Las Vegas 2 @ Oklahoma City 1 (10 innings) – Boxscore

Las Vegas got a gift-wrapped win despite going 0-for-6 with RISP, as Oklahoma City’s players conspired to lose the game in as painful a way as possible for the home fans. Scott Richmond had a very solid outing with his third straight quality start and his fifth in his last sixth starts. Richmond only needed 83 pitches to get through 7 innings. He struck out four, walked two and only allowed three hits. Unfortunately, he left facing a loss, as one of the hits was a solo homer by outfielder Fernando Martinez.

After Jerry Gil pitched a scoreless 8th, the 51’s came to bat in the ninth still trailing 1-0. Adeiny Hechavarria began the inning with a single to right, but then Anthony Gose struck out. The 51’s then took advantage of a mistake by the RedHawks and an errant pickoff attempt allowed Hechavarria to advance to 3rd. Travis Snider hit a sac fly before Moises Sierra struck out.

The game went to extras after Gil held Oklahoma City in the bottom of the frame and Yan Gomes began the 10th with a single. A sac bunt by Ricardo Nanita was thrown away and everyone was safe. Chris Woodward laid down a successful sac bunt to push Gomes to 3rd base and Nanita to 2nd with one out. Oklahoma City tried to force the issue when Ruben Gotay hit a grounder to 2nd and everyone was safe on a throwing error by the second baseman. Kevin Howard was intentionally walked to load the bases and then Hechavarria hit a fly ball that turned into a double play when Nanita was cut down at the plate. After that wild inning, the bottom was anything but as Ryota Igarashi struck out two and got a fly ball to pick up the save and preserve the win.

New Hampshire 4 @ Portland 5 – Boxscore

Brett Cecil took the mound for the Fisher Cats and made his first start in 20 days. He threw 30 of his 46 pitches for strikes over 4 innings and didn’t walk a batter. Cecil struck out one and gave up two runs on four hits. Fernando Hernandez gave up five hits, but only one run, over 2 innings and took the loss before turning the ball over to Aaron Loup, who gave up a pair of runs on four hits over 2 innings.

Portland outhit the Fisher Cats 13-6. Half of New Hampshire’s hits came off the bat of Mike McDade, who was 3-for-4 with an RBI. Ryan Goins and John Tolisano each were 1-for-3 with a double, a run and a walk. Jonathan Diaz scored a run, as well. Bradley Glenn was 1-for-4 with a 2-run homer. Brian Jeroloman’s rough year continued with an 0-for-4 night. Jeroloman is hitting .071/.212/.071 for the year with two hits in 28 at-bats and he’ll need a change in his fortune or else his month on a major league bench may be as close as he gets to his line in the Baseball Enyclopedia.

Fort Myers 7 @ Dunedin 5 – Boxscore

The Miracle jumped all over Casey Lawrence in the first inning, scoring four runs off the Dunedin starter. The damage came from Lance Ray, who hit a two-out grand slam to give Fort Myers a commanding lead. Lawrence then allowed a solo shot to open the second inning, but he persevered and completed 5 innings. He struck out five and allowed five hits and two walks. Trystan Magnuson followed Lawrence and took his second loss in the Florida State League this year with one run over 1.2 innings on one hit and an intentional walk. Scott Gracey allowed the insurance run on a solo shot and struck out three over 1.1 innings. Dayton Martze also pitched a scoreless inning.

Jake Marisnick and Sean Ochinko led the offensive attack against Fort Myers with three hits each. Marisnick had a double and an RBI, along with two singles, while Ochinko rapped out three singles. Ryan Schimpf and Jon Talley each went 2-for-5. Schimpf had a double and 2 RBI. Meanwhile, Talley was thrown out at the plate by Oswaldo Arcia. The two Kevins – Nolan and Ahrens – each went 0-for-4. Marcus Knecht went 1-for-4 with a double, a run and an RBI. Kenen Bailli had a 1-for-4 evening with a run and an RBI and Michael Crouse was 2-for-4 with a run. Knecht and Crouse are creeping back up towards .200, hitting .195 and .198, respectively.

Bowling Green 3 @ Lansing 7 – Boxscore

The Lugnuts had eight hits, but none came from the first three batters. Carlos Perez and KC Hobson, batting fifth and sixth, each went 2-for-4, with Perez knocking a double and driving in a pair of runs. Kevin Pillar, Andrew Burns and Markus Brisker each went 1-for-4 with a run. Pillar drove in a pair and Burns had a double. Chris Hawkins was 1-for-4 with an RBI. While Kenny Wilson, Kellen Sweeney and Jonathon Berti were held hitless, they scored four runs by reaching base five times on bases on balls.

Marcus Walden had another good outing for Lansing and his ERA now sits at 2.56 for the season. Walden went 5 innings and allowed two hits and two walks. He did not surrender a run, struck out four and retired seven of the nine batters on balls in play with groundouts. Tyler Ybarra pitched a frame and allowed two runs on four hits and a walk. Blake McFarland picked up a three inning save, allowing one run while striking out four.

Three Stars:
3rd Star – Mike McDade, 3-for-4, RBI, 3 TB
2nd Star – Marcus Walden, 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K
1st Star – Scott Richmond, 7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K