There were 3 great pitching performances on the farm, plus plenty of late inning fireworks.
Oklahoma City 7 at Las Vegas 6
The 51s had a 6-5 lead heading into the 9th when Danny Farquhar melted down. Though he only allowed 1 hit, it was inopportune, a double to Brett Wallace following a walk, hit by pitch, failed bunt and a wild pitch. It was enough to push Oklahoma City ahead, and though Las Vegas put their first two runners on in the 9th, they couldn't cash either of them. Offensively Las Vegas mustered out 15 singles, with Adam Lowen and Mike McCoy having three apiece and walking. Brett Lawrie was 2/5 with a steal, David Cooper 1/5, whille Chris Woodward and Jason Lane each had a pair of first basers. Meanwhile Kyle Drabek's struggles continued, as he allowed 10 hits and 5 runs (3 earned) in 6 innings, walking and striking out two each.
New Hampshire 4 at Richmond 3
The shoe was on the other foot this time, as New Hampshire staged a dramatic 9th inning comeback on the road. With 1 out in the ninth, Jan Gomes doubled, followed by a Jonathan Diaz single. Adeiny Hechavarria then struck out, and Anthony Gose reached on an error on a ground ball to short, after which he promptly stole second, his 50th SB of the year and second of the game. Travis d'Arnaud then singled in Diaz and Gose to give the Fisher Cats the lead, Evan Crawford loaded the bases in the bottom half of the inning, but Clint Everts came in to strike out the final batter and seal the game. Joel Carreno was the starter in this one and was fine, going 7 innings and allowing only 3 runs. He allowed 5 hits, walked 3 and struck out 4. Meanwhile Travis d'Arnaud was 2/4 with a walk and 3 RBI, Gose singled, Hech doubled and Moises Sierra walked.
Dunedin 7 at Brevard County 8 (10 innings)
This was a tough one, as Dunedin jumped out to a 7-0 lead after six before the wheels fell off... and exploded. In the bottom of the 7th Brevard County sent 11 men to the plate, thanks in no small part to 3 walks and an error, leading to 6 runs. 3 singles in the 8th, and a leadoff double and two out single in the 10th and that was all she wrote. Making the result of the game all the more painful was the brilliant start from Drew Hutchison, who tossed 6 scoreless frames, allowing only 3 hits and a walk while striking out 8. He's now allowed only 15 earned runs in 45.1 A+ innings, walking 11 against 46 strike outs and giving up 1 home run. Offensively, Brad McElroy and AJ Jiminez each had 2 hits, while Kevin Ahrens, Brad Glenn and Brian Van Kirk each hit solo home runs.
South Bend 1 at Lansing 6
Lansing outhit South Bend 12-4 and outscored them 6-1 behind a fine start from Casey Lawrence, who went the distance. He obviously allowed the 4 hits and the 1 run (earned), but walked none and struck out 3. Did I mention that he got 20 of his 21 outs in play on the ground? Meanwhile Markus Brisker and Jake Marisnick both singled twice with Marisnick also stealing a base, while Oli Dominguez tripled twice and Garis Pena had 3 knocks, including a double.
Spokane 5 at Vancouver 9
Noah Syndergaard made his first start for Vancouver and did not disappoint. After allowing only 5 runs in 32 Rookie Ball innings, with a 37/11 K/BB ratio, Syndergaard showed that he was alright with Short Season Ball, tossing 5 innings and allowing only an unearned run. He struck out 6 and walked 1, and gave up 4 hits. Meanwhile Vancouver's 9 runs came on only 6 hits, 5 of which were singled. What's the deal? Well, 4 errors and 9 walks will do that. Jonathon Berti walked and scored twice, Shane Opitz walked twice, singled twice, and scored twice, Kevin Patterson walked twice and Nicholas Baligod hit a 2 run home run.
Greenfield 8 at Bluefield 7 (11 Innings)
Bluefield banged out a game high 19 hits, but it wasn't enough. The B-Jays actually strung together four straight 2-out hits in the 9th to eke out 2 runs and tie the game, but couldn't get any further than that. Christopher Hawkins, Leo Hernandez and Peter Mooney had 3 hits each, with Mooney falling a HR short of the cycle, but the real star was Javan Williams, who went 5/5, albeit all singles, while stealing a base. Tucker Jensen took the start for Bluefield in the colour wars but wasn't long for this mound, allowing 5 runs in 3 innings.
