New Hampshire, Dunedin and Lansing combined to belt 10 homers yesterday, half of them by the Fisher Cats, to propel them to victory. As for Syracuse, they dropped their fifth in a row to fall to .500. At least the Argos are back to .500 thanks to a 109-yard drive for the winning touchdown. Way to go, K-Jo. That concludes my football commentary!
Syracuse, NY - Lefty Bill Murphy traded zeroes with Bulls starter Wade Davis in his first Triple A start for the first five innings. Murphy survived five baserunners in the first two frames, including a bases-loaded jam in the first, before retiring 11 of the next 12 hitters he faced. The Chiefs best chance to score came in the fifth when Pedro Lopez was thrown out at the plate, trying to score from second on a Buck Coats single.
The cheese slipped off the cracker for Murphy in the sixth when he issued a leadoff walk and that was immediately followed by a two-run home run by Chris Richard. Jonah Bayliss had to come in from the pen to get the final two outs of the inning. Bayliss had trouble in the seventh when a throwing error by Pedro Lopez allowed Fernando Perez to get aboard. He proceeded to steal second and third and southpaw Mike Gosling yielded a run-scoring groundout to give the Rays affiliate a 3-0 lead. Gosling and Rick Bauer kept the Bulls off the board in the eighth but Bauer was nicked for a run in the ninth when Justin Ruggiano walked, stole second and third before scoring on a sac fly.
Boxscore Notes - A mixed bag of a start for Bill Murphy. He gave up two runs on five hits and four walks in 5 1/3 innings but wound up striking out a whopping dozen. He falls to 5-7 on the season with a 5.34 ERA........The Chiefs only managed five singles and three bases on balls with Danny Sandoval collecting two knocks and a bruise as a hit batsman and Chip Cannon drawing two walks...Running of the Bulls wasn't limited to Spain as Durham went 7-for-7 in stolen bases, including four by Justin Ruggiano. A tough night for Curtis Thigpen behind and at the dish as his 1-for-4 day at the dish was offset by three strikeouts.
Manchester, NH - Fisher Cats starter Robert Ray quickly discovered that run support is a beautiful thing. Scott Campbell led off the home half of the first with a leadoff homer and J.P. Arencibia delivered a sacrifice fly to give New Hampshire a quick 2-0 lead. The F-Cats just kept adding to the lead as Ryan Klosterman's sac fly added one in the second, a J.P. Arencibia solo homer made it 4-0 in the third and another homer by Scott Campbell, a two-run bomb gave the F-Cats a 6-0 lead after four.
Ray, who had baserunners on every inning, finally gave up a run in the fifth when the leadoff man reached on an error and was sent home on a pair of singles. New Hampshire got that run back in their half of the fifth as J.P. Arencibia connected for his second homer of the game to restore the F-Cats six-run lead. Brian Jeroloman accounted for the final run of the game with, wait for it, another home run to make it five longballs against the Twins affiliate. Jean Machi took over for Ray with two outs in the sixth and he went the final 3 1/3 innings, scattering a hit and walk for the save.
Boxscore Notes - Robert Ray earned the victory by allowing one run (which was unearned) on seven hits and four walks in 5 2/3 innings while striking out five. He is 4-and-4 on the season with a 3.35 ERA.......Scott Campbell now has eight homers on the year and his batting average is at .333.....J.P. Arencibia also has eight jacks since joining the F-Cats and is hitting a half-dozen points over .300.......Brian Jeroloman was behind the plate in this one and did a fine job at the plate with a double, a homer and a walk which puts the "BJWM" at 45. He's now 45 up on Arencibia. Jeroloman is hitting .393 over his past 10 contests.
Dunedin, FL - Sometimes, it's not how you start but it's how you finish. Palm Beach took advantage of a shaky Kyle Ginley for a pair of runs in the first, caused by two singles, an errant pickoff throw by Ginley, a run-scoring groundout and an RBI single. A fielder's choice led to another Cardinals run in the third. The D-Jays didn't get their first hit until the fourth but it was a big one as Chris Emanuele led off the frame with a solo jack to cut Palm Beach's lead to 3-1. The Cards responded with a two-homer in the fifth after the leadoff man reached on a Luis Sanchez error.
Adrian Martin relieved Ginley in the sixth and he gave the D-Jays their first 1-2-3 inning of the game. After that, the D-Jays harnessed in the good energy and blocked out the bad. They put the quarter in the carousel, got on the horse and went with the flow to the tune of nine runs over the next two innings. Brian Dopirak jolted one out of the yard for a three-run shot in the sixth and Brad Emaus managed to plate three runs with a single and a throwing error by the Palm Beach catcher. An RBI double by Cory Patton and a two-run tater by Brian Dopirak capped off the six-run seventh. Martin gave up just a single over the next two innings before handing the ball to lefty Cody Crowell in the ninth. He gave up a two-out, two-run homer to make the score a little more respectable for the visitors.
Boxscore Notes - Adrian Martin earned the victory with three innings of one-hit relief while striking out three to improve to 5-2........Kyle Ginley allowed five runs (four earned) in five innings by allowing six hits and three walks while whiffing three. He did get 10 groundball outs.......Brian Dopirak is hitting .357 in his last 10 games as he closes on in a .300 average (now at .293). He has homered 21 times and is slugging .536.....Toronto native Chris Emanuele was 1-for-2 with a homer, a walk and three runs scored. His .289 mark over the past 10 games has pushed his overall average to .255.
