The lowlights were a pair of one-run losses and a shutout. The highlight was a come-from-behind victory.
Lehigh Valley 4 Buffalo 0
Buffalo, NY — Thad Weber (0-1) had trouble keeping Cody Overbeck in the ballpark not once but twice and that resulted in all three runs Weber gave up over four innings. He yielded five hits, no walks, five strikeouts and five groundball outs. Mickey Storey gave up the other Bisons run on two hits in 1 2/3 innings but struck out four and walked nobody. Tommy Hottovy stranded a Storey runner and struck out three of the four hitters he faced in a perfect 1 1/3 innings. Dustin McGowan was able to navigate his way around a hit and a walk and struck out a batter in a scoreless frame. Lefty Buddy Carlyle pitched a one-hit ninth that featured two strikeouts. Total it all up and the K-BB ratio by the Bisons hurlers against the Phillies affiliate was 14-1.
Eugenio Velez had three of the Herd's eight hits, including a double and a stolen base. Mike McCoy got on base three times with a double, a single and a walk. Luis Jimenez singled and walked and Andy LaRoche heard ball four twice and swiped a base. Moises Sierra and Ricardo Nanita were both 1-for-4. Mauro Gomez, Mike Nickeas and Ryan Goins were a combined 0-for-12. The Bisons were 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base.
Akron 3 New Hampshire 2 (12 Innings)
Akron, OH — Marcus Stroman bounced back nicely after his rough outing in Portland last week. He gave up a solo homer but only four men reached base on three hits and a walk over five frames. He struck out three batters and five of his 11 outs were contained to the infield. Stroman was in line for the win but that went out the window after Chorye Spoone allowed the tying run in the sixth on a hit and two walks. He struck out a pair in his lone inning of work. Southpaw Evan Crawford walked just one of the seven hitters he faced and struck out a pair over two shutout frames. Randy Boone scattered two hits and a walk over three scoreless innings. He had two Ks and five groundball outs. Lefthander Matt Wright (1-2) allowed the Indians affiliate to walk off with the win by giving up a run on three hits and a walk in two-thirds of an inning. Wright loaded up the bases but two force plays at the plate kept the inning going before the Aeros walked it off.
Both runs by New Hampshire were the result of a two-run homer by Adam Loewen, which scored a Kevin Nolan double to lead off the fifth inning. That gave the Fisher Cats a 2-0 lead. However, they only managed six hits — two of them from Kevin Pillar. Ryan Schimpf and Sean Ochinko had the others. Brian Van Kirk, Clint Robinson and Brad Glenn only managed a walk apiece in 15 collective trips to the dish. Tommy Manzella had an ugly debut as a Jays farmhand. The former Astro donned the golden sombrero in his four at-bats.
Dunedin 8 Charlotte 5
Dunedin, FL — The Jays erased a 1-0 deficit with three runs in their half of the first inning. Andy Burns doubled home a Jon Berti triple and Michael Crouse doubled home the other two runs. The offence wasn't heard from again until the eighth inning, when the Rays affiliate led 5-3. Berti drew a bases-loaded walk and Burns singled home the tying run before Gabe Jacobo cleared the bags with a three-run double. Burns had three hits, Jacobo had two hits and a walk and Berti reached base three times by adding two walks. Chris Schaeffer had two hits and two walks in his four at-bats before being replaced by pinch-runner Nick Baligod, who scored a run and went 0-for-1. Peter Mooney singled and walked. Marcus Knecht doubled and Matt Newman singled. Jason Leblebijian made a pinch-running appearance for Jacobo but did not score. Pierce Rankin finished the game behind the dish.
Jesse Hernandez gave up a run an inning over his five frames. He surrendered a two-run homer among his among his eight hits but he did not walk anyone, struck out five and seven of his 10 outs were on the grass. The bullpen was absolutely perfect over the next four innings. Dayton Marze supplied two scoreless frames, lefty Tony Davis (3-1) punched out two of his three batters and Alan Farina worked a clean ninth for his first save of the season.
DSL Yankees1 8 DSL Blue Jays 7
San Pedro de Macoris, DR — The Jays were unable to hold leads of 6-2 and 7-5 in this one. A Juan Kelly fielder's choice and a wild pitch resulted in two runs in the first inning. They added two more runs in the second on a Richard Urena RBI single and an Andres De Aza fielder's choice. A throwing error and a wild pitch scored two more runs in the sixth. Another wild pitch in the seventh produced the final run. Urena had two hits and a base on balls. Michael De La Cruz singled and walked. Deiferson Barreto singled and took one for the team. Juan Kelly had the other base hit. However, the line of the day belonged to Ronniel Demorizi, who was 0-for-1 but drew four BBs and scored twice. Leudy Garcia and Luis Dominguez both worked the count to ball four twice. De Aza and Juan Tejada walked once. Javier Hernandez was 0-for-1 as a pinch-hitter. Dean Bell pinch-ran and stole a base but did not cross the plate. De La Cruz and Kelly also added stolen bases to their resumes.
