Syracuse was rained out in Scranton, but the other three minor-league teams swept all before them, bouncing back from a couple of weak days. Come-from-behind victories were the order of the day.
New Hampshire 7 at Akron 5
boxscore
The Aeros opened the scoring in the bottom of the first when Jason Cooper singled home Scott Pratt and then scored on a triple by Corey Smith. Neither team got anything resembling a rally going over the next three innings. In the top of the fifth, Akron starter Jake Dittler lost the lead through no real fault of his own. With one out, Paul Chiaffredo singled and Justin Singleton walked. Danny Solano's grounder moved the runners up, and Pratt's error on a ball hit by Tyrell Godwin allowed Chiaffredo to score. Dominic Rich followed with a single to centre, cashing Solano. Rich and Godwin got a free base when Franklin Gutierrez mishandled the ball, but Aaron Hill fanned to end the threat.
Nate Grindell hit a solo homer off Reimers in the seventh to reclaim the lead for Akron. Brian Luderer followed with a single to left but was thrown out by Godwin trying to take second; that was it for Reimers, who was replaced by Kevin Frederick. The Fisher Cats came back with three runs in the eighth to take a two-run lead. Godwin led off with a double down the left field line, moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored on Rich's sacrifice fly to left. After Hill fouled out, Matt Logan drew a two-out walk and Mike Snyder homered to centre. The New Hampshire bullpen couldn't hold the lead, however. Frederick got the first two batters in the bottom of the eighth but then gave up a single and a double and was pulled for Adam Peterson, who promptly surrendered a game-tying single to Smith, as Godwin's throw to the plate was too late to nail Gutierrez. Smith moved to second on the throw and would advance to third on a wild pitch before Peterson struck out Grindell to end the inning.
Chiaffredo lifted the Fisher Cats' spirits by leading off the ninth with a solo homer . Singleton followed with a double and would score on Godwin's single for a 7-5 lead. Peterson allowed back-to-back one-out singles in the ninth but dodged a bullet when Chiaffredo gunned down Ben Francisco on a stolen base attempt and Pratt struck out.
Recapping the stats for the Fisher Cats: Reimers went 6.1 innings, striking out 4 and allowing 3 runs on 9 hits, including a home run. Frederick pitched 1.1 innings in relief, fanning two and allowing two hits; his two inherited runners both scored on the two-out single off Peterson. Peterson pitched 1.1 innings, fanning two against three hits. None of the three pitchers walked a man. Godwin went 2 for 5 with a double, Singleton went 1 for 3 with a double and a walk, Snyder went 1 for 4 with a two-run homer (his second), and Chiaffredo went 2 for 4 with a homer and two runs scored.
Jupiter 2 at Dunedin 4
boxscore
Another comeback win for the Baby Jays. Dunedin made a bid for the first run of the game in the bottom of the first inning when Jayce Tingler drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on Ron Davenport's one-out grounder. Tingler tried to score on Vito Chiaravolloti's single but was cut down at the plate. Kurt Isenberg got the start for Dunedin and was fairly sharp, although Jupiter struck first on a single, a walk, and a two-out double in the third inning. Isenberg struck out Eliezer Alfonzo to strand the runners on second and third. The Hammerheads added another run in the fourth when Charles Frazier walked, stole second, moved to third on an error by Isenberg, and scored on a sacrifice fly. Isenberg left after walking Frazier again with one out in the sixth, and was replaced with Jamie Vermilyea, who shut down the Hammerheads over two innings. Dunedin roared back in the seventh with five singles (Scott Dragicevich, Jason Waugh, Brad Hassey, Jayce Tingler, and Carlo Cota) and a sac fly by Davenport. After Jupiter opened the bottom of the inning with back-to-back singles, Vermilyea fanned Alfonzo (who didn't have a good night at the office, fanning four times) and was then pulled for Bubbie Buzachero, who escaped the inning on a strikeout and a pop-up sandwiched around a bases-loading walk. Buzachero allowed two singles in the ninth but escaped with his third save.
Isenberg put up a 5.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 6 K line. Vermilyea went two innings with a pair of hits allowed and as many strikeouts. Buzachero pitched 1.2 innings, allowing two hits and a walk while fanning three. Tingler, Cota, and Waugh each had two hits for the D-Jays; no one had an extra-base hit.
