A come-from-behind victory for New Hampshire and a fifth consecutive win for your first place Lansing Lugnuts highlight a .500 night on the farm.
Syracuse, NY - The Washington affiliate got to Chiefs lefty Davis Romero with a run in the first as Richmond Hill's Pete Orr led with a double and eventually scored on Alex Escobar's single. Romero scattered three more hits over the next four innings and got a measure of revenge against Orr by picking him off at first after a single in the third. Orr singled off Romero again in the sixth but he was forced out at second after a botched sac bunt attempt. Mike MacDonald came in for Romero at that point and wound up allowing the inherited runner to score by yielding a Larry Broadway RBI single to make it 2-0 Clippers.
The Chiefs only had one hit to this point as Collin Balester allowed just a Danny Sandoval single but still faced the minimum through five. However, that changed in the sixth when David Smith launched one over the fence in left to cut the Clippers lead to 2-1. Mike MacDonald pitched a 1-2-3 seventh but loaded up the bases with a walk, a hit batter and an infield single. Lefty Mike Gallo took over for MacDonald to face one batter, Larry Broadway, but he failed to win the lefty-lefty matchup as Broadway singled in a run to restore the Clippers two run lead at 3-1. Jordan De Jong was the third Chiefs reliever of the inning and did not fare any better as he gave up a run scoring single and a sac fly to former Jay Ray Olmedo as Columbus' lead increased to 5-1. Jo Matumoto loaded up the bases in the ninth with two walks and a single but got a double play ball to get out of the jam.
The Chiefs had only five hits in this one. Danny Sandoval had two singles, Adam Lind and Wayne Lydon had one each. David Smith's homer was the only extra-base knock.
Manchester, NH - Lefty Brett Cecil took to the mound at Merchantsauto.com Stadium with a 2-0 lead when Jacob Butler came up with a two-run single. The Maryland alumnus began the game with a punchout but before he knew it, he had a runner at third as he surrendered a single and advanced the runner an additional 180 feet with an errant pickoff throw. However, Cecil retired the next two hitters to strand the runner. In the second, Cecil started the frame with his third K of the night but two singles, an error by shortstop Ryan Klosterman and a fielder's choice allowed the Indians affilate to plate their first run. After that, Cecil was pretty close to frickin' flawless as he mowed down the next 10 Aeros in a row. He allowed Trevor Crowe to reach on a two-out walk but ended his five-inning outing with another punchout, his seventh of the night. If he can do that at the Rogers Centre every Friday, Sunday and holiday Monday - he'll make a lot of people happy and a lot of pizza workers upset.
When Cecil left, he had a 4-1 lead after Aaron Matthews doubled home a pair of runs. Cecil turned the ball over to Jamie Vermilyea and his "W" looked to be in good hands after the former Jay set down the first six hitters he faced, five of them on the ground. He started off the eighth well by striking out the leadoff hitter. After that, I guess his sinker stopped sinking and his slider stopped sliding. Three singles, a walk, a hit batter and a Bronson Sardinha three-run bomb catapulted the Aeros to a 5-4 lead. Seth Overbey got the final out of the inning. Goodbye to your first dubya of the season, Mr. Cecil!
However, the Fishers rallied in their half of the eighth as a Ryan Klosterman groundout scored a run to tie the game before Aaron Matthews came through again with another two-run double to put New Hampshire ahead. Zachary Dials gave up a pair of two-out singles in the ninth but he got the job done to get his seventh save and preserve the win for the 2-0 Overbey. Anthony Hatch led the hit parade with three hits while Scott Campbell, Aaron Matthews and Eric Nielsen had two apiece. Travis Snider was 0-for-4 with the hat trick but did draw a walk.
Fort Myers, FL - There would be no miracle in this one for the D-Jays as the Twins affiliate scored twice on Kenny Rodriguez with a walk and three singles in the first to go up 2-0. Cory Patton prevented a third run from scoring by throwing out a runner at the plate from left field. A two-run homer by Juan Portes off K-Rod in the third doubled the Fort Myers advantage to 4-0. Southpaw Nate Starner went the next three innings and allowed a run in the fifth on a double and single but did strike out four. Paul Phillips worked a one-hit seventh inning while Connor Falkenbach pitched a clean eighth. Dunedin had just four hits on the night. Luis Sanchez had half of Dunedin's hits with a single and double but did commit an error. J.P. Arencibia and Jonathan Diaz also had base knocks while Brian Dopirak had a walk. Those were the only baserunners allowed by Miracle worker, er, starter Jeff Manship as he went the distance, retiring the final 13 Dunedin hitters in a row. That streak came after Dunedin's only scoring threat when they had runners at second and third in the fifth inning.
