The affiliates played .500 ball in four games Monday night. They wound up splitting a pair against their counterparts from the Yankees and Reds. Two great starting performances were turned in, a Bison clubbed his first AAA homer and Lansing welcomed the reigning Northwest League MVP to its lineup. However, a Lugnuts pitcher left the game after facing just two batters due to injury.
Buffalo 17 Louisville 5
Buffalo, NY - The Bisons clustered their runs in three inning blocks against the Reds affiliate, scoring nine times in innings 1-3 and eight more in innings 5-7. Kevin Pillar kick-started the offence with four RBI singles and two walks for a perfect night at the dish. He also stole two bases. Matt Tuiasosopo was 3-for-5 with a double, a walk and four RBI. Erik Kratz doubled twice and walked once as part of a 3-for-4 night. The only home run came from Ryan Schimpf, his first Triple-A homer. He also walked twice. Darin Mastrioanni had three hits and two steals in his six trips to the dish. Anthony Gose had two hits and a walk and Dan Johnson doubled and walked twice. Jared Goedert also reached base thrice with two hits and a single. Steve Tolleson had a hit to give every Bison starter a notch in the H column.
Kyle Drabek (2-2) really needed that run support because he struggled to get through five innings. Throwing 62 out of 99 pitches for strikes would normally be good but the ones out the strike zone resulted in five walks. The son of Doug limited the damage to two runs on six hits and struck out six. Lefty Rob Rasmussen gave up two runs in one inning. John Stilson was nicked for a run in 1.2 innings before Bobby Korecky got the final four outs in succession.
Trenton 2 New Hampshire 1
Manchester, NH - Aaron Sanchez spun 6.1 innings of shutout ball against the Yankees farmhands, surrendering just five hits and two walks while whiffing six. All 10 outs put into play were on the ground. Sanchez threw 89 pitches, 52 for strikes. He turned things over to lefthander Richard Bleier (1-2), who was charged with an unearned run in the seventh after a passed ball escaped A.J. Jimenez on a strike three that would have been the final out. Bleier gave up the winning run in the ninth on a single and a triple.
Jimenez atoned for the passed ball by drawing a leadoff walk in the eighth inning. He would score on a Brad Glenn ground ball to tie the game at 1-1. Mike McDade had two of the four New Hampshire hits. Glenn had a double and Andy Burns collected a single. Mike Crouse and Gabe Jacobo each had a walk and a stolen base. Jonathan Jones also heard ball four once with two outs in the ninth but that was the last baserunner the Fisher Cats had.
Dunedin 5 Tampa 3
Tampa, FL - The D-Jays got the upper hand on the Yankees with two second-inning runs on a Derrick Chung RBI double and a Gustavo Pierre run-scoring single. Pierre singled home another run in the fourth while Christian Lopes doubled home another to make it 4-1 Dunedin. K.C. Hobson knocked home the final Dunedin run in the seventh with a base hit to score a Dalton Pompey triple. Pierre had three hits and Pompey walked to go along with his three-bagger. Dwight Smith Jr. doubled in five at-bats.
Jesse Hernandez (2-1) yielded only one run over six innings, limiting Tampa to just three hits and a walk. Seven of his 10 outs in play were on the ground. Kramer Champlin and Ajay Meyer gave up a run an inning to make it a closer game but Blake McFarland settled things down by striking out the side in the ninth for his second save.
Dayton 8 Lansing 4
Dayton, OH - The Reds affiliate decided this game early with a six-run first inning. Adonys Cardona (0-3) only lasted two batters and both reached on a single and a walk. There were also two wild pitches before Cardona left with an undisclosed injury. Roberto Espinosa could not right the ship, giving up five runs in 2.2 innings. Brady Dragmire mopped up for the final 5.1 innings, limiting the Dragons to a run on five hits while whiffing a pair.
The Lugnuts cut the 6-0 lead in half in the second inning when Dawel Lugo worked a bases-loaded walk and Justin Atkinson was credited with one RBI on a groundball that led to two runs after an error. Atkinson plated another run on a ground ball in the seventh. Lugo had two hits and a walk and Derrick Loveless doubled and walked. L.B. Dantzler had a walk, a single and a run scored in his Midwest League debut. Mitch Nay doubled and D.J. Davis was 1-for-4 with a caught stealing but threw out a runner from center field on a 8-4-5 play. Santiago Nessy had a walk.
Linescores
*** 3 Stars!!! ***
3. Jesse Hernandez, Dunedin - The Florida State League is batting just .192 against him and has walked just three hitters with 11 K's over 22 innings.
2. Aaron Sanchez, New Hampshire - Limiting Eastern League hitters to a .227 batting average with a K-BB total of 27-15 over 30 innings.
1. Kevin Pillar, Buffalo - Has a .929 OPS over the last 10 games and a 11 game hitting streak.
Tuesday's Schedule & Probable Starters...
Louisville @ Buffalo, 6:05 pm ET - RHP Marcus Stroman (1-2, 2.18).
Trenton @ New Hampshire, 6:35 pm - RHP Deck McGuire (3-1, 2.54).
Dunedin @ Tampa, 7:00 pm ET - LHP Daniel Norris (2-0, 0.95).
Lansing @ Dayton, 7:00 pm ET - RHP Kendall Graveman (2-0, 0.34).
Extra Innings...
