A 1-for-4 night by the minor league affiliates in my debut as a Minor League reporter wasn't what I had in mind. Things didn't go so well in the upper minors but the good stuff is at the lowest rung.
With a 1 litre bottle of Diet Coke and an XL French Vanilla from Tim Horton's coarsing through my veins to keep me up from my happy return from the Rogers Centre, here we go!!
Charlotte, NC - After a 2-and-0 start to the season, the Chiefs are now on a 3 game losing streak. Despite outhitting Charlotte 7 to 6, the Knights got to Syracuse starter Ismael Ramirez with single runs in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th innings. Ramirez only made it through 4 frames, giving up 5 hits and striking out only 1 but he didn't walk anyone. The bullpen did a nice job keeping Charlotte off the board with 4 innings of shut-out ball, highlighted by Jamie Vermilyea's 3 punchouts over 2 2/3 scoreless innings. Brian Tallet and Blaine Neal went 2/3 of an inning apiece with Neal bailing out Tallet by stranding a pair of runners.
Mike Vento drove in the only Syracuse run in the 8th by cashing in Jeff Duncan with an RBI single. Curtis Thigpen had a 2 for 4 night with a double (the Chiefs only extra base knock on the night) but did having a throwing error behind the plate. Russ Adams reached base twice with a single and walk and added a stolen base. Adam Lind was 1-for-4, Ryan Roberts struck out 3 times in his 4 at-bats.
Connecticut 8 New Hampshire 7 (13 innings)
Manchester, NH - The Defenders lit up New Hampshire starter Kyle Yates by racing out to a 5-0 lead after 2 1/2 innings with 3 of the runs courtesy of a couple of long balls from John Bowker and Travis Ishikawa. The good guys from the Granite State finally got on the board in the 3rd thanks to a 2 run homer by Wayne Lydon. However, the F-Cats were denied an additional run later in the inning when Dustin Majewski was gunned down at the plate after trying to score from second on a Sergio Santos single up the middle. New Hampshire would erase a 6-2 deficit with a 4 run rally in the 5th. RBI doubles by Dustin Majewski and Rob Cosby sandwiched a Sergio Santos sac fly and a Chip Cannon run scoring single to tie the game at 6-6. The F-Cats managed to chase Connecticut starter and Canadian Olympian Chris Begg, who gave up all 6 runs on 11 hits in 4 2/3 innings. Kyle Yates went 5 innings, giving up 6 runs (5 earned) on 6 hits but did strike out 4 against 1 walk.
Jo Matumoto settled things down for New Hampshire with 2 clean innings of relief, racking up 3 K's by striking out the side in the 6th, two of them swinging. Jean Machi gave up a couple of hits but also pitched 2 shut-out frames and Lee Gronkiewicz pitched a scoreless 10th. The Defenders would snap the 6-6 tie in the top of the 11th off Jesse Carlson on a sacrifice fly but the F-Cats would tie it in the bottom half with a sac fly of their own from Eric Kratz to score Ryan Klosterman to tie the game at 7. Connecticut would take the lead again with a run in the 13th off Justin James but they had an insurance run cut down at the plate on a inning ending double play involving first baseman Chip Cannon and catcher Erik Kratz. However, the F-Cats could not rally for a 4th time as they went down 1-2-3 in the 13th to lose a heartbreaker. Eugene Espireli (there's an intimidating name!) notched the save for Connecticut.
At the dish, Wayne Lydon swung the big stick, going 2-for-4 with a 2 run homer and 2 walks but did commit an error. Dustin Majewski was 3-for-6 with an RBI double along with an outfield assist, Chip Cannon had 2 hits in 6 AB's with an RBI while Erik Kratz collected 2 base knocks in 4 at-bats with 2 runs scored and an RBI. However, a passed ball by Kratz led directly to a Connecticut run. Finally, Ryan Klosterman was 1-for 4 with 2 walks, 2 stolen bases (swiping 2nd and 3rd in the 8th only to be stranded!) and a run scored. However, Klosterman was charged with the F-Cats second error of the night.
