A farily nondescript day on the farm. Six close games, three wins, and no real standout performances. I don't really blame you if you don't click on 'More'.
The Chiefs knocked the rehabbing Mr. Anna Benson around for four runs in four innings. Kevin Melillo homered while Russ Adams and Kevin Mench both doubled. And that was it, really. Nine Chiefs had one hit apiece, yet they still managed to score six times, thanks in part to three stolen bases.
On the mound, Michael MacDonald went four, giving up two runs on eight hits. He walked two and struck out four. New Chief Jonah Bayliss picked up the victory while Brian Wolfe worked the ninth for the save. When Wolfe was demoted, Cito Gaston mentioned he would be starting. Instead, he has pitched an inning on back-to-back days. Clearly somebody forgot to tell somebody something.
New Britain 1 New Hampshire 0- Game 1
The Fisher Cats banged out seven hits in seven frames and have nothing to show for it. Ryans Patterson and Klosterman each had two hits, while Travis Snider took an 0-for-3 with a K. J.P. Arencibia didn't play in either game of the double-header.
Robert Ray deserved better. In picking up his first AA loss, Ray went 6.1 innings, and allowed one run on 8 hits. He struck out six and walked just two. Unfortunately for him, one run was one too many.
New Britain 3 New Hampshire 2- Game 2
Giving up four runs in two games is pretty good, no? Of course, this is a Jays affiliate we're talking about so the Fisher Cats squandered some good pitching again on their way to being swept in the double-header.
Game two saw Julio Pinto allow one run on three hits in his five innings of work, to go along with three strikeouts. Daryl Harang, pitching for the second time that day, promptly allowed two runs in the top of the sixth to take the double-whammy Blown Save and Loss combination. Harang fantasy owners can't be happy today.
The Cats scored both of their runs in the second on RBI singles by Ryan Klosterman and Scott Campbell. Campbell had two hits in the afternoon-cap and is now hitting .348. Everyone else was fairly useless with the bat.
The D-Jays jumped out to a 4-0 lead in this one and held on for the victory. Brian Dopirak and Jesus Gonzalez each hit solo homers. Chris Emanuele had an RBI single as part of the ten hit attack.
Fundamentals weren't a strong suit for the Jays on Sunday, though. They were caught stealing twice, picked off once, made an error, and allowed a passed ball. Good thing this wasn't the ESPN Sunday Night Baseball broadcast. Joe Morgan's head would've exploded.
Randy Boone went six strong, striking out four while allowing seven hits. Nathan Starner was hit hard giving up all three runs in just a third of an inning. Connor Falkenbach picked up his 11th save with a perfect ninth.
Lansing 5 West Michigan 6- 13 innings
The Lugnuts blew a 5-2 lead as West Michigan scored twice in the sixth, once in the ninth and then put it away in the 13th. Five Lugnuts had two-hit games including Johermyn Chavez who moved above the Mendoza Line with his efforts. It was a balanced attack as nobody drove in more than one run. Jonathan Jaspe continued his hot play with two hits and an RBI. He's now hitting .364 in his 19 games.
The Lugnuts were pretty ugly in the field as four errors led to three unearned runs. Joe Wice gets saddled with the Blown Save but it's not indicative of how well he pitched. Coming into the game with a 5-4 lead and a runner on second with nobody out in the ninth, Wice induced a groundout, struck out the next batter and probably thought he had the final out until Jaspe booted a grounder to score the tying run. Wice struck the next batter out as well. He then went on to strike out six more over the next three frames. He finished with 8 K's in four hitless, walkless innings. Yet he's the boxscore goat.
Luis Perez started and was alright, going six innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on four hits and a walk. He struck out five. Michael Barbara picked up the loss giving up four hits in the 13th.
As a side note, West Michigan SS Audy Ciriaco reached a milestone with his 30th error in just 67 games. Congrats, Audy!
Just so you know, the Mahoning Valley Scrappers play in Niles, Ohio. It's a town of approximately 20,000 people. Major attractions are the Scrappers, and, well, the Eastwood Mall. The Scrappers play on Eastwood Mall Blvd, so I imagine you could kill two birds with one stone on a visit.
The Doubledays only managed six hits, but for the most part they were effective ones. David Cooper continued his RBI-A-game average with his 13th. He's hitting 333/424/588. Not to get ahead of myself, but he might see some time in Lansing soon enough.
Adam Amar had the only extra-base hit for Auburn, an RBI double in the first. Other than that, things were quiet.
Evan Crawford started and went four innings giving up a run on three hits. Jason Monti won in relief with three hitless innings and Robert Bell picked up his first save.
GCL Blue Jays- Well earned day off after picking up their first win in nine tries.
Three Stars:
3rd Star: Scott Campbell- 2-for-4, RBI
2nd Star: Brian Dopirak- 2-for-3, HR, 2 RBI
1st Star: Joe Wice- 4 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K,
