The affiliates went 2-2 Tuesday night. One of the wins came in extra innings and in walk-off fashion.
Buffalo 8 Charlotte 7 (10 Innings)
Buffalo, NY — What to say about Ricky Romero? The southpaw held the White Sox affiliate to a run over five innings. However, he could not get any of the four hitters he faced in the sixth inning. Lefty Juan Perez picked up Romero and allowed two of his three runners to score. Romero's line was four runs on four hits and six walks with only two strikeouts. He threw 96 pitches and only 47 were for strikes but he did tally 10 groundball outs. Perez pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and striking out one. Dustin McGowan had a rough outing as he was slapped around for three runs on two hits and two walks in just one-third of an inning. Newcomer Thad Weber was given a blown save after allowing two of McGowan's three runners to score. He lasted 2 2/3 scoreless frames and yielded three hits and a walk while whiffing two. Neil Wagner (1-0) struck out one in the tenth for the victory.
The Bisons put up a three-spot in inning number one courtesy of a Josh Thole sacrifice fly, a Mauro Gomez RBI single and a Ryan Langerhans run-scoring triple. Jim Negrych singled home another run in the second before Andy LaRoche took over. He doubled home two runs in the third, doubled home another in the fifth and had the walk-off single in the tenth. LaRoche, Gomez and Negrych all had three hits apiece. Thole had a pair of hits. Mike McCoy singled, walked and stole a base. Moises Sierra was 0-for-5 with two strikeouts but threw out a runner at the plate from center field.
Portland 5 New Hampshire 3
Portland, ME — Deck McGuire (2-4) had a so-so start against the Red Sox affiliate. Portland scored twice in the first inning before the 6-foot-6 righty put up zeros over the next five frames. He got some help from Kevin Pillar, who threw out Sox prospect Xander Bogaerts at home from center field to end the fifth. McGuire could not retire any of the two batters he faced in the seventh and they would eventually score. His game WHIP was 2.00 after surrendering nine hits and three walks. McGuire gave up a home run, struck out two and six of his 10 outs in play did not leave the infield. Tyson Brummett was charged with the blown save. He not only allowed his two inherited runners to score but also gave up a run of his own on a hit and a walk. He did manage to strike out a pair.
All three Fisher Cat runs came in the fourth inning. Clint Robinson tripled home a run and scored on a Brad Glenn groundout. Sean Ochinko cashed in the other run with a single. Robinson had two hits and a walk. Adam Loewen reached twice on ball fours and stole a base. Glenn, Pillar and Amadeo Zazueta all had doubles. Ryan Schimpf walked once but Brian Van Kirk wore the sombrero.
St. Lucie 5 Dunedin 3
Dunedin, FL — Casey Lawrence (3-4) could not hold an early 2-1 lead as the Mets scored five runs over his 5 2/3 innings. Two of the runs were unearned and they came in the sixth inning on a pair of Andy Burns errors at third base. Lawrence allowed six hits and a walk and struck two. His groundout/flyout ratio was 10-1. Lefthander Tyler Ybarra stranded a Lawrence runner and pitched 2 1/3 scoreless frames. His only blemish was a walk but he struck out three. Lefty John Anderson worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
Burns opened the scoring for Dunedin with a run-scoring flyball in the first inning. A Nick Baligod double and an error by the center fielder plated the second run in the second. Jonathan Jones drove in the third run with a single in the seventh. Jones was the only D-Jay with two hits. Shane Opitz had a hit and a walk. Jon Berti was 1-for-4 and stole his 21st base of the season. Marcus Knecht singled and Michael Crouse walked.
Lansing 8 Lake County 5
Lansing, MI — Taylor Cole managed to get through five innings despite a WHIP of 2.20. The Indians affiliate scored four runs on seven hits and four walks off Cole, who only struck out one but five of his nine outs in play were on the ground. Justin Jackson was nicked for an unearned run as the result of a Gustavo Pierre error at third. He gave up one hit but struck out a pair, walked nobody and three of his four outs in play did not leave the diamond. Tucker Donahue (1-1) had a walk and a strikeout in one scoreless frame. Wil Browning struck out a batter in a clean ninth to collect his second save. His ERA is now 0.36.
The Lugnuts used a Seth Conner groundout to score their first run in the second inning. Their next three runs came in the third when Pierre cleared the bags with a double. After blowing a 4-1 lead, the Lugnuts strung together a four-run rally in the eighth to win it. Pierre had a two-run double to put Lansing ahead for good. He was doubled home by Chris Hawkins, who scored on an Emilio Guerrero base hit. Pierre had three hits to boost his batting average to .290. He also stole a base. Hawkins got on base three times with a double, a single and a walk and swiped a bag. Christian Lopes also reached thrice with a single and two walks. Kevin Patterson enjoyed a two-hit night. Kellen Sweeney drew a walk. Dalton Pompey was 0-for-5 and Dwight Smith Jr. was 0-for-4 but Smith stole a base.
Boxscores
*** 3 Stars!!! ***
3. Chris Hawkins, Lansing — Hitting just .108 over his last 10 games but three of his four hits during that stretch have come in the last two games.
2. Gustavo Pierre, Lansing - Has a trio of three-hit games over his last six contests and is hitting .368 with runners in scoring position this season.
1. Andy LaRoche, Buffalo - Nudged his batting average to .302 on the season thanks to a .339 May.
Wednesday's Probable Starters...
Lansing — Ben White (1-3, 4.08) vs. Lake County, 10:35 am ET.
New Hampshire — Ryan Tepera (4-3, 3.76) @ Portland, 6:00 pm ET.
Dunedin — Jesse Hernandez (2-4, 2.86) @ St. Lucie, Noah Syndergaard (2-1, 2.62), 6:30 pm ET.
