The farm went 2-2, and the highlights included Eric Thames continuing his hot streak, Nestor Molina continuing to be the best pitcher in Dunedin, and a certain Torontonian having a big day.
Las Vegas 6 at Tacoma 4
Las Vegas wasn't particularly efficient with their hits - 16 hits led to only six runs - but the sheer volume was enough to trump Tacoma's four-run output. Lots of good production up and down the line-up, but the star was Eric Thames who doubled twice and homered. The Thames River sports a .349/.428/.619 line after tonight. Brett Lawrie singled twice while Travis Snider singled, doubled and K'ed in five trips.
Vegas had their ace Brad Mills on the hill, and while he wasn't as dominant as in recent weeks, he was good enough. 6 2/3, four earned runs on eight hits and a walk with four Ks.
Portland 0 at New Hampshire 1
Classic pitching duel in New Hampshire, with Chad Beck coming out on top of top prospect Stolmy Pimentel. Pimentel actually didn't allow a run, but the Cats' bats came through in the bottom of the ninth when Moises Sierra walked Anthony Gose off with a single (does that sentence make sense?) Right, I didn't finish talking about Beck: he went seven innings of shut-out ball, allowing six hits and three walks.
Clint Everts and Mike Hinckley finished off the shutout. Gose singled twice, stole two bases, threw out a runner at home, and as mentioned, scored the only run of the game.
Clearwater 8 at Dunedin 5
It was a big day in Dunedin - Henderson Alvarez's first start of the year. And boy, did it not go well! The Hender got just seven outs; same as the number of runs he allowed, surrendering nine hits in the process. The bullpen picked him up very well, especially Nestor Molina, who allowed just two hits in five innings of relief, striking out seven. As has been discussed repeatedly on Da Box this year, Molina has been Dunedin's best starter in a rotation that includes a whole crapload of top prospects. His K:BB now sits at a ridiculous 33:3.
A.J. Jimenez had a good day at the plate, singling twice and walking. He's striking out a bit (21 in 25 games), but otherwise is hitting very well this year. Kevin Ahrens had three singles.
Lake County 9 at Lansing 5
As the title suggests, it was Marcus Knecht's day at Cooley Stadium, as the St. Michael's College grad went 4-4 with a homer. Unfortunately, more than being Marcus Knecht's day, it was Daniel Webb's Notday (well, or it was the Lake County bats' day, or the Lugnuts' defense's Notday, there's lots of blame to go around). Lansing's starter gave up seven runs (five earned) on ten hits in his 5.2 innings, and despite Knecht's best effort the bats couldn't climb out of the hole.
Usually I like to list how the interesting prospects did, but looking closely this is actually a pretty interesting line-up top to bottom. Even guys like Balbino and Oliver Dominguez aren't exactly organizational filler. Anyway, Jake Marisnick went 2-5 with a double and 2 Ks. I'll cut myself off there - just go look at the box score for the rest.
Three Stars!
3. Chad Beck - 7 IP, 0 ER
2. Eric Thames - 3-5, 2 2B, HR
1. Marcus Knecht - 4-4, HR
Las Vegas 6 at Tacoma 4
Las Vegas wasn't particularly efficient with their hits - 16 hits led to only six runs - but the sheer volume was enough to trump Tacoma's four-run output. Lots of good production up and down the line-up, but the star was Eric Thames who doubled twice and homered. The Thames River sports a .349/.428/.619 line after tonight. Brett Lawrie singled twice while Travis Snider singled, doubled and K'ed in five trips.
Vegas had their ace Brad Mills on the hill, and while he wasn't as dominant as in recent weeks, he was good enough. 6 2/3, four earned runs on eight hits and a walk with four Ks.
Portland 0 at New Hampshire 1
Classic pitching duel in New Hampshire, with Chad Beck coming out on top of top prospect Stolmy Pimentel. Pimentel actually didn't allow a run, but the Cats' bats came through in the bottom of the ninth when Moises Sierra walked Anthony Gose off with a single (does that sentence make sense?) Right, I didn't finish talking about Beck: he went seven innings of shut-out ball, allowing six hits and three walks.
Clint Everts and Mike Hinckley finished off the shutout. Gose singled twice, stole two bases, threw out a runner at home, and as mentioned, scored the only run of the game.
Clearwater 8 at Dunedin 5
It was a big day in Dunedin - Henderson Alvarez's first start of the year. And boy, did it not go well! The Hender got just seven outs; same as the number of runs he allowed, surrendering nine hits in the process. The bullpen picked him up very well, especially Nestor Molina, who allowed just two hits in five innings of relief, striking out seven. As has been discussed repeatedly on Da Box this year, Molina has been Dunedin's best starter in a rotation that includes a whole crapload of top prospects. His K:BB now sits at a ridiculous 33:3.
A.J. Jimenez had a good day at the plate, singling twice and walking. He's striking out a bit (21 in 25 games), but otherwise is hitting very well this year. Kevin Ahrens had three singles.
Lake County 9 at Lansing 5
As the title suggests, it was Marcus Knecht's day at Cooley Stadium, as the St. Michael's College grad went 4-4 with a homer. Unfortunately, more than being Marcus Knecht's day, it was Daniel Webb's Notday (well, or it was the Lake County bats' day, or the Lugnuts' defense's Notday, there's lots of blame to go around). Lansing's starter gave up seven runs (five earned) on ten hits in his 5.2 innings, and despite Knecht's best effort the bats couldn't climb out of the hole.
Usually I like to list how the interesting prospects did, but looking closely this is actually a pretty interesting line-up top to bottom. Even guys like Balbino and Oliver Dominguez aren't exactly organizational filler. Anyway, Jake Marisnick went 2-5 with a double and 2 Ks. I'll cut myself off there - just go look at the box score for the rest.
Three Stars!
3. Chad Beck - 7 IP, 0 ER
2. Eric Thames - 3-5, 2 2B, HR
1. Marcus Knecht - 4-4, HR