Buffalo 17 Louisville 5
Buffalo, NY - The Bisons clustered their runs in three inning blocks against the Reds affiliate, scoring nine times in innings 1-3 and eight more in innings 5-7. Kevin Pillar kick-started the offence with four RBI singles and two walks for a perfect night at the dish. He also stole two bases. Matt Tuiasosopo was 3-for-5 with a double, a walk and four RBI. Erik Kratz doubled twice and walked once as part of a 3-for-4 night. The only home run came from Ryan Schimpf, his first Triple-A homer. He also walked twice. Darin Mastrioanni had three hits and two steals in his six trips to the dish. Anthony Gose had two hits and a walk and Dan Johnson doubled and walked twice. Jared Goedert also reached base thrice with two hits and a single. Steve Tolleson had a hit to give every Bison starter a notch in the H column.Kyle Drabek (2-2) really needed that run support because he struggled to get through five innings. Throwing 62 out of 99 pitches for strikes would normally be good but the ones out the strike zone resulted in five walks. The son of Doug limited the damage to two runs on six hits and struck out six. Lefty Rob Rasmussen gave up two runs in one inning. John Stilson was nicked for a run in 1.2 innings before Bobby Korecky got the final four outs in succession.
Trenton 2 New Hampshire 1
Manchester, NH - Aaron Sanchez spun 6.1 innings of shutout ball against the Yankees farmhands, surrendering just five hits and two walks while whiffing six. All 10 outs put into play were on the ground. Sanchez threw 89 pitches, 52 for strikes. He turned things over to lefthander Richard Bleier (1-2), who was charged with an unearned run in the seventh after a passed ball escaped A.J. Jimenez on a strike three that would have been the final out. Bleier gave up the winning run in the ninth on a single and a triple.
Jimenez atoned for the passed ball by drawing a leadoff walk in the eighth inning. He would score on a Brad Glenn ground ball to tie the game at 1-1. Mike McDade had two of the four New Hampshire hits. Glenn had a double and Andy Burns collected a single. Mike Crouse and Gabe Jacobo each had a walk and a stolen base. Jonathan Jones also heard ball four once with two outs in the ninth but that was the last baserunner the Fisher Cats had.
Dunedin 5 Tampa 3
Tampa, FL - The D-Jays got the upper hand on the Yankees with two second-inning runs on a Derrick Chung RBI double and a Gustavo Pierre run-scoring single. Pierre singled home another run in the fourth while Christian Lopes doubled home another to make it 4-1 Dunedin. K.C. Hobson knocked home the final Dunedin run in the seventh with a base hit to score a Dalton Pompey triple. Pierre had three hits and Pompey walked to go along with his three-bagger. Dwight Smith Jr. doubled in five at-bats.Jesse Hernandez (2-1) yielded only one run over six innings, limiting Tampa to just three hits and a walk. Seven of his 10 outs in play were on the ground. Kramer Champlin and Ajay Meyer gave up a run an inning to make it a closer game but Blake McFarland settled things down by striking out the side in the ninth for his second save.
Dayton 8 Lansing 4
Dayton, OH - The Reds affiliate decided this game early with a six-run first inning. Adonys Cardona (0-3) only lasted two batters and both reached on a single and a walk. There were also two wild pitches before Cardona left with an undisclosed injury. Roberto Espinosa could not right the ship, giving up five runs in 2.2 innings. Brady Dragmire mopped up for the final 5.1 innings, limiting the Dragons to a run on five hits while whiffing a pair.
The Lugnuts cut the 6-0 lead in half in the second inning when Dawel Lugo worked a bases-loaded walk and Justin Atkinson was credited with one RBI on a groundball that led to two runs after an error. Atkinson plated another run on a ground ball in the seventh. Lugo had two hits and a walk and Derrick Loveless doubled and walked. L.B. Dantzler had a walk, a single and a run scored in his Midwest League debut. Mitch Nay doubled and D.J. Davis was 1-for-4 with a caught stealing but threw out a runner from center field on a 8-4-5 play. Santiago Nessy had a walk.
Linescores
*** 3 Stars!!! ***
3. Jesse Hernandez, Dunedin - The Florida State League is batting just .192 against him and has walked just three hitters with 11 K's over 22 innings.
2. Aaron Sanchez, New Hampshire - Limiting Eastern League hitters to a .227 batting average with a K-BB total of 27-15 over 30 innings.
1. Kevin Pillar, Buffalo - Has a .929 OPS over the last 10 games and a 11 game hitting streak.
Tuesday's Schedule & Probable Starters...
Louisville @ Buffalo, 6:05 pm ET - RHP Marcus Stroman (1-2, 2.18).
Trenton @ New Hampshire, 6:35 pm - RHP Deck McGuire (3-1, 2.54).
Dunedin @ Tampa, 7:00 pm ET - LHP Daniel Norris (2-0, 0.95).
Lansing @ Dayton, 7:00 pm ET - RHP Kendall Graveman (2-0, 0.34).
Extra Innings...
- The Scranton Times-Tribune looks at the rash of rainouts that have affected International League teams such as Buffalo this month.
- The Buffalo News has a Bisons Notebook with notes on Sean Nolin, Anthony Gose and Kevin Pillar and comments on Ricky Romero's Sunday start.
- LansingLugnuts.com has an audio interview with lefty Griffin Murphy.
