Blue Jays MiLB Recap - 1-5 On The Day

Jays Journal takes its daily look into the Toronto Blue Jays minor league system. After two rainouts yesterday, there were a lot of games to be played on Wednesday. The teams did not have a day to remember, going a combined 1-5 on the day.

AAA: Buffalo Bisons vs. Norfolk Tides (Orioles) + (Doubleheader) – 4-0 loss, 2-1 win

GAME ONE: After being rained out on Wednesday, the Buffalo Bisons and Norfolk Tides were set to play a doubleheader on Thursday. Game one was all Tides, as the Bisons dropped the game by a score of 4-0 in seven innings.

Right-hander Luis Santos (0-1) started for the Bisons, and it was a start that he will want to quickly forget about. The native of the Dominican Republic went just four innings, allowing four runs off of five hits and a walk. Santos was given the loss for the game, and his ERA for the season inflated to 5.14.

The pitcher to come in relief of Santos was Matt Dermody. The left-hander pitched two scoreless innings for the Bisons, allowing zero hits or walks while striking out one batter.

Offensively, the Bisons simply struggled. The team was only able to register five hits and a walk, which led to them being shutout.

The only player who really stood out for the Bisons in game one was Christian Lopes. The infielder went 3-3 on the game with a double, proving to be the only hitter who could consistently solve the Tides’ pitching in game one. Lopes is now hitting .310 on the season.

Toronto Blue Jays /

Toronto Blue Jays

The only other players to contribute at the plate were Darrell Ceciliani (2-3) and Jason Leblebijian (0-2, BB).

GAME ONE MVB: Christian Lopes – 3-3, 2B

GAME TWO: After losing game one, the Bisons were desperate for a win in game two. In a game that was a nail-biter, the Bisons ended up pulling out the victory by a score of 2-1 in seven innings. After splitting the two games today, the team now sits with an impressive 12-5 record for the season.

Minor-league veteran Jarrett Grube (2-1) toed the rubber to start game two and pitched very well. The right-hander went five innings, allowing one run off of three hits and two walks. Grube also had four strikeouts and picked up the win for the game, improving his record to 2-1 and his ERA to 4.05.

Coming in to close the game out and pick up his first save of the season was Jeff Beliveau. The left-hander pitched two shutout innings for the Bisons, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out two batters.

It was another rough game at the plate for the Bisons, but fortunately, two runs were enough to win. The team was only able to grind out five hits and four walks for the game.

There was no real standout performance offensively, as the team only scored two runs. However the players to make a difference at the plate were Christian Lopes (1-3, RBI), Darrell Ceciliani (1-3, R), Dwight Smith Jr. (1-3), Mike Ohlman (0-2, BB), Rowdy Tellez (0-2, BB), Jason Leblebijian (1-3), Shane Opitz (0-2, BB, R), Ian Parmley (0-1, BB) and Alex Monsalve (1-2).

After splitting the first two games of the series today, the Buffalo Bisons and Norfolk Tides will play another doubleheader on Thursday. Will the Bisons win, lose or split the series? Tune in tomorrow to find out, as first pitch in game one is scheduled for 12:05 p.m. EST.

GAME TWO MVB: Jarrett Grube – 5 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 4 SO

AA: New Hampshire Fisher Cats vs. Trenton Thunder (Yankees) + (Doubleheader) – 3-0 loss, 4-3 loss

GAME ONE: Much like Buffalo, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats were also rained out on Wednesday. Due to this, the Trenton Thunder and Fisher Cats were set to play a doubleheader on Thursday. Game one did not go all that well for the Fisher Cats, as they dropped the game to the Yankees affiliate by a score of 3-0 in seven innings.

Righty Francisco Rios (2-2) started the game for the Fisher Cats and gave the team a great outing. The native of Mexico went five innings, allowing three runs (zero earned) off of seven hits and a walk. Rios also registered five strikeouts on the day, but unfortunately took the loss, dropping his record to an even 2-2 on the season.

The next two pitchers to see action were right-handers Dusty Isaacs and Carlos Ramirez. Both of the two pitched one scoreless inning, allowing zero hits and walks while recording zero strikeouts.

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At the plate, the Fisher Cats quite simply could not mustard up anything. The team had three hits and three walks for the game, leading to zero runs.

The team was shutout, so there were not too many players to write home about on the offensive side of the ball. The players who were able to somewhat solve the Thunder pitching in game one were Tim Lopes (1-3), Richard Urena (1-3), Ryan McBroom (0-2, BB), Emilio Guerrero (1-3, 2B), Gunnar Heidt (0-2, BB) and Reese McGuire (0-2, BB).

GAME ONE MVFC: Francisco Rios – 5.0 IP, 3 R, 0 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 5 SO

GAME TWO: In a tightly contested ball game from start to finish, the Fisher Cats were unable to pick up the win in game two, dropping the game by a score of 4-3 in seven innings. The team’s three-game series with the Thunder is now over after a three-game sweep, and after the two losses on the day, the Fisher Cats now sit with a rough 7-12 record.

Right-hander Jon Harris started the game for the Fisher Cats and did not bring his best stuff. While he did not have an awful outing, the Fisher Cats would have liked more from Harris in the second game of a doubleheader. The righty went 5.1 innings, allowing three runs off of three hits and two walks, all while striking out four. It has not been a great start for Harris, as his ERA for the season now sits at 6.53.

