The affiliates won just two out of seven on Saturday thanks in part to two walk-off losses. The good news was a walk-off win and a shutout victory. Dunedin's game in Brevard County was rained out.
Buffalo 4 Syracuse 0
Syracuse, NY - The RBI single was the weapon of choice for the Herd. Matt Hague drove in the first run with a single in the fourth and George Kottaras, Andy Burns and Munenori Kawasaki did likewise in the eighth. Burns had two hits and Ezequiel Carerra doubled and walked. Jon Berti had a base hit, a base on balls and a base stolen. Kottaras also walked while Ty Kelly singled, Chris Heisey drew a walk and Hague was hit by a pitch.
Chad Jenkins (8-3, 2.32) threw a two-hitter over five shutout frames, striking out four and inducing eight groundball outs of the nine in play. Greg Burke pitched 1-2/3 scoreless innings with two K's. Colt Hynes gave up a hit but got a strikeout to finish the seventh. Steve Delabar overcame a hit and a walk with four strikeouts in two innings for the save.
Erie 5 New Hampshire 3
Manchester, NH - Scott Barnes (2-4, 4.47) could not close the barn door in time against the Tigers affiliate, surrendering four runs over three frames on five hits with a 4-2 K/BB total. Luis Perez gave up the other run on six hits but soaked up four innings. Danny Barnes was hit and miss with a hit and three strikeouts in the eighth. Chad Girodo allowed a hit but whiffed one in the ninth.
Ryan Schimpf got the Fisher Cats back into the game with a three-run homer to break the shutout, his 15th of the season. Schimpf, Melky Mesa and Christian Lopes all had two-hit games.
Kane County 3 Lansing 0
Geneva, IL - Chase Mallard (5-5, 5.13) was on the run against the D-Backs affiliate as they got five hits, four walks and a hit by pitch but that only translated to two runs over six innings that included a pair of K's. Jose Fernandez served up a solo homer among four hits and a walk over two frames.
Michael De La Cruz and Austin Davis had the only base hits for Lansing. Chris Carlson walked three times while Ryan McBroom and Alex Maldonado walked once. McBroom also stole a base.
Princeton 4 Bluefield 3
Princeton, WV - The Rays walked this off Joe Claver (0-1) with a run-scoring single that scored a hit by pitch with two outs. The runner had stolen second base and got to third on a stolen base and a throwing error by catcher Andres Sotillo on the heels of a strikeout. That ruined a strong effort from Miguel Burgos, who surrendered just three hits and struck out five over five shutout innings. Zak Wasilewski struck out two but was whacked for three runs (two earned) on three hits and a walk. Tyler Burden was a beast out of the pen by stranding a runner and pitching 2-1/3 innings of two-hit ball with two K's.
Rodrigo Orozco brought in the first run of the game with an RBI groundout in the fifth. Bluefield would tie it on a two-out single by Aaron Attaway in the seventh. Orozco and Attaway both had two-hit performances. Juan Tejada had a double while Gabriel Clark, Deiferson Barreto and Dean Bell had base hits. Nick Sinay drew a walk and Mattingly Romanin took one for the team.
Hillsboro 9 Vancouver 8 (14 Innings)
Hillsboro, OR - The C's fought back from an 8-0 deficit but could not hold a 9-8 lead and lost in overtime. Michael Kraft (0-3) pitched 1-1/3 innings before suffering the walk-off loss. Evan Smith was smoked for five runs, including a homer, over 2-2/3 innings and Daniel Young yielded three more over 1-1/3 frames. Ajax, Ontario native Sean Ratcliffe settled things down with three shutout frames and 4 K's. Turner Lee faced just one batter but gave up a hit. Andrew Case blew the save with one run allowed over 1-1/3 innings. Josh DeGraaf scattered three hits and three walks over 3-1/3 innings while striking out six before giving the ball to Kraft.
