The Monday MLU was rained out with the numerous tears in my beers due to the Leafs epic, ball-busting collapse. So today, it's two for the price of one to get everyone all caught up. The affiliates won five of seven over the last two days.


Tuesday's Games...

Indianapolis 10 Buffalo 4

Indianapolis, IN — Moises Sierra gave the Herd a brief 1-0 lead with a solo homer in inning number one. Jim Negrych singled home a run in the third.  Then, Josh Thole and Andy LaRoche hit back-to-back jacks in the fifth off Pirates prospect Gerrit Cole. No Bison had more than one hit and only Mauro Gomez reached base twice with a double and a walk. Mike McCoy had a pinch single for LaRoche. Ryan Goins was the only Bison not to get on base.

Miguel Batista (1-2) only lasted three innings and was whacked for eight runs on 10 hits and two walks with just one strikeout. Bobby Korecky permitted two Batista runners to cross home plate and gave up two more over three frames. His K-BB total was three apiece. Michael Schwimer pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings in spite of a hit and two walks. Clint Everts stranded a runner by retiring the only hitter he faced.


New Hampshire 3 Portland 0

Manchester, NH — Hey, a Toronto-affiliate squad can hold a 3-0 lead over a Boston team! Brian Van Kirk and Brad Glenn had RBI singles in the third inning. Kevin Pillar cashed in another run with a single in the sixth. Pillar had three hits while Glenn and Kevin Nolan had two each.

Marcus Walden (2-4) was outstanding over 7 2/3 innings, permitting just four Sea Dogs to reach base on two hits and two runs. He mowed down 17 of 18 hitters during one stretch, racking up six K's with an incredible 13-1 groundout/flyout ratio. John Stilson was just as stingy in the contact department. He allowed a single but stranded two Walden runners and punched out four batters over 1 1/3 innings for his first save.


Dunedin 9 Fort Myers 3

Fort Myers, FL — Scott Copeland (3-1) overcame a pair of unearned runs in the first inning on an Andy Burns error at third to go six strong frames and allowing just three Twins to reach safely on two hits and a walk. He struck out three and rung up 12 outs on the ground. Dustin McGowan gave up a hit in his one inning of work but all three outs were strikeouts. Ajay Meyer surrendered a run on two hits over two-third of an inning. Lefty Efrain Nieves gave up a hit and a walk before getting one out. Blake McFarland walked one in a shutout ninth.

A wild pitch in the sixth inning finally got Dunedin on the board and they added two more on a Burns RBI groundout and a K.C. Hobson single. Dunedin added four more in the seventh, highlighted by a Jon Talley two-run double and a Derrick Chung base rap. Hobson and Nick Baligod delivered more insurance in the ninth with RBI singles. Chung was on base four times with three hits and a walk. Hobson, Newman and Shane Opitz each had a pair of hits.


Lansing 7 Lake County 4

Eastlake, OH — The Lugnuts grabbed an early lead against the Indians affiliate with two runs in the first inning, courtesy of a Carlos Ramirez groundout and a Balbino Fuenmayor sacrifice fly. Emilio Guerrero plated a run with a single in the fourth. Fuenmayor tied the game for Lansing with an RBI single in the fifth inning. Aaron Munoz followed up with a two-run single to put Lansing ahead for good and Guerrero singled home another to cap off the frame. The multi-hit efforts were turned in by Guerrero with three; Munoz and Dalton Pompey had two. Pompey also swiped two bases. Dwight Smith Jr. was 1-for-5 with a stolen base.

Javier Avendano (3-2) got the win despite a WHIP of 2.00 over five innings. He gave up four runs on eight hits and two walks but struck out five and collected six groundouts. Tucker Donahue scattered two hits and a walk while striking out one in 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Wil Browning struck out three of the four hitters he faced in a perfect 1 1/3 innings, dropping his ERA to 42 cents. Arik Sikula worked a clean ninth for his second save.

Boxscores

*** 3 Stars!!! ***

3. John Stilson, New Hampshire

2. Derrick Chung, Dunedin

1. Marcus Walden, New Hampshire

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Monday's Games...

Buffalo 5 Louisville 4

Louisville, KY — A Moises Sierra single scored the first run of the game for the Bisons in the first inning. Josh Thole singled home the second Buffalo run in the fourth. The Herd needed a three-run homer by Mauro Gomez in the eighth inning to overcome a 4-2 deficit. Gomez collected three hits and Sierra had two. Anthony Gose had a double and a walk but struck out three times. Jim Negrych ruined his chance for a call-up by going 0-for-4.

Claudio Vargas worked in and out of trouble with a WHIP of 1.50 but lasted six innings against the Reds affiliate. He limited the Bats to two runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out three. Jeremy Jeffress had a rough one-third of an inning, giving up two runs on three hits and two walks. Lefthander Buddy Carlyle (2-0) kept the damage to a minimum. He stranded two of three Jeffress runners and struck out a batter over 1 2/3 shutout frames. Neil Wagner threw a one-hitter over the ninth and struck out a batter for his 10th save.


Fort Myers 6 Dunedin 2

Fort Myers, FL — Aaron Sanchez (2-2) did not enjoy one of his better outings. He got through five innings but walked four batters, surrendered three hits and hit a batter, resulting in three runs. Sanchez only struck out one but did record eight of his 11 outs in play on the ground. Dustin Antolin's two-third of an inning resulted in one run on one hit, one walk and one plunk with one strikeout. Lefty Tony Davis also plunked a batter struck out one of the two batters he retired. Marco Grifantini was roughed up for two runs on two hits and a walk in one-third of an inning. Scott Gracey finished up with 1 1/3 innings of one-hit ball with one K.

Dunedin trailed 2-0 before Andy Burns brought in the first run with a single in the third inning. The D-Jays would tie it in the fourth on a Matt Newman base rap. Burns, Newman and Jon Berti had two hits apiece with Newman drawing a walk and Berti stealing a pair of bases. Peter Mooney singled and walked twice. A.J. Jimenez was 1-for-3.


Lansing 5 Great Lakes 0

Lansing, MI — Emilio Guerrero gave the Lugnuts the only runs they would need against the Dodgers farm club with a two-out, two-run single in the second inning but was thrown out trying to stretch his hit into a double. Three were runs were tacked on in the fifth; the first on a passed ball and the other
on a two-run single by Kellen Sweeney. Sweeney had three hits, two of them doubles, for the only multi-hit game for Lansing. Dwight Smith Jr. singled and walked twice.

Lefty Daniel Norris shaved down his ERA to 8.54 with four shutout innings. His control of the strike zone was iffy with three walks but limited the Loons to one hit and struck out five. His groundout-flyout ratio was 5-1. Chuck Ghysels (2-1) scattered a hit and a walk and struck out a batter over two innings. Ian Kadish whiffed four of the six batters he faced over two perfect frames. Arik Sikula finished up the game in grand style, striking out the side to give Lansing hurlers 13 whiffs on the night.

Boxscores


*** 3 Stars!!! ***

3. Daniel Norris, Lansing

2. Kellen Sweeney, Lansing

1. Mauro Gomez, Buffalo


Wednesday's Probable Starters...

Lansing — Alonzo Gonzalez (2-2, 6.19) @ Lake County, 11:00 am ET.
Buffalo — Dave Bush (4-2, 3.38) @ Indianapolis, 1:35 pm ET.
New Hampshire — TBA @ Portland, 6:35 pm ET.
Dunedin — Casey Lawrence (2-3, 3.86) @ Fort Myers, 7:05 pm ET.