For New Hampshire - it's alright, they're doing fine as they contributed two wins to a 3-1 record for the affiliates last night. Dunedin went deep four times as they reached double digits and Lansing is tied for first in their division and they didn't have to do a thing to earn it as they had the night off. As for Syracuse, they got a taste of their own medicine.
Richmond, VA - After beating Richmond by 10 Monday night, the Chiefs decided to go in the opposite direction in this one. Lefty Bill Murphy was lit up in the first by four singles, a walk and a bases clearing double by former Jay Sal Fasano, resulting in a 5-0 Braves lead. The damage might have been worse but Fasano was thrown out in a 7-6-3-4 rundown. The question that begs to be asked here is, how the hell did Fasano last that long on the basepaths? Anyhoo, the Chiefs responded with one run in the second when Erik Kratz singled to short and a throwing error by Brent Lillibridge allowed Jeff Bannon to scamper home after he got aboard with a single.
Murphy faced the minimum six batters in the next couple of frames, thanks to a double play ball in the second, but it all went horriby askew in the fourth. The pride of Cambridge, Ontario - Scott Thorman - led off with a homer and things got worse from there. Four walks, a wild pitch, two singles and four runs later, Murphy hit the showers. Jo Matumoto was also burned by Thorman with a two-run double before getting the final out of the inning. Matumoto kept Richmond off the board until the sixth, when he was nicked for a run on two hits but he bounced back with a clean seventh. Syracuse inched to within 12-3 in the eighth when Jeff Bannon drove in a pair with an RBI single. However, Richmond restored their lead to double digits via two singles, a fielding error by third baseman Chris Gutierrez and a sac fly for an unearned run off Mike Gallo.
Boxscore Notes - Bill Murphy got taken to the woodshed to the tune of 9 hits and 5 walks in 3 2/3 innings and yes, all 11 runs he gave up were earned - shooting his ERA up to 4.47. I haven't seen anyone named Murphy get whacked to this extent since this guy by this guy (that's Red Forman, ladies and gentlemen! Eric got away scot-free by comparison!)......Despite an unearned run in his one inning of work, Mike Gallo's ERA is well north of 12 and hitters are teeing off on him to the tune of a .483 average in five appearances as a Chief.....Jeff Bannon had two hits and a walk along with two RBI......Curtis Thigpen also had two hits, including a double, as part of Syracuse's seven-hit evening.
Game 1 - New Hampshire 5 Trenton 3 (completion of suspended game from May 18)
Trenton, NJ - This game was picked up with the Fisher Cats leading the Thunder 1-0 in the fourth. To quickly recap, Brandon Magee delivered three scoreless frames for New Hampshire by allowing only a walk and a single and Chris Gutierrez knocked home the lone run to that point by singling home a Kyle Phillips double in the second. When the game resumed, A.J. Wideman took over for Magee. The Mississauga lefty gave up just a single in the fourth but he was victimized by the defence in the fifth. Fielding errors by "the two Ryans", Patterson in right field and Klosterman at short, allowed the first two batters to get aboard in what turned out to be a three-run inning. The key blow was a two-out, two-run double by Austin Jackson to give the Yankees affiliate a 3-1 lead.
To his credit, Wideman overcame that adversity by allowing just two singles over the next three innings and retiring his last eight batters in a row. In the ninth, Ryan Klosterman and Scott Campbell had back to back one-out singles but an Aaron Matthews flyout left the F-Cats down to their final out. That's when lightning struck! Travis Snider singled home a run to score Klosterman and a passed ball allowed Campbell to cross home plate with the tying run. Jacob Butler knocked home Snider with a double to score the go-ahead run. Jonathan Diaz, pinch-running for Butler, was driven home by a run-scoring single from Ryan Patterson. Zach Dials came on in the ninth and gave up a leadoff single to Jose Tabata but three flyouts later, Dials was shaking hands with his teammates after picking up the save.
Boxscore Notes - Scott Campbell, Jacob Butler, Ryan Patterson, and Anthony Hatch had two hits apiece to account for 8 of the 12 Fisher Cat hits. Campbell also added a walk........A.J. Wideman scattered a four hits and a walk in allowing three runs (all unearned) in five innings to improve his record to 3-6. He also recorded 10 groundball outs.......Zach Dials picked up save number five as a Fisher Cat.
Game 2 - New Hampshire 4 Trenton 2 (7 Innings)
Trenton, NJ - Julio "Ford" Pinto made his first start as a Fisher Cat in the second half of this abbreviated double-dip, a game in which the New Hampshire offence put up the doubled-spaced picket fences in the linescore. The F-Cats gave Pinto a 1-0 lead in the first when Travis Snider doubled home Ryan Patterson, who reached on a fielder's choice. Pinto overcame a pair of first inning walks, pitched a clean second and received another run to work when Brian Jeroloman drew a two-out, bases-loaded walk in the third to score a Jonathan Diaz free pass.
Pinto would need that run as the Thunder rolled for a two-run rally in the bottom of the third as Austin Jackson (yet again!) hit a two-run double to tie the game at 2-2. New Hampshire would re-take the lead as Brian Jeroloman delivered again with two outs, this time singling home a two-out double by David Smith to make it 3-2 F-Cats. Julio Pinto yielded just a hit an inning in the fourth and fifth and gave the ball to lefty Daryl Harang in the sixth. Aaron's brother punched out two of the batters he faced in a perfect inning. The F-Cats added an insurance run in the seventh, again with two outs, when Travis Snider and David Smith hit back to back doubles. Sean Stidfole wound up closing it out by allowing just a walk as New Hampshire had to endure a one hour, 22 minute rain delay in this one.
