A 3-2 night for the affiliates featured two overtime victories and a six-run rally in the ninth. Dunedin needs a victory today to clinch their first-half division title. The bad news was a shutout loss and an overtime loss.
Gwinnett 2 Buffalo 0
Buffalo, NY — Dave Bush (7-5) did his best to keep the Bisons in it. He pitched six scoreless frames before the Braves broke through for a run in the seventh. Bush's final line was 6 1/3 innings of five-hit ball, two walks and two hit by pitches along with five strikeouts and eight groundouts. Lefty Buddy Caryle stranded both Bush runners but served up a solo homer in the eighth among his two hits in 1 2/3 innings. He had also a punchout. Brad Lincoln walked one and struck out two in a shutout ninth.
The Bisons had just three hits with Anthony Gose getting a double and Mauro Gomez and Ryan Goins picking up singles. Sean Ochinko walked twice and Jim Negrych walked once. Luis Jimenez was 0-for-4 but stole a base. Moises Sierra was also 0-for-4. Ricardo Nanita and Mike McCoy were hitless in their three plate appearances. McCoy replaced Andy LaRoche at second, who hurt his arm throwing according to a tweet from Amy Moritz (@amymoritz) of The Buffalo News.
Altoona 5 New Hampshire 4 (10 Innings)
Altoona, PA — New Hampshire scored three times in the ninth to take a 4-3 lead but the Pirates affiliate scored a run to tie it before walking it off in overtime. Marcus Walden pitched 7 2/3 innings and surrendered three runs on seven hits and two walks. Two of those runs were the result of a home run. He struck out four and collected six groundball outs. Lefty Evan Crawford got the final out of the eighth but gave up a double to start the ninth. Dustin Antolin gave up the game tying single for the blown save. Tyson Brummett took over in the tenth and could only retire one hitter as the Curve produced the winning run on three hits.
New Hampshire's first run did not come until the eighth when A.J. Jimenez lifted a sacrifice fly. Brian Van Kirk gave the Fisher Cats the short-lived lead with a three-run homer, his first of the season. Kevin Pillar had three of New Hampshire's 10 hits and Van Kirk had two. Adam Loewen singled and walked. Jimenez, Ryan Schimpf, Kevin Nolan and Kevin Ahrens also checked out the singles scene. Clint Robinson and Brad Glenn did not, combining for an 0-for-10 performance.
Dunedin 9 Tampa 4 (11 Innings)
Tampa, FL — Marcus Knecht doubled home Dunedin's first run in the second inning and lifted a sac fly in the sixth. Mike Crouse also chipped in an RBI single in that frame. An Oliver Dominguez fielder's choice snapped a 3-3 tie in the eleventh. Dunedin then poured it on with a two-run triple by Jon Berti, who scored on a ground-rule double by Andy Burns. K.C. Hobson finished it off with a two-run homer to right, his 10th of the season. Burns, Berti, Knecht and Derrick Chung all had two-hit games with Knecht getting two doubles. Gabe Jacobo and Peter Mooney singled and walked. Jacobo was also hit by a pitch. He was replaced after his leadoff single in the 10th by pinch-runner Shane Opitz, who did not score. That set the stage for Hobson to take over at first base and hit his two-run blast. Jose Reyes was 1-for-5 before Dominguez pinch-hit for him. Nick Baligod was 0-for-5 but walked once.
Scott Copeland did not have his best stuff as evidenced by five hits and five walks in 4 2/3 innings. Somehow, the Yankees could only manage a couple of runs. Copeland put up a pair of fours in the strikeout and groundout columns. Ajay Meyer prevented Copeland's line from getting worse by stranding two runners and striking out three of the four hitters he faced in 1 1/3 perfect frames. Lefty Tyler Ybarra was nicked for a hit but struck out two in a shutout inning. Blake McFarland was charged with a blown save as the Yankees strung together a run on three hits in his one inning of work. Southpaw John Anderson supplied two innings of one-hit relief, with all six outs not leaving the infield. Lefthander Tony Davis finished up with an unearned run on one hit but also struck out a pair.
Jason Leblebijian gave Vancouver its first victory at home with his RBI single in the 12th inning.
