The affliates split their eight games down the middle on Tuesday. Pitching carried the day and it is reflected in today's three star selections.
Syracuse 7 Buffalo 5
Buffalo, NY - The Bisons could not accomplish what the parent club did. They to a game below. 500 after Joel Piniero (1-2, 5.82) was beaten like a pinata by the Nationals affilate. A two-run home run was among the six hits and five walked he issued, leading to four runs over four innings. His strikeout, groundout and flyout totals were three. Todd Redmond was outstanding in his two innings, striking out four of the six hitters he faced. Aaron Sanchez was not nearly as good as he was singed for two unearned runs on in two-thirds of an inning after two passed balls by Sean Ochinko. He walked one and struck out one. Only 11 of his 24 pitches were strikes. Blake McFarland offset a walk with a strikeout and stranded a Sanchez runner in 1-1/3 scoreless frames. Gregory Infante gave up an insurance run in the ninth on two hits and a walk but he did strike out one.
The Bisons held a brief 2-1 lead in the first inning when they scored on a Melky Mesa sacrifice fly and a Caleb Gindl RBI single. However, they were denied a third run when former Jay Darin Mastroianni threw out Alex Hassan at home from center field. The Herd closed the gap to one run a couple of times with a Dalton Pompey RBI groundout in the fourth and a Gindl RBI double and an Ochinko run-scoring single in the eighth but fell short. Gindl had a perfect night by going 3-for-3 with a walk while Jon Berti went 3-for-5. Pompey, Ochinko and Munenori Kawasaki had two hits apiece and Pompey popped a runner at third from center field. Hassan and Mesa reached twice with a single and a walk. Matt Hague was 0-for-5 and Andy Burns went 0-for-4 with a base on balls.
New Hampshire 7 Harrisburg 1
Harrisburg, PA - Casey Lawrence (10-8, 4.40) suspended the Senators by retiring
the first 19 hitters in a row before surrendering just one run on four
hits over eight solid innings. He struck out three and put eight of his
11 outs in play on the ground for a Game Score of 73. Jimmy Cordero punched out two of the three hitters he faced in a perfect ninth.
The defence of the Nationals affiliate was in a giving mood in this one. The Fisher Cats needed just one hit to score three times in the second inning as an Emilio Guerrero double was brought in by an Ian Parmley RBI groundout before a throwing error led to two more runs. A passed ball resulted in another New Hampshire run in the third. Another error along with a Kevin Nolan sacrifice fly in the fourth put two more runs up on the board. Parmley drove in the final run with a single in the seventh. Matt Newman doubled twice and Jack Murphy singled twice while drawing a walk apiece. Parmley and Shane Opitz had two hits as well with Opitz getting a double. K.C. Hobson got aboard twice with a hit and a base on balls. Roemon Fields was 1-for-5 while Nolan and Jorge Flores walked once. Flores also stole a base.
Daytona 7 Dunedin 1
Dunedin, FL - Sean Reid-Foley (0-2, 3.31) was one out shy of a five-inning start in a morning/afternoon affair. The Reds affiliate put up three runs on four hits and three walks against the Jays second round pick of 2014. On the bright side, the Guam native struck out six and added three more outs on the ground. Matt Dermody was mashed for three runs on four hits in three innings but struck out a pair. Brad Allen was burned for a run on one hit in 1-1/3 innings despite striking out a trio of Tortugas.
L.B. Dantzler was the only D-Jay to put a dent in the scoreboard as he went yard for a solo homer in the eighth inning. The only other hits came from J.D. Davis as he singled to lead off the fourth (but later caught stealing) and a Matt Dean base hit that was erased on a double play in the eighth. Doing the math, Dunedin hitters went down in order for seven of the nine innings. Richard Urena, Rowdy Tellez, Mitch Nay, Dickie Joe Thon, Derrick Loveless and Jorge Saez were cut down to size as they all turned in 0-for-3 days at the plate.
Lansing 2 Bowling Green 1
Lansing, MI - The Lugnuts cracked open the goose egg against the Rays affiliate with one swing of the bat from Ryan McBroom, who connected for a two-run home run to bring in a Jason Leblebijian doubled. D.J. Davis also had a double among his two hits while Josh Almonte and Michael De La Cruz also added a pair to their hit totals. Davis and De La Cruz were caught stealing. Christian Vazquez was on base twice with a hit and a hit by pitch and Chris Carlson worked a couple of walks. Alex Maldonado was 0-for-4 and Austin Davis was 0-for-2 with a sacrifice bunt.
