Vancouver took a beating while Eugene won, putting the Canadians a half game behind in their playoff race. Las Vegas stayed mathematically alive thanks to Anthony Gose and Yan Gomes. Their elimination number is one. Bluefield lost their final game of the season. New Hampshire lost in extra innings, Lansing also lost while Dunedin swept both ends of a doubleheader from the Yankees Tampa team. Casey Lawrence pitched a complete game to win game one. In game two Dunedin won 1-0 with new Jay Amadeo Zuzueta driving in the only run.
Playoff Situation
In: Dunedin and Lansing
Still competing: Vancouver and Las Vegas (barely)
Out: New Hampshire, Bluefield and the GCL Jays
Anthony Gose scored three runs and Yan Gomes drove in three in a close game in the sin city last night. Gose doubled to lead off the bottom of the first and scored on a single by Ricardo Nanita. After Tacoma tied the game in the third Gose singled to start the bottom of the third. Jon Diaz doubled him to third and Gomes scored both with a single. Gose and Gomes both doubled in the fifth to give the 51's a three run lead. However Clint Everts gave all three runs back in the sixth to tie the game. In the bottom of the sixth Danny Perales, Brian Bocock and Diaz doubled to put Las Vegas up by two. Former Jay Guillermo Quiroz homered in the seventh to make it a one run game.
Shawn Hill was the starter and only gave up one run in five innings despite allowing nine hits and two walks. Gose had three hits, Gomes, Diaz and Perales had two each.
Portland 9 New Hampshire 3 - 12 innings
The game was tied at three in the middle of the third inning and it stayed that way for eight more innings. The Fisher Cats scored one run in the second inning, Ryan Schimpf doubled in Ryan Goins. In the third Jake Marisnick tripled in a run and scored when Goins singled. For Portland, Mike MacDonald, who has started for the Jays in the past, pitched seven shutout innings in relief. The starter for Portland was Allen Webster who just came over to Boston in the big trade with the Dodgers.
Ryan Tepera started and pitched five innings. Michael Dubee, Joel Carreno and Trystan Magnuson held Portland at bay for seven innings. John Stilson pitched the twelfth and gave up six runs. He did give up several hits but his error and a liner that ticked off Ryan Goins glove made the difference.
Marisnick, Goins and Schimpf had two hits each.
Tampa 1 Dunedin 5 - game 1
Casey Lawrence was the story in this game, he pitched a complete game, seven innings in a doubleheader, with just four hits allowed.
Marcus Knecht led the team with two hits and two RBI's. He drove in the first and fourth runs. The Jays big inning was the third when they scored three runs. Doubles by Oliver Dominguez and Kevin Pillar got it started. Jon Berti tripled and scored the fifth run.
Tampa 0 Dunedin 1 - game 2
Amadeo Zuzueta singled in the games only run. Zazueta is a new sign by the Blue Jays, he has played in the PCL this year, just not successfully. Frank Gailey got the spot start and went four innings. One measure of how much the Jays wanted to win this game is that Danny Barnes came on in the sixth to get a four out save.
Anthony DeSclafani was teeing them up, he gave up nine hits and four runs in 4 plus innings. Blake McFarland didn't fare any better, he gave up six hits and three runs in 2.2 innings.
Lansing did jump out to a 5-1 lead before the walls fell in. Shane Opitz doubled in a run and scored another in a two run second inning. In the third KC Hobson singled in two more runs including Chris Hawkins who had doubled. Chris Peters walked, stole a base and scored the fifth run when Chris Schaeffer singled. Nick Baligod homered in the ninth but it wasn't enough. The Lugnuts were outhit 18-7. Hawkins and Hobson had two hits each.
This was a bad loss for the Canadians while their competition, the Eugene Emeralds scored two runs in the tenth to win their game and put Vancouver a half game behind in the playoff chase. Vancouver were down 7-0 in the second inning and the hitters could only manage three hits. Ben White started and obviously took the loss.
Matt Newman had two of the three hits. DJ Davis, Christian Lopes, Dwight Smith and Santiago Nessy were hitless. The Jays are throwing their kids into the playoff race, It might cost them a playoff spot but playoff chase experience might equal actual playoff experience in the minds of the Jays front office.
This was not a good end to the season for the Jays. Justin James gave up five runs in two plus innings and the Jays couldn't come back. The bullpen did a good job in holding it at 5.
The Jays were held off the scoreboard until the eighth. Jacob Anderson and Jordan Leyland hit back to back doubles. Leyland scored on a ground out. Christian Frias, Anderson and Hector Alvarez had two hits each.
3 Stars
3rd star: Yan Gomes
2nd star: Anthony Gose
1st star: Casey Lawrence
