Lugnuts Bring the Lumber: August 1 Minor League Report

Buffalo Bisons (57-54)

Ricky Romero and the Buffalo Bisons defeated Trevor Bauer and the Columbus Clippers 5-1 on Thursday night. Romero went six strong innings, giving up only one run on five hits and three walks while striking out seven and John Stilson and Jeremy Jeffress gave up only one hit the rest of the way. Ryan Goins was the offensive hero, hitting his sixth home run of the year and driving in three runs. Anthony gose returned to the leadoff spot and went one for five with a strikeout but was caught stealing (for the thirteenth time this season). Kevin Pillar doubled, scored once and drove in a run with an RBI ground out in addition to stealing a base.

Hitting:

Anthony Gose – 1/5, K, CS
Kevin Pillar – 1/5, R, 2B, RBI, K, SB, OF Asst
Luis Jimenez – 1/4, K
Andy LaRoche – 1/4, CS
Clint Robinson – 1/3, R, BB, K
Ryan Goins –2/3, R, HR, 3 RBI, BB
Mike McCoy – 1/2, R, 2B, 2 BB, SB
Munenori Kawasaki – 0/3, R, BB
Mike Nickeas – 0/3

Pitching:

Ricky Romero – W, 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 7 K, 1 HR
John Stilson – 2 IP, 2 K
Jeremy Jeffress – 1 IP, 1 H, 3 K

Jay Blue’s Player of the Game: Ryan Goins

New Hampshire Fisher Cats (53-56)

Despite a great game from catcher Jack Murphy, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats lost 4-3 to the Bowie Baysox on Thursday afternoon. Starter Sean Nolin got roughed up in the second inning, giving up three runs but recovered to make those his only runs over five innings in which he gave up five hits and two walks and struck out eight batters. Ryan Tepera got tagged for the loss, giving up the fourth Bowie run in the seventh. Murphy had one of his best games of the season, going three for four with a home run and Kenny Wilson and Brad Glenn each had two hits. For Wilson, it marks three consecutive multi-hit games since returning from the DL. Andy Burns went one for five with a two-run home run but also struck out twice.

Hitting:

Kenny Wilson – 2/5, R
Andy Burns – 1/5, R, HR, 2 RBI, 2 K
A.J. Jimenez – 1/4, K
Brad Glenn – 2/4
Adam Loewen – 0/4, 2 K
Kevin Nolan – 1/4
Ryan Schimpf – 0/4, K
Lance Zawadzki – 1/4, K
Jack Murphy – 3/4, R, HR, RBI

Pitching:

Sean Nolin – 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 8 K, 1 HR
Ryan Tepera – L, 1 1/3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K
Randy Boone – 1 2/3 IP, 1 H, 1 K

Jay Blue’s Player of the Game: Jack Murphy

Dunedin Blue Jays (53-51)

Johnny Whole-Staff got the job done for the Dunedin Blue Jays in a 5-1 win over the Bradenton Marauders. John Anderson got a spot start for the Blue Jays and went two and two-thirds innings giving up two hits and a walk while striking out five and Dayton Marze followed with two and a third innings just walking one. Justin Jackson pitched in with another two shutout innings and Wil Browning ended up giving up the only run in the ninth. The offense had thirteen hits including three from Mike Crouse and two each from Derrick Chung, Oliver Dominguez, Gustavo Pierre and “Mighty Mouse” Jorge Flores, who made his first start in Dunedin. Flores, just promoted from Lansing, also drove in two runs and Shane Opitz had a great day on the bases, stealing three.

Hitting:

Jon Berti – 1/4, BB, K, SB
Derrick Chung – 2/5, RBI
Mike Crouse – 3/4, R, 2B, K
Marcus Knecht – 0/4, K
Matt Newman – 0/1
Oliver Dominguez – 2/4, R, BB
Gustavo Pierre – 2/5, R, 2 K
Nick Baligod – 0/3, R, BB, K
Jorge Flores – 2/4, 2 RBI, K
Shane Opitz – 1/4, R, RBI, 3 SB

Pitching:

John Anderson – 2 2/3 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 5 K
Dayton Marze – W, 2 1/3 IP, 1 BB
Blake McFarland – 1 IP, 1 K
Justin Jackson – 2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K
Wil Browning – 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R

Jay Blue’s Player of the Game: Mike Crouse

Lansing Lugnuts (46-62)

The Lansing Lugnuts split a double header with the South Bend Silver Hawks on Thursday.

