Number two on Baseball America's Top 10 Most Talented Minor League Teams was number one on the scoreboard Tuesday. The affiliates won two and lost two on Opening Night. #WeAreBlueJays
Buffalo 6 Worcester 1
The Herd scored two runs in the first and never looked back against the Boston affiliate in Trenton, New Jersey. Forrest Wall had an two-run triple among his two hits and Josh Palacios had a pair of RBI singles and a walk but was caught stealing. Logan Warmoth had two hits as well. On the flip side, Rowdy Tellez and Kevin Smith turned in 0-for-4s.
Nate Pearson struck out eight and walked only one over 3-2/3 innings of one-run ball on four hits and a hit by pitch. Southpaw Tayler Saucedo got the win by following Pearson with 2-1/3 shutout frames, stranding the bases loaded and inducing three groundball outs. Jeremy Beasley made his Jays debut with a goose egg in the eighth.
New Hampshire 11 Portland 2
The Fisher Cats—BA's second-most talented team—went all Frank Castle on the Red Sox affiliate by punishing them in their own backyard. All nine batters had at least one hit in a 16-hit ambush, including three by Gabriel Moreno who drove in a pair of runs and threw out one of three baserunners on steal attempts.. Austin Martin smacked the first pitch he saw—which was also the first MiLB pitch of 2021— for a single to right field. The former Vanderbilt Commedore also doubled, walked and was hit by a pitch to reach base four times. Brock Lundquist belted a homer among his two hits. Chavez Young had two hits, three RBI and a stolen base.
Zach Logue threw an efficient 65 pitches, 42 for strikes, over five innings of shutout ball. The left-hander offset four hits and a walk with five strikeouts for the win.
Tampa 11 Dunedin 7
The D-Jays did hold a 3-2 lead at one point but it did not last against the Yankees affiliate. Addison Barger and Justin Ammons both went deep to highlight multi-hit nights as Barger had three and Ammons had two. Zach Britton and Jhon Solarte drew three walks apiece. Miguel Hiraldo was 1-for-5 with a stolen base but made an error at second base. Orelvis Martinez walked once in five plate appearances.
All five Dunedin hurlers gave up at least a run as they yielded 12 hits, 12 walks and a hit by pitch. Juan DePaula took the loss as he was roughed up for five runs in 1-1/3 innings. 2019 18th round pick Brandon Eisert made his pro debut. The Oregon State lefty was victimized for an unearned run and allowed two DePaula runners to score in two-thirds of an inning.
Tri-City 4 Vancouver 0
The Canadians had at least one runner on base for their first eight at-bats but could not cross home plate. Philip Clarke had a perfect night at the dish with three walks and a base hit in that order. Tanner Morris singled and walked. Spencer Horwitz walked twice and Cameron Eden walked and stole a base. D.J. Neal and L.J. Talley had base knocks. Will Robertson and Ronny Brito were hitless in their four ABs.
Adam Kloffenstein managed to overcome three hits and four walks over 3-2/3 shutout innings. He struck out three and got four outs on the grass. Lefty Luke Gillingham took the loss. He stranded a runner for Kloffenstein to end the fourth but a two-out error at first by Horwitz led to two unearned runs. Andrew McInVale struck out four but gave up a two-run homer over two innings. Sam Ryan worked a one-walk ninth.
*** 3 Stars!!! ***
3. Zach Logue, New Hampshire
2. Austin Martin, New Hampshire
1. Gabriel Moreno, New Hampshire
Extra Innings
Bisons.com has a video interview with Nate Pearson
The Vancouver Canadians hosted a Zoom media day with new manager Donnie Murphy
Buffalo 6 Worcester 1
The Herd scored two runs in the first and never looked back against the Boston affiliate in Trenton, New Jersey. Forrest Wall had an two-run triple among his two hits and Josh Palacios had a pair of RBI singles and a walk but was caught stealing. Logan Warmoth had two hits as well. On the flip side, Rowdy Tellez and Kevin Smith turned in 0-for-4s.
Nate Pearson struck out eight and walked only one over 3-2/3 innings of one-run ball on four hits and a hit by pitch. Southpaw Tayler Saucedo got the win by following Pearson with 2-1/3 shutout frames, stranding the bases loaded and inducing three groundball outs. Jeremy Beasley made his Jays debut with a goose egg in the eighth.
New Hampshire 11 Portland 2
The Fisher Cats—BA's second-most talented team—went all Frank Castle on the Red Sox affiliate by punishing them in their own backyard. All nine batters had at least one hit in a 16-hit ambush, including three by Gabriel Moreno who drove in a pair of runs and threw out one of three baserunners on steal attempts.. Austin Martin smacked the first pitch he saw—which was also the first MiLB pitch of 2021— for a single to right field. The former Vanderbilt Commedore also doubled, walked and was hit by a pitch to reach base four times. Brock Lundquist belted a homer among his two hits. Chavez Young had two hits, three RBI and a stolen base.
Zach Logue threw an efficient 65 pitches, 42 for strikes, over five innings of shutout ball. The left-hander offset four hits and a walk with five strikeouts for the win.
Tampa 11 Dunedin 7
The D-Jays did hold a 3-2 lead at one point but it did not last against the Yankees affiliate. Addison Barger and Justin Ammons both went deep to highlight multi-hit nights as Barger had three and Ammons had two. Zach Britton and Jhon Solarte drew three walks apiece. Miguel Hiraldo was 1-for-5 with a stolen base but made an error at second base. Orelvis Martinez walked once in five plate appearances.
All five Dunedin hurlers gave up at least a run as they yielded 12 hits, 12 walks and a hit by pitch. Juan DePaula took the loss as he was roughed up for five runs in 1-1/3 innings. 2019 18th round pick Brandon Eisert made his pro debut. The Oregon State lefty was victimized for an unearned run and allowed two DePaula runners to score in two-thirds of an inning.
Tri-City 4 Vancouver 0
The Canadians had at least one runner on base for their first eight at-bats but could not cross home plate. Philip Clarke had a perfect night at the dish with three walks and a base hit in that order. Tanner Morris singled and walked. Spencer Horwitz walked twice and Cameron Eden walked and stole a base. D.J. Neal and L.J. Talley had base knocks. Will Robertson and Ronny Brito were hitless in their four ABs.
Adam Kloffenstein managed to overcome three hits and four walks over 3-2/3 shutout innings. He struck out three and got four outs on the grass. Lefty Luke Gillingham took the loss. He stranded a runner for Kloffenstein to end the fourth but a two-out error at first by Horwitz led to two unearned runs. Andrew McInVale struck out four but gave up a two-run homer over two innings. Sam Ryan worked a one-walk ninth.
*** 3 Stars!!! ***
3. Zach Logue, New Hampshire
2. Austin Martin, New Hampshire
1. Gabriel Moreno, New Hampshire
Extra Innings