Alberto Guzman gave up a two-run homer and that led to a series of twos on his pitching line with two runs on two hits and two walks in two frames along with three Ks. Lefty Miguel Burgos worked three shutout innings, giving up two hits and striking out two. Denis Diaz retired just one batter as he allowed three runs on two hits and two walks. Rauly Castillo got the final two outs of the sixth but not before allowing two of three Diaz's runners to score. He was also charged with two runs of his own on two hits. Jairo Rosario (0-1) allowed an inherited runner to cross home plate and allowed one of his own after yielding a hit and a walk in one inning, resulting in a blown save. Francis Eduardo kept the string alive of inherited run scoring with one but pitched a shutout inning that involved a hit and a walk. None of the final four relievers posted a strikeout. Also of note, there were 10 wild pitches in the game — five from each team. Castillo shared a game high of three with a Yankees hurler.
*** 3 Stars!!! ***
3. Marcus Stroman, New Hampshire — A 16-4 K-BB total in 15 innings pitched but has been hurt by the long ball by allowing four homers and Eastern League opponents are hitting .317 against him.
2. Andy Burns, Dunedin — Went four straight games without a hit before Tuesday's three-hit night but is still batting .305 this season.
1. Gabe Jacobo, Dunedin — Has a four-game hitting streak (8-for-16) and has reached base in five straight games since returning from injury.
Wednesday's Probable Starters...
DSL Blue Jays — TBA vs. DSL Yankees1, 10:30 am ET.
Dunedin — Casey Lawrence (3-4, 3.41) vs. Charlotte, 6:30pm ET.
Buffalo — Chad Jenkins (NR) vs. Lehigh Valley, 7:05pm ET.
New Hampshire — Marcus Walden (4-5, 3.13) @ Akron, 7:05pm ET.
Lansing — Javier Avendano (4-3, 5.36) vs. Fort Wayne, 7:05pm ET.
Lehigh Valley 4 Buffalo 0
Buffalo, NY — Thad Weber (0-1) had trouble keeping Cody Overbeck in the ballpark not once but twice and that resulted in all three runs Weber gave up over four innings. He yielded five hits, no walks, five strikeouts and five groundball outs. Mickey Storey gave up the other Bisons run on two hits in 1 2/3 innings but struck out four and walked nobody. Tommy Hottovy stranded a Storey runner and struck out three of the four hitters he faced in a perfect 1 1/3 innings. Dustin McGowan was able to navigate his way around a hit and a walk and struck out a batter in a scoreless frame. Lefty Buddy Carlyle pitched a one-hit ninth that featured two strikeouts. Total it all up and the K-BB ratio by the Bisons hurlers against the Phillies affiliate was 14-1.
Eugenio Velez had three of the Herd's eight hits, including a double and a stolen base. Mike McCoy got on base three times with a double, a single and a walk. Luis Jimenez singled and walked and Andy LaRoche heard ball four twice and swiped a base. Moises Sierra and Ricardo Nanita were both 1-for-4. Mauro Gomez, Mike Nickeas and Ryan Goins were a combined 0-for-12. The Bisons were 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base.
Akron 3 New Hampshire 2 (12 Innings)
Akron, OH — Marcus Stroman bounced back nicely after his rough outing in Portland last week. He gave up a solo homer but only four men reached base on three hits and a walk over five frames. He struck out three batters and five of his 11 outs were contained to the infield. Stroman was in line for the win but that went out the window after Chorye Spoone allowed the tying run in the sixth on a hit and two walks. He struck out a pair in his lone inning of work. Southpaw Evan Crawford walked just one of the seven hitters he faced and struck out a pair over two shutout frames. Randy Boone scattered two hits and a walk over three scoreless innings. He had two Ks and five groundball outs. Lefthander Matt Wright (1-2) allowed the Indians affiliate to walk off with the win by giving up a run on three hits and a walk in two-thirds of an inning. Wright loaded up the bases but two force plays at the plate kept the inning going before the Aeros walked it off.
