May 20 Minor League Report

Buffalo Bisons (25-18)

The Charlotte Knights pitching held the Buffalo Bisons to only six hits in a 5-1 loss for the Herd on Monday. Starter Dave Bush struck out seven in his six innings but was plagued by the home run, giving up two to account for part of the four runs he gave up. It was a quiet night for the offence with only Mauro Gomez tallying more than one hit. Jim Negrych went oh for four with two strikeouts, bringing his batting average back under .390. In the loss, former Blue Jay Lars Anderson (at least for Spring Training) hit a home run off of Bush.

Roster Notes: The Blue Jays recalled Anthony Gose to the major league squad and optioned Mickey Storey out to Buffalo. Additionally, the Jays claimed pitcher Thad Weber off waivers and optioned him to Buffalo.

Hitting:

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

Pitching:

Dave Bush – L, 6 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 7 K, 2 HR
Buddy Carlyle – 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 3 K, 1 HR
Mickey Storey – 1 IP, 2 K

Jay Blue’s Player of the Game:  Mauro Gomez

New Hampshire Fisher Cats (23-22)

The New Hampshire Fisher Cats jumped above the .500 mark on Monday night thanks to a strong start from Marcus Walden and a two-home-run game from Ryan Schimpf in a 7-3 win over the Portland Sea Dogs. Walden, the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week, wasn’t quite as good as he was in his last two starts but was very solid, giving up only three runs (two earned) in his six innings of work. Joel Carreno managed to get out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the eighth inning and struck out all five batters he faced to nail down his fifth save of the season. Schimpf had the only two-hit game of the night for the Fisher Cats with both hits leaving the park, driving in five of the team’s seven runs. Schimpf now leads the Eastern League with eleven home runs.

Marc Hulet of Fangraphs attended the Fisher Cats game against the Trenton Thunder last week and you can read what he wrote about pitcher Sean Nolin and outfielder Kevin Pillar.

Hitting:

Kevin Pillar – 0/5, R, 2 K, OF Asst.
Ricardo Nanita – 1/3, 3 R, 2 BB, K
Ryan Schimpf – 2/4, 2 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI, BB, K
Clint Robinson – 1/4, R, 2B, BB, K
Brad Glenn – 1/4, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, K
Adam Loewen – 1/4, BB
Sean Ochinko – 1/3, K
Jack Murphy – 0/1
John Tolisano – 0/4, K
Amadeo Zazueta – 1/4

Pitching:

Marcus Walden – W, 6 IP, 8 H, 3 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 2 K, 1 HR
Evan Crawford – 1 1/3 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 K
Joel Carreno – S, 1 2/3 IP, 5 K

Jay Blue’s Player of the Game: Ryan Schimpf

Dunedin Blue Jays (25-16)

The Dunedin Blue Jays won in walk-off fashion to take a 4-3 win over the St. Lucie Mets. Andy Burns was the hero with an RBI single with runners on the corners to score Peter Mooney and win the game in the bottom of the ninth. The big news was the appearance of Toronto Blue Jay Josh Johnson in Dunedin on a rehab assignment. He pitched the first three innings of the game, giving up one run on three hits while striking out five. Eric Brown, fresh off the DL, pitched the next two and two-thirds shutout innings. Another concerning event was catcher Derrick Chung leaving the game early for an unspecified reason. He was replaced by Pierce Rankin who ended up going two for four.  Matt Newman also had two hits while Jon Berti, K.C. Hobson and Mike Crouse each had a double.

Roster Notes: Top prospect Aaron Sanchez was put on the 7-day DL and Eric Brown was activated.

Hitting:

Jon Berti – 1/2, 2B, BB
Matt Newman – 2/5, 2B, K
Andy Burns – 1/4, 2 RBI, K
Jon Talley – 1/4, R, 2 K
Marcus Knecht – 0/4, 2 K
K.C. Hobson – 1/3, 2B, BB, K
Mike Crouse – 1/4, 2B, RBI, 3 K
Pierce Rankin – 0/2, BB, 2 K
Peter Mooney – 1/3, R, BB, K

Apr 21, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Josh Johnson (55) pitches to the New York Yankees at the Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

Pitching:

Josh Johnson – 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 5 K
Eric Brown – 2 2/3 IP, 2 H, 1 BB
Tony Davis – 1 1/3 IP, 2 K
Ajay Meyer – 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K
Danny Barnes – BS, W, 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB

Jay Blue’s Player of the Game: Josh Johnson

Lansing Lugnuts (18-23)

The Lugnuts swept their series against the Great Lakes Loons with a walk-off 4-3 victory in ten innings on Monday night. In the Lugnuts’ case, it was a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch by Carlos Ramirez that scored Dwight Smith, Jr. to take the victory. While he didn’t get the “W,” starter Alonzo Gonzalez pitched one of his best games of the year, going six and a third innings and giving up two runs on six hits and a walk while striking out two. Christian Lopes, who had been slumping lately, broke out in a big way, going four for five, hitting a triple and a home run on Monday night. That was part of the thirteen-hit attack for the Lugnuts but they were only able to convert that into four runs. Dwight Smith, Jr., Gustavo Pierre and Balbino Fuenmayor each had two hits while Dalton Pompey had a rough night, going oh for five with three strikeouts. Smith’s two-for-five night brings his batting average up over .300 (to .301) while Christian Lopes is now hitting .319.

Hitting:

Dalton Pompey – 0/5, 3 K
Dwight Smith, Jr. – 2/4, R
Christian Lopes – 4/5, 2 R, 3B, HR, RBI
Kevin Patterson – 0/3, RBI, BB
Carlos Ramirez – 1/4, RBI, 3 K, CS
Kellen Sweeney – 1/4, E
Gustavo Pierre – 2/4, R, SB
Balbino Fuenmayor – 2/4
Seth Conner – 1/4, RBI

Pitching:

Alonzo Gonzalez – 6 1/3 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HR
Griffin Murphy – 1 2/3 IP, 3 H, 2 K
Arik Sikula – W, 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K

Jay Blue’s Player of the Game: Christian Lopes

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