Buffalo 8 Charlotte 7 (10 Innings)
Buffalo, NY — What to say about Ricky Romero? The southpaw held the White Sox affiliate to a run over five innings. However, he could not get any of the four hitters he faced in the sixth inning. Lefty Juan Perez picked up Romero and allowed two of his three runners to score. Romero's line was four runs on four hits and six walks with only two strikeouts. He threw 96 pitches and only 47 were for strikes but he did tally 10 groundball outs. Perez pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and striking out one. Dustin McGowan had a rough outing as he was slapped around for three runs on two hits and two walks in just one-third of an inning. Newcomer Thad Weber was given a blown save after allowing two of McGowan's three runners to score. He lasted 2 2/3 scoreless frames and yielded three hits and a walk while whiffing two. Neil Wagner (1-0) struck out one in the tenth for the victory.The Bisons put up a three-spot in inning number one courtesy of a Josh Thole sacrifice fly, a Mauro Gomez RBI single and a Ryan Langerhans run-scoring triple. Jim Negrych singled home another run in the second before Andy LaRoche took over. He doubled home two runs in the third, doubled home another in the fifth and had the walk-off single in the tenth. LaRoche, Gomez and Negrych all had three hits apiece. Thole had a pair of hits. Mike McCoy singled, walked and stole a base. Moises Sierra was 0-for-5 with two strikeouts but threw out a runner at the plate from center field.
Portland 5 New Hampshire 3
Portland, ME — Deck McGuire (2-4) had a so-so start against the Red Sox affiliate. Portland scored twice in the first inning before the 6-foot-6 righty put up zeros over the next five frames. He got some help from Kevin Pillar, who threw out Sox prospect Xander Bogaerts at home from center field to end the fifth. McGuire could not retire any of the two batters he faced in the seventh and they would eventually score. His game WHIP was 2.00 after surrendering nine hits and three walks. McGuire gave up a home run, struck out two and six of his 10 outs in play did not leave the infield. Tyson Brummett was charged with the blown save. He not only allowed his two inherited runners to score but also gave up a run of his own on a hit and a walk. He did manage to strike out a pair.
All three Fisher Cat runs came in the fourth inning. Clint Robinson tripled home a run and scored on a Brad Glenn groundout. Sean Ochinko cashed in the other run with a single. Robinson had two hits and a walk. Adam Loewen reached twice on ball fours and stole a base. Glenn, Pillar and Amadeo Zazueta all had doubles. Ryan Schimpf walked once but Brian Van Kirk wore the sombrero.
St. Lucie 5 Dunedin 3
Dunedin, FL — Casey Lawrence (3-4) could not hold an early 2-1 lead as the Mets scored five runs over his 5 2/3 innings. Two of the runs were unearned and they came in the sixth inning on a pair of Andy Burns errors at third base. Lawrence allowed six hits and a walk and struck two. His groundout/flyout ratio was 10-1. Lefthander Tyler Ybarra stranded a Lawrence runner and pitched 2 1/3 scoreless frames. His only blemish was a walk but he struck out three. Lefty John Anderson worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
Burns opened the scoring for Dunedin with a run-scoring flyball in the first inning. A Nick Baligod double and an error by the center fielder plated the second run in the second. Jonathan Jones drove in the third run with a single in the seventh. Jones was the only D-Jay with two hits. Shane Opitz had a hit and a walk. Jon Berti was 1-for-4 and stole his 21st base of the season. Marcus Knecht singled and Michael Crouse walked.
Lansing 8 Lake County 5
Lansing, MI — Taylor Cole managed to get through five innings despite a WHIP of 2.20. The Indians affiliate scored four runs on seven hits and four walks off Cole, who only struck out one but five of his nine outs in play were on the ground. Justin Jackson was nicked for an unearned run as the result of a Gustavo Pierre error at third. He gave up one hit but struck out a pair, walked nobody and three of his four outs in play did not leave the diamond. Tucker Donahue (1-1) had a walk and a strikeout in one scoreless frame. Wil Browning struck out a batter in a clean ninth to collect his second save. His ERA is now 0.36.The Lugnuts used a Seth Conner groundout to score their first run in the second inning. Their next three runs came in the third when Pierre cleared the bags with a double. After blowing a 4-1 lead, the Lugnuts strung together a four-run rally in the eighth to win it. Pierre had a two-run double to put Lansing ahead for good. He was doubled home by Chris Hawkins, who scored on an Emilio Guerrero base hit. Pierre had three hits to boost his batting average to .290. He also stole a base. Hawkins got on base three times with a double, a single and a walk and swiped a bag. Christian Lopes also reached thrice with a single and two walks. Kevin Patterson enjoyed a two-hit night. Kellen Sweeney drew a walk. Dalton Pompey was 0-for-5 and Dwight Smith Jr. was 0-for-4 but Smith stole a base.
Boxscores
*** 3 Stars!!! ***
3. Chris Hawkins, Lansing — Hitting just .108 over his last 10 games but three of his four hits during that stretch have come in the last two games.
2. Gustavo Pierre, Lansing - Has a trio of three-hit games over his last six contests and is hitting .368 with runners in scoring position this season.
1. Andy LaRoche, Buffalo - Nudged his batting average to .302 on the season thanks to a .339 May.
Wednesday's Probable Starters...
Lansing — Ben White (1-3, 4.08) vs. Lake County, 10:35 am ET.
New Hampshire — Ryan Tepera (4-3, 3.76) @ Portland, 6:00 pm ET.
Dunedin — Jesse Hernandez (2-4, 2.86) @ St. Lucie, Noah Syndergaard (2-1, 2.62), 6:30 pm ET.
