May 10 Minor League Report

Buffalo Bisons (21-12)

The Buffalo Bisons got out to an early lead powered by home runs by Anthony Gose and Eugenio Velez. Mauro Gomez added one of his own in the ninth as the Bisons took the first game of their series against the Louisville Bats 7-5 on Friday. Starter Dave Bush was very effective against the Bats, going six solid innings, giving up two runs on six hits and a walk. Louisville ended up scoring three off of reliever Chad Beck who has been roughed up twice since being promoted from Double-A New Hampshire but Neil Wagner closed the door, throwing two and two-thirds perfect innings, striking out six.

There was a lot to like from the hitters as the International League’s best offense racked up eleven hits and five walks. The Bisons got multi-hit games from batting leader Jim Negrych (now hitting .430), Moises Sierra (now hitting .350), Eugenio Velez and Mauro Gomez. Anthony Gose added a walk to his home run and stole a base, putting him above the 50% stolen base success rate for the first time all season.

Roster Notes: Pitchers Mickey Storey and Ramon Ortiz had their contracts selected by the Toronto Blue Jays while Ricky Romero was optioned to AAA Buffalo. Today, the Blue Jays optioned reliever Michael Schwimer to Buffalo (after activating him off the DL) and released reliever Alex Hinshaw.

Sep 12, 2012; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox third baseman Mauro Gomez (50) grounds out to second against the New York Yankees during the ninth inning at Fenway Park. The New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox 5-4. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Hitting:

Anthony Gose – 1/4, R, HR, 2 RBI, BB, SB
Jim Negrych – 2/4, 2 R, BB
Moises Sierra – 2/5, R
Luis Jimenez –1/4, BB
Mauro Gomez – 2/5, R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, K
Josh Thole – 0/4, BB
Andy LaRoche – 0/4
Eugenio Velez – 2/4, R, HR, RBI, BB, K
Ryan Goins – 1/4, R, K

Pitching:

Dave Bush – W, 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 2 HR
Chad Beck – 1/3 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 BB
Neil Wagner – S, 2 2/3 IP, 6 K

Jay Blue’s Player of the Game: Mauro Gomez

New Hampshire Fisher Cats (16-20)

The Fisher Cats were unable to complete their comeback, falling 3-2 to the Trenton Thunder on Friday. With two outs in the top of ninth and two runners on, Adam Loewen singled to left driving in Clint Robinson and, two batters later, John Tolisano walked with the bases loaded to score a second run. Adam Loewen ended the game trying to score, presumably on a pitch that got by catcher Nick McCoy and the Fisher Cats were stuck with their twentieth loss of the season. The pitching was strong with Ryan Tepera and Chorye Spoone combining for nine strikeouts (but five walks) over their eight innings giving up only two earned runs. They weren’t helped by their defense as the Fisher Cats committed four errors on the night. The bats were mostly silent, unable to capitalize on their seven hits, including two each from Ryan Schimpf and Adam Loewen. Center fielder Kevin Pillar had possibly his worst night of the season, going oh for four with a strikeout and a rare error.

Hitting:

Kevin Pillar – 0/4, K, E
Ricardo Nanita – 1/4, K
Brad Glenn –1/4, 2B
Clint Robinson – 0/4, R, 2 K
Ryan Schimpf – 2/3, R, 2B, BB, K
Kevin Nolan – 0/4, K, 2 E
Adam Loewen – 2/4, RBI
Sean Ochinko – 1/3, 2B, BB, K
John Tolisano – 0/3, RBI, BB, K

Pitching:

Ryan Tepera – L, 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 5 K
Chorye Spoone – 3 IP, 4 H, 2 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 4 K

Jay Blue’s Player of the Game: Ryan Tepera

Dunedin Blue Jays (20-13)

Game suspended in the third inning due to rain. To be completed May 11.

Lansing Lugnuts (10-21)

The Lugnuts came up with their tenth victory of the season after they took the final game of their series with the Dayton Dragons 7-4. After an hour and a half rain delay, starter Alonzo Gonzalez recovered from his disastrous start last time out in which he gave up ten runs in three and a third innings. This time, Gonzalez went six innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on eight hits and two walks while striking out four. Reliever Ian Kadish came on for two strong innings of relief to follow Gonzalez and Arik Sikula struck out the side (in order) in the ninth to nail down the save.

The offense came from the top of the lineup. Leadoff hitter Dwight Smith, Jr. went one for three with a walk and two runs scored while Christian Lopes also had two runs scored on his two hits that included his second home run of the year. Starting at third base, Shane Opitz had another multi-hit game, going three for four with a double and a run. Seth Conner continues to struggle behind the plate, committing two more passed balls on Friday while throwing out only one of three attempted base thieves.

Injury notes: Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com notes that starting pitcher Roberto Osuna may require Tommy John surgery after having his elbow examined by doctors.

Hitting:

Dwight Smith Jr. – 1/4, 2 R, BB, E
Shane Opitz – 3/5, R, 2B
Christian Lopes – 2/5, 2 R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, K
Kevin Patterson – 0/3, R, BB, 3 K, E
Carlos Ramirez – 1/2, R, 2 BB, K
Chris Hawkins – 1/4
Kellen Sweeney – 0/2, RBI, BB
Seth Conner – 1/4, RBI, K, 2 PB
Jorge Flores – 0/4, E

Pitching:

Alonzo Gonzalez – W, 6 IP, 8 H, 3 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 4 K
Ian Kadish – 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 4 K
Arik Sikula – S, 1 IP, 3 K

Jay Blue’s Player of the Game: Shane Opitz

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