Conor Fisk (1-2, 6.20) yielded just one run on five hits, two walks and a plunk over 6-2/3 innings. His K, GO and FO totals were five and his Game Score was 63. Tim Mayza allowed that Fisk runner to score but cooled off the Hot Rods the rest of the way by getting the final seven outs despite two hits and a walk. The lefthander struck out four to get his third save.
Vancouver 3 Eugene 1
Gunnar Heidt crosses the plate with the game's first run in the fourth inning.
Vancouver, BC - The C's finally won a game when scoring three runs or less. They were 0-15 before beating the Cubs affiliate for the third straight time. Gunnar Heidt fired up the offence with a leadoff walk in the fourth inning, stealing second and eventually scoring on a Lane Thomas ground ball and an error. Heidt and Thomas were involved in the C's second run in the sixth with Heidt singling, stealing second base and scoring on a Thomas base hit. Doubles by Andrew Guillotte and Justin Atkinson provided an insurance run in the eighth. Thomas also stole a base to give Vancouver three steals on the night. The other hits came from Ryan Hissey, who had a double, and Carl Wise collected a single. Connor Panas drew a walk but Earl Burl III and James Lynch were 0-for-3.
Evan Smith spun six shutout innings to secure a series victory for the C's.
Evan Smith (2-2, 2.67) put together his strongest outing of the season. He set down nine of the first 10 hitters he faced and did not give up his first hit until the fourth inning but that would be erased on a double play. The Alabama lefty survived a first-and-third, nobody out situation in the sixth by fielding a bunt and throwing out a runner at home. The Jays' 4th round pick of 2013 scattered four hits and struck out five without a free pass. Of his 11 outs in play, eight were handled by the infield to give him a Game Score of 69, dude! Brandon Hinkle started a 1-6-3 double play to take care of a leadoff walk in the eighth inning, putting up a couple of scoreless frames. The shutout was broken by a Eloy Jimenez home run with one out in the ninth but Andrew Case bookended his outing with strikeouts to register his sixth save.
Greeneville 6 Bluefield 1
Greeneville, TN - Everything was good for Bluefield after five innings as they scored the only run of the game to that point. Then it went horribly askew from there. Nick Wells worked his way around five hits and a walk by the Astros to pitch four scoreless frames that included four punchouts. The lefty had his infielders handle four of the five outs in play. John Kravetz coughed up the tying run in the sixth on two hits but struck out a pair over two frames. Zak Wasilewski (1-2) was whammied for five runs on six hits, a walk and a hit by pitch over two innings. The southpaw also balked, threw a wild pitch and did not strike out anyone.
Bluefield opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly by Matt Morgan that scored a leadoff triple by Andres Sotillo in the fifth. Rodrigo Orozco recorded the lone multi-hit effort with two singles. Yelstin Gudino and Deiferson Barreto had the only other hits. D.J. McKnight and Freddy Rodriguez drew the only walks. Gabriel Clark and Christian Williams were both 0-for-4.
GCL Astros 5 GCL Blue Jays 0
Dunedin, FL - This game was scoreless until the Astros scored first in the eighth inning before putting it away with four more runs in the ninth. Jose Espada put up four zeros to start the game and gave up just two hits while striking out four. Jackson Lowery followed up with three more innings of scoreless ball, scattering four hits and also whiffing two. He also induced six groundball outs. Ryan Cook (1-1) allowed the winning run on three hits and a walk in the eighth. Gunner Eastman only got two outs in the ninth as he was charged with four runs (three earned)on a hit, two walks (one intentional) and a hit by pitch. Jonathan Torres came in to get the final out and stranded a runner in the process.
The Jays could only scrape together four hits in this one. Edward Olivares had a double while Jake Thomas, Owen Spiwak and Miguel Almonte collected singles. Almonte, Reggie Pruitt, Lance Jones and Nash Knight worked the count to ball four once. Andrew Florides was 0-for-3 and bobbled one at short for that unearned run in the ninth.
DSL Blue Jays 9 DSL White Sox 4
Boca Chica, DR - The boys in the Dominican improved their record to 10 games above .500 by wiping out a quick 2-0 deficit. An Antony Fuentes grounder to the mound put the Jays in flight in the second inning to cash in an Enmanuel Moreta leadoff walk. They put together a six-run rally in the third, started by an RBI base knock from Norberto Obeso. That was followed by a Moreta run-scoring single, a two-run triple by Francisco Rodriguez and RBI singles by Fuentes and Jean Almanzar. A Rodriguez double in the fifth and a balk in the eighth accounted for the other two runs. Jesus Navarro was the hit leader with three while Obeso, Moreta and Rodriguez had two apiece. Moreta walked twice while Obeso and Rodriguez walked once. Almanzar had a hit and a walk while Fuentes had a base rap and a stolen base. Antonio Concepion was 1-for-2 but Manuel Herazo was 0-for-3 while Sam Buelens and Victor Figuereo were 0-for-2. Christian Peguero and Yorman Rodriguez also could not muster a hit in their lone plate appearances.
