Lansing Swings the Bats

Sunday, April 17 2011 @ 10:12 PM EDT

Contributed by: Marc Hulet

The Jays affiliates won two games and lost three. The Lansing Lugnuts split a double-header with the Dayton Dragons and the two teams combined for 29 runs.

Las Vegas 4 Fresno 3

With veteran Fresno starter Ryan Vogelsong getting a surprise call-up to San Francisco, former Jays farmhand Josh Banks got the spot start and gave up four runs in 4.1 innings. Eric Thames led the offense with a 2-for-3 night. He slammed his second homer of the year and drove in two runs. He also walked. Brett Lawrie went 1-for-4 and now has had a hit in each of the 11 games he's played in. David Cooper went 1-for-4 with a solo homer. Darin Mastroianni was 1-for-4 with a triple and a run scored. Manny Mayorson went 2-for-3 with a double. On the mound, Scott Richmond gave up just two runs in five innings. He allowed three hits and one walk. He struck out six batters. Wil Ledezma threw three scoreless innings, while Winston Abreu gave up a run in one-third of an inning before Rommie Lewis closed the door for his fourth save.

Binghamton 4 New Hampshire 1


Joel Carreno received the start for the Jays' minor league club. He gave up six hits (three homers) and four runs. Vince Perkins, Clint Everts, and Dumas Garcia each pitched a single inning. The Fisher Cats batters came up against Robert Carson, one of the Mets' top pitching prospects. Both Adeiny Hechavarria and Travis d'Arnaud had two hits. Jonathan Diaz went 1-for-2 with two walks. Mark Sobolewski went 1-for-3 with the lone RBI for the club. John Tolisano went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. Michael McDade and Moises Sierra each went 0-for-4.

Lakeland 4 Dunedin 3

The Baby Jays knocked out 12 hits but still took the loss. Two rehabbing MLB pitchers made appearances: Brandon Morrow (4 IP, 2 R) and Frank Francisco (1 IP, 2 K). The best pitching performance came from Matt Wright who did not allow a run in 2.0 innings of work. At the plate, Kenny Wilson went 1-for-3 with a walk and strikeout. He stole one base and was caught trying to nab a second base. Jon Talley and A.J. Jimenez had three hits each. The latter player hit his first homer of the season and is now hitting .364. Justin Jackson went 2-for-4 and currently has a .391 average. Brad Glenn went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.  Ryan Goins was 1-for-5 with three Ks.

Lansing 8 Dayton 4 (Game 1)

Egan Smith got the start for the Lugnuts in the first game of the double-header. He gave up no earned run but errors led to three unearned runs. He walked one, gave up five hits and struck out five batters. Scott Gracey worked in relief and struck out five in just 2.1 innings. Jacob Marisnick had three hits, including a double and a homer, and drove in two runs. Marcus Knecht went 2-for-2 with two doubles, three RBI and a walk. Michael Crouse was 1-for-2 with a triple, two RBI and a walk. Jake Murphy was 1-for-2 with a walk. Markus Brisker was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. Gari Pena went 0-for-2 at the plate with a walk and a strikeout. He also made two errors.

Dayton 9 Lansing 8 (Game 2)

Usually in the second game of a double-header in the minors you see a pretty low-scoring game; not so in this contest with 17 runs scored. After a stellar first start of the season, Drew Hutchison was knocked around for five runs and seven hits in 3.0 innings. The Lansing bullpen had yet another meltdown with Drew Permison allowing two runs in 2.1 innings and Alex Pepe giving up two runs in 1.2 innings. Pepe was wild with a capital "W." He walked two batters, through a wild pitch, hit three batters and made two errors. That is a nightmare outing. Pepe wasn't the only one with sloppy defense; four more fielders made errors: Oliver Dominguez, Gustavo Pierre, Michael Crouse, and Hutchison. At the plate, Marcus Knecht, Pierre, and Crouse had two hits each. Crouse hit two doubles and drove in three runs. Carlos Perez went 1-for-3 with a double, two RBI, a walk and a strikeout. Markus Brisker had a rough game with three strikeouts and a walk.

Three Stars:
3. A.J. Jimenez, 3 hits and a homer in 1 game
2. Marcus Knecht, 4 hits and 3 RBI in 2 games
1. Michael Crouse, 4 hits, 2 doubles, triple, five RBI in 2 games


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