Dunedin Goes Homer Happy

Saturday, July 25 2009 @ 09:22 AM EDT

Contributed by: Marc Hulet

It was a three-win night for the affiliates, which is an excellent result given their past performances this season on the same night of the week. The wins came as the result of some nice pitching performances. Dunedin also received some offense with four players going yard for five homers in total.

Tacoma 8 Las Vegas 4

The Mariners affiliate roughed up David Purcey on Friday night, but only two of the seven runs he allowed over 6.2 innings were earned. Purcey allowed six hits and two walks, while striking out nine batters. He also threw a wild pitch and hit two batters. (Purcey also was allowed to throw 114 pitches). Bill Murphy and Sean Stidfole finished the game up. Offensively, Randy Ruiz went 2-for-2 with an RBI and three walks. Angel Sanchez was 4-for-4 and is now hitting .300... If Marco Scutaro is traded, Sanchez could end up sharing time at shortstop with John McDonald for the duration of the season. Brian Dopirak went 1-for-4 with a walk and a K. Travis Snider was also 1-for-4. Kevin Howard was 2-for-4 with two doubles and two runs scored.

New Hampshire 3 Portland 0

Despite managing just five hits, the Cats took the win behind some excellent pitching by Randy Boone. The right-hander allowed just four hits and two walks in seven innings of work, while striking out five batters. Zach Dials and Danny Farquhar (8th save) finished off the game. Darin Mastroianni went 1-for-4 with a run scored, double, and a walk. Brad Emaus went 1-for-2 with an RBI and two walks. Adam Calderone went 2-for-4. David Cooper was 0-for-4.

Dunedin 8 Sarasota 3

The offense just keeps churning in Dunedin with five homers on the night. Matt Luizza was 2-for-4 with two homers and four RBI. Jesus Gonzalez went 3-for-4 with a homer and two runs scored. Adam Loewen went 2-for-4 with two doubles. Raul Barron was 2-for-4, as well, with a solo homer. Manny Rodriguez went 1-for-1 as a defensive replacement and that one hit left the yard. Good ol' Canadian boy Brad McElroy raised his average to .349 on the year with a 2-for-4 night... It's amazing what some prospects can do when they're given a chance to play. On the hump, Robert Bell got another start and allowed three runs in five innings. He gave up six hits and no walks while striking out eight batters. David DeLucia pitched three shutout innings. Alan Farina allowed two hits but pitched a shutout inning.

Peoria 7 Lansing 6

The bullpen coughed up the lead with three late runs. Chase Lirette received the start and allowed four runs on six hits and two walks over 4.1 innings of work. Two balls left the yard against the right-hander. Dustin Antolin allowed two runs in 2.1 innings of work. Frank Gailey worked 1.1 scoreless innings but allowed an inherited runner to score, which blew the save. Matt Daly took the loss when he allowed a run in two-thirds of an inning on a hit and two walks and a wild pitch. Offensively, Tyler Pastornicky and Kenny Wilson each stole two bases. Pastornicky also had two hits, while Wilson had three, including a triple. Michael McDade went 1-for-3 with a double. Luis Fernandez was also 1-for-3 with a double and two runs scored.

Auburn 3 Williamsport 2

The club won behind another solid pitching effort from Dave Sever, who worked seven shutout innings with just two hits and one walk allowed. The right-hander struck out seven batters. Austin Armstrong allowed two runs in two-thirds of an inning, while Casey Beck preserved the win with 1.1 scoreless innings. Markus Brisker went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Jonathan Fernandez was 1-for-3 and Brad Glenn also had a hit (double) in three at-bats. Sean Ochinko went 1-for-4 with a double. Eric Eiland had another disappointing performance with an 0-for-4 night with two Ks.

GCL Yankees 4 GCL Jays2

Despite the loss, Carlos Pina continued his breakout season. In his first North American season after coming over from the Dominican Summer League, the left-hander allowed one hit and one walk in four innings of work, while striking out three batters. Overall on the season, the 19-year-old hurler has allowed just 18 hits and nine walks in 29.2 innings of work. He's also struck out 23 batters and has an eye-popping ground-ball rate of 67%. Leandro Mella worked two scoreless innings. Evan Teague was roughed up and allowed three runs in one-third of an inning. Brian Slover had a nice debut and struck out three batters in 1.1 innings of work. Shawn Griffith struck out three batters in 1.1 innings of work, as well. At the plate, Gustavo Pierre was 1-for-4 but he struck out three times. Carlos Perez keeps chugging along with another two-hit night. He also hit a solo homer. Michael Crouse was 1-for-3 with a double, a walk and a K. He was also caught stealing. Yeico Aponte was 1-for-3.

Three Stars:
3. Randy Boone for seven shutout innings of work with four hits allowed.
2. Dave Sever for allowing just two hits in seven shutout innings.
1. Matt Liuzza for a two-homer night.

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