Vancouver 5 Spokane 4 (12 Innings)
Vancouver, BC — The Rangers affiliate literally threw this one away. With two outs in the ninth and the Indians leading 4-3, Nico Taylor swung at strike three but the Spokane catcher could not hang on to the baseball and wound up air mailing one to first base to allow pinch-runner Ronnie Melendez to score the tying run. Melendez pinch-ran for Peterborough native Michael Reeves, who drew a one-out walk. Melendez got into scoring position by stealing second. The Canadians scored first in the first when Jason Leblebijian singled home Ian Parmley, who led off with a base knock and stole second. Parmley singled in the next two runs in the second and the C's were up 3-0. Leblebijian was the hero as he singled home Taylor with the winning run.
Parmley and Leblebijian had the only multi-hit games for Vancouver with Leblebijian also adding a base on balls. Parmley stole two bases and Leblebijian had one. Reeves, Brenden Kalfus and Jorge Vega-Rosado had the other base hits. Taylor drew a walk and Dan Klein had a base on balls in his only plate appearance. Jordan Leyland, Andy Fermin and Justin Atkinson were all 0-for-5.
Lefthander Colton Turner was in line for the win after six solid frames in which he permitted a run on four hits and a walk while striking out five. His groundout-flyout ratio was 6-0. Matt Johnson worked a clean seventh but Jonathan Kountis surrendered the lead as Spokane scored twice on three hits and a walk in his one inning appearance. Chuck Ghysels looked to be on the hook for loss as he was tagged with an unearned run on a walk in the ninth. A two-base error by Vega-Rosado at second, a bunt and a groundout produced the go-ahead run. Lefty Joe Spano survived four walks (one intentionally) and a hit over two scoreless by striking out four. Justin D'Alesandro (1-1) had to overcome a pair of walks to pitch a scoreless 12th that also included a strikeout.
DSL Blue Jays 9 DSL Tigers 8
San Pedro de Macoris, DR — The Jays snatched victory from the jaws of defeat as they scored six times in the ninth for the walkoff victory. They were down 6-0 before Michael De La Cruz jacked a two-run homer in the third. Juan Fuente, who scored on the De La Cruz homer, singled home a Dean Bell triple in the eighth. Ronniel Demorizi jump-started the ninth inning rally with a two-run bomb, Fuente delivered another run-scoring single and Richard Urena singled home two more to tie it. Demorizi finished what he started by delivering the game-winning RBI single.
Fuente was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with two walks and two stolen bases. De La Cruz had two hits and a walk. Demorizi, Bell and Javier Hernandez also joined the multi-hit parade with two apiece. Juan Kelly was 0-for-2 but there was nothing wrong with his batting eye as he worked Tigers pitching to the tune of four walks. Leudy Garcia had a base hit and Deiferson Barreto earned a base on balls, took one for the team and a stolen base.
Jhonny Hernandez was burned for a two-run homer and gave up six runs over three frames. All but one of the runs was unearned as te Tigers got pretty good mileage out of three hits, two walks and a hit by pitch. Manuel Cordova fared better than Hernandez but served up two solo homers among his three hits in three innings. He walked two but struck out three. Rauly Castillo pitched two shutout frames of two-hit ball, punctuated by three strikeouts. Hamly Suero (1-0) walked a couple but kept the Tigers off the board in the ninth.
*** 3 Stars!!! ***
3. Ronniel Demorizi, DSL Blue Jays — Has homered in consecutive games with seven RBI and is carrying a four-game hitting streak.
2. Jason Leblebijian, Vancouver — Already has a double, a triple and a home run in five games with the C's and is batting .333.
1. Juan Fuente, DSL Blue Jays — Has recorded at least one hit in eight of his 10 games, batting .324 with six stolen bases.
Wednesday's Probable Starters...
DSL Blue Jays vs. DSL Tigers, 10:30 am ET.
Dunedin — Casey Lawrence (3-6, 4.14) vs. Tampa, 11:00 am ET.
Vancouver — TBA vs. Spokane, 4:05 pm ET.
New Hampshire — Deck McGuire (3-6, 5.45) @ Altoona, 7:00 pm ET.
