The affiliates went 2-2 on Sunday but Catcher J.P. Arencibia was again the story.
The Chiefs trailed this one 3-1 until the 8th when Russ Adams led off the inning with a homer. Buck Coats followed up with a single and Erik Kratz drove him home with his first longball of the year. Just like that, the Chiefs were up 4-3 and Mike Gosling and Brandon League combined to shut down the Tides the rest of the way.
John Parrish started for Syracuse and went six innings, striking out eleven (!), while allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits and three walks. League's save was his second, while Jordan de Jong raised his record to 4-2 with one inning of relief. The bullpen actually combined for three innings of four-hit, five strikout shutout relief.
Strikeouts were certainly the order of the day in Norfolk. Tides pitchers whiffed twelve Chiefs to go along with the 16 punchouts served up by Syracuse pitchers.
Adams was 2-for-3 for Syracuse raising his season line to 248/345/421. Adam Lind contributed a double while Wayne Lydon also joined the homer parade with his first of the year.
Ricky Romero took the hill for the Fisher Cats today and he was, well, Ricky Romero. In the first, with two out, he issued a walk, followed by a wild pitch and a run-scoring single to give Bowie the early lead. The second inning saw him serve up a solo homer to put the BaySox up by two. Romero then retired the side in order in the third before losing his command in the fourth. The inning started with a groundout, but was followed by two walks, a double and another free pass. A double-play limited the damage. When all was said and done, Romero finished with 5.1 innings, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits and 5 walks. He only struck out two. Seth Overbey pitched the final 2.2 innings in shutout fashion.
Not much to say about the Fisher Cat offense as they managed just one run on five hits. Ryan Patterson's seventh inning double was cashed in by Brian Jeroloman's two-bagger. And, well, that was pretty much that. Scott Campbell stayed hot with a 2-for-4 effort, including a double. Travis Snider, on the other hand, was 0-for-4 with 3 K's.
The D-Jays let one slip away on Sunday as a 4-3 ninth-inning lead quickly turned into a 7-4 defeat. Brevard County started out with a bang as Gustavo Chacin walked the first two batters he faced before Taylor Green drove them both home with his fourth homer on the year. Just like that, 3-0.
Dunedin quickly grabbed two of those runs back in the bottom half of the inning as J.P. Arencibia cranked his eighth homer of the year. Brad Emaus then drove home a Brian Dopirak single to trim the Manatees's lead to one. In the fifth, Arencibia was at it again as his double drove home both Chris Emanuele and David Eckstein to put Dunedin up by one. Arencibia has been ridiculously hot of late. Over his past eight games, he is 18-for-36 with four doubles, three homeruns and 16 RBI. He's also walked twice and struck out only twice. For the season, he's now sitting at 315/342/530. Some better plate discipline is still needed but lots and lots of hits are always nice to have.
In any event, Connor Falkenbach was brought in for the ninth to protect the 4-3 advantage and man alive, did the wheels ever come off. A leadoff single was quickly sacrificed to second and driven home by another single to tie things up. Falkenbach then allowed back-to-back-to-back doubles before being relieved by Nate Starner. The D-Jays threatened in the bottom of the ninth as Luis Sanchez and Arencibia had one out singles but Dopirak grounded into a double-play to end the game.
Many rehabbing Jays on hand for this one as Chacin lasted three innings allowing three runs on three hits while walking and striking out a pair. Brian Wolfe relieved him and pitched a scoreless inning where he walked one and struck out another. Eckstein was 0-for-3 at the plate and is now just 2-for-14 in his five games with Dunedin.
Seventeen hits for the Lugnuts today as they got to South Bend early and often by scoring three in the third, two in the fourth, and another three in the fifth. Darin Mastroianni, Justin Jackson, and Mike McDade all homered for Lansing who had five different starters put up multi-hit games. Jackson, who has been struggling mightily of late, was 2-for-4 with three runs scored. John Tolisano had a 3-for-5 day that included a double and an RBI. Eric Eiland took the only 0-fer and saw his average dip to .293. I guess that .750 clip wasn't sustainable after all.
Brad Mills started and lasted just four innings. He wasn't bad though as he allowed one run on three hits and three walks while striking out five. Ross Buckwalter followed in relief and went four scoreless allowing but just one walk. South Bend then put up a four spot in the ninth to at least make the final score appear somewhat respectable as Brad Cuthbertson surrendered all four on four hits and two walks. Tim Collins came in with two out and the bases loaded and actually picked up a save by retiring his only batter.
Three Stars:
3rd Star: Justin Jackson- 2-for-4, HR, 3 R
2nd Star: John Parrish- 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 11 K
1st Star: J.P. Arencibia- 3-for-5, 2B, HR, 3 RBI
