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Strong starts in Triple-A and the Midwest League led to victories, with the former being a come-from-behind extra-inning affair. Meanwhile, the Fisher Cats lost in Brett Cecil’s return to the diamond and a first inning grand slam put Dunedin in a hole that Jake Marisnick and Sean Ochinko couldn’t lead the team out of

Las Vegas 2 @ Oklahoma City 1 (10 innings)Boxscore

Las Vegas got a gift-wrapped win despite going 0-for-6 with RISP, as Oklahoma City’s players conspired to lose the game in as painful a way as possible for the home fans. Scott Richmond had a very solid outing with his third straight quality start and his fifth in his last sixth starts. Richmond only needed 83 pitches to get through 7 innings. He struck out four, walked two and only allowed three hits. Unfortunately, he left facing a loss, as one of the hits was a solo homer by outfielder Fernando Martinez.

After Jerry Gil pitched a scoreless 8th, the 51’s came to bat in the ninth still trailing 1-0. Adeiny Hechavarria began the inning with a single to right, but then Anthony Gose struck out. The 51’s then took advantage of a mistake by the RedHawks and an errant pickoff attempt allowed Hechavarria to advance to 3rd. Travis Snider hit a sac fly before Moises Sierra struck out.

The game went to extras after Gil held Oklahoma City in the bottom of the frame and Yan Gomes began the 10th with a single. A sac bunt by Ricardo Nanita was thrown away and everyone was safe. Chris Woodward laid down a successful sac bunt to push Gomes to 3rd base and Nanita to 2nd with one out. Oklahoma City tried to force the issue when Ruben Gotay hit a grounder to 2nd and everyone was safe on a throwing error by the second baseman. Kevin Howard was intentionally walked to load the bases and then Hechavarria hit a fly ball that turned into a double play when Nanita was cut down at the plate. After that wild inning, the bottom was anything but as Ryota Igarashi struck out two and got a fly ball to pick up the save and preserve the win.

New Hampshire 4 @ Portland 5Boxscore

Brett Cecil took the mound for the Fisher Cats and made his first start in 20 days. He threw 30 of his 46 pitches for strikes over 4 innings and didn’t walk a batter. Cecil struck out one and gave up two runs on four hits. Fernando Hernandez gave up five hits, but only one run, over 2 innings and took the loss before turning the ball over to Aaron Loup, who gave up a pair of runs on four hits over 2 innings.

Portland outhit the Fisher Cats 13-6. Half of New Hampshire’s hits came off the bat of Mike McDade, who was 3-for-4 with an RBI. Ryan Goins and John Tolisano each were 1-for-3 with a double, a run and a walk. Jonathan Diaz scored a run, as well. Bradley Glenn was 1-for-4 with a 2-run homer. Brian Jeroloman’s rough year continued with an 0-for-4 night. Jeroloman is hitting .071/.212/.071 for the year with two hits in 28 at-bats and he’ll need a change in his fortune or else his month on a major league bench may be as close as he gets to his line in the Baseball Enyclopedia.

Fort Myers 7 @ Dunedin 5Boxscore

The Miracle jumped all over Casey Lawrence in the first inning, scoring four runs off the Dunedin starter. The damage came from Lance Ray, who hit a two-out grand slam to give Fort Myers a commanding lead. Lawrence then allowed a solo shot to open the second inning, but he persevered and completed 5 innings. He struck out five and allowed five hits and two walks. Trystan Magnuson followed Lawrence and took his second loss in the Florida State League this year with one run over 1.2 innings on one hit and an intentional walk. Scott Gracey allowed the insurance run on a solo shot and struck out three over 1.1 innings. Dayton Martze also pitched a scoreless inning.

Jake Marisnick and Sean Ochinko led the offensive attack against Fort Myers with three hits each. Marisnick had a double and an RBI, along with two singles, while Ochinko rapped out three singles. Ryan Schimpf and Jon Talley each went 2-for-5. Schimpf had a double and 2 RBI. Meanwhile, Talley was thrown out at the plate by Oswaldo Arcia. The two Kevins – Nolan and Ahrens – each went 0-for-4. Marcus Knecht went 1-for-4 with a double, a run and an RBI. Kenen Bailli had a 1-for-4 evening with a run and an RBI and Michael Crouse was 2-for-4 with a run. Knecht and Crouse are creeping back up towards .200, hitting .195 and .198, respectively.