With these two wins, New Hampshire is only 14.5 games behind Trenton in the Eastern League's Northern Division. I bet Trenton's scared now!! Someone would've made a lot of money if they predicted the F-Cats would win twice yesterday. They're a .500 club at home (12-12) but were 4-20 on the road before last night's victories. The other key to getting back in the race is to never wear their black uniforms again. They were 0-13 with those duds on heading into last night (that factoid courtesy of the Game Notes provided by nhfishercats.com)
Boxscore Notes - Julio Pinto gave up two runs by scattering four hits and three walks in five innings, while striking out a pair, to improve to 3-1 on the year......Scott Campbell, Travis Snider and David Smith had 75 percent of the F-Cats hits by collecting two knocks each with Snider and Smith getting two doubles apiece. Snider, who also drew a walk, continues to heat up as he's hit .343 with 4 HR and 12 RBI in his last 10 games, improving his batting line to .250/.358/.484. Meantime, Scott's Campbell's line is an impressive .344/.413/.475........And of course, Brian "BB" Jeroloman drew two more walks to give him an OBP of .371 and upping the BJWM to 25.
Clearwater, FL - The D-Jays offence would've made Jason Kapono proud, drilling treys in three separate innings. The D-Jays rang one up from downtown Cobden in the first on a two-run double by J.P. Arencibia and a run-scoring single by Brian Dopirak to go up 3-0 against Joe Savery, the Phillies top pick in the 2007 amateur draft. However, the Threshers responded with two runs of their own against Kyle Ginley, as they began the inning with a pair of doubles and a triple. However, Ginley rebounded to get the next three hitters in order and followed up with a one-hit second. Clearwater would tie the game off Ginley in the third when Adrian Cardenas, who had the RBI triple, drove home his second run of the night with a sac fly.
Dunedin took the lead for good in the fifth when Jesus Gonzalez put up a 3-ball from metro Moonbeam, connecting for a three-run homer to give the Jays a 6-3 lead. That was the end of the line for Joe Savery. His replacement, Bear Hill, was just as unsavoury in the sixth when Chris Emanuele belted a two-run shot and Brian Dopirak added a solo ding-dong to make the score 9-3. Dunedin continued their long ball antics in the seventh when Gonzalez went deep again for a solo shot to give Dunedin a 10-3 advantage. Chad Blackwell took over for Ginley with one out in the sixth and yielded two hits in 1 2/3 innings, Celson Polanco worked a one-hit eighth and Brian Pettway gave up two runs with two outs in the ninth on two doubles and a single but the game ended with an 8-6-5 putout.
Boxscore - Kyle Ginley ran his Dunedin record to 4-0 by allowing three runs on five hits and two walks in 5 1/3 innings while striking out four. Including his Lansing numbers, he is 9-0 this season with an aggregate ERA of 1.71..........Chris Emanuele had a perfect night at the dish, going 4-for-4 with a HR, two RBI and two stolen bases - upping his average to .268. The Toronto native has hit .400 (16-40) in his last 10 contests.....J.P. Arencibia was 1-for-5 with 2 RBI and is hitting .422 in his last ten and .312 overall....Jesus Gonzalez, with his two jacks, has a line of .288/.350/.550, hitting .359 over the last 10 games....Brian Dopirak went 3-for-5 and is now hitting .305.
Lansing - Scheduled Day Off.
*** 3 Stars!!! ***
3. Travis Snider, New Hampshire - 3/7, 2R, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB
2. Jesus Gonzalez, Dunedin - 2/5, 2 HR, 4 RBI
1. Chris Emanuele, Dunedin - 4/4, 2R, HR, 2 RBI, 2 SB
Honourable Mentions.........
Syracuse - Jeff Bannon, Curtis Thigpen, Buck Coats, Erik Kratz.
New Hampshire - Scott Campbell, Jacob Butler, Ryan Patterson, Anthony Hatch, A.J. Wideman, Zach Dials, Brandon Magee, Julio Pinto, Daryl Harang, Zach Dials, David Smith, Brian Jeroloman, Jonathan Diaz, Kyle Phillips.
Dunedin - Brian Dopirak, J.P. Arencibia, Kyle Ginley, Adam Calderone, Cory Patton, Brad Emaus, Luis Sanchez, Chad Blackwell, Celson Polanco.
Standings......
Syracuse - 31-21, 3rd place - IL North, 1.5 GB of Scranton/WB, 1L, 6-4 Last 10.
New Hampshire - 18-32, 6th place - EL North, 14.5 GB of Trenton, 2W, 4-6 Last 10.
Dunedin - 29-22, 3rd place - FSL West, 4.0 GB of Fort Myers, 1W, 8-2 Last 10.
Lansing - 28-23, 1st place (tied w/ West Michigan, .002 points back) - MWL North,1L, 7-3 Last 10.
Today's Schedule/Probable Starters...........
Syracuse @ Richmond, 7:00 p.m. EDT - RHP Kane Davis, SYR (3-5, 3.72) vs. RHP Jonathan Rouwenhorst, RIC (5-3, 3.65).
Dunedin @ Clearwater, 7:00 p.m. EDT. - TBA vs. TBA.
New Hampshire @ Trenton, 7:05 p.m. EDT - RHP Scott Richmond, NH (3-5, 5.23) vs RHP Erik Hacker, TRE (0-0, 0.00).
Great Lakes @ Lansing, 7:05 p.m. EDT - TBA vs. RHP Randy Boone, LAN (5-1, 1.71).
Bonus Material.........
The Lansing State Journal has a feature on shortstop Justin Jackson.
