Norfolk 6 Buffalo 7
Portland 15 New Hampshire 4
Vancouver 6 Everett 3
Dunedin 11 Lakeland 0 - game one
Dunedin 3 Lakeland 6 - game two
Three Stars
Third Star - Charles McAdoo
Second Star - Aldo Gaxiola
First Star - Nick Goodwin
NOTES
Buffalo trailed 6-2 headed to the ninth. Yohendrick Pinango made an out to start the inning but then Daz Cameron and Josh Kasevich both singled. Ismael Munguia then pinch hit and his double made it a 6-4 game. Carlos Mendoza struck out for out number two. Rudy Martin Jr then singled and runners were on first and third. New Jay Brett Bateman walked to load the bases. Charles McAdoo singled, two runners scored and we were tied. Sean Keys walked and the bases were loaded again. A new pitcher came on and on his fifth pitch threw a wild pitch to lose the game.
Daz Cameron had three hits to keep his average over .400. How long can it last? Cameron is 29 and has had just one pro season hitting over .300. That was in 2024 in the lofty air of Las Vegas. Cameron's current BABIP is .511. Josh Kasevich had two hits to bring his average to .300. Martin and McAdoo also had two hits each.
Ricky Tiedemann made his return to Buffalo and pitched an inning, eleven pitches, one walk.
It was a bad day to be a New Hampshire pitcher. Four of them combined to give up 15 runs. Mason Olson started and was probably the best, he only gave up two runs on one hit and three walks in 4.1 innings.
Nick Goodwin getting to play regularly with Arjun Nimmala gone, went 4-5 with a double. Matthieu Vallee was 1-3 with a walk and he also stole four bases. I hadn't noticed his speed until I read Niall's interview with him at C's plus dot com. His hit kept his average at .400 in a small sample at AA.
Vancouver scored six runs with seven hits. They had a big fourth inning scoring four runs. In that inning the big hits were doubles by Payton Williams and Gable Mitchell. In the fifth inning Ty Southisene had his first Blue Jay hit, an infield single. Jake Casey followed with an RBI double. Casey later scored on a fielders choice. Raimundo De Los Santos was the only hitter with two hits.
Daniel Guerra and Connor O'Halloran piggybacked to cover 5.2 innings. Each gave up one run.
Dunedin laid a beating on Lakeland in game one scoring eleven runs. Aldo Gaxiola hit a three run home run in the first inning. Giaconino Lasaracina capped it off with a two run homer in the seventh. Both of those guys, and Jake Cook, had two hits each.
Brandon Barriera started and just went 2.2 innings, 53 pitches. Barreira has a rough first inning, he walked the bases loaded but escaped. He was up to almost 30 pitches and grateful that the last out in the inning came on just two pitches. If he had gone over 30 pitches he might have been out of the game. But he got his next five outs with just one infield single allowed. At this stage Barriera just needs reps on the mound, to pitch until September taking a regular turn in the rotation with no injuries.
The second Dunedin game had a lengthy rain delay in the third inning. The Jays hitters must have been tired after game one, they had just three hits, all singled, in game two.
A couple of DSL notes. Sebastian Casanova, who is hitting .390, was hit by a pitch on July 27th and had to leave the game. He hasn't played since. He also hasn't gone on the IL but I not sure that means anything in the DSL.
Darwin Nunez (not the soccer player) is an 18 year old in his second season in the DSL. He hit .196 last year and .103 in June, looks like a bust? He played in 20 games in July and hit in 16 of them. His July average was .338 and he had 13 walks vs 18 K's. He started August with a 4-5 game and followed it with a 3-4 bringing his season average up to .311. He is one to watch.
His namesake Luis Nunez is a year younger, 17, and in his first season in the DSL. He too had a poor June, hitting .186. But he hit .275 in July and like Darwin started August hot, going 2-3 and 3-4. Another one to watch.