Wilfri Aleton (2-2, 2.92) overcame a couple of first inning errors (one by himself, the other by Almanzar at second) to go 5-2/3 innings in which he allowed three runs (two unearned) on five hits and two walks. His strikeout total was eight and his groundout tally was nine. Tommy Henriquez stranded a runner for Aleton and yielded just one hit over 2-1/3 innings while racking up three K's. Jose Acosta was jolted for a run on a balk in the ninth. He gave up hit and a walk but struck out one to finish things off.
Tuesday's Linescores
*** 3 Stars!!! ***
3. Conor Fisk, Lansing
2. Evan Smith, Vancouver
1. Casey Lawrence, New Hampshire
Wednesday's Schedule / Probable Starters
DSL Diamondbacks @ DSL Blue Jays, 10:30 am ET - TBA
New Hampshire @ Harrisburg, 12:00 pm ET - Taylor Cole (4-7, 4.03)
GCL Phillies @ GCL Blue Jays, 12:00 pm ET - TBA
Lansing @ Bowling Green, 12:05 pm ET - Starlyn Suriel (5-6, 3.83)
Eugene @ Vancouver, 4:05 pm ET - Jon Harris (0-1, 3.14)
Dunedin @ Bradenton, 6:30 pm ET - Jeremy Gabryszwski (7-5, 3.44)
Bluefield @ Greeneville, 7:00 pm ET - TBA
Syracuse @ Buffalo, 7:05 pm ET - Daniel Norris (2-10, 4.15)
Extra Innings
The Vancouver Canadians will have an Aaron Sanchez bobblehead giveaway on Thursday.
Syracuse 7 Buffalo 5
Buffalo, NY - The Bisons could not accomplish what the parent club did. They to a game below. 500 after Joel Piniero (1-2, 5.82) was beaten like a pinata by the Nationals affilate. A two-run home run was among the six hits and five walked he issued, leading to four runs over four innings. His strikeout, groundout and flyout totals were three. Todd Redmond was outstanding in his two innings, striking out four of the six hitters he faced. Aaron Sanchez was not nearly as good as he was singed for two unearned runs on in two-thirds of an inning after two passed balls by Sean Ochinko. He walked one and struck out one. Only 11 of his 24 pitches were strikes. Blake McFarland offset a walk with a strikeout and stranded a Sanchez runner in 1-1/3 scoreless frames. Gregory Infante gave up an insurance run in the ninth on two hits and a walk but he did strike out one.
The Bisons held a brief 2-1 lead in the first inning when they scored on a Melky Mesa sacrifice fly and a Caleb Gindl RBI single. However, they were denied a third run when former Jay Darin Mastroianni threw out Alex Hassan at home from center field. The Herd closed the gap to one run a couple of times with a Dalton Pompey RBI groundout in the fourth and a Gindl RBI double and an Ochinko run-scoring single in the eighth but fell short. Gindl had a perfect night by going 3-for-3 with a walk while Jon Berti went 3-for-5. Pompey, Ochinko and Munenori Kawasaki had two hits apiece and Pompey popped a runner at third from center field. Hassan and Mesa reached twice with a single and a walk. Matt Hague was 0-for-5 and Andy Burns went 0-for-4 with a base on balls.
New Hampshire 7 Harrisburg 1
Harrisburg, PA - Casey Lawrence (10-8, 4.40) suspended the Senators by retiring
the first 19 hitters in a row before surrendering just one run on four
hits over eight solid innings. He struck out three and put eight of his
11 outs in play on the ground for a Game Score of 73. Jimmy Cordero punched out two of the three hitters he faced in a perfect ninth.The defence of the Nationals affiliate was in a giving mood in this one. The Fisher Cats needed just one hit to score three times in the second inning as an Emilio Guerrero double was brought in by an Ian Parmley RBI groundout before a throwing error led to two more runs. A passed ball resulted in another New Hampshire run in the third. Another error along with a Kevin Nolan sacrifice fly in the fourth put two more runs up on the board. Parmley drove in the final run with a single in the seventh. Matt Newman doubled twice and Jack Murphy singled twice while drawing a walk apiece. Parmley and Shane Opitz had two hits as well with Opitz getting a double. K.C. Hobson got aboard twice with a hit and a base on balls. Roemon Fields was 1-for-5 while Nolan and Jorge Flores walked once. Flores also stole a base.