In Game 1, eighth-round draft pick Kendall Graveman got the start and went five strong innings and gave up just one run on two hits with two strikeouts. Eric Brown, just called up from Vancouver, got a blown save but only gave up one unearned run in two innings on two hits and no walks and struck out four. Ian Kadish took the loss by giving up a run in the bottom of the eighth to give the Silver Hawks their walkoff win. Dwight Smith, Jr. and Emilio Guerrero had two-hit games while Smith and Christian Lopes each had a double. Daniel Klein continues to hit well after his call-up from Vancouver and went one for four while Jordan Leyland continues to struggle and went oh for four to drop his batting average to .074.

Game 2 was a slump buster for the Lugnuts with the bats coming out in a 12-6 win. The team had twenty-one hits, clubbing the South Bend Silver Hawks into submission. Dwight Smith, Jr. continued his multi-hit madness from the first game by going four for four with a walk, a home run, three runs scored and two RBI. Emilio Guerrero, Christian Lopes, Santiago Nessy and Jordan Leyland each had three hits with Lopes hitting a double and a home run and driving in five runs. Kevin Patterson also went deep, driving in three runs with a home run and double while Kellen Sweeney went two for four. Sixth round pick Matt Boyd made the start and faced just one batter over the minimum over his three innings. Colton Turner, also just called up from Vancouver threw three innings but gave up a run on two hits and three walks despite striking out six, and Chad Girodo was charged with five runs in his two-thirds of an inning.

Dwight Smith, Jr. warms up before a game in Lansing, Michigan on May 3, 2013. Mandatory Credit: Jay Blue

Game 1:

Hitting:

Dwight Smith, Jr. – 2/3, R, 2B, BB
Emilio Guerrero – 2/3
Christian Lopes – 1/3, R, 2B, RBI, SF
Kevin Patterson – 0/2, 2 BB, K
Carlos Ramirez –0/2
Chris Hawkins – 1/3, RBI, E, SF
Jordan Leyland – 0/4, K
Daniel Klein – 1/4
Jason Leblebijian – 0/3

Pitching:

Kendall Graveman – 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 K
Eric Brown – 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R (0 ER), 4 K
Ian Kadish – L, 2/3 IP, 1 R, 1 K

Jay Blue’s Player of the Game: Dwight Smith, Jr.

Game 2:

Hitting:

Dwight Smith, Jr. -4/4, 3 R, HR, 2 RBI, BB
Emilio Guerrero –3/5, 2 R, RBI, K
Christian Lopes – 3/5, 2 R, 2B, HR, 5 RBI
Kevin Patterson – 2/5, R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, K
Carlos Ramirez –0/5
Santiago Nessy – 3/5, 2B, K
Chris Hawkins – 1/5, R, 2B
Jordan Leyland – 3/4, 3 R, RBI, K
Kellen Sweeney – 2/4, 2B

Pitching:

Matt Boyd – 3 IP, 3 K
Colton Turner – W, 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 6 K
Chad Girodo – 2/3 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Arik Sikula – 1/3 IP, 1 H

Jay Blue’s Player of the Game: Dwight Smith, Jr.

Vancouver Canadians (26-21)

July 31 Game:

One day after winning 7-0, the Vancouver Canadians took a 7-1 loss at home to the Hillsboro Hops. Starter Alonzo Gonzalez was bailed out on some hard hit balls by his defense, he went three innings without giving up a hit although he walked three and gave up a run. Justin James took the brunt of the damage, surrendering five runs (two earned) on six hits in two innings. 2013 draftee Scott Silverstein was strong in his two innings, giving up only a hit and striking out three. Dickie Thon had another strong game for the offense, going two for three with two solid singles as well as two walks. L.B. Dantzler came out of the game after being hit by a pitch in the foot early on and Andy Fermin hit a triple for the team’s only extra-base hit.

