A light night on the Monday minor league scene saw the affiliates go 3-1. The only blemish was an overtime loss in New York State.
Pawtucket 8 Syracuse 6 (10 Innings)
Syracuse, NY - The Chiefs made the Bad News Bears look like Gold Glovers by comparison in the top of the 1st. Mike MacDonald gave up a leadoff double to Jacoby Ellsbury and he went to 3rd on a John-Ford Griffin error in right. John Hattig then kicked around a Joe McEwing groundball at 3rd to allow Ellsbury to score. McEwing would score on a fielder's choice but a throwing error by Kevin Barker at 1st allowed former Jay Bobby Kielty to advance to 2nd. Kielty tried to score on a single but was thrown out at the plate by Wayne Lydon in center. The Chiefs would respond with a two-out rally as Robinzon Diaz walked, Chad Mottola doubled and John-Ford Griffin brought them and himself home with a 3 run shot, his 25th of the season, to put Syracuse on top 3-2. The Chiefs expanded their lead in the 4th with another 3 spot on a Ryan Roberts sac fly as well as RBI singles by Wayne Lydon and Robinzon Diaz. That lead was gone in the next half inning as another error by Kevin Barker allowed Jacoby Ellsbury to reach. MacDonald then proceeded to give up 2 run homers to "Bobbies" Kielty and Scales and that tied the game at 6-6.
Jordan De Jong mowed down all 9 men he faced in 3 scoreless innings of relief, striking out a batter an inning and getting 5 groundball outs. Blaine Neal stranded a Jacoby Ellsbury single and stolen base in the 9th and the Chiefs had a chance to win it when Ryan Roberts led off with a single and was bunted over by Wayne Lydon. He only made it as far as 3rd. The Red Sox affiliates made the Chiefs pay in the 10th when Junior Spivey doubled home a pair of runs off Blaine Neal. The Chiefs went down quickly and quietly in the home half of the 10th.
I guess the baseball gods felt that if the Chiefs made 5 clanks, they didn't deserve to win in the first place. Mike MacDonald was victimized by the long ball and the "less than tenacious D" (apologies to Jack Black and Kyle Gass!) as just one of the 6 runs he allowed was earned. He gave up 8 hits and 2 walks but on the flip side, he induced 8 groundball outs and struck out a pair.
At the plate, Robinzon Diaz continues to impress the rawhide citizenry in Central New York as he went 3-for-5 with an RBI. His average is an effervescent .362. Chad Mottola had 2 doubles in 5 at-bats and Wayne Lydon drove in a run, prevented another with an outfield assist and stole his 22nd base of the season. Kevin Barker's night was horrendous as he was charged with 3 errors and went 0-for-3 officially. However, he did draw 2 walks and scored 2 runs. Adam Lind was 1-for-5.
New Hampshire - Scheduled Day Off
Dunedin - Scheduled Day Off
Brian Jeroloman Walk Meter ("BJWM") - 76!
Beloit, WI - Lugnuts lefty Nathan Starner and the Snappers Matthew Fox were matching goose eggs...until the 4th. That's when Matthew Fox "LOST" it as the 'Nuts erupted for 3 runs on a 2 run homer by Travis Snider and a solo shot by Matthew Liuzza, giving the two of them 11 big flies each on the season. The Lugnuts poured it on the 5th when they loaded the bases on a Jonathan Jaspe plunking. According to the game log, Jaspe was hit in the hand and he gave way to pinch-runner Kevin Nelson. The Lugnuts made the Snappers pay on a run scoring single by Sean Shoffit, a Matthew Liuzza bases loade walk, a 2-run single by Matthew Lane and an RBI groundout by Jonathan Baksh. That made it 8-0 after 5.
Nathan Starner was laughing all the way to the bank with the run support. He overcame 3 errors (one of them was his own) but did enjoy one good piece of defence when Travis Snider threw out a runner at 3rd from right. When Starner was gone, so was the shutout as the Twins affiliates used 4 singles off Jeremy Zick to score a pair in the 6th. Zick would bounce back with a scoreless 7th despite a walk and a plunk. Former Yankee farmhand Kevin Nelson capped off the Lansing scoring with a solo bomb in the 8th, his first of the year, to give Lansing a 9-2 bulge. Edward Rodriguez pitched an interesting last two innings for the Lugnuts. He worked around a Sean Shoffit error at 3rd in the 8th and had set down 5 in a row, 3 of them on strikeouts. He was credited for a 4th K but a wild pitch allowed the runner to reach and two runs would score on a single, balk and another single. However, Rodriguez would get the final out to lock up the "W" for Nathan Starner, who improves to 10-9. Starner scattered 4 hits and 2 walks and struck out a half-dozen over 5 scoreless innings. The native of Hanover, PA has an awesome K/BB ratio of 131-33 over 121 innings but he has given up 136 hits.
The on-base leaders for the Lugnuts were Matthew Lane and Chris Emanuele, who were each 2-for-4 with a walk. A half-dozen different Lugnuts drew a bases on balls. Lane, Matthew Liuzza and Travis Snider knocked home two runs each in a 12 hit attack. Snider's average is now at .305.