Daytona 7 Dunedin 1
Dunedin, FL - Sean Reid-Foley (0-2, 3.31) was one out shy of a five-inning start in a morning/afternoon affair. The Reds affiliate put up three runs on four hits and three walks against the Jays second round pick of 2014. On the bright side, the Guam native struck out six and added three more outs on the ground. Matt Dermody was mashed for three runs on four hits in three innings but struck out a pair. Brad Allen was burned for a run on one hit in 1-1/3 innings despite striking out a trio of Tortugas.
L.B. Dantzler was the only D-Jay to put a dent in the scoreboard as he went yard for a solo homer in the eighth inning. The only other hits came from J.D. Davis as he singled to lead off the fourth (but later caught stealing) and a Matt Dean base hit that was erased on a double play in the eighth. Doing the math, Dunedin hitters went down in order for seven of the nine innings. Richard Urena, Rowdy Tellez, Mitch Nay, Dickie Joe Thon, Derrick Loveless and Jorge Saez were cut down to size as they all turned in 0-for-3 days at the plate.
Lansing 2 Bowling Green 1
Lansing, MI - The Lugnuts cracked open the goose egg against the Rays affiliate with one swing of the bat from Ryan McBroom, who connected for a two-run home run to bring in a Jason Leblebijian doubled. D.J. Davis also had a double among his two hits while Josh Almonte and Michael De La Cruz also added a pair to their hit totals. Davis and De La Cruz were caught stealing. Christian Vazquez was on base twice with a hit and a hit by pitch and Chris Carlson worked a couple of walks. Alex Maldonado was 0-for-4 and Austin Davis was 0-for-2 with a sacrifice bunt.Conor Fisk (1-2, 6.20) yielded just one run on five hits, two walks and a plunk over 6-2/3 innings. His K, GO and FO totals were five and his Game Score was 63. Tim Mayza allowed that Fisk runner to score but cooled off the Hot Rods the rest of the way by getting the final seven outs despite two hits and a walk. The lefthander struck out four to get his third save.
Vancouver 3 Eugene 1
Gunnar Heidt crosses the plate with the game's first run in the fourth inning.
Vancouver, BC - The C's finally won a game when scoring three runs or less. They were 0-15 before beating the Cubs affiliate for the third straight time. Gunnar Heidt fired up the offence with a leadoff walk in the fourth inning, stealing second and eventually scoring on a Lane Thomas ground ball and an error. Heidt and Thomas were involved in the C's second run in the sixth with Heidt singling, stealing second base and scoring on a Thomas base hit. Doubles by Andrew Guillotte and Justin Atkinson provided an insurance run in the eighth. Thomas also stole a base to give Vancouver three steals on the night. The other hits came from Ryan Hissey, who had a double, and Carl Wise collected a single. Connor Panas drew a walk but Earl Burl III and James Lynch were 0-for-3.Evan Smith spun six shutout innings to secure a series victory for the C's.
Evan Smith (2-2, 2.67) put together his strongest outing of the season. He set down nine of the first 10 hitters he faced and did not give up his first hit until the fourth inning but that would be erased on a double play. The Alabama lefty survived a first-and-third, nobody out situation in the sixth by fielding a bunt and throwing out a runner at home. The Jays' 4th round pick of 2013 scattered four hits and struck out five without a free pass. Of his 11 outs in play, eight were handled by the infield to give him a Game Score of 69, dude! Brandon Hinkle started a 1-6-3 double play to take care of a leadoff walk in the eighth inning, putting up a couple of scoreless frames. The shutout was broken by a Eloy Jimenez home run with one out in the ninth but Andrew Case bookended his outing with strikeouts to register his sixth save.
Greeneville 6 Bluefield 1
Greeneville, TN - Everything was good for Bluefield after five innings as they scored the only run of the game to that point. Then it went horribly askew from there. Nick Wells worked his way around five hits and a walk by the Astros to pitch four scoreless frames that included four punchouts. The lefty had his infielders handle four of the five outs in play. John Kravetz coughed up the tying run in the sixth on two hits but struck out a pair over two frames. Zak Wasilewski (1-2) was whammied for five runs on six hits, a walk and a hit by pitch over two innings. The southpaw also balked, threw a wild pitch and did not strike out anyone.
Bluefield opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly by Matt Morgan that scored a leadoff triple by Andres Sotillo in the fifth. Rodrigo Orozco recorded the lone multi-hit effort with two singles. Yelstin Gudino and Deiferson Barreto had the only other hits. D.J. McKnight and Freddy Rodriguez drew the only walks. Gabriel Clark and Christian Williams were both 0-for-4.
