There were fireworks aplenty in the Indiana night sky on the Memorial Day Monday. The affiliates came away with a split of their two games in the Hoosier State but lost an afternoon tilt in the Granite State to finish up with a 1-2 record. Dunedin had the day off.
Buffalo 6 Indianapolis 2
Indianapolis, IN - Deck McGuire (1-0) made his Triple-A debut and it was a decent outing. He had a couple of 1-2-3 innings in the first and fourth innings and induced a couple of ground ball double plays in the second and third. The Pirates affiliate did get to him for a pair of runs in the sixth. In all, McGuire pitched 5.2 innings and was charged with two runs on six hits and two walks. He struck out a pair and collected six ground ball outs. Esmil Antonio allowed one of two inherited runners to score after wild pitching two runners in scoring position and giving up a run-scoring single. The only reason it wasn't a two-run single was Darin Mastroianni threw out a runner at the plate from center field to end the inning. The recently demoted righty did recover to throw 2.1 shutout innings despite two hits and a walk by striking out a pair. Bobby Korecky struck out a batter in a perfect ninth to lower his earned run average to 29 cents.
Dan Johnson put the Bisons on the board in the fourth inning with his 9th homer of the season. Jared Goeddert, who walked before Johnson's blast, went deep in the fifth for his own two-run shot. Insurance runs came on an RBI triple by Brad Glenn in the seventh and an Andy LaRoche run-scoring single in the eighth. Glenn was 4-for-4 with a walk and finished a homer short of the cycle. Matt Tuiasosopo also was a member of the Bisons four-hit club with two doubles. Johnson had a three-hit night and Goeddert had two walks to go with his dinger. Mastroianni and A.J. Jimenez - in his season debut with the Herd - had two hits while Andy LaRoche singled and took one for the team. Ryan Goins walked but Jonathan Diaz was 0-for-4. The Bisons had 17 hits in this one, one more than the parent club!
Portland 6 New Hampshire 3
Manchester, NH - Scott Copeland (3-5) was tuned up for five runs on 11 hits and a walk over seven innings. Copeland allowed a two-run bomb to Blake Swihart in the sixth to give Portland the lead for good. He struck out three and nine of his 10 outs in play were on the ground. Austin Bibens-Dirkx was charged with an unearned run over two frames on a hit and a walk. A Matt Newman error in right allowed the runner to reach before Bibens-Dirx wild-pitched him home in the ninth. He struck out one.
The Fisher Cats fought back twice to tie the Red Sox affiliate. Andy Burns socked a solo homer off knuckleballer Steven Wright in the second, his third of the season. The Fisher Cats scored two more in the third on a Kenny Wilson RBI groundout and an error. Pierce Rankin was the only Fisher Cat with two hits and Jon Berti reached twice with a single and a walk. Berti stole a base but was also caught stealing so he's 18-for-23 on the season. Ryan Schimpf and Peter Mooney had the other base hits.
South Bend 9 Lansing 2
South Bend, IN - Chase De Jong (0-2) put up zeroes over the first three innings and was staked to an early 2-0 lead. However, he lasted just 4.2 frames, surrendering a solo homer among three runs total on five hits and two walks. De Jong struck out three but only two of his eight outs in play remained in the infield. Lefthander Alonzo Gonzalez stranded a De Jong runner but he got hammered for five runs on seven hits and a walk in 2.1 innings. Roberto Espinosa could not escape unscathed either as he gave up a run on two hits but struck out one in his one inning of work.
Mitch Nay tripled home a Dawel Lugo single for the first run and Nay came home on a Jorge Saez ground ball in the second inning. That was all Lansing could muster off Braden Shipley, Arizona's first round pick in the 2013 draft, in his six innings of work. Nay, Lugo and D.J. Davis all had a pair of hits. Davis was caught stealing and is 5-for-15 in that department. L.B. Dantzler singled and walked and Santiago Nessy was 1-for-4. Ian Parmley had a pinch-hit walk for DH Jorge Saez, who also walked. Chaz Frank also drew a base on balls.
Monday's Linescores
*** 3 Stars!!! ***
3. Deck McGuire, Buffalo - Of his 97 pitches in his Triple-A debut, 61 were called strikes.
2. Dan Johnson, Buffalo - His nine homers and .516 slugging percentage are among the top five in the International League.
1. Brad Glenn, Buffalo - Has a hit in his first 10 games with Buffalo since his call-up from New Hampshire with an OPS of 1.113.
Tuesday's Schedule & Probable Starters...
Lansing @ South Bend, 10:35 am ET - LHP Shane Dawson (2-1, 3.00).
Dunedin @ Charlotte, 6:30 pm ET - LHP Daniel Norris (3-0, 0.80).
New Hampshire @ Binghamton, 6:35 pm ET - LHP Matt Boyd (0-1, 6.30).
Buffalo @ Indianapolis, 7:05 pm - LHP Ricky Romero (0-2, 6.07).
Extra Innings...
