Leave it to the Chiefs to win the one game I didn't want them to! Before anyone dares to complain that my Jays fan club card should be revoked for that statement, it was a nothing game for Syracuse and I would've liked to have seen the Lynx finish things off on a winning note. On a personal note, it's a sad day for me that the Lynx are leaving because I've been a fan of theirs since Day 1. Anyways, the affiliates went 3-1 on the night but the one loss was a tough one as a prominent rehabbing Jays reliever was tagged with the "L". As a result, New Hampshire will have to play one more game to see if they can sneak into the post season.
Ottawa, ON - A total of 7,468 fans went to Lynx Stadium to see the final Triple A baseball game this country will ever see again in our lifetime. Where the (insert your favourite expletives here!) were these people the last 10 years!?! Anyways, on to the game. No, I'm not bitter at all, thanks for asking!!
The Lynx gave the hometown faithful something to cheer about in the 1st. The Phillies affiliates got to Chiefs starter Pat Mahomes for a pair of runs thanks to an RBI triple from Matt Padgett and an RBI groundout from former Jays farmhand Gary Burnham. The Chiefs responded with two runs of their own to tie game at 2-2 in the 4th as Mike Vento connected for his 7th homer of the season to score a Kevin Barker double. The Lynx regained the lead on a Gookie Dawkins sac fly in the 5th but the Chiefs would crush the Lynx hopes and dreams of going out a winner by erupting for a 6-run 6th. Kevin Barker slammed his 18th jack of the season to score a Chad Mottola single, Al Quintana had a run scoring base knock and Wayne Lydon sent one over the wall for a 3 run dinger, his 5th of the year, to make it 8-3 Syracuse.
Ottawa cut the lead to 3 in the bottom of the 6th on a 2 run double by Danny Sandoval to chase Pat Mahomes from the ball game. Jeremy Cummings made sure the rally died there by striking out the final two batters of the inning. Cummings worked a 1-2-3 7th but saw the first two runners reach base in the 8th on a single and an error by Ryan Roberts at 2nd before escaping without any damage. Jamie Vermilyea came on in the 9th and retired the first batter but then gave the hometown fans reason to hope after giving up back to back singles to Gary Burnham and Brennan King to bring the tying run to the dish. However, Vermilyea made sure Brennan King would be the trivia answer to who got the final hit for the Lynx as he gave Ryan Roberts some work at 2nd by inducing a popup and then a grounder off the bat of Dusty Wathan to end the game and the existence of affiliated pro baseball in the nation's capital.
So, Brennan King had the last hit but can you name who got the first hit in Lynx history? The answer is at the bottom of this update.
Kevin Barker had the big day for the Chiefs by going 3-for-4 with a homer, double, 2 RBI and a walk. Wayne Lydon and Hector Luna had 2 hits apiece and Mike Vento got aboard twice with a homer and plunk. Canadian David Corrente was 1-for-1 after replacing John Schneider at catcher. Pat Mahomes somehow got the win despite yielding 5 runs on 11 hits and a walk in 5 1/3 innings. Jeremy Cummings allowed just 2 hits and struck out 4 in 2 2/3 scoreless innings and Jamie Vermilyea picked up his 1st save of the season despite a 2 hit 9th.
Manchester, NH - The damn Thunder/Yankees prevented the Fisher Cats from clinching a playoff spot. However, being the eternal optimist that I am, the Thunder are simply delaying the inevitable because once New Hampshire beats Portland tonight, they'll lay a major beatdown on Trenton in the play-offs. You read it here first!
Southpaw Ricky Romero was on the hill for the Fisher Cats and put up goose eggs in the first 3 innings, giving up just two singles and a walk. In the bottom of the 3rd, Ryan Patterson got New Hampshire on the board by launching his 18th homer of '07. Erik Kratz followed up with a double and was pushed to 3rd on a sac bunt by Ryan Klosterman but Dustin Majewski and Manny Mayorson could not bring him home. Ricky Romero had his hands full in the top of the 4th after a single, walk and wild pitch put runners at 2nd and 3rd with 1 out but the Jays first round pick of 2005 bore down by getting a popup and a strikeout to end the inning. The Fisher Cats got their 2nd run of the game in the bottom of the 4th when Rob Cosby singled home a Sergio Santos double.
