams hit a two-run homer in the seventh. Jason Arnold pitched an ugly four-plus innings for the SkyChiefs, surrendering four runs on four singles, a double, two home runs, three walks, and a hit batsman. Talley Haines fanned two men in two-plus innings without allowing a baserunner. Dave Maurer pitched an uneventful eighth but loaded the bases with two out in the ninth and had the misfortune of being pulled for Mike Smith, who promptly surrendered a three-run double to Dominique, all of the runs being charged to Maurer. Perversely, Smith got the win.
New Hampshire 2, Trenton 0
Justin Singleton provided all of the offense in this game with a two-out, two-run homer to right field in the bottom of the fifth inning. It was Singleton's first home run of the year and the Fisher Cats' first home run at Gill Stadium.
Singleton had a good Three True Outcomes game, walking and striking out in his two other plate appearances. Danny Solano singled and doubled in three trips to the plate and scored on Singleton's shot. Dominic Rich hit a double in the sixth but fanned with the bases loaded and two out in the seventh. The Fisher Cats struck out thirteen times against Trenton starter Matt Smith and three relievers. New Hampshire's own pitchers were less flashy but more effective, allowing only four baserunners all game, none of whom made it as far as third. Gustavo Chacin got the win on five innings of three-hit ball, striking out two. Jordan DeJong, Kevin Frederick, and Adam Peterson faced the minimum number of batters in four innings of relief. (DeJong walked a man in the sixth but quickly erased him on a double play.) Fisher Cat relievers have put up the following line thus far: 23 IP, 11 H, 5 BB, 23 K, 1 HR, 2 R.
Dunedin 7, Clearwater 1
Kurt Isenberg bounced back from a rough first outing, blanking the Clearwater Phillies for five innings to pick up his first victory of the season. Dunedin took a two-run lead in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back. Jayce Tingler led off the frame with a walk, stole second as Carlo Cota struck out, and came home on Jason Waugh's single. Waugh would later score on Vito Chiaravalloti's double. The Phillies loaded the bases with one out in the second but could not score, and Isenberg retired nine in a row over the following three frames. Dunedin scored again in the fifth, seventh, and eighth innings. Clearwater's lone run came in the ninth when Tommi Ozuna walked Jack Santora with the bases loaded.
Isenberg fanned six in five innings while walking two and allowing two singles and a double. Santo Valdez pitched effectively in the sixth and seventh. Ozuna pitched an uneventful eighth and managed to get through the ninth unscathed. Raul Tablado, Tim Whittaker, and Carlo Cota each had two hits for the D-Jays; Waugh and Chiaravalloti had three apiece. Cota hit a double and Big Vito hit two en route to driving in three runs. Waugh scored four times, serving notice that he doesn't plan to stay in Dunedin for very long. Perhaps Vito can stow away in his suitcase when he gets the call to return to New Hampshire.
Charleston (WV) 4, Hagerstown 0
Masterful Tom Mastny threw six innings for the AlleyCats, fanning five against a solitary double and zero walks. Brad Esarey and Mark Sopko threw three scoreless frames to complete the shutout. Charleston scored three of their four runs in the third inning. Juan Peralta hit a leadoff triple and scored on Willie Rivera's single. Ryan Roberts and Robinson Diaz both made outs, but Clint Johnston drew a walk, setting up David Smith's two-out, two-run double. Ryan Roberts doubled in Morrin Davis in the ninth to extend the lead to four runs. Roberts, Peralta, and Mike Galloway each had two hits; Roberts, Smith, and Galloway each hit a double.
Links Of The Day
1. Syracuse: boxscore, game log, wrap-up
2. New Hampshire: boxscore, game log, wrap-up
3. Dunedin: boxscore, game log
4. Charleston: boxscore, game log
5. Game recap from skychiefs.com
6. Matt Michael of the Syracuse Post-Standard with a more detailed recap.
7. Kevin Gray of the Union-Leader on New Hampshire's home park: Gill a pitcher's paradise
8. Kevin Gray on the Fisher Cats' victory
9. A brief summary of the Charleston game in the Charleston Gazette
Today's Games
Pawtucket at Syracuse, 2:00 pm
Trenton at New Hampshire, 1:05 pm
Clearwater at Dunedin, 7:00 pm
Charleston at Hagerstown, 1:05 pm
Three-Star Selection!
Our Third Star: Kurt Isenberg, Dunedin. Five strong shutout innings (3 H, 2 BB, 6 K) for his first victory of the season.
Our Second Star: Tom Mastny, Charleston. Six stronger shutout innings (1 H, 0 BB, 5 K) for his first victory of the season.
Our First Star: Alex Rios, Syracuse. Three hits in five trips, including a game-winning bases-loaded double in the bottom of the ninth.
Syracuse 8, Pawtucket 7
Trailing 7-3 in the bottom of the ninth, the SkyChiefs stormed back with five runs to win for the fourth time in five games. Howie Clark led off the ninth with a walk. After Glenn Williams struck out swinging, Gabe Gross singled through the right side and Guillermo Quiroz walked to load the bases. Russ Adams hit another single through the right side to score Clark and Gross, cutting the lead to 7-5 and moving Quiroz to second base. At this point, Marty Pevey put Shawn Fagan in to pinch-run for Quiroz, which seems like an unusual strategy; I'm not sure whether Quiroz was hurt. Anyway, the next batter was Jorge Sequea; his groundball to short was thrown away by former SkyChief Jimmy Alvarez, scoring Fagan and putting runners on second and third. Pawtucker manager Buddy Bailey intentionally walked Noah Hall to set up a double-play and a force at the plate, bringing Alex Rios up to bat. On a 1-0 count, Rios drove a fastball from Anastacio Martinez over the head of Jeremy Owens in centre field to bring in the tying and winning runs.