Vancouver got back into the game with a six-run sixth, including a two-run double by Carl Wise, a ground-rule RBI double by Rolando Segovia and a run-scoring single by Ryan Metzler. Gunnar Heidt doubled in a run in the seventh before a balk scored the tying run. Their only lead came in the eighth on a Justin Atkinson RBI groundout. Metzler and Josh Reavis were both 3-for-7. Kevin Garcia had two hits and two walks while Wise had two doubles and a free pass. Andrew Guillotte had three walks and a stolen base.
GCL Blue Jays 3 GCL Braves 2
Dunedin, FL - The Jays walked this one in come-from-behind-fashion. Jake Thomas came off the bench to draw a pinch-hit walk with the bases drunk to tie the game in the ninth before Lance Jones ended the game with an RBI single. The Jays got their first run when Danny Jansen doubled and scored on two errors.
Denis Diaz gave up a pair of second-inning runs but hung around for five innings with three hits and three walks allowed. He struck out seven and induced four groundball outs. Nate Abel worked around two hits and two walks with three strikeouts over three shutout frames. Juan Nunez (2-0) struck out one in a scoreless ninth and got the win for his troubles.
DSL Diamondbacks 7 DSL Blue Jays 4
Boca Chica, DR - Jose Espinal (1-2, 2.26) put up four zeros but was done in by a four-run fifth inning. The four runs came on five hits, two walks and a hit by pitch. He struck out seven and split his six outs in play evenly on the ground and in the air. Guillermo De La Cruz gave up three runs (one earned) on five hits, including a homer, while whiffing one. Wilton Mueses got two outs but had a 3-1 K/BB total before Luis Mendoza rescued him by stranding the bases loaded in the eighth.
Yorman Rodriguez hit into a double play to score the Jays first run in the sixth but got a couple of RBI with a double in the eighth. A Sam Buelens RBI groundout produced the last run in the ninth. Antony Fuentes had two hits. Kevin Vicuna, Norberto Obeso and Christian Peguero also had base knocks.
Saturday's Linescores
*** 3 Stars!!! ***
3. Matt Hague, Buffalo
2. Miguel Burgos, Bluefield
1. Chad Jenkins, Buffalo
Buffalo 4 Syracuse 0
Syracuse, NY - The RBI single was the weapon of choice for the Herd. Matt Hague drove in the first run with a single in the fourth and George Kottaras, Andy Burns and Munenori Kawasaki did likewise in the eighth. Burns had two hits and Ezequiel Carerra doubled and walked. Jon Berti had a base hit, a base on balls and a base stolen. Kottaras also walked while Ty Kelly singled, Chris Heisey drew a walk and Hague was hit by a pitch.
Chad Jenkins (8-3, 2.32) threw a two-hitter over five shutout frames, striking out four and inducing eight groundball outs of the nine in play. Greg Burke pitched 1-2/3 scoreless innings with two K's. Colt Hynes gave up a hit but got a strikeout to finish the seventh. Steve Delabar overcame a hit and a walk with four strikeouts in two innings for the save.
Erie 5 New Hampshire 3
Manchester, NH - Scott Barnes (2-4, 4.47) could not close the barn door in time against the Tigers affiliate, surrendering four runs over three frames on five hits with a 4-2 K/BB total. Luis Perez gave up the other run on six hits but soaked up four innings. Danny Barnes was hit and miss with a hit and three strikeouts in the eighth. Chad Girodo allowed a hit but whiffed one in the ninth.
Ryan Schimpf got the Fisher Cats back into the game with a three-run homer to break the shutout, his 15th of the season. Schimpf, Melky Mesa and Christian Lopes all had two-hit games.
Kane County 3 Lansing 0
Geneva, IL - Chase Mallard (5-5, 5.13) was on the run against the D-Backs affiliate as they got five hits, four walks and a hit by pitch but that only translated to two runs over six innings that included a pair of K's. Jose Fernandez served up a solo homer among four hits and a walk over two frames.
Michael De La Cruz and Austin Davis had the only base hits for Lansing. Chris Carlson walked three times while Ryan McBroom and Alex Maldonado walked once. McBroom also stole a base.