However, the 2-0 lead was out the window in the 5th as the Thunder struck for 4 runs on 4 singles and a double off Ricky Romero to grab a 4-2 lead. Romero gave up a leadoff single in the 6th but recorded two ground ball outs before giving way to Brandon League and he induced a worm killer to end the frame. The Fisher Cats got the bats going again in the bottom half of inning number 6 as Dustin Majewski put a ball over the wall for the 14th time this season to make it a 4-3 game. David Smith kept the inning going with a 2-out walk and Rob Cosby drilled one over the fence for his 16th dinger to put New Hampshire ahead, 5-4.
You would figure the game was in good hands with Brandon League on the mound to school these Yankee wannabe punks. However, it was League who got schooled and punked as the Thunder scored twice on two doubles and a walk to pull ahead at 6-5. Jesse Carlson was called in and he ended the inning on a punchout. The F-Cats tried to mount a comeback in the 7th as they loaded the bases with one out but they came up empty. Trenton would tack on 2 more runs in the 8th with a pair of doubles and a single off Jesse Carlson and he was relieved by Sean Stidfole, who got the final out of the frame. Erik Kratz's RBI single made it an 8-6 ballgame in the 8th. Sean Stidfole gave up a leadoff double that was pushed to 3rd on a sac bunt but he managed to strand the runner to give the F-Cats a puncher's chance in the 9th. New Hampshire got the tying run to the plate when Sergio Santos reached on a 2 out error by the center fielder but the mighty David Smith struck out to end the game.
Erik Kratz led New Hampshire's 11 hit attack with 3 hits on the night, including 2 doubles. Dustin Majewski, Rob Cosby and Ryan Patterson had 2 knocks each.
Ricky Romero had a mixed results type outing. He allowed 11 baserunners in 5 2/3 innings on 9 hits and 2 walks and threw one to the backstop. On the positive side, he struck out 4 and induced 7 groundball outs. Brandon League gave up 2 runs on 2 hits and a walk over 1 full inning to take the loss.
It's winner take all tomorrow as New Hampshire and Portland go at it tonight in a one game showdown to see who will play Trenton in the Eastern League playoffs. Details are provided at nhfishercats.com or you can check out this game story and this one from New Hampshire's Union Leader.
Dunedin - regular season over, did not make the playoffs.
Lansing, MI - This is a preview of what'll be in store for the Tigers affiliates when they meet in their best-of-three series starting tomorrow night at beautiful Oldsmobile Park. Lugnuts starter Reidier Gonzalez gave up a 2 out homer in the top of the 1st but the Lugnuts answered that and then some in the bottom half of the frame by scoring 5 runs. RBI singles by Jonathan Jaspe, Matt Liuzza and Sean Shoffit along with a 2 run triple by Chris Emanuele accounted for the Lansing scoring. A Sean Shoffit error helped lead to a pair of unearned runs off Reidier Gonzalez in the 3rd but the Lugnuts matched that with single runs in the 3rd and 4th on an RBI double by Scott Campbell and Travis Snider's 16th homer of the season. Jonathan Jaspe delivered another run scoring single in the 6th to make it 8-3 Lansing.
Reidier Gonzalez settled down by retiring 9 batters in a row and 11 of the last 12 to finish up with 6 solid innings. Adam Rogers gave up 2 singles but got two groundball double plays for 2 scoreless innings. The Lugnuts capped off the scoring with a 4 run 8th inning thanks to a bases loaded triple by Sean Shoffit and a sac fly by Raul Barron. Zachary Dials gave up a single and two stolen bases in a scoreless 9th.
Chris Emanuele had the line of the night with 3 hits, finishing a homer short of the cycle, and drove in a pair. Sean Shoffit also got aboard 3 times with 2 hits and a walk and drove in 4. Scott Campbell, Jonathan Jaspe and Matt Liuzza also had 2 hits each in Lansing's 13 hit attack.
Reidier Gonzalez picked up his 9th victory by allowing 3 runs (1 earned) on 3 hits and 3 walks over 6 innings and struck out 3. The Lugnuts host the Whitecaps tomorrow night in Game 1 of the best-of-three set. This game was a record setter for the Lugnuts franchise, you can find out more by clicking here to lansinglugnuts.com.