GCL Astros 5 GCL Blue Jays 0
Dunedin, FL - This game was scoreless until the Astros scored first in the eighth inning before putting it away with four more runs in the ninth. Jose Espada put up four zeros to start the game and gave up just two hits while striking out four. Jackson Lowery followed up with three more innings of scoreless ball, scattering four hits and also whiffing two. He also induced six groundball outs. Ryan Cook (1-1) allowed the winning run on three hits and a walk in the eighth. Gunner Eastman only got two outs in the ninth as he was charged with four runs (three earned)on a hit, two walks (one intentional) and a hit by pitch. Jonathan Torres came in to get the final out and stranded a runner in the process.
The Jays could only scrape together four hits in this one. Edward Olivares had a double while Jake Thomas, Owen Spiwak and Miguel Almonte collected singles. Almonte, Reggie Pruitt, Lance Jones and Nash Knight worked the count to ball four once. Andrew Florides was 0-for-3 and bobbled one at short for that unearned run in the ninth.
DSL Blue Jays 9 DSL White Sox 4
Boca Chica, DR - The boys in the Dominican improved their record to 10 games above .500 by wiping out a quick 2-0 deficit. An Antony Fuentes grounder to the mound put the Jays in flight in the second inning to cash in an Enmanuel Moreta leadoff walk. They put together a six-run rally in the third, started by an RBI base knock from Norberto Obeso. That was followed by a Moreta run-scoring single, a two-run triple by Francisco Rodriguez and RBI singles by Fuentes and Jean Almanzar. A Rodriguez double in the fifth and a balk in the eighth accounted for the other two runs. Jesus Navarro was the hit leader with three while Obeso, Moreta and Rodriguez had two apiece. Moreta walked twice while Obeso and Rodriguez walked once. Almanzar had a hit and a walk while Fuentes had a base rap and a stolen base. Antonio Concepion was 1-for-2 but Manuel Herazo was 0-for-3 while Sam Buelens and Victor Figuereo were 0-for-2. Christian Peguero and Yorman Rodriguez also could not muster a hit in their lone plate appearances.Wilfri Aleton (2-2, 2.92) overcame a couple of first inning errors (one by himself, the other by Almanzar at second) to go 5-2/3 innings in which he allowed three runs (two unearned) on five hits and two walks. His strikeout total was eight and his groundout tally was nine. Tommy Henriquez stranded a runner for Aleton and yielded just one hit over 2-1/3 innings while racking up three K's. Jose Acosta was jolted for a run on a balk in the ninth. He gave up hit and a walk but struck out one to finish things off.
Tuesday's Linescores
*** 3 Stars!!! ***
3. Conor Fisk, Lansing
2. Evan Smith, Vancouver
1. Casey Lawrence, New Hampshire
Wednesday's Schedule / Probable Starters
DSL Diamondbacks @ DSL Blue Jays, 10:30 am ET - TBA
New Hampshire @ Harrisburg, 12:00 pm ET - Taylor Cole (4-7, 4.03)
GCL Phillies @ GCL Blue Jays, 12:00 pm ET - TBA
Lansing @ Bowling Green, 12:05 pm ET - Starlyn Suriel (5-6, 3.83)
Eugene @ Vancouver, 4:05 pm ET - Jon Harris (0-1, 3.14)
Dunedin @ Bradenton, 6:30 pm ET - Jeremy Gabryszwski (7-5, 3.44)
Bluefield @ Greeneville, 7:00 pm ET - TBA
Syracuse @ Buffalo, 7:05 pm ET - Daniel Norris (2-10, 4.15)
Extra Innings
- The Buffalo News has a story on Randy Wolf
- MiLB.com has a feature on Dunedin's Anthony Alford
- The Lansing State Journal shines the spotlight on Ryan McBroom
- Congratulations to Surrey, BC native Justin Atkinson for winning the Northwest League's Player of the Week award.
- MetroNews Vancouver catches up with Atkinson and The Vancouver Province spoke with him too
- The Province also looks at the return of Tom Robson
- As alluded to by Bauxite TangledUpInBlue in Monday's minor league update, here is Charlie Caskey's story on Robson and Max Pentecost
- The Vancouver Province also has a story on the C's breaking ground on a special Field of Dreams
- VanCityBuzz says there will be no fireworks at The Nat until further notice
- C's Extra Innings looks at player superstitions
- If you are a bobblehead collector, Bluefield will have one of comedian Steve Harvey August 16.
The Vancouver Canadians will have an Aaron Sanchez bobblehead giveaway on Thursday.