With all the injuries on the major league team the Jays have had to bring in new players to fill the gaps in the minors. Three of them played Sunday, Andrew Good started for Syracuse, Mike Venafro pitched in relief. Howie Clark played for New Hampshire. Syracuse blew a lead but won in extra innings with a home run, New Hampshire and Lansing lost.
Syracuse 7 Louisville 6 - 12 innings
Syracuse got out in front early in this one but the bullpen gave it back allowing three runs in the eighth and ninth before Eric Kratz won it in the twelfth. The Chiefs scored in the first, Kevin Barker walked and Chad Mottola doubled to drive him home. Andrew Good making his first start for the Chiefs and was limited to 60 pitches. Good gave up a double to edwin Encarnacion in the first and an RBI single to Aaron Herr. Good pitched 2.1 innings and gave up one run on three hits. The Chiefs scored four runs in the fourth, an error and a Russ Adams walk got things started than each of Wayne Lydon, Jeff Duncan, Kevin Barker and John-Ford Griffin singled to drive in a run. Another recent signee, Jim Crowell pitched well for a couple of innings but gave up two runs in the sixth to make it a 5-3 game. Jeff Duncan scored an insurance run in the eighth when he singled and scored on a RBI double by Curtis Thigpen. Louisville made it close with a two run home run off Ryan Houston in the bottom of the eighth.
Yet another new Chief, Mike Venafro, came on to try and get the save in the ninth but he allowed the tying run to score on three line drive singles. The game stayed tied until Eric Kratz led off the twelfth with a home run. Blaine Neal walked the lead off hitter in the bottom of the twelfth but retired the next three hitters to preserve the win. Jeff Duncan went 4-7, Kratz and Griffin had three hits each.
Kurt Isenberg started and pitched well, he gave up a run in the second and another in the seventh, he finished with 6.1 innings, five hits, four walks, four K's and two runs. New Hampshire had a great chance to score in the second, Chip Cannon led off with a double and Aaron Mathews and Howie Clark walked to load the bases. John schneider flew out to right, Cannon didn't go but Aaron Mathews was doubled off second. The Fisher Cats failed to score. Isenberg cruised along never getting into trouble and he left with one out in the seventh and a walk on first. Lee Gronkiewicz in a non save situation gave up a couple of hits around a catcher interference to put New Hampshire down 3-0. In the eighth Sergio Santos walked with one out, Ryan Patterson struck out, Chip Cannon singled and Aaron Mathews had an RBI double. But Clark flied out to end the threat. Jesse Carlson gave up a run in the bottom of the eighth. Chip Cannon went 3-4 and Dustin Majewski had two hits.
Dunedin - scheduled day off
Zach Dials started and gave up all seven runs, four of them earned. In the second inning a single, and an error by Jonathan Diaz, put two men on and a double scored both runs. Lansing got a run back in the fourth, Josh Bell singled and scored thanks to a wild pitch, a passed ball and a sac fly. Dials gave up five runs in the fourth on four singles, two walks and a throwing error by Dials. Lansing did not get more than one runner on each inning through the rest of the game. Po-Hsuan Keng pitched three shutout innings in relief. Matt Liuzza and Josh Bell had two hits each.
3 star selection
3rd star - John-Ford Griffin, 3 hits, 2 RBI's
2nd star - Jeff Duncan, four hits, 2 runs scored
1st star - Eric Kratz, game winning home run
Team Records
Syracuse 15-20, 5th place, 7 games behind
New Hampshire 19-13, 2nd place, 3.5 games behind
Dunedin 18-18, 3rd place, 7 games behind
Lansing 17-16, 3rd place, 8 games behind
Minor league leaders with various minimum qualifications:
OPS: Sergio Santos .949; Josh Kreuzer .947
Hits: Travis Snider 39; Corey Patton 38
Doubles: Santos 13; Kreuzer 12
Triples: Snider 4; Luke Hetherington 3
Home runs: Santos 9; John-Ford Griffin 6
Walks: Brian Jeroloman 27 (with 25 K's); Kevin Barker 22
Strikeouts: Chip Cannon 50; Josh Bell 46
Stolen Bases: Ryan Klosterman 10; Sean Shoffit 5
Errors: Anthony Hatch 8
WHIP: Jesse Litsch 0.77; David Purcey 0.94; Josh Banks 1.02
Home runs allowed: Blaine Neal 4; Kristian Bell 4
Hit batters: Kyle Ginley and Ted Serro 4
Walks allowed: Brandon Magee 17; Ismael Ramirez and Chase Lirette 14
Strikeouts: David Purcey 40 (and 8 walks allowed); Nathan Starner 38 (and 8 walks allowed)
