The farm affiliates went 3-3 on the evening with a 9th inning Doubleday uprising being the highlight.
Rochester 5 Syracuse 10
Spike Lundberg started his first game of the season, and gave up 2 in the top of the second, but the Chiefs scored 3 in the bottom of the frame with the key blow being a 2 run homer by Gabe Gross and then 6 in the bottom of the fourth, highlighted by a Kevin Barker grand slam. Lundberg's night was done after 4 innings of 7 hit ball. Jamie Vermilyea came on to pitch 2 scoreless innings for the win. He allowed 2 baserunners and struck out 2. Game Over Gronkiewicz and Matt Whiteside finished up uneventfully. Gross had 2 walks to go along with his homer in 5 trips, and sports a .298/.378/.458 line for the season after a poor start. Guillermo Quiroz had the night off.
Syracuse Post-Standard game story, including notes on Justin Miller's rib injury
Syracuse Post-Standard Sky Chiefs notes, with interesting comments by Omar Malave on Ismael Ramirez
Binghamton 5 New Hampshire 0
Casey Janssen continued his excellent pitching, but fell prey to Banksitis (lacklustre defence and no run support) to take the loss and fall to 2-2. Janssen went 6 innings and allowed 4 runs, 2 earned on 8 hits and no walks, while striking out 9. Jordan DeJong pitched 2 perfect innings, striking out 2, while Steve Andrade allowed a solo homer in the ninth. The Fisher Cats could manage but 7 singles, a double and a solitary walk, with Miguel Negron and Curtis Thigpen having 2 hits each. Chip Cannon went 0-3 on the night.
Dunedin 3 Sarasota 9
Let's start with the good news first, shall we. Adam Lind went 3-3 with a double and a sacrifice fly to raise his season marks to .320/.378/.505. Nice. Mike Snyder also had 2 hits, while Robinson Diaz doubled in 4 trips. We'll pass quickly over the nasty bits. Starter Michael MacDonald gave up 3 earned runs on 5 hits in 3 innings of work. Justin James, Daryl Harang and Danny Hill relieved unmemorably.
Beloit 4 Lansing 3
14 Lansing whiffs and no long-balls led to their undoing last night. The Lugnuts managed 6 hits and 6 walks on the evening, with Jason Armstrong, Brian Patrick, David Hicks and Eric Nielsen each reaching base twice. Danny Core threw 5 shutout innings, but in the top of the sixth allowed 4 straight 2 out hits, as the Snappers scored all their runs. Juan Perez and Joey McLaughlin pitched 3.1 hitless innings, but walked 6 and struck out 5.
Aberdeen 6 Auburn 7
The Doubledays rallied for 3 runs in the bottom of the ninth to steal victory from the jaws of defeat. A 2 run double by Big City Joey Metropolous followed by a 2 out Brian Bormaster single to score pinch-runner Emmanuel Sena was the difference in this game. Orlando Trias started and pitched well, going 5.1 innings and allowing 4 runs, only 1 of which was earned, on 4 hits and 1 walk with 5 punch-outs. Sean Stidfole followed with 2 shutout innings, with 3 baserunners and 2 Ks. Paul Phillips came on in the top of the eighth in a 4-4 game, and had a rare bad outing, as he gave up 2 earned runs on 3 hits and 1 walk with 2 strikeouts in 1.2 innings, but got the win anyways. With the stick, Ryan Patterson singled twice and doubled twice in 5 plate trips, sending his season line to .332/.370/.563. As advertised, the man can hit.
Pulaski 11 Kingsport 3
The P-Jays banged out 14 hits, including homers by Jonathan Jaspe and Chris Gutierrez to coast to victory. Shane Benson was the beneficiary, and took full advantage, throwing 6 innings of 3 hit ball. He allowed 2 runs, 1 unearned, and walked 1 while striking out 3. Zach Kalter continued with his best Jayce Tingler impression, going 1-2 with 3 walks. Wes Stone went 2-5. Paul Franko reached base all three times he stepped to the plate, while Jaspe singled twice in addition to his longball. Jacob Butler did not play.
3-star selection
It's really a dartboard selection among the hitters, but here goes
3rd star-Gabe Gross
2nd star-Kevin Barker
1st star-Ryan Patterson
Honourable Mentions- Jonathan Jaspe, Adam Lind and Joey Metropoulos
