Syracuse 6 Rochester 5
The Skychiefs faced off against an old friend last night in former Jays farmhand Dave Gassner. The lefty, who’s seen some major-league action with Minnesota this year, didn’t enjoy the reunion, as he was touched up for 4 runs on 9 hits (including homers by John Schneider and Bryant Nelson) and a walk in 5 innings. Unfortunately for Syracuse, starter Chris Baker fared little better, allowing a 5-spot in the 3rd inning and departing with almost the same line as Gassner. Brandon League then entered the game and fired 2 2/3 frames of shutout relief, allowing just 1 hit, no walks and no strikeouts (6 groundouts, 1 flyout) to earn the win. The Skychiefs pushed across the go-ahead run in the 7th on a Justin Singleton RBI grounder. Anton French and Nelson each recorded 3 hits for the winners.
Binghamton 9 New Hampshire 5
Rough night for Jamie Vermilyea, whose latest outing started badly with 3 straight singles to begin the game. Vermilyea dodged bullets all night before being riddled in the 5th: triple-homer-single-single-single-error-strikeout-single. It’s not entirely clear to me why he was left in that long to absorb this punishment: Vermilyea finished with 12 hits and 6 runs (5 earned) allowed in just 4 1/3 innings; at least he walked nobody and whiffed 4. Bubbie Buzachero got the Fisher Cats out of the inning, but went on to allow 3 more runs (2 earned) in 2 1/3 innings on 2 hits, 3 walks and 6 Ks. Ron Davenport homered and doubled to drive in 3 runs, while Ryan Roberts singled twice and doubled to boost his average to .278. Rob Cosby doubled and singled.
Dunedin 7 Palm Beach 2
Boom! Chip Cannon just won’t let up, smashing his 25th homer of the 2005 season and adding a single for good measure. Cannon now has 14 homers in just over 100 at-bats for Dunedin, and has pushed his slugging percentage back above .850. I’ve been following the Blue Jays’ minor-league system for several years now, and I have never seen a power display like the one Cannon is putting on this year. Utterly unreal. Robinzon Diaz tripled and walked to score a run and drive in another; the offence was otherwise pretty evenly divided for the D-Jays. Kurt Isenberg produced a strong outing, allowing just 2 unearned runs in 5 innings on 4 hits and 2 walks, striking out 2. Danny Hill scattered 4 hits over 3 scoreless innings to hold the lead for Dunedin.
Lansing 6 Dayton 1
Last week, I mistakenly referred to Brian Grant as the only high-school pitcher selected in the first 10 rounds under JP Ricciardi. But there is another, and Russ Savickas has been doing quite well for himself so far this year. Savickas, who turns 22 at the end of the month, allowed just 1 run in 6 frames, scattering 6 hits and 2 walks and whiffing 4. The Lugnuts banged out 16 hits but stranded 10 runners. Eric Nielsen produced 2 doubles and a single, while Yuber Rodriquez singled twice and doubled and Christian Snavely continued his hot streak with 3 singles. Eugenio Velez doubled and singled to raise his average to a gaudy .358.
Auburn 5 Batavia 5 (suspended – 21 innings)
You read that right. In a game suspended by local lateness bylaws, the Doubledays and Muckdogs battled to a 5-5 draw heading into the bottom of the 21st. Auburn, in what seemed like a good idea at the time, scored twice in the bottom of the ninth to tie it. Batavia outfielder Jordan Szabo threw out the potential winning run in Matt Cooksey at the plate, sending the game into Iowa Baseball Confederacy territory and no doubt earning both players enmity on their benches as the clock approached midnight. The game will be picked up today at 5:05 pm and played until there’s a winner or the Auburn county ordinances come into effect again. Can the two teams set a record? In 1981, Pawtucket and Rochester played 33 innings to decide a game, so these guys have another game-and-a-third to go.
Emmanuel Sena had himself a great week last night, knocking out 5 singles and a double, drawing a walk, and raising his batting average from .258 to .318 in one evening. Kyle Bohm and Jermy Acey each had 3 hits; Bohm’s included 2 doubles. On the less positive side, Brian Pettway went 0-for-7 with 2 walks, while first baseman Josh Celigoy had 2 hits and scored 2 runs but struck out 6 times to earn, what, a platinum sombrero? Catcher Josh Bell went 1-for-9 and struck out 4 times. And this game ain’t over yet.
Way back at the dawn of time, Kristian Bell started for the Doubledays and pitched very well, allowing just 2 unearned runs on 4 hits and a walk in 5 2/3 innings, striking out 8. Gabriel Alfaro and, especially, Yesson Berroa pitched less well and allowed Batavia to score 3 more runs, setting the stage for extra innings. The Auburn bullpen then distinguished itself as 4 hurlers combined to throw a remarkable 11 2/3 scoreless innings. Take a bow, Edward Rodriguez, Paul Phillips, Adrian Martin and Sean Stidfole. Phillips and Stidfole were particularly strong, yielding just 1 hit and 8 strikeouts in 6 combined innings. Other than Bell’s walk, not one Auburn pitcher issued a base on balls ... so far. Tune in tomorrow to learn the result of this cliffhanger of a game. Hopefully.
Pulaski vs. Bristol, doubleheader, postponed (rain)
Ironically, on a night when one short-season A-Ball team played more than 2 games, the other saw its own doubleheader rained out.
Your Three-Star Selection: I’m not going to include the Auburn-Batavia game here, since technically that match won’t be completed till today. Last night’s awards go to 3 good-but-not-great pitching performances
3. Brandon League, Syracuse: 2 2/3 shutout relief innings in a Syracuse win.
2. Kurt Isenberg, Dunedin: 5 innings of 2-run ball in a D-Jays victory
1. Russ Savickas, Lansing: 6 innings of 1-run ball in a Lugnuts win.