Both runs by New Hampshire were the result of a two-run homer by Adam Loewen, which scored a Kevin Nolan double to lead off the fifth inning. That gave the Fisher Cats a 2-0 lead. However, they only managed six hits — two of them from Kevin Pillar. Ryan Schimpf and Sean Ochinko had the others. Brian Van Kirk, Clint Robinson and Brad Glenn only managed a walk apiece in 15 collective trips to the dish. Tommy Manzella had an ugly debut as a Jays farmhand. The former Astro donned the golden sombrero in his four at-bats.
Dunedin 8 Charlotte 5
Dunedin, FL — The Jays erased a 1-0 deficit with three runs in their half of the first inning. Andy Burns doubled home a Jon Berti triple and Michael Crouse doubled home the other two runs. The offence wasn't heard from again until the eighth inning, when the Rays affiliate led 5-3. Berti drew a bases-loaded walk and Burns singled home the tying run before Gabe Jacobo cleared the bags with a three-run double. Burns had three hits, Jacobo had two hits and a walk and Berti reached base three times by adding two walks. Chris Schaeffer had two hits and two walks in his four at-bats before being replaced by pinch-runner Nick Baligod, who scored a run and went 0-for-1. Peter Mooney singled and walked. Marcus Knecht doubled and Matt Newman singled. Jason Leblebijian made a pinch-running appearance for Jacobo but did not score. Pierce Rankin finished the game behind the dish.Jesse Hernandez gave up a run an inning over his five frames. He surrendered a two-run homer among his among his eight hits but he did not walk anyone, struck out five and seven of his 10 outs were on the grass. The bullpen was absolutely perfect over the next four innings. Dayton Marze supplied two scoreless frames, lefty Tony Davis (3-1) punched out two of his three batters and Alan Farina worked a clean ninth for his first save of the season.
DSL Yankees1 8 DSL Blue Jays 7
San Pedro de Macoris, DR — The Jays were unable to hold leads of 6-2 and 7-5 in this one. A Juan Kelly fielder's choice and a wild pitch resulted in two runs in the first inning. They added two more runs in the second on a Richard Urena RBI single and an Andres De Aza fielder's choice. A throwing error and a wild pitch scored two more runs in the sixth. Another wild pitch in the seventh produced the final run. Urena had two hits and a base on balls. Michael De La Cruz singled and walked. Deiferson Barreto singled and took one for the team. Juan Kelly had the other base hit. However, the line of the day belonged to Ronniel Demorizi, who was 0-for-1 but drew four BBs and scored twice. Leudy Garcia and Luis Dominguez both worked the count to ball four twice. De Aza and Juan Tejada walked once. Javier Hernandez was 0-for-1 as a pinch-hitter. Dean Bell pinch-ran and stole a base but did not cross the plate. De La Cruz and Kelly also added stolen bases to their resumes.
Alberto Guzman gave up a two-run homer and that led to a series of twos on his pitching line with two runs on two hits and two walks in two frames along with three Ks. Lefty Miguel Burgos worked three shutout innings, giving up two hits and striking out two. Denis Diaz retired just one batter as he allowed three runs on two hits and two walks. Rauly Castillo got the final two outs of the sixth but not before allowing two of three Diaz's runners to score. He was also charged with two runs of his own on two hits. Jairo Rosario (0-1) allowed an inherited runner to cross home plate and allowed one of his own after yielding a hit and a walk in one inning, resulting in a blown save. Francis Eduardo kept the string alive of inherited run scoring with one but pitched a shutout inning that involved a hit and a walk. None of the final four relievers posted a strikeout. Also of note, there were 10 wild pitches in the game — five from each team. Castillo shared a game high of three with a Yankees hurler.
*** 3 Stars!!! ***
3. Marcus Stroman, New Hampshire — A 16-4 K-BB total in 15 innings pitched but has been hurt by the long ball by allowing four homers and Eastern League opponents are hitting .317 against him.
2. Andy Burns, Dunedin — Went four straight games without a hit before Tuesday's three-hit night but is still batting .305 this season.
1. Gabe Jacobo, Dunedin — Has a four-game hitting streak (8-for-16) and has reached base in five straight games since returning from injury.
Wednesday's Probable Starters...
DSL Blue Jays — TBA vs. DSL Yankees1, 10:30 am ET.
Dunedin — Casey Lawrence (3-4, 3.41) vs. Charlotte, 6:30pm ET.
Buffalo — Chad Jenkins (NR) vs. Lehigh Valley, 7:05pm ET.
New Hampshire — Marcus Walden (4-5, 3.13) @ Akron, 7:05pm ET.
Lansing — Javier Avendano (4-3, 5.36) vs. Fort Wayne, 7:05pm ET.
