Three wins up top and two losses in the low levels made for a fairly decent day overall for the affiliates.
The 51s scored four times in the first but had blown the lead by the top of the fourth. But a run in the bottom of the fifth held up and made a winner out of a mediocre David Purcey.
Purcey went six in this one and allowed four runs on eight hits and three walks while striking out four. He threw 69 of 108 pitches for strikes which is pretty decent so it appears he just wasn't overpowering the Tacoma hitters. Bubbie Buzachero picked up his fourth AAA save with a perfect ninth in which he struck out two.
It was a team effort at the plate as no 51 really stood out. Brian Dopirak was 2-for-5 with his third double in four AAA games. He's now hitting 353/333/529 in Las Vegas. Travis Snider was 0-for-3 but walked and scored twice.
Randy Boone pitched into the seventh in this one allowing just one run on five hits and two walks over 6.2 frames. Unfortunately for him, he left trailing 1-0. Casey Janssen entered and picked up the win as the Fisher Cats scored twice in the bottom half of the seventh and added two more in the eighth. Janssen went 1.1 hitless frames while walking one and striking out another. Danny Farquhar then pitched a scoreless ninth for his seventh save.
At the plate, Brad Emaus continued his hot hitting of late by going 3-for-4 with a double. In his past ten games, Emaus is hitting .382 with nine walks against just six strikeouts to boost his OPS back over .700.
Adam Calderone stroked his 10th homer of the year while David Cooper and Scott Campbell each added a hit.
A five-spot in the top of the 6th propelled Dunedin to a relatively easy victory in Fort Myers. Adam Loewen and Brad McElroy each had three hits on the afternoon. For Loewen, it bumped his second half line to 325/427/475 and his season OPS to .698. Perhaps he's starting to figure out this hitting thing after all.
Manny Rodriguez swung the big bat on Sunday, though smacking a two out Grand Slam in the sixth. For Man-Rod (nope, let's think of another one, shall we?) it was his fifth big fly of the year. John Tolisano contributed with a hit, two walks, two RBI and his 18th error while Kevin Ahrens took an 0-for-5 to drop his average to .211
Robert Bell started for Dunedin and lasted four innings while allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits and three walks. Tryston Magnuson picked up the win by chucking four scoreless innings in which he struck out four and allowed four hits.
Not a bad day when you have to go all the way down to Lo-A ball to find the first organizational loss. Lansing actually led this one 7-5 heading into the 8th but a four-spot from the Rattlers ruined the afternoon.
Five pitchers combined to blow things for Lansing with none of them throwing all that well save for Chase Lirette's scoreless ninth. Chris Holguin started and got knocked around. Ryan Koch relieved him and got knocked around. Hunter Moody then relieved Koch and, you're not going to believe this, got knocked around.
At the plate, Balbino Fuenmayor was swinging a hot bat on Sunday with two hits and three RBI while Chris Emanuele and A.J. Jimenez each had three hits. Oh, and Luis Fernandez hit his second homer of the year.
I dread writing about the Doubledays. I don't believe they've scored more than one run during any of my recaps. Well, today's no different. The Doubledays sucked again. Sean Ochinko was 3-for-4 with a double. Everyone else should've stayed home.
Dave Sever started and went six innings allowing two runs on four hits. Since he pitches for the Doubledays, that was just enough to lose.
Three Stars:
3rd Star: Randy Boone; 6.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
2nd Star: Adam Loewen; 3-for-5, 2B, SB
1st Star: Tryston Magnuson; 4 IP, 4 H, 4 K- Win