Buffalo — Ricky Romero (0-1, 8.22) vs. Gwinnett, 7:05 pm ET.
Gwinnett 2 Buffalo 0
Buffalo, NY — Dave Bush (7-5) did his best to keep the Bisons in it. He pitched six scoreless frames before the Braves broke through for a run in the seventh. Bush's final line was 6 1/3 innings of five-hit ball, two walks and two hit by pitches along with five strikeouts and eight groundouts. Lefty Buddy Caryle stranded both Bush runners but served up a solo homer in the eighth among his two hits in 1 2/3 innings. He had also a punchout. Brad Lincoln walked one and struck out two in a shutout ninth.
The Bisons had just three hits with Anthony Gose getting a double and Mauro Gomez and Ryan Goins picking up singles. Sean Ochinko walked twice and Jim Negrych walked once. Luis Jimenez was 0-for-4 but stole a base. Moises Sierra was also 0-for-4. Ricardo Nanita and Mike McCoy were hitless in their three plate appearances. McCoy replaced Andy LaRoche at second, who hurt his arm throwing according to a tweet from Amy Moritz (@amymoritz) of The Buffalo News.
Altoona 5 New Hampshire 4 (10 Innings)
Altoona, PA — New Hampshire scored three times in the ninth to take a 4-3 lead but the Pirates affiliate scored a run to tie it before walking it off in overtime. Marcus Walden pitched 7 2/3 innings and surrendered three runs on seven hits and two walks. Two of those runs were the result of a home run. He struck out four and collected six groundball outs. Lefty Evan Crawford got the final out of the eighth but gave up a double to start the ninth. Dustin Antolin gave up the game tying single for the blown save. Tyson Brummett took over in the tenth and could only retire one hitter as the Curve produced the winning run on three hits.
New Hampshire's first run did not come until the eighth when A.J. Jimenez lifted a sacrifice fly. Brian Van Kirk gave the Fisher Cats the short-lived lead with a three-run homer, his first of the season. Kevin Pillar had three of New Hampshire's 10 hits and Van Kirk had two. Adam Loewen singled and walked. Jimenez, Ryan Schimpf, Kevin Nolan and Kevin Ahrens also checked out the singles scene. Clint Robinson and Brad Glenn did not, combining for an 0-for-10 performance.
Dunedin 9 Tampa 4 (11 Innings)
Tampa, FL — Marcus Knecht doubled home Dunedin's first run in the second inning and lifted a sac fly in the sixth. Mike Crouse also chipped in an RBI single in that frame. An Oliver Dominguez fielder's choice snapped a 3-3 tie in the eleventh. Dunedin then poured it on with a two-run triple by Jon Berti, who scored on a ground-rule double by Andy Burns. K.C. Hobson finished it off with a two-run homer to right, his 10th of the season. Burns, Berti, Knecht and Derrick Chung all had two-hit games with Knecht getting two doubles. Gabe Jacobo and Peter Mooney singled and walked. Jacobo was also hit by a pitch. He was replaced after his leadoff single in the 10th by pinch-runner Shane Opitz, who did not score. That set the stage for Hobson to take over at first base and hit his two-run blast. Jose Reyes was 1-for-5 before Dominguez pinch-hit for him. Nick Baligod was 0-for-5 but walked once.Scott Copeland did not have his best stuff as evidenced by five hits and five walks in 4 2/3 innings. Somehow, the Yankees could only manage a couple of runs. Copeland put up a pair of fours in the strikeout and groundout columns. Ajay Meyer prevented Copeland's line from getting worse by stranding two runners and striking out three of the four hitters he faced in 1 1/3 perfect frames. Lefty Tyler Ybarra was nicked for a hit but struck out two in a shutout inning. Blake McFarland was charged with a blown save as the Yankees strung together a run on three hits in his one inning of work. Southpaw John Anderson supplied two innings of one-hit relief, with all six outs not leaving the infield. Lefthander Tony Davis finished up with an unearned run on one hit but also struck out a pair.
Jason Leblebijian gave Vancouver its first victory at home with his RBI single in the 12th inning.
