For everyone wondering about whether 35 year old veteran x who's hitting .330/.380/.570 in AAA is suddenly any good, I present to you... the Pacific Coast League ladies and gentlemen! It was 16-2 Las Vegas at the end of four, and after that I guess they were just playing out the string. The 51s had 51 minus 32 hits, which is still a fair number, and Eric Thames had four of those, starting out 4/4 before cooling off to finish 4/6. They were all singles. David Cooper went 1/4 with 2 walks, but the one hit was a 2 out, 2 on bomb. Jason Lane and Manny Mayorson both had 3 hits, while Adam Loewen, Chris Woodward, Ryan Shealy and Kevin Howard had 2. One of Mayorson's was a grand slam, and he finished with 6 RBI. Meanwhile Rey Gonzalez's 3rd PCL start was his worst. He made it through 6.2 innings but surrendered 7 runs in the process. That he didn't strike out anyone didn't help, nor did the 4 walks and 10 hits.
Altoona at New Hampshire - Postponed
Check out Gerry's New Hampshire piece in the interim!
Not quite as much shock and awe in this one, but the D-Jays, like their AAA counterparts, jumped out to an early lead they would not relinquish, in this their final game of the FSL first half. The D-Jays got two in the third on a Brad McElroy walk followed by a Kevin Nolan double and Ryan Schimpf single. They struck for one in the 6th (Brian van Kirk HR), 7th (McElroy single, SB, groundout, wild pitch) and two in the eighth (HBP and Kevin Ahrens home run.) McElroy had 2 hits, a walk and a stolen base, and Van Kirk and Ahrens both had a single and a round tripper. AJ Jiminez walked, was hit by a pitch and stole two bases, while the Ochinkshow was 0 for 5 hitting cleanup. Deck McGuire put in a solid effort starting, allowing only an unearned run on 6 hits, with 4 walks and a strikeout. He was lifted after getting one batter in the fifth though, after being hit in the leg by a ground ball. No word yet on the severity. Dustin Antolin was good in relief, Scott Gracey gave up the only two earned runs against Dunedin, and Wes Etheridge pitched a perfect 9th for his 25th save.
Lansing - MWL All-Star Break
The Canadians got lit up in this one, no two ways about it. Zack Breault was touched for five runs, all earned, in 4.1 innings, surrendering 9 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3. Nicholas Purdy also was lit up, giving up 3 runs in 2.2 innings of relief. Pierce Rankin, Eli Boike and Randy Schwartz all had 2 hits, with Rankin homering.
Bluefield 6 at Elizabethton 5 (Game 1)
This one was picked up after 9, as Elizabethton came back with 4 late runs yesterday before rain struck. The two squads remained deadlocked for four more innings before a 2 out hit by pitch and an Art Charles double in the 13th. For the earlier play by play, check out #2 JB's wrapup from yesterday.
Bluefield 4 at Elizabethton 3 (Game 2)
Elizabethton took another tough loss, which serves them right for having a weird/confusing name, as far as I'm concerned. With one out in the first Gustavo Pierre singled, Kellen Sweeney doubled, Yudelmis Hernandez singled and Art Charles, yesterday/today's hero, homered. It would be all Bluefield would need, which was helpful as it was all they got. David Rollins, a 24th round pick out of San Jacinto College North, allowed 2 hits in 5 innings, striking out 4, walking none and allowing 1 earned run. Charles tripled in addition to his homer, and Melvin Garcia also had 2 hits.
Griffin Murphy was very sharp in his Blue Jays/Bluefield debut, going 5 innings and allowing a single run. As a bonus, he allowed on 3 hits, and had a 7/1 K/BB ratio. Dickie Thon went 1/4, while Jorge Vega-Rosado had 3 singles in his 4 at bats and stole a base to boot.
Another beatdown. Cesar Sanchez gave up all 8 runs, only 5 earned, in 4.2 innings. He walked four and gave up 5 hits, but the DSL Jays made 3 errors. Luis Martin had 2 hits for the Jays.
3 Stars!
Third Star! Eric Thames - 4/6, 1 R, 2 RBI
Second Star! Manny Mayorson - 3/6, HR, 3 R, 6 RBI
First Star! Griffin Murphy - 5 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 7 K
