Taking a cue for the organization’s ace, the Toronto farm featured impressive starting pitching at every level in winning 3 of 4 contests.
Buffalo 3 @ Syracuse 6
SkyChief hitters banged out 5 extra base hits, SkyChief pitchers punched 11 tickets, and it added up to a solid win over divisional rival Buffalo. The Bisons were out to a 3 – 1 lead by the middle of the third, but it was all Syracuse from there. SS Aaron Hill got the comeback rolling with a solo round tripper in the 5th, and then it was really on in the 6th as 7 Chiefs came to the plate and 3 crossed it. The key blow was a 2-run double from 2B Danny Solano. The best hitting line of the night belonged to CF Justin Singleton, who singled, tripled, walked, and stole a base. DH John-Ford Griffin continued to make the promotion to AAA look easy, collecting another base hit.
Francisco Rosario started for the Chiefs and struck out 9 over his 5-2/3, conceding 3 earned runs on 5 hits and 3 walks. Frank hit his pitch count in the middle of striking out the side in the sixth inning, so Mike Nannini came on and finished the feat. Nannini stuck around for 2 more innings of sterling relief, and Matt Whiteside pitched the ninth to nail down his 1st save of the season.
Boxscore - MinorLeagueBaseball.com. Recap - Post-Standard
The Fisher Cats got some overdue offence, scoring 6 runs on 15 hits as they downed the Binghampton Mets. As Gerry told us in his first-hand notes, it was Big Vito with the two biggest hits. Chiaravalloti doubled leading off what would become a 4-run fifth, then doubled and scored again in the 6th. 2B Carlo Cota contributed 2 singles and a triple, while DH Kevin Barker (3) and 3B Rob Cosby (2) stuck to single-base hits. SS Raul Tablado made his Double-A debut with a single in 3 trips and drew the only Cat-walk (against 12 strikeouts... ugh).
Vince Perkins was excellent in out-dueling fellow prospect Yusmeiro Petit, hurling 6 innings and collecting his first Win of the season. Gerry tells us that Vince was throwing fastballs, fastballs, and fastballs, but it was more than the Mets could handle as they mustered just 4 hits and 1 walk off him while whiffing 7 times.
Boxscore - MinorLeagueBaseball.com.
Mike MacDonald and Brad “Who’s Your” Mumma combined on a 1-hitter in shutting out the Fort Myers non-Miracle. For a 15th round pick a year ago, the sailing has been extremely smooth for Mike Mac – he’s now pitched at 3 pro levels, has just 1 loss in 16 starts and his career ERA remains under 2.
The D-Jay offence scored 2 runs every third inning in a neat little pattern. LF Adam Line (3 singles) and 3B Eric Arnold (single, double, walk) led the way. 2B Ryan Roberts chipped in a 2-run double.
Boxscore - MinorLeagueBaseball.com.
Unfortunately for Kyle Yates, his excellent starting pitching was not backed up with strong relief. Yates tossed 6 frames, striking out 5 while allowing 5 hits and walking none, but Po-Hsuan Keng came on for the next 2 innings and was tonged for 2 runs on 5 hits, including 2 jacks. Lefty Daryl Harang oversaw an uneventful ninth.
All you really need to know about the offence is that the best performance came from a guy who went 0 for 4. Catcher Curt Thigpen drew a walk and stole two bases, while also throwing out a would-be South Bend thief. The Lugnuts drew 7 walks altogether but hit just 2 safeties (the run-scoring blow being a double from RF Eric Nielsen).
Boxscore - MinorLeagueBaseball.com. Recap - Lansing State Journal
The Third Star: Justin Singleton , Syracuse. Triple. Walk. Stolen base. Single.
The Second Star: Vince Perkins , New Hampshire. 6 innings of 4-hitter, 7-1 K-BB.
The First Star: Mike MacDonald , Dunedin. 7 innings of 1-hitter, 6-2 K-BB.
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