It was a .500 night on Junior's Farm.   A strong pitching performance was not fully rewarded but it all worked out in the end and you should have seen the poker men in the form of the third baseman and center fielder of the future.  The winning affiliates put together ninth inning rallies while the other two battled back to tie their contests only to lose, with one game being decided in overtime.  Let's go down to take a look at what happened Tuesday night.

Las Vegas 5 Sacramento 3

Sacramento, CA - The 51s booted a field goal to start things off but the A's affiliate matched that in the second.  It would remain tied until Las Vegas scored twice in the ninth the collect the win.

Batting - Brett Lawrie, Chris Woodward and Brian Jeroloman each had two-hit nights.  Lawrie drove in a run and reached base four times after he was walked and hit by a pitch.  Woodward had a double and an RBI and Jeroloman did not draw a walk so the BJBBM stays at two.  David Cooper had just one hit but made it count as he collected two RBI with his first inning single.  Mike McCoy had a double, a plunk and a walk.  Adam Loewen, Jason Lane and Darin Mastroianni all singled but Mastroianni whiffed three times as did Eric Thames, the only 51 without a hit.  However, he did draw a walk.

Running - Manny Mayorson pinch-ran for Lane in the ninth and came home to score on a wild pitch.  Lawrie stole a base but Loewen was thrown out trying to do the same.

Pitching - Scott Richmond yielded three runs on five hits and two walks over four innings but he struck out five and his six outs in play were on the green.  He threw 75 pitches, 46 for strikes.  Lefty Wil Ledezma scattered a hit and two walks over while averaging a K an inning over his three shutout frames.  He also induced four ground ball outs.  Josh Roenicke earned the victory with two scoreless innings and matched Ledezma in hits and walked allowed but did better his K total by one by whiffing four River Cats.  For Sacramento,  three former Jays farmhands took to the mound in Graham Godfrey, Danny Farquhar and Trystan Magnuson.  It was Magnuson who took the loss.

Defence - Lawrie booted one at third but Jeroloman threw out a runner at second from behind the plate and Thames gunned down a runner at third from left field.


Reading 3 New Hampshire 2 (11 Innings)

Manchester, NH - The Fisher Cats opened the scoring in the third only to see Reading take the lead with two runs in the fourth.  New Hampshire tied it in the seventh before losing in overtime.

Batting - Anthony Gose recorded the only multi-hit night for the F-Cats out of the leadoff spot with three singles and he knocked in a run.  Number nine hitter Jonathan Diaz was also aboard three times with a single and two walks.  John Tolisano had the only extra base hit with an RBI double and also drew a walk.  Yan Gomes, Adam Calderone, Craig Stansberry and Mark Sobolewski also had safeties.  Only Adeiny Hechavarria and Mike McDade were hitless as they each went 0-for-5.  New Hampshire hitters were 2-for-5 with runners in scoring position but struck out 12 times.  Gomes led the way with a hat trick while  McDade, Calderone and Stansberry all whiffed twice.

Running -  Calderone was picked off at the keystone bag in the seventh. That pickoff was costly as Tolisano followed with a game-tying double.  Tolisano was thrown out at the plate to end that inning.   Diaz was thrown out at third base in the third inning as he tried to go from first to third on Gose's RBI single.  Gose was nailed trying to steal second to end the third inning.

Pitching - Zach Stewart lasted 6 2/3 innings and allowed two runs by scattering nine hits and two walks while striking out a trio of Phillies. Stewart's 12 outs in play were distributed evenly on the ground and in the air.  Ronald Uviedo did a nice job out of the bullpen by issuing just one walk and throwing one wild pitch in 2 1/3 scoreless innings. The former Pirates farmhand struck out four hitters and his other three outs were on the ground.  Alan Farina was charged with the loss.  He had trouble finding the strike zone as he gave up a run on one hit and three walks in 1 2/3 innings.  He did strike out a batter to go along with a pair of ground outs but he left the bases loaded for lefty Evan Crawford.  However, Crawford stranded all three runners with an inning-ending strikeout.

