It hasn't been a great start to the season for the minor league affiliates but Saturday was a day to take some comfort and hope. The lower three affiliates each scored in the double figures and there were some good pitching performances. Hopefully the bats will wake up and get the pitching to support them.
The Dunedin pitching staff threw a one-hitter but the one hit was a home run.
This game featured Brad Mills facing ex-Jay Mike MacDonald. Mills was not at his sharpest but dodged trouble early. Mills walked three of the first four hitters in the game but a double play got him out of it. In the third another walk and a single put two on with one out but Mills escaped. In the third a single and a double put runners on second and third with no-one out but Mills came back to strike out the side. Mills walked another in the fifth but a double play ball let him dodge trouble again. But Mill's luck ran out in the sixth, the first two hitters singled and with one out a double scored both runs. Mills departed having pitched 5.1 innings and allowing eleven base runners, six hits and five walks. But Mills other problem was that he threw 96 pitches, just 51 for strikes, and it wasn't until the fifth that his strike count exceeded the numbers of balls.
MacDonald meanwhile limited the 51's to four hits over seven innings and Las Vegas ended with six hits.
New Hampshire jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning. The first five hitters all reached with a Brian Dopirak double, a David Cooper single and a Nick Gorneault double being the big hits. Brandon Magee made his first AA start of the season and he started this year in AA like he did last year. He walked a couple in the first but a double play got him out of trouble, He walked a couple more in the second which along with a single loaded the bases with one out. A single scored two runs and now it was a 5-2 game. Magee gave up another run in the third and when he put two runners on in the fourth the hook came out and Edgar Estanga came on to get Magee out of trouble, Magee gave up three runs in 3.2 innings.
The Fisher Cats started adding on in the fourth, Adam Calderone tripled and scored on a Luis Sanchez single. New Hampshire added four more in the fifth thanks to five walks and a two run single by Adam Calderone. New Hampshire added two more in each of the seventh and eighth. Edgar Estanga got the win with 3.1 innings of one hit relief.
Calderone was 3-5 with three rbi's. Gorneault, Emaus, Dopirak and Sanchez each had 2 hits.
Despite the score this was a close game for a long time, the game had no baserunner until the third inning. Raul Barron doubled in the third and scored on a Darin Mastroianni single. Jesus Gonzalez homered in the fourth to make it 2-0. Casey Janssen was on the mound for Dunedin and only allowed a walk through four innings. He was replaced by Trystan Magnuson who has been pitching better recently, he pitched two shutout innings. Dunedin made it 3-0 in the sixth, Moises Sierra worked a lead-off walk and scored on a Jesus Gonzalez single. A Tampa home run made it 3-1 in the seventh but Chris Emanuele answered with a homer of his own to make it 4-1.
Dunedin scored seven runs in the ninth to make it a 11-1 stroll. Tim Collins pitched a shutout ninth. Tampa had only one hit in the game, a solo home run off new Jay Vincent Bongiovanni in the seventh.
Jon Jaspe was 4-5, Mastroianni, Thames, Gonzalez, Emanuele and Barron had two hits each.
Henderson Alvarez cruised through the first three innings and Lansing went ahead in the fourth, Tyler Pastornicky singled and Johermyn Chavez doubled him home. But in the bottom of the fourth Wisconsin scored three. After a lead-off single, Alvarez hit Canadian prospect Brett Lawrie. That was followed by a double and a sac fly and Lansing were down 3-1. But in the sixth Lansing scored five runs, Kenny Wilson singled, stole second, and scored on a Pastornicky double. A couple of walks loaded the bases and Jon Del Campo drove two in with a single. Jon Talley doubled in two more and Lansing were ahead 6-3. The Lugnuts added three in the seventh, Pastornicky walked, stole second and scored on a Robert Sobolewski single. Chavez tripled him home and Del Campo drove in Chavez. Del Campo drove in two more in the ninth to give him four rbi's.
Alvarez pitched seven strong innings, three runs allowed on four hits and two walks. The best start of the season for Alvarez who turned nineteen two weeks ago. Chavez and Del Campo had three hits each, Pastornicky was 2-4 with a walk and three runs scored.
3 star selection
3rd star - Henderson Alvarez
2nd star - Tyler Pastornicky
1st star - Adam Calderone
Records
Las Vegas 6-16
New Hampshire 13-9, first place
Dunedin 10-12
Lansing 6-15
