In a rather lacklustre night across the farm the only question left is, will a player with one total base get a star? If so, which star? Read on to find out….

Syracuse 0 @ Richmond 4 - Box Score

The SkyChiefs were shut out by the tandem of Brian O’Connor, Peter Moylan and Manny Acosta. O’Connor did 5 shutout innings and then Australian Moylan struck out 6 in three relief innings without allowing a hit. No SkyChief got an extra-base hit and no SkyChief got more than one hit. Russ Adams was 1-4, while Ryan Roberts had the best Syracuse hitting line of the night by a country mile, going 1-1 with 3 BB’s.

Jamie Vermilyea only allowed two runs in 6 innings, although he surrendered 10 hits. Vermilyea struck out three and didn’t walk a Brave. Shaun Marcum struck out five in 2 innings, but he allowed a 2-run homer to Michael Ryan as Richmond doubled their lead. Canadian Scott Thorman went 2-4 with 2 doubles to raise his batting average to .298 and his slugging percentage over .500. Look for him to be in Atlanta before the season is over.

New Hampshire 7 @ Connecticut 3 - Box Score

Michael MacDonald got his fifth win of the season as he went 5.1 strong against the Connecticut Defenders. MacDonald got six outs in the air, another six on the ground, including a double-play and struck out three batters. He allowed six hits and one run in 5.1 innings against a lineup that included Nate Schierholtz and Travis Ishikawa. Danny Hill surrendered two hits, two walks and two runs, although they were both unearned on a Chip Cannon error. Rodney Ormond and Tracey Thorpe each pitched an inning of scoreless relief.

Last night was one of the few nights I actively cheer for the opposing pitcher to do well against the Fisher Cats lineup, as Canadian Chris Begg started for Connecticut. Begg allowed six hits and a walk in six innings, while striking out seven. However, three consecutive RBI singles followed by a wild pitch meant a 4-run fourth for New Hampshire and that Begg’s final line wasn’t that impressive, despite pitching well in five of his six innings. New Hampshire added one in the seventh and two in the ninth off Billy Sadler to end up with a 7-3 victory. Adam Lind and Curtis Thigpen were the only two Fisher Cats with more than one hit, as each ended up with a single and a double.

Dunedin 1 @ Palm Beach 3 - Box Score

Cardinal prospect Blake Hawksworth only struck out two in 7 innings, but he also combined with two relievers for a seven-hit, one-run pitching performance. Meanwhile, Robert Ray was pulled after 2.1 innings and 13 batters, having allowed three hits, two walks and two runs. Justin James stepped in with some solid one-run relief over 3.2 innings, before Daryl Harang pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth

Dunedin outhit Palm Beach 7-1, but hit into two double plays and left five on base, in a poor man’s imitation of Wednesday’s big league performance. Dunedin spread the hits around, as every starter but Robinzon Diaz and Ron Davenport had one. Despite the three and four hitters going 0-8 with 3 of the team’s 5 K’s, the team managed to mount a semblance of an offence. The problem was that every time the team had runners in scoring position, they were stranded, such as when Juan Peralta flew out to end the fifth with a runner on second, when Ryan Klosterman struck out to end the seventh with Dunstin Majewski on third or when Diaz struck out to end the eighth with Ryan Patterson on second

Also, five Dunedin Blue Jays were named to the FSL All-Star team yesterday. The D-Jays playing in the game are Milton Tavarez, Robinzon Diaz, Ryan Klosterman, Ryan Patterson and Dustin Majewski.

Southwest Michigan 4 @ Lansing 2 - Box Score

The Southwest Michigan Devil Rays scored three in the eighth and another in the ninth, all of Po Hsuan Keng, as they came back to beat the Lugnuts. Keng’s outing, which raised his ERA by over a full run, gave him his second loss of the year. He struck out three batters, including two to end the eighth inning. However, he had already allowed three singles and a double to the first four batters he faced, which had given Southwest Michigan a lead they would not relinquish. Keng blew the save for Kristian Bell, who struggled with his control again, walking five in 7 innings. Bell only allowed two hits, while striking out six and not surrendering a run.

Wade Davis, who came into today’s game with a 1.00 ERA in 10 starts and 71 strikeouts in 54 innings, pitched well against the Lugnuts. A two-run homer in the first by Cory Patton aside, Davis pitched superbly. His ERA rose to 1.17, even though he pitched 6.2 shutout innings following Patton’s bomb. Lansing was slightly outhit by Lansing, 8-6, but it would have been a cubing if not for Jacob Butler and Yuber Rodriguez’s two hits each. Patton’s homer was the only extra-base hit for Lansing all night, as Anthony Garibaldi continued to struggle with an 0-3 line that included three K’s.

3 star selection

3rd star – Justin James, 3.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

2nd star – Kristian Bell, 7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 5 BB, 6 K

1st star – Ryan Roberts, 1-1, 0 R, 0 RBI, 3 BB, 1 TB