So make it a 4-3 night unless the P-Jays pulled it out. I don't know if they did, to be honest with you. I went to bed. If it was Triple-A, I might have stayed up to get the final score.
Syracuse 5, Rochester 1
Boxscore
Nothing special offensively, but Josue Matos made it through six innings only giving up one run. Five hits against four strikeouts is nice. Defensively,
The excellent Syracuse relief corps came on: four pitchers with ERAs under 3.04. Yeah, that doesn't sound as good as "ERAs under three" but Matt Whiteside is 0.03 runs above that threshold. Justin Miller now has an ERA of 2.06 in 39 innings, with 39 strikeouts. Downs for Miller, anyone?
Binghamton 4, New Hampshire 2 (Game 1)
Boxscore
Josh Banks started this game, and had seven strikeouts through five innings on 74 pitches. (Yusmeiro Petit was great last night, striking out 10 in seven innings.) I was listening to the game when he came out for the bottom of the sixth -- the second-last inning due to doubleheader rules -- and he gave up a single and a double to score the third run, then a double for the fourth. Banks actually sounded dominant in this inning, so I'd chalk the third run up to luck. He ended up with eight strikeouts, the most he has recorded since May 5.
Ron Davenport homered in the second for the Fishers' only runs. You can read a Q&A with Davenport on the official site here.
Unfortunately, the 6-7-8 hitters were due up for New Hampshire in the seventh and not one of them has a .700 OPS this year. So you can guess what the outcome was. The teams have now split their 14 meetings in 2005 as both starters go the distance.
New Hampshire 6, Binghamton 2 (Game 2)
Boxscore
The lack of offense by these Fisher Cats continued in the second game. No runs, three hits in the first six innings. But wait! Along comes the seventh, in which New Hampshire plates six. Clint Johnston hit a three-run homer, and a whole bunch of stuff happened.
Ismael Ramirez was only at 80 pitches after six, but the long top of the seventh took away his opportunity to finish the game. He only gave up five hits (though two were round-trippers) and one walk, against nine strikeouts. Orlando Roman was just as effective as Petit through six but, alas, that seventh did him in.
Both these games were just seven innings.
Palm Beach 5, Dunedin 0
Boxscore
Maybe this would be the game where David Purcey got through five, maybe even through six. And for the first four innings, it was looking good. Then came the fifth: four singles plated four and in came Derek Tate, freshly added to the D-Jays roster. He let both inherited runners score and it was 4-0. Another run in the seventh made it 5-0, which was the final score.
If you want to hear a rumour that is completely without merit or logic, try this one: Scott Dragicevich will be promoted to New Hampshire within the week. Don't ask me why, just call it a feeling.
Lansing 8, Dayton 6
Boxscore
Luke Hetherington had four hits, three singles and a double, and he scored twice. Other multi-hit performances included Curtis Thigpen, Eric Nielsen and Eugenio Velez. I was surprised to see the latter hitting .355, even if it is only 76 AB, seeing as how he didn't crack .300 in Pulaski last year. Ryan Klosterman was the man of the night, driving in the tying, go-ahead and insurance runs in the three-run fifth.
Joey McLaughlin pitched a scoreless inning. I was going to clarify that this was the younger McLaughlin, but the elder one never pitched a scoreless inning and I didn't want to be redundant. Or something. Jordan Timm walked four of the 13 batters he faced, but the Lugnuts' bullpen was able to make up for it and bring home the win.
Auburn 1, Batavia 0 (10)
Boxscore
Echoes of Game 7 of the 1991 World Series, without the ten innings from the Auburn starter. Eric Fowler and Robert Ray pitched four shutout innings each, then Aaron Tressler picked them up in the ninth and tenth. Obviously, none of these pitchers gave up any runs.
The winning inning unfolded like this: single, single, single. The RBI was Jermy Acey, the winning run scored by Brian Bormaster, playing more often now instead of Josh Bell, for whatever reason.
However, there was a down note in the bottom of the ninth as Joey Metropoulos injured his ankle when running out a pop fly to the third baseman. At least, that's what happened right before he was replaced at first base in the top of the tenth.
Pulaski 16, Pulaski 8 (possibly)
Boxscore
Granted, that score is only through eight, but I went out on a limb and assumed it was over. After Pulaski finally got two runs in the fifth, Bristol answered with seven in the top of the sixth. No matter, a single run followed by five more in the seventh put the P-Jays up 8-7.
But man, oh man...Bristol got nine in the top of the eighth. They sent 14 hitters to the plate. Poor Rafael Perez -- his ERA went from 7.50 to, uh, 12.79 in just five batters. Eziemir Reinoso faced three batters: hit, hit, walk. Thank you, come again. Frank Menechino was not available to pitch in this game, if you're wondering. It's not every day you see a team score 7 runs in one inning and 9 in another, almost proving the Big Bang theory twice.
Jacob Butler hit his first professional home run, a two-run shot to left-centre field. Leance Soto's woes continue, now with 23 strikeouts in 41 AB and his fourth error. He was 0-for-3 OBP-wise, though he did drive one home on a sac fly. Paul Franko hit his first homer as well, so it was a night of "Save that ball, please!" in the Appy league.
The wind was only 1 mph last night in Pulaski, but apparently it varied in direction. If they can detect differences in one-mile-an-hour winds, why are they wasting these talents in Rookie ball?
Three Star Selection:
3. Whoever was measuring the wind in Pulaski...I'm kidding, it's Jacob Butler
2. Luke Hetherington
1. Ismael Ramirez
Today's Games:
Syracuse @ Rochester, 7:00.
New Hampshire @ Binghamton, 7:00.
Dunedin @ Palm Beach, 10:35 am. Or so I'm told.
Lansing @ Dayton, 7:00.
Auburn vs Batavia, 7:00.
Pulaski vs Bristol, 7:00.
