Complete Minor League Recap: April 20

With the Lugnuts playing a doubleheader, the Jays’ minor league affiliates played a total of five games yesterday. Here’s a rundown of everything that happened:

Salt Lake Bees 8, Las Vegas 51s 7

Hitting:

Despite the 51s heartbreaking loss in extra innings, the hero in this one for them offensively was Adam Loewen, who went 3-for-5 after hitting .257 in his previous nine games. After the 51s allowed four runs in the top of the sixth to trail 6-2, Loewen hit an opposite field 3-run home run to bring his team within one. Loewen then came up with a clutch 2-out single that scored David Cooper in the eighth inning, and gave the 51s their first lead of the game at 7-6.

Brett Lawrie, Eric Thames, and Cooper all continued to rake, with each of them going 2-for-5. Mike McCoy was actually in the lineup, going 1-for-3 with two walks, and Ryan Shealy drew two walks as well. Leadoff hitter Darin Mastroianni and second baseman Chris Woodward each added a double as well.

Pitching:

Starter Willie Collazo was shaky in this one, allowing 10 hits, 6 earned runs, and 2 walks in just 5.2 innings. Collazo was decent up until the 6th inning where, despite retiring two of the first three batters he faced, he gave up three straight hits with 2-out (single, double, home run) and four runs scored as a result before he was removed for Wil Ledezma. Ledezma kept the 51s in the game and pitched well, allowing just one hit in 2.1 innings of scoreless relief.

Danny Farquhar, back in the Jays organization after the David Purcey, didn’t look great in his first action as a member of the 51s. With the 51s clinging to a one run lead, Farquhar allowed a leadoff double in the top of the ninth, then a walk. After striking out Tyson Auer, Farquhar allowed a single to the next batter he faced, before he was pulled in favor of Sean Henn with runners on 2nd and 3rd. Henn wound up getting the first batter he faced to ground out, which let a run score. The run was charged to Farquhar and was his first earned run he had been charged with so far this season.

The same thing happened in the 10th, where Henn came back out and allowed a single and a walk, before being pulled in favour of Winston Abreu, who let the go ahead run cross the plate, charging Henn with the loss when the 51s were unable to score in the bottom half of the frame.

Notes:

• After getting a pick off in his previous start, the lefty Collazo managed to get two pickoffs in this game
• All of Loewen’s four RBIs came with 2 outs
• Brett Lawrie did not commit an error in this one, and stole his third base of the season

New Hampshire Fisher Cats 6, New Britain Rock Cats 2

Hitting:

Except for pinch-hitter John Tolisano and leadoff man Anthony Gose, every Fisher Cat notched a hit. Mike McDade continued to lead the offensive charge, going 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI, where DH Travis d’Arnaud got his average above the Mendoza line by going 2-for-4 with a double. Right fielder Moises Sierra also notched two hits and left fielder Ricardo Nanita chipped in a double. The Fisher Cats scored two runs in the 2nd and four in the 3rd, so they always led in this game and never looked back.

Pitching:

The Fisher Cats’ pitching was lights out in this one, as Rey Gonzalez pitched his best outing of the season, allowing just six hits and one earned run with no walks in seven strong innings. Ronald Uviedo came in for a scoreless 8th and 9th, keeping his season ERA at 0.00 in five appearances so far (8.1 innings).

Notes:

• With Gose going 0-for-5 in this contest, he lowered his average to .180 on the season
• On top of adding 3 RBIs, Yan Gomes showed off his defensive skills, picking off Joe Benson at second base in the bottom of the 2nd inning
• Mark Sobolewski committed his fourth error of the season when he missed a catch in the 3rd

Dunedin Blue Jays 6, Tampa Yankees 3

The D-Jays got just their fourth win of the season with some extra unexpected offense, and much like the Fisher Cats did, the D-Jays scored all of their runs early in a six-run second inning to coast the rest of the way in the game.

Hitting:

A.J. Jimenez, a favorite of mine, continued his hot streak at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a 3-run home run – his second of the season – in the top of the 2nd. Ryan Goins upped his average to a staggering .196 by going 2-for-4 with a triple and 2 RBIs, and Kevin Ahrens, hitting .209 on the season now, also went 2-for-4 with two strikeouts. Brian Van Kirk and Brad McElroy each added a double as well.

Pitching:

Asher Wojciechowski continued to impress, allowing just seven hits and one earned run in five strong innings. Aside from Matt Wright allowing two earned runs in 1.2 innings, the bullpen did their part to keep the D-Jays ahead, with Frank Gailey pitching a perfect 1 and a third innings for the hold, and Wes Etheridge pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his third save of the season.

Notes:

• Outfielder Kenny Wilson prevented a key run from scoring in the 7th inning with a strong throw that nailed Kevin Mahoney at the plate.
• Second baseman Ivan Contreras was busy yet again, going 1-for-4 with a stolen base, but also committed his fourth error of the season

After having their game postponed on Tuesday, the Lugnuts split a pair of seven innings games in a doubleheader yesterday against the Lake County Captains.

Game 1: Lake County Captains 5, Lansing Lugnuts 1

After getting down 2-0 after the first inning, the Lugnuts made it interesting by scoring in the top of the 2nd inning to cut the Captains’ lead to 2-1, but that’s as close as they would get for the rest of the game.

Hitting:

On a day where the Lugnuts managed just five hits, the lone bright spot offensively was Canadian Marcus Knecht, who went 2-for-3 and hit his first home run of the season in the 2nd, a solo shot that accounted for all of Lansing’s offense. Carlos Perez, Oliver Dominguez, and Gustavo Pierre each added a single.

Pitching:

Casey Lawrence took a complete game loss in this short game, pitching six innings and allowing 9 hits and five runs, all of which were earned. The silver lining in his outing was that he did not issue a walk and struck out five.

Notes:

• Jake Marisnick showed off his five-tool potential in this one, notching an outfield assist on a double play in the third inning
• Markus Brisker, who went 0-for-3 and is hitting .172 on the season, got picked off at first base in the only time he managed to reach base

Game 2: Lansing Lugnuts 6, Lake County Captains 5

The Lugnuts clawed back from being down 3-0 early with a 5-run sixth inning to hold off the Captains in the second game of the doubleheader, improving to 7-4 on the season.

Hitting:

The Lugnuts got all of their offense from the bottom of their lineup for a change, as Carlos Perez, Jake Marisnick, and K.C. Hobson were all held hitless. Number nine hitter Garis Pena led the charge going 1-for-3 with his first home run of the season, a 2-run shot, and Canadian Michael Crouse and Balbino Fuenmayor each went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.

Pitching:

Misaul Diaz has some bad luck in his outing, where he allowed three earned runs and three walks, but only allowed two hits, one of which was a three-run home run in the first inning. After that, Diaz settled down for the next three innings.

Clint Barnes pitched two innings of effective relief, allowing just one hit and striking out 5, and despite allowing three hits and two runs (one earned) in the seventh inning, Steve Turnbull locked down his sixth save of the season.

Notes:

• Carlos Perez stole his first base of the season and Jake Marisnick, after getting an outfield assist in game 1, showed off his speed and stole his fifth base of the season
• Despite going 3-for-9 with runners in scoring position, the Lugnuts still got it done and managed to score six runs
• Neither of Lansing’s two errors (Fuenmayor and Wilson) in this contest really hurt them at all

-JM

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