The next pitcher to come in was left-hander Tim Mayza, and his day was not one to remember. While he didn’t allow any earned runs, he was credited with a blown save after allowing two of Harris’ runs to score. Mayza finished the day after going 0.2 innings, allowing just the single hit.

The final pitcher to see action for the Fisher Cats was Justin Shafer (0-1), and he did not do his job. Shafer allowed the go-ahead run after giving up a homerun and was hooked with the loss. The right-hander’s final line over one inning of work consisted of one run off of one hit, while striking out one.

While it was not a memorable performance at the plate for the Fisher Cats in game two, it certainly was not bad. Over seven innings the team was able to score three runs off of eight hits and five walks.

The players who stood out on the scoresheet offensively were Tim Lopes (0-3, BB), Richard Urena (2-4, 2B, RBI), Anthony Alford (1-4, R), Ryan McBroom (2-2, R, BB), Raffy Lopez (1-4, 2B, 2 RBI), Emilio Guerrero (1-4), Roemon Fields (1-3, BB, 2 SB), Jonathan Davis (0-3, BB) and Gunnar Heidt (0-1, R, BB).

After being swept by the Trenton Thunder, the Fisher Cats are more than likely happy to be moving on to a new series where they can start fresh. The team has an off day tomorrow, and then they will start a series on Friday with the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. EST.

GAME TWO MVFC: Ryan McBroom – 2-2, R, BB

A+: Dunedin Blue Jays vs. Charlotte Stone Crabs (Rays) – 4-1 loss

After taking game one of the series with the Charlotte Stone Crabs on Wednesday, the Dunedin Blue Jays were looking to clinch the series by taking game two. While the team pitched well, the bats and defense did not show up today, leading to a 4-1 loss. The Blue Jays dropped to 10-10 on the season.

Right-hander T.J. Zeuch (1-1) started the game for the Blue Jays and pitched quite well. The 6’7”, 225 lb. prospect was hooked with the loss, but went 5.2 innings, allowing four runs (one earned) off of five hits and three walks. Zeuch also registered two strikeouts, and his ERA on the season now sits at 1.62.

The next two pitchers to take the hill for the Blue Jays were righties Ryan Cook and Adonys Cardona, and both pitched very well. The first of the two, Cook, went 1.1 scoreless innings allowing one hit and striking out two. Cardona also pitched to a shutout performance, going one inning while allowing one walk and striking out two.

Offensively, the Blue Jays had no clutch hitting at all today. The team was only able to score one run off of seven hits and four walks and will be looking to put this performance behind them.

The players who actually contributed for the Blue Jays on offense were Cavan Biggio (0-1, 3 BB), Andrew Guillotte (1-3, RBI), Juan Kelly (1-4), D.J. Davis (1-3), Max Pentecost (1-3, BB), Matt Dean (1-4) and Kevin Vicuna (2-3, R).

The Blue Jays play again on Thursday and they will be looking to win both game three and the series against the Stone Crabs. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. EST.

MVDJ: T.J. Zeuch – 5.2 IP, 4 R, 1 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 2 SO

A: Lansing Lugnuts vs. South Bend Cubs (Cubs) – 14-9 loss

The Lansing Lugnuts entered the day looking to take the third and final game of the series with the South Bend Cubs. For the second game in a row the bats showed up, but the pitching did not. The Lugnuts ended up dropping the game 14-9, ultimately losing the series and dropping to 10-10 on the season.

Right-hander Denis Diaz started the game for the Lugnuts, and it was not pretty. Diaz went just four innings, allowing six runs (five earned) off of six hits and five walks. Diaz was all over the map today and simply had no command.

The next pitchers to toe the rubber were Chris Hall (0-1), Griffin Glaude and Nick Hartman. Hall was credited with the loss after being bombarded for six runs (five earned) off of six hits and two walks over two innings. Glaude pitched the best of the bunch, going two innings while allowing one run off of two hits and two walks. Glaude also registered two strikeouts. Hartman, the final pitcher to see action, went one inning, allowing one run off of two hits and a walk.

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On offense, the Lugnuts hit the ball all over the park. The team scored nine runs off of ten hits and eight walks, a very impressive feat.

The player who stood out the most at the plate was Bo Bichette. The infield prospect went 2-5 on the day with a double and a solo home run, all while improving his average on the season to .383 and his OPS to 1.086.

The other players to make a difference at the plate today were Edward Olivares (2-4, BB, RBI, 2 R), Joshua Palacios (2-5, R, 2B, 2 RBI), Nash Knight (0-2, 2 BB, RBI), J.B Woodman (2-4, 3B, BB, R, RBI), Jake Thomas (0-1, 3 BB), Bradley Jones (1-5, R, RBI), Christian Williams (0-4, 2 R, RBI, BB) and Ryan Hissey (1-5, R).

The Lugnuts will be looking to get back in the win column on Thursday when they open a new series with the Bowling Green Hot Rods. First pitch is scheduled for 7:35 p.m. EST.

MVL: Bo Bichette – 2-5, 2B, HR, R, RBI

Next: Is There An MLB Pension Problem?

That’s all for today’s MiLB recap. Check back in tomorrow when Jays Journal recaps Thursday night’s minor-league action.

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Blue Jays MiLB Recap – 1-5 On The Day

By Nick Raponi | Apr 27, 2017