A 4-2 night for the Toronto farm.
The SkyChiefs held on to beat the Red Barons as Adrian Burnside and Lee Gronkiewicz provided shutout relief in support of Josh Towers’ 6-inning 4-run effot. Ryan Roberts smacked a double and his 7th homer of the season, and was joined by John Hattig and Jason Phillips in the multi-hit department.
Tied at sevens after seven, the Fisher Cats pushed ahead with a run in the bottom of the 8th, only to have Tracy Thorpe blow his 3rd save of the season. It worked out fine, as Chip Cannon walked to lead off the bottom of the ninth and, after a David Smith groundout, the winning run came in on singles from Ryan Klosterman and Tim Olson.
Dave Purcey was rocked for all 7 runs on 9 hits and 4 walks over 6 innings, striking out 6. Curt Thigpen, Chip Cannon, Ryan Klosterman, Tim Olson, and Manny Mayorson all had 2 hits for New Hampshire, the Mayor counting a triple amongst his accomplishments and Cannon blasting a double. Dustin Majewski led off and walked thrice in 5 plate appearances.
A 4-run top of the 7th shot down the Blue Jays. All the damage came with Paul Phillips on the mount after Orlando Trias had worked 6 innings of 6-hit 2-run ball, with 6 tickets punched and no free passes. Po-Hsuan Keng finished up with 2 scoreless innings.
Eric Arnold doubled and homered, while Aaron Mathews had a double to go with a single.
The bats were booming in Kane County, with Josh Bell (1B 2B HR) and Joey Metropoulos (1B 1B 2B) leading the Lugnut attack. Sean Shoffit contributed a 3-run homer, Brian Pettway tripled and walked, Lucky Luke Hetherington singled, double, and walked, and Anthony Garibaldi smacked a homer as well as a single.
Sean Stidfole was pounded for 10 runs in 3 innings, Brad Mumma was knocked around for 3 in 3. Eddy Rodriguez finished up with 2 scoreless.
The youngest Doubleday, Australian righty Shane Benson, tossed 6 excellent innings, striking out 8 whilst walking just 1 and allowing a run on 5 hits. Ted Serro was full marks for the 3-inning save, no hitting the Renegades while issuing 2 bases on balls and striking out 4. Leadoff man Scott Campbell was the top Auburn hitter, going 2-for-4 with a single and a double.
Toronto wasn’t the only Blue Jay team to put up a 9-spot last night, as Pulaski did so in the bottom of the 2nd. 2-hit nights were enjoyed by CF Chris Emanuele, 2B Raul Barron, 1B Paul Franko, RF Travis Snider, 1B Josh Lex, and DH Roger Ebarb. Emanuele’s hits went for 2 and 3 bases, while Lex’s were a 2-bagger and a round-tripper.
Starter Michael Barbara was batter about for 7 hits and 4 runs over 3 2/3, and Chris Reddout came on for the win with 3 1/3 of 1 hit no-walk 4-K shutout. John Zinnicker and Edgar Estanga finished off.
Three Star Selection!
Honourable Mentions: Triplets Ryan Roberts, Eric Arnold, and Josh Lex, each with a double and a homer.
The Third Star: Josh Bell, Lansing. Single Double Homer.
The Second Star: Orlando Trias, Dunedin. 6-0 K-BB over 6.
The First Star: Shane Benson, Auburn. 8 Ks and 1 run over 6.
