The affiliates could easily have gone 6-0 but they had to settle for a split as two games got away in extra innings and another was lost in the late going. The hitting with runners in scoring position was abysmal but there were a number of good performances turned in on the hill.
Des Moines, IA - Lefty Fabio Castro only gave up a double over the first three innings but he got cuffed around in the fourth as the Cubs scored twice on a two-run single by Bobby Scales. The rally was set up by a triple and two walks, including one to former Jay John-Ford Griffin. Castro found his mojo when he retired the last eight men in a row, striking out the side swinging in the sixth. Castro allowed two runs over six frames on three hits and two walks while striking out five.
By that time, Vegas put together a two-out rally in the fifth to cut the Iowa lead to 2-1 when Aaron Matthews doubled home a Howie Clark single. Dirk Hayhurst also made sure home plate was well air-conditioned as he struck out a pair in the seventh.
The 51`s scored the tying run in the eighth without the benefit of a hit. Former Jays farmhand Vince Perkins walked Brian Dopirak and J.P. Arencibia and plunked Jason Lane to load the bases. Angel Sanchez would bring Dopirak home by taking four pitches wide of home plate.
However, Iowa would go ahead in their half of the eighth when So Taguchi drew a walk and Micah Hoffpauir took Hayhurst deep for a two-run homer. Las Vegas tried to rally in the ninth when Travis Snider drew a two-out walk and Dopirak singled. However, Dopirak was thrown out at second on a 7-6-4 play started by Griffin to end the game.
Snider had a two-hit night and drew a walk to raise his season average to .319 and is hitting .400 over his past 10 contests. His OPS is now 1.064. Dopirak had three hits and a walk and is also raking to the tune of .349 since joining Las Vegas. Arencibia (I hope you`re sitting down!) drew two walks and also collected a hit. However, he continues to scuffle along with a .226 average. Clark had a two-hit night to put his average at .312. However, Las Vegas could not deliver with runners in scoring position as they went 2-for-10 and left a dozen runners stranded.
Bowie 4 New Hampshire 3 (12 Innings)
Bowie, MD - The first inning provided an early clue on how this game was going to wind up. Scott Campbell got aboard on a double but he was thrown out at third after trying to advance on a Brad Emaus grounder to short. The Orioles affiliate scored all their runs in regulation in their half of the first off Kenny Rodriguez as they managed three two-out runs on a walk, two singles and a double. K-Rod would settle down as he retired nine of 10 hitters at one stretch. He gave up three runs (two earned) on six hits and two walks over five innings while striking out three.
The Fisher Cats finally scored in the third when Scott Campbell singled home a Jonathan Diaz walk. Emaus then smoked a solo homer to left in the sixth inning to make it a 3-2 game and Emaus scored the tying run in the eighth when Adam Calderone grounded into a double play.
Lefty Edgar Estanga relieved Rodriguez in the sixth and he didn't have it as he gave up a single, threw a wild pitch and issued two walks. Zach Dials was called in to save the day and he did just that as he got a tapper back to the mound to force a runner at the plate before inducing a 4-6-3 double play ball to end the BaySox threat. Dials would scatter a double, a hit by pitch and a walk over the next two innings before turning the ball over to Danny Farquhar in the ninth.
Farquhar plunked the first man he faced and allowed two hits, including a bunt single by former Jay Eric Crozier to load up the bases with nobody out in the ninth. However, Farquhar cleaned up his own mess as David Cooper threw out a runner at the plate from first before a 6-4-3 inning-ending twin killing was turned.
Farquhar turned in a one-hit tenth before giving the ball to Canadian sidearmer Leon Boyd in the eleventh. Boyd set down the first four men he faced before giving up a one-out double in the tenth. He threw a wild pitch to allow the runner to reach third and the BaySox got a run-scoring fly ball for the walk off win.
Campbell, Cooper and Darin Mastroianni each had a pair of hits while Emaus had a walk to go along with his home run. Mastroianni stole his 21st base at AA ball this season but was also picked off. He`s still a healthy 21-for-25 in that department. And of course, the BJBB Meter is up to (ta-da!) 53! However, Brian Jeroloman also struck out three times.
New Hampshire was 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position and they stranded eight runners.
Viera, FL - Andrew Liebel watered down the Brewers affiliate like Miller Lite as Miller Park as he retired nine of the first 10 hitters of the game. He gave up two singles in the fourth but Matt Liuzza threw out the leadoff man trying to steal second.
Liebel's luck ended in the fifth when he gave up a single to Brent Brewer (what a keener with a last name like that!) and made a two-base throwing error against the next hitter. Those two runners came in to score when Liebel gave up another single. Despite an Adam Loewen error on the two-run single to right, another base hit by Eric Farris and Farris stealing his 56th base of the season, Liebel stranded the two runners in scoring position with an inning-ending ground out.
Dunedin got a run back in the sixth as Liuzza doubled, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly by Kevin Ahrens. Dumas Garcia relieved Liebel in the sixth and almost gave that run back when he yielded a leadoff triple. However, Garcia got a ground ball out to freeze the runner at third and then got some help from a former member of the pitching fraternity as Loewen gunned down the runner at the plate to complete a 9-2 inning-ending double play.
The D-Jays went on to tie the game at 2-2 as Brad McElroy poked one over the right field wall to start the seventh. Former Tigers/Braves/Padres/Diamondbacks/Nationals lefty Wil Ledezma set down the Manatees in order with a called punch out and fielded a bunt attempt and a comebacker. Alan Farina took over in the eighth and despite a single and 57th steal by Farris, he struck out two in a scoreless frame.
