Las Vegas won the Battle of Nevada and Mother Nature won out in Lansing. The other two affiliates wound up on the wrong side on the scoreboard thanks to come from ahead losses, one of them in extra innings.
Reno, NV - The "51" moniker helped the visitors in this one thanks to a five-run fourth and a one-run seventh to snap a 7-7 tie against the Diamondbacks affiliate. Las Vegas improves to 10-15 but is a whopping nine games behind Sacramento for first place in the Pacific Southern Division.
Hitting - The long ball helped Las Vegas in this one. Adeiny Hechavarria belted a grand slam to go along with a single and a walk to push his average to .311 on the season. Yan Gomes had the other big blast with a tie-breaking homer in the seventh as part of a three-hit game that was a triple short of the cycle. Travis d'Arnaud also had a three-hit night and Anthony Gose had two knocks. Moises Sierra had an RBI double and a walk, Ruben Gotay delivered a run-scoring single with a base on balls and Mike McCoy singled and walked. Danny Perales had a single and a run batted in. David Cooper was hitless but he did walk twice.
Running - Gose stole his eighth base of the year. McCoy was caught stealing third.
Pitching - It was not a nice day for Tim Redding and he may not want to start again, not after seven runs on eight hits and two walks in 4 1/3 innings. He gave up a homer and only struck out two but five of his six outs in play were contained to the infield. Bobby Korecky did allowed an inherited runner to score but got the victory thanks to three groundball outs and a strikeout over 1 2/3 shutout innings. Jerry Gil, Robert Coello and Ryota Igarashi each allowed a hit and pitched a scoreless inning. Coello struck out the side, Igarashi had two Ks for the save and Gil had one.
Defence - Sierra used his hose to nail a runner at second base from right field while d'Arnaud overcame a passed ball to throw out a runner trying to steal third.
Manchester, NH - The Fisher Cats scored the first two runs of the game in the fifth inning but the lead would disappear in the sixth and the Phillies scored the tie-breaking run in the seventh. New Hampshire drops to 10-13 and is now six games back of Reading in the Eastern Division.
Hitting - Jonathan Diaz singled home the first run of the game and had a two-hit night. Ryan Goins had an RBI groundout but was hitless in four at-bats. John Tolisano had two singles and a walk, Brian Van Kirk also had a pair of base hits and Brad McElroy had a hit and drew the lone Fisher Cats walk. Mike McDade, Mark Sobolewski and A.J. Jimenez rounded out the 10 hit attack with a base hit apiece. Brad Glenn had a hat trick in a 0-for-4 night.
Running - McElroy stole his fourth base of the year but was later caught stealing for the third time this season and that foiled attempt ended the game.
Pitching - Deck McGuire exceeded the quality start guidelines by lasting 6 2/3 innings and surrendering three runs on eight hits. He walked no one but only struck out two while nine of his 17 outs in play were on the grass. At one point, he set down 14 R-Phils in a row before he ran into trouble in the sixth and seventh innings and wound up taking the loss. Danny Farquhar stranded a McGuire runner and struck out one in 1 1/3 perfect frames. Lefty Aaron Loup worked a clean ninth with three groundball outs.
Fielding - There were no miscues afield.
Tampa 6 Dunedin 4 (10 Innings)
Dunedin, FL - The D-Jays bounced back from a 3-0 deficit and took a 4-3 lead but it was short-lived when the Yankees tied it in the sixth. Dunedin's record is now 18-6 and enjoys a five game lead over Lakeland atop the North Division.
Hitting - Number nine hitter Kenen Baili had the only two-hit night for Dunedin, including a double. Kevin Nolan's RBI single put the D-Jays on the board in the fourth and Sean Ochinko followed that with a two-run double. Jake Marisnick tripled home the go-ahead run in the fifth. Gabe Jacobo singled, was hit by a pitch and walked and Michael Crouse had a hit. Ryan Schimpf drew a base on balls but whiffed three times. Kevin Ahrens and Marcus Knecht had 0-fers.
Running - Crouse was thrown out at second after trying to stretch a single. Oliver Dominguez pinch-ran for Schimpf in the 10th but did not score.
Pitching - Sam Dyson surrendered three runs over five innings on seven hits and two walks. He only struck out one but 75 percent of his 12 outs in play were on the ground. Dayton Marze blew the save by yielding a run on three hits over two frames. He struck out one and did not walk anybody. Dustin Antolin overcame a hit and a walk by striking out two batters over one scoreless frame. Lefty Boomer Potts worked a one-hit ninth that included a punchout. Shawn Griffith took the loss as he gave up two runs on three hits and two walks over one inning and did not whiff anyone.
Defence - Marisnick started an 8-6-5 double play from center field and Knecht nailed a runner at second from left. The Yankees stole a base against the Marze-Ochinko battery.
Clinton @ Lansing - Cancelled due to rain. The game against the Mariners affiliate will not be made up. The Lugnuts end the month with a league-best 18-6 record and lead the East Division by 4.5 games.
*** 3 Stars!!! ***
3. Travis d'Arnaud, Las Vegas
2. Adeiny Hechavarria, Las Vegas
1. Yan Gomes, Las Vegas
Extra Innings...
The Las Vegas Review-Journal has features on relievers Chad Beck and Ryota Igarashi as well as starter Jesse Chavez.
MLive has a profile on Lugnuts infielder K.C. Hobson.
