Shaun Marcum got back on the rails last night, while Casey Janssen keeps on trucking. Hmm, maybe I need a travelling holiday. The farm boys, as my spouse calls them, went 2-4 on the evening.
Syracuse 6 Scranton Wilkes-Barre 2
Shaun Marcum gets the hang of triple A with 6 innings of 5 hit, no walk, 5 strikeout ball. He allowed 2 earned runs, and moved his record to 5-1, although his ERA is higher than it has ever been since Joey Brown hit a solo homer off him in Marcum's first inning of Little League pitching. Gabe Gross led off the game with a homer, and also walked and struck out 3 times. Kevin Barker went 4-5 and drove in 2. John Hattig singled and walked in 4 trips, while Guillermo Quiroz took the collar. Jason Arnold, Game Over Gronkiewicz and Spike Lundberg each pitched a scoreless inning of relief.
New Hampshire 6 Reading 1
Casey Janssen continues to dominate his third minor league of the season. This time, it was 6 innings, 1 unearned run, 3 hits, 3 walks and 5 punchouts, as the Fisher Cats continued the recovery from their longest losing streak of the season. With the stick, it was a team effort as the Cats drew 6 walks to go along with 7 hits. Ryan Roberts singled and walked in 5 trips. Miguel Negron had a 2 run double in 5 appearances, and Rob Cosby also singled and walked but in 4 trips. Chip Cannon had the night off. Jesse Carlson and Ryan Houston finished off Janssen's masterpiece with aplomb.
Dunedin 3 Fort Myers 4
Three D-Jay errors led to three unearned Miracle runs, with the last leading to the deciding run in the bottom of the ninth. Justin James started and gave up 3 runs on 6 hits and no walks in 3.2 innings. Mark Sopko and Brian Reed pitched well in relief, but the D-Jays were unable to mount an attack after tying the game at 3 in the fifth inning. Adam Lind doubled and (uncharacteristically) struck out 3 times in 5 trips. Robinson Diaz singled twice and drove in 2, while On-base Jayce Tingler lived up to his name by reaching all 3 times he came to the dish.
Lansing 1 South Bend 5
A.J. Wideman was dinged for 2 run homers in the 2nd and 3rd innings, but recovered to throw 6 innings of 4 run, 6 hit ball with 3 strikeouts. The Lugnuts' offence was quiet with Eugenio Velez' triple and single being the high note. Jason Armstrong also singled twice, but that was about it for the Lugs.
Oneonta 4 Auburn 1
Ryan Patterson's 10th homer was the major piece of good news for the Doubledays. Orlando Trias started and gave up all 4 runs on 11 hits in 4.1 innings, but Sean Stidfole, Josh Sowers, and Paul Phillips all did a nice job in relief, with Stidfole's 2.2 no-hit innings with 4 Ks definitely capturing one's attention. Both Brian Pettway and Josh Bell did not play, while Cory Patton went 1-4.
Elizabethton 9 Pulaski 6
Jacob Butler and Paul Franko hit back-to-back solo homers in the bottom of the first, but Shane Benson couldn't stand the prosperity and allowed 6 E-Twin runs in the top of the 2nd. Pulaski clawed back from a 9-3 deficit with single runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, but 3 double plays and the absence of a key hit led them to a loss. Franko singled, doubled and walked twice, in addition to his homer, to lead the attack. Butler also walked twice and scored 3 runs on the game. Rafael Perez pitched 3 nice innings of relief to close out the game, allowing 1 hit and 1 walk while striking out three.
3 star selection
3rd star-Shaun Marcum, finally a good start in triple A
2nd star-Paul Franko, reaching base 5 times with a homer and a double qualifies as a good night
1st star-Casey Janssen continues his roll.