South Bend, IN - Let's begin with some alliteration. Lansing Lugnut Lefty Luis "Lyle Lovett" Perez (alright, I made up the last part but I was on a roll!) got the call in this one and after working a one-hit first and a one-walk second, he yielded a pair of runs in the third to the Diamondbacks affiliate with a walk and two singles causing the damage. After that, Perez worked three scoreless frames - giving up two singles in the fourth and a walk in the sixth. He also picked off a runner in the fourth.
Perez would be rewarded for his efforts when an Eric Eiland sac fly in the fifth cut the Silver Hawks lead to 2-1. In the sixth, the Lugnuts loaded up the bases with three singles to start a four-run rally. A Moises Sierra fielder's choice brought in the tying run while a Manny Rodriguez double gave Lansing a 3-2 lead. A Michael McDade fielder's choice and a wild pitch led to two more Lugnut runs. Michael Barbara, making his Lugnut debut, and lefties Joe Wice and Cody Crowell held down the fort with a scoreless inning each. Barbara gave up a walk, Wice survived a single and hit batter and Crowell overcame a wild pitch strikeout to notch his eighth save for the 2-5 Luis Perez.
Kevin Ahrens and Manny Rodriguez had two hits each with M-Rod getting two doubles while Ahrens had one. John Tolisano, Matt Liuzza and Moises Sierra all picked up singles while Michael McDade chipped in with a double. The Lugnuts did draw five walks but also struck out 10 times, led by Justin Jackson's hat trick as he went 0-for-5.
*** 3 Stars!!! ***
3. Luis Perez, Lansing - 6IP, 5H, 2R, 2ER, 3BB, 5K, 7GO = W
2. Aaron Matthews, New Hampshire - 2/5, R, 2 2B, 4 RBI
1. Brett Cecil, New Hampshire - 5IP, 3H, 1R, 0ER, 1BB, 7K, 6GO (robbed of a W!)
Honourable Mentions.......
Syracuse - Davis Romero, David Smith, Danny Sandoval, Jo Matumoto.
New Hampshire - Anthony Hatch, Scott Campbell, Eric Nielsen, Seth Overbey, Zachary Dials.
Dunedin - Luis Sanchez, Nate Starner, Paul Phillips, Connor Falkenbach.
Lansing - Manny Rodriguez, Kevin Ahrens, Michael McDade, Eric Eiland, Moises Sierra, John Tolisano, Matt Liuzza, Michael Barbara, Joe Wice, Cody Crowell.
Standings......
Syracuse - 35-24 - 2nd place, IL North - 1.5 GB of Scranton/WB, 1L, 6-4 Last 10.
New Hampshire - 22-35 - 6th Place, EL North - 14.0 GB of Trenton, 2W, 6-3 Last 10.
Dunedin - 32-26, 2nd place, FSL West - 7.0 GB of Fort Myers, 1L, 5-5 Last 10.
Lansing - 33-25, 1st place, MWL East, 2.0 GA of West Michigan, 5W, 7-3 Last 10.
Today's Schedule/Probable Starters..........
Columbus @ Syracuse, 7:00 p.m. EDT - RHP Tyler Clippard, COL (4-4, 3.53) vs LHP John Parrish, SYR (7-0, 3.18).
Lansing @ South Bend, 7:00 p.m. EDT - LHP Marc Rzepczynski, LAN (1-1, 2.38) vs. RHP Jarrod Parker, SB (4-2, 2.45).
Akron @ New Hampshire, 7:05 p.m. EDT - LHP Ryan Edell, AKR (2-4, 4.72) vs. RHP Brandon Magee, NH (0-7, 5.90).
Dunedin @ Fort Myers, 7:05 p.m. EDT - LHP Gustavo Chacin, DUN (0-6, 8.59) vs RHP Deolis Guerra, FTM (6-1, 4.23).
Bonus Material........
The New Hampshire Union Leader recaps last night's game.
Lansinglugnuts.com has a recap and audio highlights as well.