Bowling Green 3 @ Lansing 7Boxscore

The Lugnuts had eight hits, but none came from the first three batters. Carlos Perez and KC Hobson, batting fifth and sixth, each went 2-for-4, with Perez knocking a double and driving in a pair of runs. Kevin Pillar, Andrew Burns and Markus Brisker each went 1-for-4 with a run. Pillar drove in a pair and Burns had a double. Chris Hawkins was 1-for-4 with an RBI. While Kenny Wilson, Kellen Sweeney and Jonathon Berti were held hitless, they scored four runs by reaching base five times on bases on balls.

Marcus Walden had another good outing for Lansing and his ERA now sits at 2.56 for the season. Walden went 5 innings and allowed two hits and two walks. He did not surrender a run, struck out four and retired seven of the nine batters on balls in play with groundouts. Tyler Ybarra pitched a frame and allowed two runs on four hits and a walk. Blake McFarland picked up a three inning save, allowing one run while striking out four.

Three Stars:
3rd Star – Mike McDade, 3-for-4, RBI, 3 TB
2nd Star – Marcus Walden, 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K
1st Star – Scott Richmond, 7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

Richmond Rising | 5 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
John Northey - Thursday, May 10 2012 @ 09:14 AM EDT (#256114) #
Wonder if Richmond is slowly working his way into the emergency starter slot? His ERA looks poor - 5.83 - but his components are solid outside of HR/9 - BB/9: 1.5 K/9: 8.2 HR/9 1.5 H/9: 9.7

With those stats he certainly would be a reasonable option for many teams as their #5 or emergency starter or long relief. He was wild last year (4.5 BB/9) but in his 8 seasons in the minors that was just the 2nd time he was over 3 (3.1 in his rookie minor league season). He certainly is a solid option for AAA starting and I'm glad he stuck around.
cybercavalier - Thursday, May 10 2012 @ 03:16 PM EDT (#256123) #
Re: John Northey:

I read on Toronto Sun days ago that Hutchison is a bit rushed to Toronto. I wonder if Richmond can be a "stopgap" option while the pitching talents would be brought up when they are ready, and perhaps not when they would be evaluated for major league level of play? Also Richmond could be a part of a trade package to teams if his trade value has gone up because of his renewed 2012 performance in Toronto.
 
John Northey - Thursday, May 10 2012 @ 03:36 PM EDT (#256124) #
I don't see Richmond having any real trade value beyond a throw in. He'd have to perform in the majors for a few starts (5 I'd think) to convince people to pay anything for him.

As to Hutchison being rushed...that kind of lands into the 'no kidding' area. Still, he has done very well - 4 starts with 5+ innings in each and a 4.15 FIP and 3.66 xFIP suggesting he is above replacement level already and with some luck would be one of the better starters here.

FIP & xFIP in FIP order...
Morrow: 3.98 + 3.63
Hutchison: 4.15 + 3.66
Romero: 4.18 + 3.92
Alvarez: 5.20 + 4.62
Drabek: 5.29 + 4.22

So Hutchison has the 2nd best FIP and xFIP among Jay starters right now. His ERA has been poor but that seems to be due to bunching of hits together, something that should improve as he improves composure and the like.

I'd keep Hutchison there until he actually struggles. I saw during one of his starts that he sat on the bench with Romero and was listing closely. I suspect he is a sponge at the moment and the majors is where he'd learn the most. I expect we'll see him as more than a #5 by seasons end, much like happened with Alvarez last year.
Waveburner - Thursday, May 10 2012 @ 08:43 PM EDT (#256146) #

Another day, another disastrous Wojciechowski start in A ball. 2.1 IP, 9 H, 8 ER, 3 K, 1 HR

Hey at least no walks :) I for one wouldn't mind seeing Woj converted to the pen and possibly fast tracked. He's repeatig the level but not improving at all. He's also 23 years old. I still like his potential out of the pen, so anytime soon works for me.

Also, Nicolino finally gave up ER's today. 3 in 4 innings, got touched for his first HR. Managed a 4-0 K/BB though. Lansing's offense has exploded though.

TamRa - Friday, May 11 2012 @ 02:27 AM EDT (#256150) #
Another day, another disastrous Wojciechowski start in A ball. 2.1 IP, 9 H, 8 ER, 3 K, 1 HR

you realize that in his five previous outings Wojo has a 1.78 ERA right? with a WHIP under 1?

Not that i completely disagree with the notion he's future might be in relief.

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