All four minor-league teams won on Monday, though a Dunedin double-header loss prevented the farm from having a perfect night.
Las Vegas 9 at Colorado Springs 8
Brad Mills has been making a strong case to be in the discussion of... well, at least the discussion of the crazy amount of good young pitchers the Jays have, even if there won't be a spot for him in the Rotation of the Future. He wasn't quite lights out tonight, but he was very effective - 6 1/3 innings, 7 hits, 3 walks, 3 runs, and 6 Ks. It should be noted, however, that 2 of those runs were inherited runners that Jesse Carlson allowed to score, and given that the game was played in high-altitude Colorado Springs, it's not unreasonable to speculate that Mills was just tired. His line, had he not started the 7th: 6IP, 5 hits, 3 BB, 1ER, 6K. Oh, and one more positive sign: Mills got 10 ground ball outs to only 3 fly outs.
On the hitting side of things, the 51s were stymied over 5 innings by top Rockies prospect Esmil Rogers, but once Rogers left the game it was show-time. The hitters rallied for 5 runs in the 5th, and then added 4 more in the 8th on a solo HR by Brett Wallace (his 5th) and a 3-run jack by J.P. Arencibia (his first). Wallace added a single and a K in 5 trips, while JPA had nothing to show for his 3 other PAs. Brian Dopirak singled, walked and SFed in 4 trips.
Moving back to the pitching for a sec, both Carlson and David Purcey had rough outings, giving up 3 runs apiece (2 of Carlson's were charged to Mills, as mentioned).
Trenton 4 at New Hampshire 5
The F-Cats got things rolling early with a 5-spot in the 2nd inning, and that was all Kyle Drabek and the bullpen would need. The hit parade went like this, around a couple of outs: Eric Thames singled, Adam Calderone doubled him home and was in turn doubled home by Brian Jeroloman, and after Darin Mastroianni reached on a single, Callix Crabbe homered home the last 3 runs.
Jeroloman also walked to bring his season line to 333/412/567, and Mastroianni added another single and stole his 6th base.
Even though the phrase "that was all he would need" generally implies a well-pitched game from the starting pitcher, that actually wasn't the case - Kyle Drabek allowed 5 hits and 5 walks in 5 innings, but managed to keep Trenton to 3 runs, and the bullpen made that stand up. Especially Trystan "Ward" Magnuson (2 perfect innings, 3 Ks) and Danny "Henke" Farquhar (1 IP, 1 hit, 1 K), as braden sort-of-referred-to-them yesterday.
Daytona 4 at Dunedin 2 (7 innings)
Andrew Liebel started and was okay, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) on 9 base-runners over 5 innings while striking out 1. Unfortunately, the offense couldn't come through for him and Dunedin dropped the first game of the double-header.
Interesting prospect watch: Travis d'Arnaud walked and K'ed in 3 trips, Tyler Pastornicky singled and K'ed in his 3 trips, John Tolisano doubled and K'ed, and Welinton Ramirez took an 0-fer (2). Raul Barron had the only noteworthy day at the plate, going 2-2 with a solo HR.
Daytona 2 at Dunedin 4
Dunedin gave the day a little symmetry by reversing the score from the afternoon's contest. The starting pitcher in the second contest was Ryan Page, and he was better than Liebel had been in the afternoon, going 6 innings and only allowing 2 runs. He only struck out 2, but he got 11 ground outs to only 4 fly outs. Matt Daly pitched a perfect 7th for the save.
Mike McDade had the best day at the plate, smacking a solo HR and walking twice for a perfect day. Brian Van Kirk and Yan Gomes each had 2 hits, while Travis d'Arnaud doubled in 3 trips. Tyler Pastornicky took an 0-fer.
Bowling Green 3 at Lansing 9
The Lansing bats roared to life on Monday night, something that has been rare over the past couple years if I'm not misremembering. Then again, it seems like all of the affiliates are pretty strong this year. Anyway, the 'Nuts banged out 18 hits, including (deep breath), 2 singles and a walk for Kenny Wilson, 3 singles for Robert Sobolewski, 3 hits including a double for Bradley Glenn, a single and a double for Brad McElroy, a walk, single and double for Balbino Fuenmayor, and... wait for it... in his season debut, 4 hits including THREE doubles for catcher A.J. Jimenez. That's 6 guys with multi-hit games, and Sean Ochinko also reached base 3 times on a single and 2 walks. Poor Ryan Schimpf was the only one not in on the action, taking an 0-5.
Matt Fields easily made it stand up, allowing 3 runs over 6 2/3 innings for the Quality Start. Brian Slover was perfect over 2 1/3 while striking out 2.
Three Stars!
Despite the near-perfect night, there isn't much to choose from on the 3 stars front, other than Jimenez. We'll go with...
3. Mike McDade - HR, 2 BB in 3 plate appearances
2. Trystan Magnuson - 2 perfect innings, 4 Ks
1. A.J. Jimenez, 4 hits, 3 doubles, 2 RBI
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