Headline in today's Sunday Star: "Palmeiro balls belong together". I'm all in favour of the separation of church and state, but that's as far as I go. The farm affiliates went 3-2 on Saturday, with one postponement and one suspended game due to rain.
Norfolk 11 Syracuse 14
The Chiefs scored 4 in the 1st inning and then 7 in the 5th inning on the way to a 13-3 lead, and then held on for the victory. Shaun Marcum didn't pitch as poorly as his 6 earned runs allowed would suggest. He had thrown 4 nice innings, and then surrendered a 2 run homer to Victor Diaz in the fifth. In the sixth, the Tides loaded the bases with 2 outs for Diaz. Manager Marty Pevey decided to remove Marcum for Jason Arnold who promptly surrendered the grand slam. Arnold left 3 baserunners on for Adrian Burnside the following inning, and Burnside returned the favour by allowing all three to score. Game Over Lee Gronkiewicz lived up to his name by throwing 1.1 perfect innings to nail down the save. Anton French, Bryant Nelson and Joe DePastino homered and had two other hits each for the Chiefs. Gabe Gross was a homer short of the cycle. The Chiefs now trail first-place Buffalo by 5.5 games; it has been many years since the Chiefs have been in a race this late in the season.
Syracuse Post-Standard Gabe Gross story
New Hampshire 3 New Britain 2-1st game
New Hampshire 8 New Britain 5-2nd game
In the opener, Miguel Negron led off the game with a homer, and then hit a game-winning 2 run double for the Cats. Casey Janssen started, but was removed in the 2nd inning when struck by a line drive on his right (throwing) arm. We've had enough of that already. Tracy Thorpe pitched 4.2 fine innings of relief, and Jesse Carlson threw the final 3 shutout innings with 4 strikeouts. Bauxite Jim attended the game and posted his observations.
In the nightcap, the Rock Cats scored 5 off Ismael Ramirez in the first inning, but he recovered to shut them down for the next 5 innings. Meanwhile, the Fishers chipped away and took the lead for good with 3 runs in the sixth. Bubbie Buzachero walked 2 in a scoreless inning, and then Steve Andrade finished up beautifully with 2 perfect innings and 3 strikeouts. Miguel Negron (now hitting .270/.318/.386 after a terrible start) singled, tripled and walked to ignite the offence, while Clint Johnston reached base 4 times on the evening. Chip Cannon went 1-5, while Curtis Thigpen went 1-4 with a walk. The Fisher Cats now trail Portland by 1/2 a game in the standings, with Trenton hot on their tails.
New Hampshire Union Leader game stories
Dunedin 1 Vero Beach 6
An error by pitcher Kyle Yates led to 5 unearned runs in the sixth inning. Yates pitched well until that inning, throwing a shutout on 5 hits. In the sixth, he surrendered an HBP, a single and a walk and struck out two prior to his crucial throwing error. A single followed and he was out of the game. Following an unfortunate trend of the day, the two inherited runners he left for Jeremy Harper came in to score. David Smith homered for the D-Jays. Adam Lind went 1-4, while Guillermo Quiroz continued to DH and took an O fer.
Lansing at Fort Wayne-sspd., rain
Auburn 2 Brooklyn 3
Robert Ray continued his brilliant pitching, but the bullpen could not hold it for him. Ray was stretched out to 6 innings, and threw a 1 hit shutout with 1 walk and 4 punchouts. In 16 NYPL innings, he has now allowed 7 hits and 5 walks, while striking out 16. Josh Sowers struggled mightily, while Paul Phillips pitched 2 innings and gave up the deciding run. The Doubledays could manage only 5 hits for the evening. Ryan Patterson walked, sacrificed and grounded into a double play in 4 trips. Brian Pettway went 1-3, while Josh Bell went 1-4.Pulaski-Bristol, ppd. rain
3 star selection
3rd star-Anton French ignited the Sky Chiefs2nd star-Miguel Negron ignited the Fisher Cats
1st star-Robert Ray pitched briliantly for the Doubledays