Auburn - Scheduled Day Off - NY Penn League All-Star Break
Game 1 - GCL Blue Jays 5 GCL Indians 0 (7 Innings)
Winter Haven, FL - The G-Jays got their bats going early thanks to a triple and three singles in the top of the 1st. Eric Eiland led off the game with a three-bagger and he was plated by a Jonathan Del Campo single for the game's first run. Kevin Ahrens would single home Del Campo to make it 2-0. The Indians tried to get on the board in the bottom of the 1st against James Dougher. He gave up a one out double that was advanced to 3rd on a groundout. Fortunately for Dougher, his batterymate Jonathan Talley picked off the runner at 3rd to end the inning. The Jays would add another run in the 5th on a Kevin Ahrens RBI single and Michael McDade drove home two more runs with a base knock in the 7th. McDade came up with the bases loaded courtesy of 3 walks.
Like the Lugnuts, the G-Jays showed a good batting eye in this one as 6 different players drew a walk. Kevin Ahrens was 2-for-3 with 2 RBI while Yohermyn Chavez was 2-for-3 and also added a stolen base. Eric Eiland also stole his 15th base of the season in a 1-for-3 night at the dish.
James Dougher scattered 4 hits and 2 walks through 5 shutout innings, striking out 2 to lower his ERA to 1.87. His K/BB ratio in 43 1/3 innings is a respectable 39-10 and his OBA is below .200. Lefty Jacob Cook and Robert Leffler each tossed a scoreless frame with Leffler whiffing two. Their ERA's are also below 2.00.
Game 2 - GCL Blue Jays 3 GCL Indians 1 (7 Innings)
Dunedin, FL - Joel Carreno, #99 in your program, channeled the Great One's greatness early on by giving up just a double in the first two innings while punching out a couple of batters. Kevin Denis-Fortier then gave Carreno a lead by belting his first homer of the season to put the G-Jays ahead 1-0. The Tribe would respond with their first run of this doubleheader in the top of the 3rd on a single, a wild pitch and a double. Carreno would walk a man and plunk another in a shutout 4th and worked a 1-2-3 5th to keep the game tied at 1-1. Bartolo Nicolas would untie it in the bottom of the 5th by hammering a two-run shot to right to score a Balbino Fuenmayor single to make it 3-1 for the G-Jays. The Indians tried to rally in the 6th by getting two infield singles aboard, including one of the bunt variety, but Jason Monti stranded Carreno's runners by getting the final out. Monti would give up a leadoff single in the 7th but would strike out a man before giving way to lefty Frank Gailey. Gailey would get his man and Ross Buckwalter also retired the lone batter he faced to get the save.
Carreno gave up 5 hits, walked a man and plunked another in 5 2/3 innings while striking out 5 to get the victory. Luis Fernandez had a 2-for-2 night with a walk and Yohermyn Chavez managed to steal another base, his 7th of the campaign, despite going 0-for-2 with a walk.
*** 3 Stars!!! ***
3. Jordan De Jong, Syracuse - 3IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 3K, 5 Groundouts
2. Nathan Starner, Lansing - 5IP, 4H, 0R, 0ER, 2BB, 6K (10th W)
1. Travis Snider, Lansing - 2/5, HR, 2RBI, Outfield Assist
Honourable Mentions........
Syracuse - Robinzon Diaz, Wayne Lydon, Chad Mottola, John-Ford Griffin, Ryan Roberts.
Lansing - Matthew Liuzza, Matthew Lane, Chris Emanuele, Kevin Nelson, Sean Shoffit, Jonathan Baksh.
GCL Blue Jays - Bartolo Nicolas, Kevin Denis-Fortier, Luis Fernandez, John Tolisano, Balbino Fuenmayor, Yohermyn Chavez, Joel Carreno, Jason Monti, Frank Gailey, Ross Buckwalter, Eric Eiland, Justin Jackson, Jonathan Del Campo, Kevin Ahrens, Michael McDade, James Dougher, Jacob Cook, Robert Leffler.
Today's Schedule..........
GCL Tigers @ GCL Blue Jays, 12:00 p.m.
Syracuse @ Scranton Wilkes-Barre, 7:00 p.m.
Sarasota @ Dunedin, 7:00 p.m.
New Hampshire @ New Britain, 7:05 p.m.
Lansing @ Beloit, 8:00 p.m.
Also Tonight......
NY Penn League All-Star Game - AL Stars vs. NL Stars, Dutchess Stadium (Hudson Valley Renegades), 7:35 p.m.
Auburn Representatives - LHP Brett Cecil, LHP Cody Crowell, OF Benjamin Zeskind, Manager Dennis Holmberg, Pitching Coach Antonio Caracas, Coach Justin Mashore and Trainer Daniel McIntosh.
Bonus Material.........
The Auburn Citizen has a piece on outfielder Adam Calderone.