Defence - Stewart made two errors, including an errant pickoff attempt, while Hechavarria threw one away at short.  Gose threw out a runner at third from center field and the F-Cats turned two double plays, 5-4-3 and 6-4-3.  Gomes threw out Phillies speedster Freddy Galvis trying to steal second.

Lakeland 5 Dunedin 3

Dunedin, FL - The D-Jays rallied to tie the game with two runs in the sixth only to see the Tigers affiliate tack on single runs in the seventh and eighth to take the lead for good.

Batting -  Brad Glenn swung the big bat out of the clean-up spot with two hits, including a two-run homer that tied the game.  A.J. Jimenez was the other Jay with a two-hit game that included a double.  Ryan Goins and Kenny Wilson had a double each.  Kevin Ahrens singled and Ivan Contreras walked.  Jon Talley, Brian Van Kirk and Brad McElroy were a combined 0-for-11.  The D-Jays were just 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position while stranding four.

Running - Contreras stole his first base of the season.

Pitching - The rehabbing Brandon Morrow lasted three innings and gave up two runs on two hits and two walks while striking out four.  Morrow surrendered two runs in the first but after a leadoff walk in the second, he retired the last six men he faced.  He also induced three ground ball outs and threw a wild pitch.  Ryan Shropshire gave up a solo home run over two innings but somehow kept the damage to one run despite three walks and three hits in total.  He struck out a pair and also threw one to the backstop.  Lefty Frank Gailey pitched a shutout inning the hard way as he worked around two hits and a walk while striking out one. 

The other rehabber, Frank Francisco, took the loss as he gave up an unearned run on one hit over one inning.  All three outs were on the ground.  Lefty Matt Wright (as opposed to righty Matt Left) gave up the insurance run on two hits and a walk in two-thirds of an inning while striking out one and throwing Dunedin's third wild pitch of the night.  Wes Etheridge stranded Wright's two runners and pitched a clean 1 1/3 frames while collecting a K.

Defence - Talley's fielding error at first led to Francisco's unearned run in the seventh inning.  Talley was involved in completing an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play in the seventh that was started by started by Goins and turned by Contreras.

Lansing 4 South Bend 2

South Bend, IN - The Lugnuts pulled one out at the home of the Fighting Irish with three runs in the ninth after the Diamondbacks affiliate had taken the lead with a two-run eighth.  Lansing opened the scoring in the fourth.

Batting - Balbino Fuenmayor and Jake Marisnick each had two hits and a run batted in.  Gustavo Pierre was the on-base leader with a hit and two walks.  Markus Brisker and K.C. Hobson each singled and walked.  Brisker drove in a run with his walk but whiffed three times.   Carlos Perez drew a walk and picked up the game winning RBI with a groundout.  Toronto product Marcus Knecht had Lansing's lone extra-base hit with a double but struck out twice.  Michael Crouse was 0-for-4 and Gari Pena was 0-for-3.  Jack Murphy was called in to pinch-hit for Pena in the ninth but was quickly replaced by Bryson Namba when South Bend went to the bullpen.  Namba drew a pinch-hit walk and scored a run.

Running - Marisnick was caught stealing second and Pierre was picked off at first.  Oliver Dominguez pinch-ran for Fuenmayor in the ninth and scored the winning run.

Pitching - Drew Hutchison had an outstanding start for the Lugnuts as he delivered seven shutout innings while yielding just three hits and a walk.  He struck out 11 Silver Hawks and seven of his 10 outs were on the ground.  Hutchison mowed down eight straight and set down 10 of the last 11 hitters he faced, including striking out the side in the sixth inning.  Lefty Sam Strickland gave up the lead in the eighth as he was burned for two runs on three hits and two walks (one intentional).  However, he got the win after Steve Turnbull worked a clean ninth that included a punchout for the save.  Strickland and Turnbull each recorded a trio of groundouts.

Defence - Hobson made a throwing error at first.  The Hutchison-Perez battery allowed one stolen base.

3.  Anthony Gose, New Hampshire


2.  Brett Lawrie, Las Vegas


1.  Drew Hutchison, Lansing