As a Batter's Box Official Minor League Guy or something, that is an extremely un-PC thing to say. But Vegas, New Hampshire and Dunedin all won, while the rest of the affiliates lost. I'm allowed to be a fair-weather minor league updater, right? No? Okay, fine, here are all 6 recaps.
Las Vegas 8 at Portland 4
Holy RBI, Batman! Brian Dopirak had a huge game, going 2-4 with 2 HRs and seven (7!) RBIs. Yes, that means he hit both a grand slam and a three run jack. The game raised his post-promotion OPS from 734 to 866. Maybe there's something to this kid! (and it should be noted this game was not played in Vegas) So, um, that accounted for most of the runs. Howie Clark got the other RBI, Travis Snider walked twice in 5 trips (and stole a base!), and J.P. Arencibia took an 0-fer.
On the mound, T.J. Beam was solid, allowing 4 runs on 7 hits and no walks in 6 innings, and Dirk Hayhurst responded to his demotion by striking out 5 of the 7 batters he faced (including one hit).
New Britain 4 at New Hampshire 5
The Fisher Cats got off to a fast start in this one, scoring twice in the second and then thrice more in the third. They would get shut down the rest of the way, but it was enough, as the pitching staff was able to hold on, despite New Britain scoring a run off closer Dan Farquhar in the ninth. Randy Boone allowed 3 runs (1 earned) in 6 innings to get the win, and most of the offense was provided by a 3 run blast courtesy of David Cooper. Brian Jeroloman went 2-3 with a triple.
Dunedin 4 at Jupiter 2
After 8 innings, the score stood at 1-0 Jupiter. The D-Jays' offense woke up just in time, scoring 4 in the 9th to make it a clean sweep in the upper half of the minors. The scoring went like this: Man-Rod walked, fly-out, Jaspe singled, Jesus Gonzalez double, Loewen 2-run single, Luis Sanchez HBP, double steal (with pinch-runner Raul Barron in for Sanchez), Brad McElroy RBI single. Man, it feels good to type it out.
Anyway, the Bobby Bell-as-starter experiment continued to yield positive results, as Bell allowed a run on 4 hits and a walk in 6 innings, striking out 7. In 4 starts, Bell has pitched 19 innings, allowed 14 hits and 5 walks, and struck out 23. This was his longest outing of the year. Tim Collins pitched 2 scoreless innings and struck out 3, getting the win and simultaneously his amazing 11th decision on the year (he's 7-4).
None of the hitters really had great games - Man-Rod, Jaspe and Sanchez reached base twice.
Clinton 7 at Lansing 5
Chase Lirette started for Lansing and only allowed 1s, 4s and 7s. He pitched 4.1 innings, allowed 4 runs on 7 hits and 1 walk, and struck out 7. Boy, I must be tired. Anyway, that obviously wasn't a great performance, and try as they might, you can't really expect the bullpen to pitch 4 2/3 scoreless innings, as they would have needed to to win this game.
A bunch of Nuts had good games at the plate: Chris Emanuele walked twice, Tyler Pastornicky singled twice and stole his 48th base, Brian Van Kirk singled, doubled, walked and drove in 3, Johermyn Chavez had 2 singles and 2 RBIs and the Great Balbino doubled twice and singled. Unfortunately, Lansing could only get 5 runs out of their 11 hits and 4 walks.
Mahoning Valley 2 at Auburn 0
The bullpen was the highlight in this one - Matthew Morgal and Casey Beck combined for 4 scoreless innings. Other than that.... well, Dave Sever was okay in 5 innings, and Ryan Goins singled and doubled in 4 trips. That's about all I want to say here.
GCL Blue Jays 4 at GCL Phillies 5
The G-Jays actually out-hit their Philly counterparts 11-7, but the G-Phils were able to convert their runners into runs a bit better. Interesting prospects: Gustavo Pierre went 2-5 with a steal, Ryan Schimpf tripled, walked and stole a base, and Carlos Perez pinch-hit and went 1-2.
Three Stars!
