Vancouver lost a one run game and now have to win two in a row to win the championship. Buffalo won big with the usual suspects, Alan Roden, Josh Kasevich and Steward Berroa having good games. New Hampshire had their win streak stopped at one.
Buffalo 3 Gwinnett 1
New Hampshire 0 Somerset 3
Vancouver 2 Spokane 3
Three Stars
Third Star - Alan Roden
Second Star - Adrian Pinto
First Star - Josh Kasevich
NOTES
James Kaprielian had his best start for Buffalo, 5.1 shutout innings with six K's.
The game was scoreless until the sixth when Alan Roden, Orelvis Martinez and Josh Kasevich all singled to make it 1-0. In the next inning Damiano Palmegiani singled, Steward Berroa had an RBI double and Bo Bichette an RBI single, 3-0. Kasevich ended the game with a 3-4. His average in AAA is now .331. For September he is hitting .387 with a .919 OPS. He has continued to perform every step of the way in 2024. Roden, Berroa and Palmegiani contributed two hits each.
New Hampshire had just four hits, Eddinson Paulino had two.
Abdiel Mendoza started but had to leave the game in the first inning. I am not sure why but he did have to make a play on a come backer before his removal. Drew Jemison was signed by the Jays this year out of indy ball. He played ten games for Dunedin before being sent to New Hampshire. He has played six games there and made four errors. His error in the first inning contributed to two unearned runs.
Kendry Rojas was dealing for the Canadians in game three of their playoff. Through four innings the only runner was due to an error. But he walked top prospect Charlie Condon to start the fifth. A soft line drive and a ground ball single made it a 2-1 game. Earlier Adrian Pinto hit a two run home run in the third inning to give Vancouver the lead. Rojas issued another walk with one out in the sixth. A single made it two baserunners. Then Rojas threw two wild pitches which tied the game. Then one more single made it 3-2 for Spokane. Rojas went six innings and struck out nine. But he did allow three runs on four hits and two walks. It was a good start but playoff games are usually decided by small margins.
Each team had five hits. The C's had just one baserunner after Spokane took the lead. The game was very even and you could say the two wild pitches were the difference in the game. Adrian Pinto and Jacob Sharp each had two of the C's five hits.
Pinto is in his fourth minor league season. His at-bats have declined every year he has played, from a high of 175 Ab's in 2021 to 103 in 2024. The most important ability is availability and Pinto doesn't seem to have it. When he plays he is usually a .300 hitter but he needs to do it more often.
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