Vancouver 5 Spokane 4 (12 Innings)
Vancouver, BC — The Rangers affiliate literally threw this one away. With two outs in the ninth and the Indians leading 4-3, Nico Taylor swung at strike three but the Spokane catcher could not hang on to the baseball and wound up air mailing one to first base to allow pinch-runner Ronnie Melendez to score the tying run. Melendez pinch-ran for Peterborough native Michael Reeves, who drew a one-out walk. Melendez got into scoring position by stealing second. The Canadians scored first in the first when Jason Leblebijian singled home Ian Parmley, who led off with a base knock and stole second. Parmley singled in the next two runs in the second and the C's were up 3-0. Leblebijian was the hero as he singled home Taylor with the winning run. Parmley and Leblebijian had the only multi-hit games for Vancouver with Leblebijian also adding a base on balls. Parmley stole two bases and Leblebijian had one. Reeves, Brenden Kalfus and Jorge Vega-Rosado had the other base hits. Taylor drew a walk and Dan Klein had a base on balls in his only plate appearance. Jordan Leyland, Andy Fermin and Justin Atkinson were all 0-for-5.
Lefthander Colton Turner was in line for the win after six solid frames in which he permitted a run on four hits and a walk while striking out five. His groundout-flyout ratio was 6-0. Matt Johnson worked a clean seventh but Jonathan Kountis surrendered the lead as Spokane scored twice on three hits and a walk in his one inning appearance. Chuck Ghysels looked to be on the hook for loss as he was tagged with an unearned run on a walk in the ninth. A two-base error by Vega-Rosado at second, a bunt and a groundout produced the go-ahead run. Lefty Joe Spano survived four walks (one intentionally) and a hit over two scoreless by striking out four. Justin D'Alesandro (1-1) had to overcome a pair of walks to pitch a scoreless 12th that also included a strikeout.
DSL Blue Jays 9 DSL Tigers 8
San Pedro de Macoris, DR — The Jays snatched victory from the jaws of defeat as they scored six times in the ninth for the walkoff victory. They were down 6-0 before Michael De La Cruz jacked a two-run homer in the third. Juan Fuente, who scored on the De La Cruz homer, singled home a Dean Bell triple in the eighth. Ronniel Demorizi jump-started the ninth inning rally with a two-run bomb, Fuente delivered another run-scoring single and Richard Urena singled home two more to tie it. Demorizi finished what he started by delivering the game-winning RBI single. Fuente was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with two walks and two stolen bases. De La Cruz had two hits and a walk. Demorizi, Bell and Javier Hernandez also joined the multi-hit parade with two apiece. Juan Kelly was 0-for-2 but there was nothing wrong with his batting eye as he worked Tigers pitching to the tune of four walks. Leudy Garcia had a base hit and Deiferson Barreto earned a base on balls, took one for the team and a stolen base.
Jhonny Hernandez was burned for a two-run homer and gave up six runs over three frames. All but one of the runs was unearned as te Tigers got pretty good mileage out of three hits, two walks and a hit by pitch. Manuel Cordova fared better than Hernandez but served up two solo homers among his three hits in three innings. He walked two but struck out three. Rauly Castillo pitched two shutout frames of two-hit ball, punctuated by three strikeouts. Hamly Suero (1-0) walked a couple but kept the Tigers off the board in the ninth.
*** 3 Stars!!! ***
3. Ronniel Demorizi, DSL Blue Jays — Has homered in consecutive games with seven RBI and is carrying a four-game hitting streak.
2. Jason Leblebijian, Vancouver — Already has a double, a triple and a home run in five games with the C's and is batting .333.
1. Juan Fuente, DSL Blue Jays — Has recorded at least one hit in eight of his 10 games, batting .324 with six stolen bases.
Wednesday's Probable Starters...
DSL Blue Jays vs. DSL Tigers, 10:30 am ET.
Dunedin — Casey Lawrence (3-6, 4.14) vs. Tampa, 11:00 am ET.
Vancouver — TBA vs. Spokane, 4:05 pm ET.
New Hampshire — Deck McGuire (3-6, 5.45) @ Altoona, 7:00 pm ET.
Buffalo — Ricky Romero (0-1, 8.22) vs. Gwinnett, 7:05 pm ET.