Asheville 3 at Charleston 4
boxscore
I've painted myself into a corner, with eight minutes to write up the most exciting game of the night. Anyway, here's the short version. Justin James was for the most part overpowering (10 Ks in 6 innings, including three in the first alone), but Justin, if you're going to allow two walks and a home run, please try not to bunch them all together? With two out in the top of the fifth, James gave up a pair of walks, followed by a three-run homer by Brian Barre, giving the Tourists a 3-1 lead. Charleston scored in the seventh to pull within one, but Asheville got the run back in the eighth and took a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth. The wonderfully named Mark Ion took the hill, hoping for his sixth save, but was rudely greeted by the AlleyCats. Joey Wolfe led off with a single to centre and moved to second on Clint Johnston's comebacker. Much-maligned Christian Snavely followed with a double down the left field line to score Wolfe. Ion, clearly rattled, walked Eric Arnold and then uncorked a wild pitch (wild pitches are always uncorked) to put the tying and winning runs in scoring position. Juan Peralta followed with a game-winning single to left.
As previously mentioned, James went six innings, allowing three runs on four hits (including the home run) and two walks while whiffing ten. Joaquin Canizal and Brian Reed followed with three innings of effective relief, the only blemish being a solo homer off Canizal in the eighth. No AlleyCat had two hits, although Ryan Roberts, Joey Reiman, Christian Snavely, and Eric Arnold each reached base twice. David Smith had the only extra-base hit, a double.
Links of the Day
The Auburn Doubledays have renewed their contract with Toronto for four more years.
Kevin Gray has some notes, including speculation that Big Vito will be in New Hampshire by June.
Feel free to add more links in your comments.
Today's Games
Syracuse (Jason Arnold) at Scranton (PHI), 6:00 PM
New Hampshire (Dustin McGowan) at Akron (CLE), 10:35 AM
Jupiter (FLA) at Dunedin (Neomar Flores), 7:00 PM
Asheville (COL) at Charleston (Shaun Marcum), 6:05 PM
Projected starters are unconfirmed.
Three-Star Selection!
When you have three comeback wins in three games, you've got to give credit to some of the guys who got the big hits or the big outs, even if their overall stats on the day weren't overwhelming.
Our Third Star: Juan Peralta, Charleston. Made four outs in five at bats, but delivered a game-winning two-run single with one out in the bottom of the ninth.
Our Second Star: Justin James, Charleston. One bad inning (two walks followed by a three-run homer in the fifth) doesn't obscure his ten-K performance. James has now fanned 31 in 20-plus innings, well ahead of Shaun Marcum or Tom Mastny's pace.
Our First Star: Paul Chiaffredo, New Hampshire. Scored the Fisher Cats' first run, hit a solo homer in the ninth for the go-ahead run, and threw out a would-be base-thief in the bottom of the ninth to help preserve a slim lead.
New Hampshire 7 at Akron 5
boxscore
The Aeros opened the scoring in the bottom of the first when Jason Cooper singled home Scott Pratt and then scored on a triple by Corey Smith. Neither team got anything resembling a rally going over the next three innings. In the top of the fifth, Akron starter Jake Dittler lost the lead through no real fault of his own. With one out, Paul Chiaffredo singled and Justin Singleton walked. Danny Solano's grounder moved the runners up, and Pratt's error on a ball hit by Tyrell Godwin allowed Chiaffredo to score. Dominic Rich followed with a single to centre, cashing Solano. Rich and Godwin got a free base when Franklin Gutierrez mishandled the ball, but Aaron Hill fanned to end the threat.
Nate Grindell hit a solo homer off Reimers in the seventh to reclaim the lead for Akron. Brian Luderer followed with a single to left but was thrown out by Godwin trying to take second; that was it for Reimers, who was replaced by Kevin Frederick. The Fisher Cats came back with three runs in the eighth to take a two-run lead. Godwin led off with a double down the left field line, moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored on Rich's sacrifice fly to left. After Hill fouled out, Matt Logan drew a two-out walk and Mike Snyder homered to centre. The New Hampshire bullpen couldn't hold the lead, however. Frederick got the first two batters in the bottom of the eighth but then gave up a single and a double and was pulled for Adam Peterson, who promptly surrendered a game-tying single to Smith, as Godwin's throw to the plate was too late to nail Gutierrez. Smith moved to second on the throw and would advance to third on a wild pitch before Peterson struck out Grindell to end the inning.
Chiaffredo lifted the Fisher Cats' spirits by leading off the ninth with a solo homer . Singleton followed with a double and would score on Godwin's single for a 7-5 lead. Peterson allowed back-to-back one-out singles in the ninth but dodged a bullet when Chiaffredo gunned down Ben Francisco on a stolen base attempt and Pratt struck out.
Recapping the stats for the Fisher Cats: Reimers went 6.1 innings, striking out 4 and allowing 3 runs on 9 hits, including a home run. Frederick pitched 1.1 innings in relief, fanning two and allowing two hits; his two inherited runners both scored on the two-out single off Peterson. Peterson pitched 1.1 innings, fanning two against three hits. None of the three pitchers walked a man. Godwin went 2 for 5 with a double, Singleton went 1 for 3 with a double and a walk, Snyder went 1 for 4 with a two-run homer (his second), and Chiaffredo went 2 for 4 with a homer and two runs scored.
