Blue Jays MiLB recap – Bisons Stampede into Charlotte

Jays Journal takes its daily look into the Toronto Blue Jays Minor League system. The Bisons go big against the Knights, a walk-off homer for the Fisher Cats, and the Lugnuts got caught up in a slugfest.

Buffalo Bisons at Charlotte Knights (White Sox)
9-3 Win

The Bisons continue to stay hot offensively as the road trip continues this weekend. The Herd got to the Knights starter Reynaldo Lopez in a big way in the 2nd inning. They batted around the order and scored 4 runs in the inning.  Rowdy Tellez singled to start the inning. After a walk to Raffy Lopez, Jason Leblebijian singled to center to score Tellez. With 2 outs Jonathan Diaz doubled to score a pair of runs.  Roemon Fields followed with another double to score Diaz for the 4th run of the inning.

In the 4th inning, Fields got things going with another double that scored Leblebijian and Ian Parmley. An out later Dwight Smith Jr. uncorked a towering home run to right-center field. The 2 run homer was Smith’s 5th of the season. This put the Herd up 8-1 by the close of the 4th inning.  In the 7th the Bisons would get a tag on run off of an Ian Parmley single that scored Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

On the mound, Brett Oberholtzer got his first start since May 12th and looked great. Oberholtzer pitched 5 innings and allowed only 3 hits and a run. He also walked just 1 batter and struck out 4.  Jeff Beliveau followed and pitched 3 solid innings without allowing a hit. He also struck out 5 batters during the outing.  John Stilson had some issues as he allowed a pair of runs in his inning of work.

The Bisons are yet to announce a pitcher for Saturday’s game but they will be playing at 7:05 PM EST.

MVB – Roemon Fields 3-5 with 2 doubles, a run scored, a stolen base, and 3 RBIs

New Hampshire Fisher Cats vs Reading Fightin Phils (Phillies)
4-3 Win

What a way to cap off a comeback for the Fisher Cats. An extra inning walk-off home run for Tim Lopes put the icing on the victory cake Friday night. The party was extra sweet in the 11th inning as Lopes found the perfect time to get his first home run of the season. The Cats were down 3-0 going into the home half of the 3rd inning when the bats finally came to life in this one. They were able to plate 2 runs in the inning off of a Ryan McBroom single. The Cats were unable to strike again until the 8th inning when back to back doubles led to a run. McBroom got on with a double and was plated on a double from Harold Ramirez.

Shane Dawson had a start in which he battled for 6 innings. He allowed 8 hits and 3 runs but kept the Cats in the game. He had his control and walked just 1 batter and struck out 3 during the outing.  Justin Shafer struck out a pair in his inning of work. Tim Mayza followed for 1 inning in which he did not allow a base runner. Shafer and Mayza did not allow a hit for 2 innings. Andrew Case threw 3 innings in the game that featured bonus baseball. He was lights out and allowed just one hit on his way to earning the win.

Chris Rowley will get the start Saturday against Reading.  In his last start, he faced the Fightin Phils and did not allow a run over 5.1 innings.

MVFC – Andrew Case 3 IP, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks

Dunedin Blue Jays at Lakeland Flying Tigers (Tigers)
3-2 Win

The Dunedin Blue Jays continued their winning ways on Friday evening in Lakeland. They led the division and have won 4 games in a row. The D-Jays got on the board when Connor Panas scored on a wild pitch. Lane Thomas helped the D-Jays open up the score in the 7th inning when he drove in a pair on his second double of the game. The D-Jays got all the runs against former Blue Jay Anthony Gose who was making his first performance as a pitcher for the Tigers. He only recorded 1 out while throwing 15 pitches. This proved to be just enough offense for the D-Jays as the pitching was rock solid all night.

Angel Perdomo was a force that marched completely grounded the Flying Tigers Friday. He threw 6 innings allowing just 3 hits. As Perdomo put on a pitching clinic he issued just 1 walk and struck out 7. The pen was equally impressive but Adonys Cardona did allow a run in his inning of work.  The Pen pitched 4 innings and allowed just 1 hit. Daniel Young picked up the save for Perdomo’s beautiful win.

T.J. Zeuch will look to keep the allowed runs total below 4 in this start, unlike his past 2 starts. He will get the start in Saturday night’s game against the Tigers. He has had a few rough starts but his ERA still sits at a solid 3.45.

MVDJ – Angel Perdomo 6 IP, 3 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts

Lansing Lugnuts vs Great Lake Loons (Dodgers)
8-12 Loss

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The Lugnuts came back from a 7-1 deficit at one point in this game just to have their historic comeback hammered down by the Loons in the end. The Lugnuts offense mashed 4 home runs in the slugfest that accounted for 7 of their 8 runs scored.  Three of the home runs came in an epic 6 runs 6th inning to put the Lugnuts even with the Loons at 7 runs each.

Bo Bichette started off the Lugnut home run derby with a 2 run homer to left center. After a walk to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and a Bradley Jones single Christian Williams popped a homer to straight up center field. The line drive 3 run homer was his first of the season. J.B. Woodman capped off the inning with a solo home run to tie the game at 7. Bradley Jones would hit a solo homer in the 7th to try and keep the offense going.

Unfortunately for the Lugnuts, the pitchers had trouble keeping the Loons bats at bay. The Loons came to the plate in the 7th and promptly took back the lead with a 5 run inning. Geno Encina would eventually be credited with the loss for being on the mound for 6 runs (1 earned).  Starter Mike Ellenbest was also beaten up for 6 earned runs in this one after throwing 5 innings.  The Loons figured things out on the mound and kept the Lugnuts from scoring enough to come back a second time.

Andy Ravel will get to take the hill Saturday as the Lugnuts will look bounce back from the tough loss.

MVL – Bradley Jones 4-5 with a double, a home run, 2 runs scored, and an RBI

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