GCL Jays 9 at GCL Phillies 7
DSL Jays - Day Off
3 Stars!
Hon. Men.! Noah Syndergaard - 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
3rd Star! Drew Hutchison - 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K
2nd Star! Javan Williams - 5/5, SB, 2 RBI
1st Star! Casey Lawrence - 9 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 20/1 GB/FB
Oklahoma City 7 at Las Vegas 6
The 51s had a 6-5 lead heading into the 9th when Danny Farquhar melted down. Though he only allowed 1 hit, it was inopportune, a double to Brett Wallace following a walk, hit by pitch, failed bunt and a wild pitch. It was enough to push Oklahoma City ahead, and though Las Vegas put their first two runners on in the 9th, they couldn't cash either of them. Offensively Las Vegas mustered out 15 singles, with Adam Lowen and Mike McCoy having three apiece and walking. Brett Lawrie was 2/5 with a steal, David Cooper 1/5, whille Chris Woodward and Jason Lane each had a pair of first basers. Meanwhile Kyle Drabek's struggles continued, as he allowed 10 hits and 5 runs (3 earned) in 6 innings, walking and striking out two each.
New Hampshire 4 at Richmond 3
The shoe was on the other foot this time, as New Hampshire staged a dramatic 9th inning comeback on the road. With 1 out in the ninth, Jan Gomes doubled, followed by a Jonathan Diaz single. Adeiny Hechavarria then struck out, and Anthony Gose reached on an error on a ground ball to short, after which he promptly stole second, his 50th SB of the year and second of the game. Travis d'Arnaud then singled in Diaz and Gose to give the Fisher Cats the lead, Evan Crawford loaded the bases in the bottom half of the inning, but Clint Everts came in to strike out the final batter and seal the game. Joel Carreno was the starter in this one and was fine, going 7 innings and allowing only 3 runs. He allowed 5 hits, walked 3 and struck out 4. Meanwhile Travis d'Arnaud was 2/4 with a walk and 3 RBI, Gose singled, Hech doubled and Moises Sierra walked.
Dunedin 7 at Brevard County 8 (10 innings)
This was a tough one, as Dunedin jumped out to a 7-0 lead after six before the wheels fell off... and exploded. In the bottom of the 7th Brevard County sent 11 men to the plate, thanks in no small part to 3 walks and an error, leading to 6 runs. 3 singles in the 8th, and a leadoff double and two out single in the 10th and that was all she wrote. Making the result of the game all the more painful was the brilliant start from Drew Hutchison, who tossed 6 scoreless frames, allowing only 3 hits and a walk while striking out 8. He's now allowed only 15 earned runs in 45.1 A+ innings, walking 11 against 46 strike outs and giving up 1 home run. Offensively, Brad McElroy and AJ Jiminez each had 2 hits, while Kevin Ahrens, Brad Glenn and Brian Van Kirk each hit solo home runs.
South Bend 1 at Lansing 6
Lansing outhit South Bend 12-4 and outscored them 6-1 behind a fine start from Casey Lawrence, who went the distance. He obviously allowed the 4 hits and the 1 run (earned), but walked none and struck out 3. Did I mention that he got 20 of his 21 outs in play on the ground? Meanwhile Markus Brisker and Jake Marisnick both singled twice with Marisnick also stealing a base, while Oli Dominguez tripled twice and Garis Pena had 3 knocks, including a double.
Spokane 5 at Vancouver 9
Noah Syndergaard made his first start for Vancouver and did not disappoint. After allowing only 5 runs in 32 Rookie Ball innings, with a 37/11 K/BB ratio, Syndergaard showed that he was alright with Short Season Ball, tossing 5 innings and allowing only an unearned run. He struck out 6 and walked 1, and gave up 4 hits. Meanwhile Vancouver's 9 runs came on only 6 hits, 5 of which were singled. What's the deal? Well, 4 errors and 9 walks will do that. Jonathon Berti walked and scored twice, Shane Opitz walked twice, singled twice, and scored twice, Kevin Patterson walked twice and Nicholas Baligod hit a 2 run home run.
Greenfield 8 at Bluefield 7 (11 Innings)
Bluefield banged out a game high 19 hits, but it wasn't enough. The B-Jays actually strung together four straight 2-out hits in the 9th to eke out 2 runs and tie the game, but couldn't get any further than that. Christopher Hawkins, Leo Hernandez and Peter Mooney had 3 hits each, with Mooney falling a HR short of the cycle, but the real star was Javan Williams, who went 5/5, albeit all singles, while stealing a base. Tucker Jensen took the start for Bluefield in the colour wars but wasn't long for this mound, allowing 5 runs in 3 innings.
GCL Jays 9 at GCL Phillies 7
DSL Jays - Day Off
3 Stars!
Hon. Men.! Noah Syndergaard - 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
3rd Star! Drew Hutchison - 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K
2nd Star! Javan Williams - 5/5, SB, 2 RBI
1st Star! Casey Lawrence - 9 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 20/1 GB/FB