Geneva, IL - Again, it's now how you start but it's how you finish. The Cougars scratched out the first run off Trystan Magnuson in the first when Jemile Weeks, brother of Ricky and the A's first round pick in this year's draft, led off with a double and he came home on another two-bagger to make it 1-0 Kane County. Justin Jackson would give the Lugnuts the lead when he belted a three-run homer in the third. Kane County matched that three spot in the fourth with two singles and two walks with a Magnuson wild pitch thrown into the mix. Magnuson's best inning was the fourth when he set down the side in order and lefty Edgar Estanga did the same in the fifth. However, the Cougars pounced on Estanga for three runs on three singles, a double, two walks and a Manny Rodriguez error. Michael Barbara bailed out Estanga by inducing a double play grounder to stop the bleeding.
The Lugnuts would take a page from the Dunedin playbook and score six runs in lucky inning number seven. Kevin Ahrens started the fun with a leadoff homer. A balk would score the second run of the inning, Justin Jackson delivered with a two-run knock and first round pick David Cooper doubled home another two runs to erase a 7-3 Kane County lead. Michael Barbara surrendered a run in the seventh on a double and two grounders but the Lugnuts got that run back in the ninth thanks to a wild pitch. Tim Collins finished up with two nerve-racking but scoreless innings. He loaded up the bases with two walks and a single in the ninth but struck out the final hitter to get the save.
Boxscore Notes - Trystan Magnuson gave up a run an inning over four frames in which he gave up six hits, two walks and hit a batter while striking out three. He did get seven groundball outs but also uncorked a wild pitch..........Michael Barbara earned his first win of the year to go 1-and-2 with 1 2/3 innings of one-run, two hit ball.....Tim Collins earned his eighth save and kept his ERA below 1 at 0.91 with two frames of one-hit, three walk ball. He has struck out 71 hitters over 49.1 IP......Justin Jackson is tearing it up lately, hitting .465 over his last 10 games to push his average to .253 and his OBP to .358....If you said David Cooper's doing alright in the Midwest League, you wouldn't be off the mark. He's hitting .386 with a 1.051 OPS.
Auburn 1 Batavia 0 (Bottom 1st - Suspended Due To Rain, Make-Up Date TBA)
Batavia, NY - The Doubledays scored first when Chris Demons drew a leadoff walk and he was promptly doubled home by Bartolo Nicolas. Joshua Charles-Hanford Wells got the start for the D-Days. He issued a leadoff walk before getting the next two hitters but he gave up a single before the rains came so this game will be pick up with two on and two out in the bottom of the first.
Gulf Coast League Blue Jays - Scheduled Day Off.
*** 3 Stars!!! ***
3. Justin Jackson, Lansing - 3/5, HR, 5RBI, 2R.
2. J.P. Arencibia, New Hampshire - 2/3, 2HR, 3RBI, SF.
1. Brian Dopirak, Dunedin - 2/3, 2HR, 5 RBI, BB.
Honourable Mentions.........
Syracuse - Bill Murphy, Mike Gosling, Danny Sandoval, Chip Cannon.
New Hampshire - Brian Jeroloman, David Smith, Andrew Pickney, Robert Ray, Jean Machi.
Dunedin - Chris Emanuele, Brad Emaus, Cory Patton, Al Quintana, Adrian Martin.
Lansing - Kevin Ahrens, Matt Liuzza, David Cooper, Darin Mastroianni, Eric Eiland, Michael Barbara, Tim Collins.
Standings/Streaks...........
Syracuse - 50-50, 3rd place - IL North (12.0 GB of Pawtucket), 2-8 Last 10, L5.
New Hampshire - 40-60, 6th place - EL North (22.5 GB of Trenton), 6-4 Last 10, W3.
Dunedin - 20-6, 1st place - FSL West (6.0 GA of Fort Myers), 8-2 Last 10, W8.
Lansing - 19-11, Tied for 1st place w/ South Bend (2.0 GA of Dayton), 6-4 Last 10, W2.
Auburn - 17-14, Tied for 2nd place w/ Batavia (4.5 GB of Jamestown), 5-5 Last 10, L1.
GCL Blue Jays - 13-13, 3rd place (3.0 GB of GCL Phillies), 6-4 Last 10, L1.
Today's Schedule/Probable Starters......
GCL Yankees @ GCL Blue Jays, 12:00 p.m. EDT - TBA vs. TBA.
Lansing @ Kane County, 1:00 p.m. EDT - TBA vs. TBA.
Palm Beach @ Dunedin, 7:00 p.m. EDT - TBA vs. TBA
Syracuse @ Louisville, 7:05 p.m. EDT - LHP David Purcey, SYR (7-6, 2.76) vs. LHP Bobby Livingston, LOU (0-0. 0.00).
Batavia @ Auburn, 7:05 p.m. EDT - TBA vs. TBA.
Trenton @ New Hampshire, 7:05 p.m. EDT - RHP Jason Jones, TRE (10-3, 2.28) vs RHP Kenny Rodriguez, NH (1-2, 6.43).
Bonus Material......
Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi has a chat with the New Hampshire Union Leader about the state of the Jays and Fisher Cats.
The Union Leader has the game story and game notes on yesterday's rout by the Fisher Cats.
Another article by the Union Leader about the Blue Jays-Fisher Cats affiliation.
Syracuse.com has the game story on the Chiefs loss to Durham.
Lansinglugnuts.com has the game story and audio highlights of the 'Nuts victory over Kane County.
Baseball America gives Justin Jackson an honourable mention in its Prospect Hot Sheet.