3. Dirk Hayhurst - 2 IP, 1 H, 5 K
2. Bobby Bell - 6 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 7 K
1. Brian Dopirak - 2 HRs, 7 RBIs
Las Vegas 8 at Portland 4
Holy RBI, Batman! Brian Dopirak had a huge game, going 2-4 with 2 HRs and seven (7!) RBIs. Yes, that means he hit both a grand slam and a three run jack. The game raised his post-promotion OPS from 734 to 866. Maybe there's something to this kid! (and it should be noted this game was not played in Vegas) So, um, that accounted for most of the runs. Howie Clark got the other RBI, Travis Snider walked twice in 5 trips (and stole a base!), and J.P. Arencibia took an 0-fer.
On the mound, T.J. Beam was solid, allowing 4 runs on 7 hits and no walks in 6 innings, and Dirk Hayhurst responded to his demotion by striking out 5 of the 7 batters he faced (including one hit).
New Britain 4 at New Hampshire 5
The Fisher Cats got off to a fast start in this one, scoring twice in the second and then thrice more in the third. They would get shut down the rest of the way, but it was enough, as the pitching staff was able to hold on, despite New Britain scoring a run off closer Dan Farquhar in the ninth. Randy Boone allowed 3 runs (1 earned) in 6 innings to get the win, and most of the offense was provided by a 3 run blast courtesy of David Cooper. Brian Jeroloman went 2-3 with a triple.
Dunedin 4 at Jupiter 2
After 8 innings, the score stood at 1-0 Jupiter. The D-Jays' offense woke up just in time, scoring 4 in the 9th to make it a clean sweep in the upper half of the minors. The scoring went like this: Man-Rod walked, fly-out, Jaspe singled, Jesus Gonzalez double, Loewen 2-run single, Luis Sanchez HBP, double steal (with pinch-runner Raul Barron in for Sanchez), Brad McElroy RBI single. Man, it feels good to type it out.
Anyway, the Bobby Bell-as-starter experiment continued to yield positive results, as Bell allowed a run on 4 hits and a walk in 6 innings, striking out 7. In 4 starts, Bell has pitched 19 innings, allowed 14 hits and 5 walks, and struck out 23. This was his longest outing of the year. Tim Collins pitched 2 scoreless innings and struck out 3, getting the win and simultaneously his amazing 11th decision on the year (he's 7-4).
None of the hitters really had great games - Man-Rod, Jaspe and Sanchez reached base twice.
Clinton 7 at Lansing 5
Chase Lirette started for Lansing and only allowed 1s, 4s and 7s. He pitched 4.1 innings, allowed 4 runs on 7 hits and 1 walk, and struck out 7. Boy, I must be tired. Anyway, that obviously wasn't a great performance, and try as they might, you can't really expect the bullpen to pitch 4 2/3 scoreless innings, as they would have needed to to win this game.
A bunch of Nuts had good games at the plate: Chris Emanuele walked twice, Tyler Pastornicky singled twice and stole his 48th base, Brian Van Kirk singled, doubled, walked and drove in 3, Johermyn Chavez had 2 singles and 2 RBIs and the Great Balbino doubled twice and singled. Unfortunately, Lansing could only get 5 runs out of their 11 hits and 4 walks.
Mahoning Valley 2 at Auburn 0
The bullpen was the highlight in this one - Matthew Morgal and Casey Beck combined for 4 scoreless innings. Other than that.... well, Dave Sever was okay in 5 innings, and Ryan Goins singled and doubled in 4 trips. That's about all I want to say here.
GCL Blue Jays 4 at GCL Phillies 5
The G-Jays actually out-hit their Philly counterparts 11-7, but the G-Phils were able to convert their runners into runs a bit better. Interesting prospects: Gustavo Pierre went 2-5 with a steal, Ryan Schimpf tripled, walked and stole a base, and Carlos Perez pinch-hit and went 1-2.
Three Stars!
3. Dirk Hayhurst - 2 IP, 1 H, 5 K
2. Bobby Bell - 6 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 7 K
1. Brian Dopirak - 2 HRs, 7 RBIs