University Park, PA - The Doubledays won their 7th in a row, thanks in large part to a 6 run top of the 1st. Darin Mastroianni opened the scoring by belting his 3rd homer of the season for a 2 run shot. A sac fly by C.J. Ebarb, an RBI double by Victor Santana and a 2-run, 2 bagger by Luis Sanchez put Auburn ahead by a half-dozen. The Spikes scored once in what proved to be an eventful bottom of the 1st. Catcher J.P. Arencibia had to leave the game with an injured hand/wrist, after he was hit by a pitch in the top half of the inning. He was replaced by Christopher Haupt, who pinch ran and scored a run. Starter Brett Cecil gave up a double and single to the first two batters he faced and saw a runner reach 2nd after a throwing error by Darin Mastroianni at second base. However, Cecil rebounded by picking off the runner at 2nd enroute to getting out of the inning. After giving up 3 hits in the 1st, Cecil settled down for his final 3 innings by giving up just one single and a walk. Cecil had left with a 9-1 lead thanks to an RBI single by Darin Mastroianni and a 2 run knock by Manny Rodriguez.
Toronto native Drew Taylor entered the game in the 5th and he was given a rough reception from the Pirates affiliates. He got two outs but also gave up two doubles and two singles that resulted in 3 runs. Ryan Bird took over for Taylor and got a strikeout to end the frame. Bird worked a perfect 6th and picked off a runner after he made a throwing error to allow the runner to get on to start the frame. He found the going much tougher in the 8th as the Spikes scored 3 runs (all unearned) on 2 singles, a double and a Benjamin Zeskind error. Cody Crowell had to come out of the pen to get the final out. However, the D-Days would add two insurance runs thanks to Darin Mastroianni. He doubled home a run and created another by stealing 3rd and scoring on the catcher's throwing error. Cody Crowell would lock it down with a one-strikeout 9th to save the victory for Ryan Bird.
Darin Mastroianni had 4 of Auburn's 10 hits on the night, including a homer and two doubles. He knocked in 4, scored 3 and stole a base. Manny Rodriguez had 2 hits and drove home a pair. On the mound, Brett Cecil gave up a hit an inning over his 4 frames, surrendering a run while striking out 4 against 1 walk. His ERA is at 1.27.
The D-Days are still aiming for the best record in the NY-Penn League despite clinching their division title over the weekend. They are tied with Brooklyn for the most victories at 46 but the Cyclones are 2 games up in the loss column.
*** 3 Stars!!! ***
3. Chris Emanuele, Lansing - 3/4, 2B, 3B, 3R, 2RBI
2. Kevin Barker, Syracuse - 3/4, 2B, HR, 2RBI, 2B, BB, 2R
1. Darin Mastroianni, Auburn - 4/5, HR, 4RBI, 2 2B, SB, 3R
Honourable Mentions.......
Syracuse - Wayne Lydon, Hector Luna, Mike Vento, John Schneider, David Corrente, Al Quintana, Jeremy Cummings, Jamie Vermilyea.
New Hampshire - Dustin Majewski, Rob Cosby, Ryan Patterson, Erik Kratz, Sean Stidfole.
Lansing - Sean Shoffit, Scott Campbell, Travis Snider, Jonathan Jaspe, Matt Liuzza, Raul Barron, Matt Lane, Jonathan Diaz, Brian Pettway, Reidier Gonzalez, Adam Rogers, Zachary Dials.
Auburn - Benjamin Zeskind, Adam Calderone, Manny Rodriguez, Leance Soto, Victor Santana, Luis Sanchez, Brett Cecil, Ryan Bird, Cody Crowell.
Standings/Streaks...........
Syracuse 64-80, 20.5 GB - Scranton WB, W3
New Hampshire 70-72, 13.0 GB - Trenton, L3
Dunedin 41-29, 3.0 GB - Clearwater, L5
Lansing 43-27, 2.0 GB - West Michigan, W3
Auburn 46-26, 8.0 GA - Mahoning Valley, W7
GCL Blue Jays 36-24, 6.5 - GCL Yankees, W8
Today's Schedule...........
New Hampshire @ Portland, Eastern League Playoff Tie Breaker, 6:00 p.m.
Probable Starters - NH Kyle Yates, RHP (9-8, 4.33) vs. POR Tommy Hottovy, LHP (3-10, 5.77)
Auburn @ State College, 7:05 p.m.
Bonus Materials.......
A look back on the Syracuse Chiefs season from syracuse.com. By the way, the Chiefs will start 2008 at home April 3rd when they play Louisville sans astroturf (yay!).
Answer to Trivia Question - Who got the first hit in Ottawa Lynx history? Current Blue Jay Matt Stairs!! You can look it up right here.