Andy Dominique drove in all seven runs for the PawSox on a pair of homers and a pair of doubles. Rios went 3 for 5 with the double. Gross had a single and a double in four trips and scored twice. Howie Clark had a double, a walk, and two runs scored, and Glenn Williams hit a two-run homer in the seventh. Jason Arnold pitched an ugly four-plus innings for the SkyChiefs, surrendering four runs on four singles, a double, two home runs, three walks, and a hit batsman. Talley Haines fanned two men in two-plus innings without allowing a baserunner. Dave Maurer pitched an uneventful eighth but loaded the bases with two out in the ninth and had the misfortune of being pulled for Mike Smith, who promptly surrendered a three-run double to Dominique, all of the runs being charged to Maurer. Perversely, Smith got the win.
New Hampshire 2, Trenton 0
Justin Singleton provided all of the offense in this game with a two-out, two-run homer to right field in the bottom of the fifth inning. It was Singleton's first home run of the year and the Fisher Cats' first home run at Gill Stadium.
Singleton had a good Three True Outcomes game, walking and striking out in his two other plate appearances. Danny Solano singled and doubled in three trips to the plate and scored on Singleton's shot. Dominic Rich hit a double in the sixth but fanned with the bases loaded and two out in the seventh. The Fisher Cats struck out thirteen times against Trenton starter Matt Smith and three relievers. New Hampshire's own pitchers were less flashy but more effective, allowing only four baserunners all game, none of whom made it as far as third. Gustavo Chacin got the win on five innings of three-hit ball, striking out two. Jordan DeJong, Kevin Frederick, and Adam Peterson faced the minimum number of batters in four innings of relief. (DeJong walked a man in the sixth but quickly erased him on a double play.) Fisher Cat relievers have put up the following line thus far: 23 IP, 11 H, 5 BB, 23 K, 1 HR, 2 R.
Dunedin 7, Clearwater 1
Kurt Isenberg bounced back from a rough first outing, blanking the Clearwater Phillies for five innings to pick up his first victory of the season. Dunedin took a two-run lead in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back. Jayce Tingler led off the frame with a walk, stole second as Carlo Cota struck out, and came home on Jason Waugh's single. Waugh would later score on Vito Chiaravalloti's double. The Phillies loaded the bases with one out in the second but could not score, and Isenberg retired nine in a row over the following three frames. Dunedin scored again in the fifth, seventh, and eighth innings. Clearwater's lone run came in the ninth when Tommi Ozuna walked Jack Santora with the bases loaded.
Isenberg fanned six in five innings while walking two and allowing two singles and a double. Santo Valdez pitched effectively in the sixth and seventh. Ozuna pitched an uneventful eighth and managed to get through the ninth unscathed. Raul Tablado, Tim Whittaker, and Carlo Cota each had two hits for the D-Jays; Waugh and Chiaravalloti had three apiece. Cota hit a double and Big Vito hit two en route to driving in three runs. Waugh scored four times, serving notice that he doesn't plan to stay in Dunedin for very long. Perhaps Vito can stow away in his suitcase when he gets the call to return to New Hampshire.
Charleston (WV) 4, Hagerstown 0
Masterful Tom Mastny threw six innings for the AlleyCats, fanning five against a solitary double and zero walks. Brad Esarey and Mark Sopko threw three scoreless frames to complete the shutout. Charleston scored three of their four runs in the third inning. Juan Peralta hit a leadoff triple and scored on Willie Rivera's single. Ryan Roberts and Robinson Diaz both made outs, but Clint Johnston drew a walk, setting up David Smith's two-out, two-run double. Ryan Roberts doubled in Morrin Davis in the ninth to extend the lead to four runs. Roberts, Peralta, and Mike Galloway each had two hits; Roberts, Smith, and Galloway each hit a double.
Links Of The Day
1. Syracuse: boxscore, game log, wrap-up
2. New Hampshire: boxscore, game log, wrap-up
3. Dunedin: boxscore, game log
4. Charleston: boxscore, game log
5. Game recap from skychiefs.com
6. Matt Michael of the Syracuse Post-Standard with a more detailed recap.
7. Kevin Gray of the Union-Leader on New Hampshire's home park: Gill a pitcher's paradise
8. Kevin Gray on the Fisher Cats' victory
9. A brief summary of the Charleston game in the Charleston Gazette
Today's Games
Pawtucket at Syracuse, 2:00 pm
Trenton at New Hampshire, 1:05 pm
Clearwater at Dunedin, 7:00 pm
Charleston at Hagerstown, 1:05 pm
Three-Star Selection!
Our Third Star: Kurt Isenberg, Dunedin. Five strong shutout innings (3 H, 2 BB, 6 K) for his first victory of the season.
Our Second Star: Tom Mastny, Charleston. Six stronger shutout innings (1 H, 0 BB, 5 K) for his first victory of the season.
Our First Star: Alex Rios, Syracuse. Three hits in five trips, including a game-winning bases-loaded double in the bottom of the ninth.