Dunedin, FL - The D-Jays left a subdivision on the basepaths, stranding 11 runners on the night. The Threshers got to Dunedin starter Kurt Isenberg with a 3 spot in inning number 2. Dunedin would get on the board in the 3rd on an RBI single by Carlo Cota to cash in Brian Jeroloman. They would load up the bases but Eric Nielsen would ground into a 1-2-3 double play to end the frame. Clearwater would knock Kurt Isenberg out in the 5th with a pair of runs to go up 5-1. Isenberg only lasted 4 2/3 innings, surrendering 8 hits, and 4 of the 5 runs allowed were earned. His K/BB ratio was 0-0. Kristian Bell finished up the 5th without further incident. Dunedin had another glorious scoring opportunity in the bottom half of the inning as they loaded up the bases with nobody out. Any chance for Dunedin to get back in the game went out the window as Carlo Cota and Cory Patton went down swinging and Eric Nielsen flied out to leave the bases drunk. Kristian Bell delivered the D-Jays best pitching performance of the night with 2 1/3 scoreless innings, fanning 3 while giving up just one hit. Danny Core surrendered a run in his 2 innings of work. Dunedin would get the final run of the night on a solo home run by Anthony Hatch in the 9th.
At the plate, Brian Jeroloman batted 1.000 on the night going 2-for-2 with a double, two walks, and a run scored. Anthony Hatch was 2-for-5 with his jack but did commit an error. Josh Kreuzer was 2-for-4 but was also charged with a clank. Jacob Butler was officially 0-for-2 but did have 2 bases on balls, and Cory Patton got on base twice by a walk and an HBP. Dunedin is .500 on the season at 2-and-2.
Comstock Park, MI - Finally, the good news!! Despite kicking the ball around for 3 errors, the Lansing Lugnuts long awaited opening day resulted in a "W" as they knocked off the defending Midwest League Champion Whitecaps. The Lugnuts went to work early as Brian Pettway's 2 run single in the 1st gave the visitors a 2-0 lead. West Michigan would get one run back in the 2nd off Lansing starter Zach Dials but the Lugnuts would regain their 2 run lead in the 3rd with an RBI single by Jonathan Jaspe. A sac fly by Travis Snider and a run scoring single by Yuber Rodriguez in the 4th expanded the Lansing lead to 5-1. The Whitecaps responded with a 2 spot of their own in the 4th to make it 5-3 but that was as close as they'd get. The Lugnuts would salt things away with a 3 run 7th on Josh Bell's solo dinger and Brian Pettway's 2 run double. That helped Zach Dials get the victory. He went 5 innings of 3 run ball, scattering 7 hits, striking out 3, and walking one. Julio Pinto struck out 3 in 2 inning, 1 hit relief. Seth Overbey and Paul Phillips finished up with a scoreless frame each with Overbey recording 1 K and Phillips getting 2.
There were plenty of good offensive performances for the Lugnuts in their 11 hit attack. Brian Pettway was 2 for 5 with a 4 RBI night, Travis Snider was 2 of 4 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored. However, Snider's key play came with the glove as he threw out a runner from right field to cut short the Whitecaps 2 run rally in the 4th. Josh Bell was 2-for-5 with a homer, two doubles, and 2 runs scored. Sean Shoffit collected 2 hits in 3 at-bats, drew a walk, and scored twice. And Yuber Rodriguez had an interesting night at the dish. Y-Rod was 1-for-2, walked 3 times, drove in a run, scored twice, and stole a base. He was also caught stealing but that's just nit picking! Of the 8 Lansing runs on the night, 4 of them came with 2 out. Not too shabby.
Three Stars.........
3. Travis Snider, Lansing
2. Wayne Lydon, New Hampshire
1. Brian Pettway, Lansing
Honourable Mentions - Jamie Vermilyea, Curtis Thigpen - Syracuse; Dustin Majewski, Jo Matumoto - New Hampshire; Kristian Bell, Brian Jeroloman, Dunedin; Josh Bell, Yuber Rodriguez, Julio Pinto, Lansing.
Special thanks to Mike Green for helping me put this together.