Hitting:

Ian Parmley – 1/5, E
Dickie Thon – 2/3, R, 2 BB, K
Andy Fermin – 1/4, 3B, RBI, BB, K, E
L.B. Dantzler – 0/1
Dan Arcila – 0/2, K, E
Brenden Kalfus – 1/3, BB, K, OF Asst.
Michael Reeves – 0/2, 2 BB, K
Melvin Garcia – 0/3, BB, K
Christian Vazquez – 0/3
Justin Atkinson – 0/1
Shaun Valeriote – 0/3, 2 K
David Harris – 0/1

Pitching:

Alonzo Gonzalez – 3 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 2 K
Justin James – L, 2 IP, 6 H, 5 R (2 ER)
Scott Silverstein – 2 IP, 1 H, 3 K
Tim Brechbuehler – 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Joe Spano – 1 IP, 1 K

Jay Blue’s Player of the Game: Dickie Thon

Bluefield Blue Jays (27-13)

The Bluefield Blue Jays won again, beating the Elizabethton Twins by getting great work out of the bullpen and some solid, timely hitting. 2013 twelfth-round draft pick Tim Mayza got the start and went four decent innings, giving up two runs on two hits and three walks with four strikeouts. Justin D’Alessandro was the best of the bunch,t hough, pitching two innings, giving up only one hit and striking out six while Phil Kish threw two scoreless innings and Brett Barber came in for his fifth save. The batters teamed up for eleven hits, all singles except for Tim Locastro’s triple. Nico Taylor, Mitch Nay and Derrick Loveless had two hits each while D.J. Davis had a game to forget, going oh for five with five strikeouts.

Hitting:

D.J. Davis – 0/5, 5 K
Timothy Locastro – 1/3, R, 3B, BB, SB
Nico Taylor – 2/4, R, RBI, BB, K
Mitch Nay – 2/4, R, BB, E
Dawel Lugo – 1/4, R, K
Matt Dean – 1/3, 2 RBI, 2 K
Derrick Loveless – 2/4, 2 K
Garrett Custons – 1/4, K
Jesus Gonzalez – 1/4, 2 K

Pitching:

Tim Mayza – 4 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 4 K
Justin D’Alessandro – W, 2 IP, 1 H, 6 K
Phil Kish – 2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K
Brett Barber – S, 1 IP

Jay Blue’s Player of the Game: Nico Taylor and Justin D’Alessandro

Gulf Coast League Blue Jays (15-19)

The GCL Blue Jays lost another game, this time to the GCL Braves 4-3. Starter Chris Rowley went another five strong innings, giving up only one run on five hits and walk while piling up five strikeouts. Rowley continues to prove that he’s a bit beyond the GCL hitters while twenty-year-old Tyler Gonzales, a 2012 compensation round pick continues to struggle. Gonzales gave up three runs (two earned) in one and two-thirds innings on four hits and two walks without registering a strikeout. Gabriel Cenas, a nineteen-year-old Venezuelan went deep twice and continues to show massive year-over-year improvement over his first year in the GCL last year. Cenas, in about one-third of the at bats as last year, already has the same number of extra-base hits as he did all of last season and is riding a batting average 100 points higher. Canadian Nathan DeSouza and college undrafted free agent Thomas “Boomer” Collins had two hits each while 2013 draftee Rowdy Tellez continues to struggle with pro pitching.

Hitting:

Franklin Barreto – 0/4, K
Edwin Fuentes – 0/4
John Tolisano – 1/4, K
Thomas Collins III – 2/4, SB, OF Asst.
Rowdy Tellez – 0/4, K
Dan Jansen – 1/4, R
Gabriel Cenas – 3/4, 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI
Nathan DeSouza – 2/4, 2B, E
Andres De Aza – 1/4

Pitching:

Chris Rowley – 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K
Tyler Gonzales – L, 1 2/3 IP, 4 H, 3 R (2 ER), 2 BB
Jimmy Cordero – 1 1/3 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 2 K

Jay Blue’s Player of the Game: Gabriel Cenas

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