Jupiter 2 at Dunedin 4
boxscore
Another comeback win for the Baby Jays. Dunedin made a bid for the first run of the game in the bottom of the first inning when Jayce Tingler drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on Ron Davenport's one-out grounder. Tingler tried to score on Vito Chiaravolloti's single but was cut down at the plate. Kurt Isenberg got the start for Dunedin and was fairly sharp, although Jupiter struck first on a single, a walk, and a two-out double in the third inning. Isenberg struck out Eliezer Alfonzo to strand the runners on second and third. The Hammerheads added another run in the fourth when Charles Frazier walked, stole second, moved to third on an error by Isenberg, and scored on a sacrifice fly. Isenberg left after walking Frazier again with one out in the sixth, and was replaced with Jamie Vermilyea, who shut down the Hammerheads over two innings. Dunedin roared back in the seventh with five singles (Scott Dragicevich, Jason Waugh, Brad Hassey, Jayce Tingler, and Carlo Cota) and a sac fly by Davenport. After Jupiter opened the bottom of the inning with back-to-back singles, Vermilyea fanned Alfonzo (who didn't have a good night at the office, fanning four times) and was then pulled for Bubbie Buzachero, who escaped the inning on a strikeout and a pop-up sandwiched around a bases-loading walk. Buzachero allowed two singles in the ninth but escaped with his third save.
Isenberg put up a 5.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 6 K line. Vermilyea went two innings with a pair of hits allowed and as many strikeouts. Buzachero pitched 1.2 innings, allowing two hits and a walk while fanning three. Tingler, Cota, and Waugh each had two hits for the D-Jays; no one had an extra-base hit.
Asheville 3 at Charleston 4
boxscore
I've painted myself into a corner, with eight minutes to write up the most exciting game of the night. Anyway, here's the short version. Justin James was for the most part overpowering (10 Ks in 6 innings, including three in the first alone), but Justin, if you're going to allow two walks and a home run, please try not to bunch them all together? With two out in the top of the fifth, James gave up a pair of walks, followed by a three-run homer by Brian Barre, giving the Tourists a 3-1 lead. Charleston scored in the seventh to pull within one, but Asheville got the run back in the eighth and took a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth. The wonderfully named Mark Ion took the hill, hoping for his sixth save, but was rudely greeted by the AlleyCats. Joey Wolfe led off with a single to centre and moved to second on Clint Johnston's comebacker. Much-maligned Christian Snavely followed with a double down the left field line to score Wolfe. Ion, clearly rattled, walked Eric Arnold and then uncorked a wild pitch (wild pitches are always uncorked) to put the tying and winning runs in scoring position. Juan Peralta followed with a game-winning single to left.
As previously mentioned, James went six innings, allowing three runs on four hits (including the home run) and two walks while whiffing ten. Joaquin Canizal and Brian Reed followed with three innings of effective relief, the only blemish being a solo homer off Canizal in the eighth. No AlleyCat had two hits, although Ryan Roberts, Joey Reiman, Christian Snavely, and Eric Arnold each reached base twice. David Smith had the only extra-base hit, a double.
Links of the Day
The Auburn Doubledays have renewed their contract with Toronto for four more years.
Kevin Gray has some notes, including speculation that Big Vito will be in New Hampshire by June.
Feel free to add more links in your comments.
Today's Games
Syracuse (Jason Arnold) at Scranton (PHI), 6:00 PM
New Hampshire (Dustin McGowan) at Akron (CLE), 10:35 AM
Jupiter (FLA) at Dunedin (Neomar Flores), 7:00 PM
Asheville (COL) at Charleston (Shaun Marcum), 6:05 PM
Projected starters are unconfirmed.
Three-Star Selection!
When you have three comeback wins in three games, you've got to give credit to some of the guys who got the big hits or the big outs, even if their overall stats on the day weren't overwhelming.
Our Third Star: Juan Peralta, Charleston. Made four outs in five at bats, but delivered a game-winning two-run single with one out in the bottom of the ninth.
Our Second Star: Justin James, Charleston. One bad inning (two walks followed by a three-run homer in the fifth) doesn't obscure his ten-K performance. James has now fanned 31 in 20-plus innings, well ahead of Shaun Marcum or Tom Mastny's pace.
Our First Star: Paul Chiaffredo, New Hampshire. Scored the Fisher Cats' first run, hit a solo homer in the ninth for the go-ahead run, and threw out a would-be base-thief in the bottom of the ninth to help preserve a slim lead.
