Kyle Drabek took the loss as New Hampshire lost again to Akron. Drabek pitched OK but walks, and an error behind him, cost him. Henderson Alvarez had a rough first inning and was pulled from his start and Dunedin went on to lose. Las Vegas won, Luis Perez made his first AAA start and was shaky but got the win. Brad Emaus and Jarrett Hoffpauir were the hitting stars. Lansing also won, thanks to 13 hits including three each for Kevin Ahrens and Ryan Goins.
Luis Perez had an unusual start, having been promoted from AA to pitch against Salt Lake. Maybe Mormons make him nervous? Perez walked the first three hitters he faced but he got away with one run conceded thanks to a double play and JP Arencibia picking a runner off third. Perez gave up another run in a second inning that included a hit batter and a lead-off double. Perez gave up another run in the fifth and he was done after five innings. In those five innings he walked six batters, allowed just three hits
Meanwhile Chris Lubanski homered in the second inning to get the 51's on the board. Brad Emaus and Jarrett Hoffpauir collected singles in the third inning for the second run. Las Vegas scored three in the fourth inning. Lubanski walked and scored on a double by Jorge Padilla. Emaus tripled in run number two of the inning and he scored thanks to a sac bunt by Jon Diaz.
The teams traded runs in the eighth inning. Merkin Valdez picked up Perez with 2.2 innings pitched and Jeremy Accardo worked a perfect ninth. Hoffpauir was 3-5 and Emaus was 2-2 with 2 walks. Emaus is hitting .356 in AAA.
Top prospect Kyle Drabek faced off against Akron yesterday in Manchester and the game was tied 1-1 after six innings. Unfortunately, the 7th inning was Drabek’s undoing, although it was also partly the fault of a Manny Mayorson error. Akron scored three runs in the 7th to cruise to the eventual victory. Drabek’s final line was 6.1 innings with five hits and three walks allowed. He was charged with all four of Akron’s runs, although only one was earned, and struck out five. He retired 10 of the 14 batters on balls in play on groundouts. In the 7th, Drabek turned the ball over to Boomer Potts, who retired one batter and walked in a run. Trystan Magnuson, subject of a fine article in the National Post yesterday, then came in and allowed two of the three inherited runners to score. Magnuson went on to pitch a scoreless 8th and 9th innings, lowering his ERA to 0.96.
Mayorson made some amends for his fielding miscue at the plate, as he had the Fisher Cats only multi-hit game and scored the team’s only run. Mayorson was 2-for-4 with a double. Brian Jeroloman also had a fine game at the plate, with a 1-for-2 line that included a walk. Jonathan Jaspe, David Cooper and Shawn Bowman each went 1-for-4 and Bowman had the team’s only RBI, while Darin Mastroianni was the only other batter to reach base, and that came on a free pass.
Henderson Alvarez pitched the first inning and gave up three runs. He walked the first batter, got two outs, and then gave up four straight singles, three of them ground ball singles. Then he was pulled from the game and we don't know why. It doesn't look like he was hit hard which could suggest an injury. But this season Alvarez has struggled after a rough first inning. Last week manager Clayton McCullough said this about Alvarez:
Like many young guys Henderson, if he gets through the lineup OK the first time through, or the first few innings, he relaxes. In the games where he has struggled a little bit he has been hit around early, and then he gets out of his delivery, he tries to overthrow and gets caught up in the moment like most young pitchers do. It's just a work-in-process for Henderson to learn that things like that are going to happen. Sometimes teams are going to come out early and get hits off you but you have to stay in the game and keep your team in there.
Chad Beck replaced Alvarez and pitched five shutout innings. Dumas Garcia came on in the eighth and Tampa tallied two runs off him.
Dunedin managed four hits in the game, Tyler Pastornicky had two of them.
Lansing scored all eight runs in the first three innings and held on as each team had 13 hits in this game. Lansing scored four runs in the first and one in the second on a procession of walks and singles. They broke out the heavier lumber in the third, AJ Jimenez homered and Ryan Goins and Kevin Nolan doubled.
Dave Sever started and escaped after five innings with three runs allowed. Evan Crawford gave up a couple of runs in three innings of work. The other Beck, Casey pitched the ninth.
Kevin Ahrens and Ryan Goins each had three hits, Kenny Wilson had two. Justin Jackson was 1-5.
DSL Tigers 2 DSL Blue Jays 3 (11 innings)
Julio Carmona started for the DSL Blue Jays and went 5 innings. He surrendered both runs to the DSL Tigers, but they were both unearned. Carmona gave up three hits and four walks, but struck out four. He turned the ball over to Victor German, who went 5 innings and struck out three. German surrendered four hits and a walk, but otherwise escaped unscathed. Manuel Lopez picked up the win with a scoreless inning of relief.
The DSL Blue Jays only had six hits over the 11 innings, but drew 13 walks and could have, and arguably should have, won the game before extras. The most notable days at the plate came from Leonardo Ferrini, who went 1-for-3 with a double, a run, three stolen bases and three walks; Fausto Natera, who went 2-for-4 with a run, a stolen base and two walks and Leonardo Hernandez, who added a pair of walks to a 1-for-4 afternoon that included an RBI.
Three Stars
3rd Star - Jarrett Hoffpauir
2nd Star - Kevin Ahrens
1st Star - Brad Emaus
