Nashville 5 @ Las Vegas 3 – Boxscore
Adeiny Hechevarria was 3-for-5 and finished a homer short of the cycle. Danny Perales was 2-for-4 with a double and they scored two of the 51’s three runs. The third came off a solo homer by Adam Lind off of old friend Vinnie Chulk. Lind also walked. Anthony Gose was 1-for-4 with a walk and David Cooper was held hitless, but drew a free pass. Luis Hurtado added a hit and Moises Sierra was 1-for-4 with a double. Ruben Gotay was hitless with a sac fly and Chris Woodward was hitless with a sac bunt.
Robert Coello started and walked five Nashville batters over 5 innings. As wild as he was, he was also that hard to hit last night and only allowed one hit. He struck out six and surrendered an earned run. Tim Redding and Bobby Korecky each allowed two runs in relief, while Jerry Gil pitched a scoreless frame.
Portland 7 @ New Hampshire 6 (Game 1, 8 innings) – Boxscore
Deck McGuire continues to fail to inspire in Double-A. He allowed four runs over 5 innings on six hits and three walks. McGuire struck out one before turning the ball over to Sam Dyson, who pitched 2 scoreless innings of relief. As it was a doubleheader, this took the game into extras, so Ron Uviedo was summoned to pitch the extra frame and he allowed three runs.
However, the Fisher Cats demonstrated the importance of insurance runs by scoring two of their own in extra innings. The offense was led by Brian Van Kirk, Mike McDade, Brad Glenn and Brian Jeroloman, who all had two-hit games. All but Jeroloman also had a double and two RBIs and all but Jeroloman and Van Kirk hit a homer. McDade and Glenn each drew a walk. Ryan Goins and John Tolisano each added singles while Brian Bocock added a single and a walk. In fact, Glenn’s homer was in extra innings, with none out, and brought the Fisher Cats within a run, but New Hampshire didn’t get another runner on base.
Portland 3 @ New Hampshire 2 (Game 2, 7 innings) – Boxscore
New Hampshire lost again by one run and again scored a run in the bottom of the last inning, but not enough to tie the game. Kevin Howard was 2-for-2 with a walk, while both Van Kirk and McDade were 1-for-3. Ryan Goins and Sean Ochinko had the other hits. Both of New Hampshire’s runs came on solo homers: one by McDade and the other by Ochinko.
Clint Everts started and took his first loss of the year. He gave up three hits and three walks over 3 innings. However, he only surrendered a run and struck out four. Matt Wright was also called upon to do 3 innings of work. He gave up two runs on two hits and a walk, striking out four. Matt Daly struck out two in a scoreless inning of relief.
Jupiter 6 @ Dunedin 2 – Boxscore
John Stilson had a solid start, allowing only one run on one hit over 5 innings. Stilson walked a pair and struck out six. He left with the lead, as minor league Rule 5 draftee Gabe Jacobo hit a two-run homer, scoring Jonathan Jones. Jacobo also added a double and had the only two extra-base hits for the D-Jays.
Unfortunately, the bullpen couldn’t hold the lead. Dustin Antolin gave up four runs on four hits and a walk over 1.2 innings to put the Hammerheads back in front. Boomer Potts gave up a solo homer in his 1.1 innings of relief and Danny Barnes pitched a scoreless 9th.
Dayton 8 @ Lansing 9 – Boxscore
An incredible game in Lansing didn’t begin as promisingly as hoped, as Anthony DeSclafani allowed two runs over 4 innings. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out three, but he gave up eight hits. He was followed by Noah Syndergaard, who struck out six batters. However, Syndergaard allowed six runs on six hits over 3.2 innings. Five of those runs came in the 8th, when he allowed five of the last six batters he faced to reach base, before being lifted from the game. Blake McFarland pitched 1.1 scoreless frames to close out the game.
Although Dunedin was ahead 5-3 after 7 innings, it seemed as if Syndergaard’s implosion in the 8th may have cost the game. And that’s where we’ll pick up the narrative. However, that’s where nothing happens except for a Carlos Perez single. So, we’ll skip ahead to the bottom of the 9th. Andrew Burns led off the inning with a walk and then KC Hobson flew out to right field. Kevins Pillar and Patterson both walked, as well, with Markus Brisker replacing Patterson on the bases. A grand slam would win the game, but Kenny Wilson didn’t let that get to his head and calmly singled to left, advancing everyone a base. Kellen Sweeney struck out swinging.
That brought Jonathon Berti to the plate with the tying run on second and two out. Berti was hit by a pitch. The bases were then still loaded for Perez, who doubled to center to score Brisker and Wilson and give Lansing a two-out walk-off win.
Three Stars:
3rd Star – Adeiny Hechavarria, 3-for-5, 2B, 3B, 6 TB
2nd Star – John Stilson, 5 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
1st Star – Mike McDade, 3-for-5, 2 R, 2B, 2 HR, 3 RBI, BB, 10 TB
