Several high profile starters were on the mound on Saturday. Aaron Sanchez pitched well in his six innings and Buffalo rallied for the win. Matt Boyd is back in AA and he was excellent, nine K's in six innings. Jesus Tinoco had his best start of the season but got no support. Miguel Castro pitched very well to lead Vancouver to the win. Grayson Huffman made his first start as the GCL Jays won. Dunedin won and Lansing lost.
Buffalo 6 Scranton 3
Buffalo 6 Scranton 3
- Aaron Sanchez with another decent start, very like his last one. Through four innings Sanchez held Scranton off the scoreboard and had allowed just three hits. In the fifth he was tagged for a solo home run. Then in the sixth three hits and two runs were scored off Sanchez. Sanchez was finished after six with three runs scored off him. I do think Sanchez is in the mix for a bullpen call-up this year.
- Cory Aldridge had two more hits, that's four in two games.
- Andy LaRoche had three hits.
Trenton 1 New Hampshire 3
- Matt Boyd had a tough go of it in his first turn in AA. This time is different. Boyd struck out nine in six innings. Boyd didn't issue a walk but did get tagged for a home run.
- Dalton Pompey went 1-4, his second hit in AA. Pompey is not striking out much in AA, he is taking his walks, he is just hitting the ball right at the fielders. He has 2 hits in 22 non-strikeout appearances.
- Matt Newman led the offense with three hits and 2 RBI's.
Tampa 4 Dunedin 5
- Efrain Nieves started instead of Matt Boyd. He lasted four innings and was fortunate to escape with two runs allowed.
- Dwight Smith had one hit and now has a 760 OPS in A ball. Smith doesn't K much and takes a walk, both positives in case he is promoted to AA.
- Peter Mooney had three hits.
Great Lakes 5 Lansing 3
- Anthony Alford had just one hit, but it was a home run. Alford's last game is likely Sunday as he is getting married before he heads off to football season. Alford has hit much better in Lansing than in Vancouver but his BABIP in Lansing is 500, maybe not sustainable.
- DJ Davis' stats do not vary much between April, May and June. Davis did walk more in May but his K rate only improved a little in June.
- Dawel Lugo is still scuffling. He had an OPS in the 500's in April, June and July so far. May was a better month but he hasn't been able to replicate that.
Vancouver 5 Spokane 1
- Miguel Castro was excellent. In his five innings he gave up two hits, one of them an infield hit. He didn't walk anyone and had six K's.
- Chase Mallard made his Vancouver debut and pitched 3 shutout innings.
- Franklin Barreto got a hit but his batting average is now below .300.
Bluefield 0 Elizabethton 1
- The Jays were held to two hits for the second game in a row. Richard Urena had a hit and has a 774 OPS in his last ten games. Not bad for an 18 year old.
- Jesus Tinoco had his best start of the season, six innings, seven K's, one run.
- Daniel Lietz made his first appearance for Bluefield. He pitched two innings and just gave up two hits.
GCL Jays 10 GCL Astros 8
- Edwin Fuentes had two hits, making it five in the last two games. The five hits just raised his average to .262.
- Lane Thomas had two hits and is hitting .298 with a 757 OPS. Good for an 18 year old. Thomas plays centre and third as the Jays assess where his future lies.
- Grayson Huffman made his first start. He pitched two perfect innings. Huffman is a JC player so he is a year older than the high school guys.
- Jacob Brentz pitched four innings and gave up two runs in his last inning.
- Sean Ratcliffe of Ajax, Ontario, gave up six runs in the bottom of the ninth.
3 Stars
3rd star: Matt Newman
2nd star: Miguel Castro
1st star: Matt Boyd