Princeton 4 Bluefield 3
Princeton, WV - The Rays walked this off Joe Claver (0-1) with a run-scoring single that scored a hit by pitch with two outs. The runner had stolen second base and got to third on a stolen base and a throwing error by catcher Andres Sotillo on the heels of a strikeout. That ruined a strong effort from Miguel Burgos, who surrendered just three hits and struck out five over five shutout innings. Zak Wasilewski struck out two but was whacked for three runs (two earned) on three hits and a walk. Tyler Burden was a beast out of the pen by stranding a runner and pitching 2-1/3 innings of two-hit ball with two K's.
Rodrigo Orozco brought in the first run of the game with an RBI groundout in the fifth. Bluefield would tie it on a two-out single by Aaron Attaway in the seventh. Orozco and Attaway both had two-hit performances. Juan Tejada had a double while Gabriel Clark, Deiferson Barreto and Dean Bell had base hits. Nick Sinay drew a walk and Mattingly Romanin took one for the team.
Hillsboro 9 Vancouver 8 (14 Innings)
Hillsboro, OR - The C's fought back from an 8-0 deficit but could not hold a 9-8 lead and lost in overtime. Michael Kraft (0-3) pitched 1-1/3 innings before suffering the walk-off loss. Evan Smith was smoked for five runs, including a homer, over 2-2/3 innings and Daniel Young yielded three more over 1-1/3 frames. Ajax, Ontario native Sean Ratcliffe settled things down with three shutout frames and 4 K's. Turner Lee faced just one batter but gave up a hit. Andrew Case blew the save with one run allowed over 1-1/3 innings. Josh DeGraaf scattered three hits and three walks over 3-1/3 innings while striking out six before giving the ball to Kraft.
Vancouver got back into the game with a six-run sixth, including a two-run double by Carl Wise, a ground-rule RBI double by Rolando Segovia and a run-scoring single by Ryan Metzler. Gunnar Heidt doubled in a run in the seventh before a balk scored the tying run. Their only lead came in the eighth on a Justin Atkinson RBI groundout. Metzler and Josh Reavis were both 3-for-7. Kevin Garcia had two hits and two walks while Wise had two doubles and a free pass. Andrew Guillotte had three walks and a stolen base.
GCL Blue Jays 3 GCL Braves 2
Dunedin, FL - The Jays walked this one in come-from-behind-fashion. Jake Thomas came off the bench to draw a pinch-hit walk with the bases drunk to tie the game in the ninth before Lance Jones ended the game with an RBI single. The Jays got their first run when Danny Jansen doubled and scored on two errors.
Denis Diaz gave up a pair of second-inning runs but hung around for five innings with three hits and three walks allowed. He struck out seven and induced four groundball outs. Nate Abel worked around two hits and two walks with three strikeouts over three shutout frames. Juan Nunez (2-0) struck out one in a scoreless ninth and got the win for his troubles.
DSL Diamondbacks 7 DSL Blue Jays 4
Boca Chica, DR - Jose Espinal (1-2, 2.26) put up four zeros but was done in by a four-run fifth inning. The four runs came on five hits, two walks and a hit by pitch. He struck out seven and split his six outs in play evenly on the ground and in the air. Guillermo De La Cruz gave up three runs (one earned) on five hits, including a homer, while whiffing one. Wilton Mueses got two outs but had a 3-1 K/BB total before Luis Mendoza rescued him by stranding the bases loaded in the eighth.
Yorman Rodriguez hit into a double play to score the Jays first run in the sixth but got a couple of RBI with a double in the eighth. A Sam Buelens RBI groundout produced the last run in the ninth. Antony Fuentes had two hits. Kevin Vicuna, Norberto Obeso and Christian Peguero also had base knocks.
Saturday's Linescores
*** 3 Stars!!! ***
3. Matt Hague, Buffalo
2. Miguel Burgos, Bluefield
1. Chad Jenkins, Buffalo