It was a bleak Friday on the farm. Every affiliate lost and collectively they were outscored 39-17. There were few noteworthy performances and it was a night best forgotten, especially for a couple of Toronto starters.

Syracuse 4 @ Pawtucket 10 - Box Score

I think the less said about the starting pitching in this game the better. Josh Banks, still trying to prove he's worthy of a shot in the Blue Jays rotation during this injury-filled season, had an outing that assured his year-end statistics will look much worse than he pitched. Here is how the first inning for Pawtucket unfolded: single; double; RBI groundout; double; single; double; run-scoring wild pitch; double; single; strike out; double; single and fly out. When all was said and done Banks gave up eight runs on ninet hits. He came out to start the second and promptly gave up a single and home run. At that point Banks departed with a final line that read: ten runs on eleven hits in one inning. Jordan DeJong pitched four scoreless innings of relief and struck out three before turning it over to James Crowell and Blaine Neal who combined to pitch the final three innings.

Offensively, no Chief had more than one hit. The highlights were a pair of two-run homers by Erik Kratz in the second and Kevin Barker in the sixth. John Hattig continued a tough year, as not only as he had difficulty at the plate, but he also made his eleventh error of the year last night. Curtis Thigpen, Chad Mottola and Russ Adams were the only Chiefs in the starting lineup without a hit.

New Hampshire 2 @ Binghamton 5 - Box Score

Yusaka Iriki continued to struggle for New Hampshire and has not been impressive since joining the Mets organization from Japan during the 2005-2006 offseason. Iriki gave up four runs over 4.2 innings, but allowed six hits and three walks and only struck out one batter. His ERA rose to an even 8.00 for New Hampshire. Jean Machi struck out the next batter and stranded runners at first and third and pitched another 2 scoreless innings on top of that. Jo Matumoto pitched the eighth inning and gave up a run.

New Hampshire had a 1-0 lead and a runner on second before Binghamton recorded an out. Juan Peralta and Robinzon Diaz hit leadoff doubles to begin the game and later in the inning Rob Cosby had an RBI groundout to give the Fisher Cats a 2-0 lead. Furthermore, Ryan Patterson and Chip Cannon added singles with two out, but both were stranded on the base paths.  However, by the end of the game, New Hampshire hadn’t scored again and only had four more hits over the last eight innings. Diaz had a pair, David Smith and Sergio Santos put up 0-fers and the rest of the lineup each managed a single hit. Peralta, Diaz and Dustin Majewski each had a two-bagger and Peralta and Diaz were the recipients of New Hampshire’s two free passes. Also, Majewski picked up an assist in the outfield.

St. Lucie 11 @ Dunedin 3 - Box Score

Aaron Tressler didn’t make it out of the second, falling to 1-3 on the season. Tressler gave up four runs on five hits and two walks. Danny Core didn’t make it out of the third, as he gave up three on four hits and two walks. Sean Stidfole gave up three, two earned, over two innings and his ERA rose to 1.46. Daryl Harang and Seth Overbey each pitched a scoreless inning. Harang hasn’t allowed a run in 14.1 innings for Dunedin, while Overbey has now gone 26.2 scoreless this year between Lansing and Dunedin.

The star offensive performers for Dunedin were Anthony Hatch, who had two hits, drove in one of Dunedin’s runs and scored another, and Cory Patton. Patton had a double in three at-bats, but also drew a walk, scored a run and drove in another. Dunedin’s bats scattered eight hits and there’s nothing else notable to write about.

Great Lakes 13 @ Lansing 8 - Box Score

This was another game where Toronto pitchers struggled on the mound. Kyle Ginley fell to 0-4 after giving up eight runs, five earned, over 3.2 innings. Ginley allowed eight hits, one walk and struck out five batters. Ginley's ERA rose to 7.07 and Chris Reddout's rose almost a full run, jumping from 1.96 to 2.84 after he allowed 3 over 2.1 innings. Of note, Reddout struck out two batters and got all of his other outs via the ground ball. Benjamin Harrison gave up 2 runs over two innings and then Paul Phillips had the equitable inning, with a grounder, a fly out and a strikeout. For Great Lakes, a pair of famous sons who have been struggling this year each went 3-5. Preston Mattingly and Scott Van Slyke, batting in the six and seven hole, combined for 4 runs and 4 RBIs and Mattingly finished a single shy of the cycle.

Lansing scored six runs on eight hits. They were led by leadoff hitter Yuber Rodriguez, who also went 3-5, with a double, homer, run and RBI. Chris Emanuele hit his second triple of the year for his only hit of the night and Joey Metropolous went 2-4 with a BB. Josh Bell went 1-4 with a walk and his 20th RBI of the year and the Loons' Josh Bell also went 1-4, but is hitting .287, compared to .187 for his counterpart on Lansing.

3 star selection

3rd star – Joey Metropolous, 2-4, R, 2B, BB, 3 TB

2nd star – Jordan DeJong, 4 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

1st star – Yuber Rodriguez, 3-5, R, 2B, HR, RBI, 7 TB