Dunedin grabbed the lead in the ninth when McElroy doubled, went to third on a John Tolisano sacrifice bunt and scampered home on a wild pitch. Farina gave up a pair of singles in the ninth but he locked down his own victory by getting a 5-4-3 double play to end the ball game.
Liebel surrendered two unearned runs (even though he did make an error) over five innings by allowing just five hits and a walk but struck out only one. Seven of his 13 outs in play were on the ground.
McElroy was on base three times with a walk, double and homer. Tolisano had a hit and two walks and Loewen was hitless but drew three walks. Despite going 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and leaving 10 men on base, Dunedin still found a way to win.
South Bend, IN - Lefty Henderson Alvarez, featured in a recent Baseball America article with Florida prospect Mike Stanton on the cover, showed why he deserved some publicity with his latest outing. He faced just one batter over the minimum over the first three innings and the only runners who reached got aboard on a throwing error by Mark Sobolewski at second and a hit by pitch. Alvarez gave up two singles to start the fourth but got another double play ball to end that threat and he also worked around a leadoff double in the fifth.
Finally, the Lugnuts got rolling with the bats in the sixth as A.J. Jimenez launched one over the wall in right to take a 1-0 lead. They added three more runs in the seventh when Balbino Fuenmayor grounded into a 5-3 double play with the bases loaded for Lansing's second run. Luis Fernandez then followed with a run scoring single but was thrown out at second and a fielding error at second on a Kenneth Wilson ground ball led to the Lugnuts fourth run of the game.
Alvarez plunked his second batter of the game to start the sixth but he retired the next six hitters to go seven solid innings in which he allowed just three hits to go along with the two HBP's. His K-BB total was 4-0 and 14 of his 17 outs in play were worm killers. Ryan Koch scattered two singles and a double over the last two innings to maintain the shutout.
Johermyn Chavez had two hits and a walk and Sobolewski had two knocks. Lansing also drew four walks to go along with their seven hits.
Staten Island 4 Auburn 3 (10 Innings)
Staten Island, NY - The Jays affiliate also managed a come-from-ahead loss against their Yankees counterpart here. The Doubledays scored first in the first when Welinton Ramirez doubled home a Ryan Schimpf single. A Markus Brisker single scored a Yan Gomes base knock in the fourth and Ramirez doubled home another Ryan, Ryan Goins, in the seventh to give Auburn a 3-0 lead.
On the hill, lefty Evan Crawford allowed a couple of two-out singles in the first but he allowed just two more hits over five shutout innings. He also struck out three, didn't walk anyone and induced eight ground ball outs. Zach Anderson worked a 1-2-3 sixth but the Auburn express went off the rails in the seventh. Two singles, a walk and a throwing error by Anderson led to Staten Island's first two runs. He was replaced by David Miller, who got out of the inning with just a walk but he allowed a run-scoring ground ball to tie the game at 3-3. Miller worked a perfect eighth and survived a single and a walk in the ninth to send the game into overtime.
Auburn's one run scored every three innings trend was stopped in the tenth and the Yankees got the go-ahead run aboard courtesy of a Schimpf error at second. The runner stole second but Justin Lehman was just one out away from getting out of danger. However, he gave up a walk-off single to make your friendly neighbourhood minor league correspondent puke.
Goins and Ramirez combined to total half of Auburn's eight hits with two apiece. Ramirez also had a walk. Auburn was 1-for-11 when they had runners in scoring position and they stranded eight men on the base paths.
Orlando, FL - Two singles and a Gari Pena error gave the G-Braves a 1-0 lead after one but the G-Jays responded with nine runs over the next three innings. Bryson Namba put the Jays in flight with a two-run homer in the second. RBI ground outs by Jon Del Campo and Carlos Perez, a bases loaded walk by Jonathan Fernandez and a two-run single by Jonnathan Valdez accounted for a five-run third. The Baby Jays tacked on two more runs in the fourth on a Del Campo RBI triple and a Perez RBI ground out.
Lefty Carlos Pina got the start in this one and shut down the Braves in the second and third innings before running into problems in the fourth. A Namba error at third helped extend the inning and Pina gave up three runs on three singles and a double. Pina did give up an infield single to start the fifth but he settled down to get the next three hitters in order to end his outing. Despite allowing four unearned runs on nine hits over five innings, he put up two very nice ratios with a 3-0 K/BB mark and a 12-0 GO/FO total!
The Jays added their final run of the game when Perez singled, went to second and third on two wild pitches and then scored on a passed ball. Lefty Evan Teague worked a shutout sixth but gave up back to back solo dingers in the seventh and Felix Moreno served up another solo shot in the eighth. Shawn Griffith allowed a walk, threw a wild pitch and allowed a stolen base but he struck out the side to save the victory for Pina.
Namba, Michael Crouse and Nick Zaleski each had two-hit games with Namba throwing in a base on balls as well. John Roberts was hitless but he did draw a trio of walks. The G-Jays managed to win despite going 1-for-8 in the RISP department and guess how many they left on base. If you guessed eight, you`re right and you can call yourself Dick Van Patten!
*** 3 Stars!!! ***
3. Brad McElroy, Dunedin
2. Fabio Castro, Las Vegas
1. Henderson Alvarez, Lansing
Honourable Mentions - Travis Snider, Brian Dopirak, J.P. Arencibia, Adam Loewen, Brad Emaus.
Extra Innings.......
* The Las Vegas Sun recaps the 51's trip to Wrigley Field and provides a game rundown. Former Cub Buck Coats and former Cubs prospect Brian Dopirak share their thoughts about going back to Wrigley Field.
* The Las Vegas Review-Journal got Bubbie Buzachero's take on playing in the Windy City.
* The New Hampshire Union Leader has a word with Kenny Rodriguez.