Buffalo 6 Indianapolis 2
Indianapolis, IN - Deck McGuire (1-0) made his Triple-A debut and it was a decent outing. He had a couple of 1-2-3 innings in the first and fourth innings and induced a couple of ground ball double plays in the second and third. The Pirates affiliate did get to him for a pair of runs in the sixth. In all, McGuire pitched 5.2 innings and was charged with two runs on six hits and two walks. He struck out a pair and collected six ground ball outs. Esmil Antonio allowed one of two inherited runners to score after wild pitching two runners in scoring position and giving up a run-scoring single. The only reason it wasn't a two-run single was Darin Mastroianni threw out a runner at the plate from center field to end the inning. The recently demoted righty did recover to throw 2.1 shutout innings despite two hits and a walk by striking out a pair. Bobby Korecky struck out a batter in a perfect ninth to lower his earned run average to 29 cents.Dan Johnson put the Bisons on the board in the fourth inning with his 9th homer of the season. Jared Goeddert, who walked before Johnson's blast, went deep in the fifth for his own two-run shot. Insurance runs came on an RBI triple by Brad Glenn in the seventh and an Andy LaRoche run-scoring single in the eighth. Glenn was 4-for-4 with a walk and finished a homer short of the cycle. Matt Tuiasosopo also was a member of the Bisons four-hit club with two doubles. Johnson had a three-hit night and Goeddert had two walks to go with his dinger. Mastroianni and A.J. Jimenez - in his season debut with the Herd - had two hits while Andy LaRoche singled and took one for the team. Ryan Goins walked but Jonathan Diaz was 0-for-4. The Bisons had 17 hits in this one, one more than the parent club!
Portland 6 New Hampshire 3
Manchester, NH - Scott Copeland (3-5) was tuned up for five runs on 11 hits and a walk over seven innings. Copeland allowed a two-run bomb to Blake Swihart in the sixth to give Portland the lead for good. He struck out three and nine of his 10 outs in play were on the ground. Austin Bibens-Dirkx was charged with an unearned run over two frames on a hit and a walk. A Matt Newman error in right allowed the runner to reach before Bibens-Dirx wild-pitched him home in the ninth. He struck out one.
The Fisher Cats fought back twice to tie the Red Sox affiliate. Andy Burns socked a solo homer off knuckleballer Steven Wright in the second, his third of the season. The Fisher Cats scored two more in the third on a Kenny Wilson RBI groundout and an error. Pierce Rankin was the only Fisher Cat with two hits and Jon Berti reached twice with a single and a walk. Berti stole a base but was also caught stealing so he's 18-for-23 on the season. Ryan Schimpf and Peter Mooney had the other base hits.
South Bend 9 Lansing 2
South Bend, IN - Chase De Jong (0-2) put up zeroes over the first three innings and was staked to an early 2-0 lead. However, he lasted just 4.2 frames, surrendering a solo homer among three runs total on five hits and two walks. De Jong struck out three but only two of his eight outs in play remained in the infield. Lefthander Alonzo Gonzalez stranded a De Jong runner but he got hammered for five runs on seven hits and a walk in 2.1 innings. Roberto Espinosa could not escape unscathed either as he gave up a run on two hits but struck out one in his one inning of work.
Mitch Nay tripled home a Dawel Lugo single for the first run and Nay came home on a Jorge Saez ground ball in the second inning. That was all Lansing could muster off Braden Shipley, Arizona's first round pick in the 2013 draft, in his six innings of work. Nay, Lugo and D.J. Davis all had a pair of hits. Davis was caught stealing and is 5-for-15 in that department. L.B. Dantzler singled and walked and Santiago Nessy was 1-for-4. Ian Parmley had a pinch-hit walk for DH Jorge Saez, who also walked. Chaz Frank also drew a base on balls.
Monday's Linescores
*** 3 Stars!!! ***
3. Deck McGuire, Buffalo - Of his 97 pitches in his Triple-A debut, 61 were called strikes.
2. Dan Johnson, Buffalo - His nine homers and .516 slugging percentage are among the top five in the International League.
1. Brad Glenn, Buffalo - Has a hit in his first 10 games with Buffalo since his call-up from New Hampshire with an OPS of 1.113.
Tuesday's Schedule & Probable Starters...
Lansing @ South Bend, 10:35 am ET - LHP Shane Dawson (2-1, 3.00).
Dunedin @ Charlotte, 6:30 pm ET - LHP Daniel Norris (3-0, 0.80).
New Hampshire @ Binghamton, 6:35 pm ET - LHP Matt Boyd (0-1, 6.30).
Buffalo @ Indianapolis, 7:05 pm - LHP Ricky Romero (0-2, 6.07).
Extra Innings...
- The Vancouver Sun says Ladner, BC's Tom Robson will be on the shelf for a while.
- Baseball America has released its latest mock-up for the 2014 amateur draft June 5-7. The Blue Jays have the 9th and 11th picks. BA also has a blurb on Dawel Lugo in its Minor League Roundup.
- Sportsnet The Fan 590 caught up with Deck McGuire after his debut outing with Buffalo.
