Blue Jays Minor League Recap: Kevin Pillar picks up two hits, Anthony Gose homers in loss

Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Buffalo Bisons (18-14)

The Bisons comeback attempt fell short as they dropped the opening game of a four-game set against Charlotte, 5-3. The loss marked Buffalo’s fourth in a row after they had previously won 9 of their past 10.

Kevin Pillar continued his strong month of May with another 2-hit night and is now hitting .394 for the month. Anthony Gose and Jared Goedert also had a 2-hit night but Charlotte pitching was able to keep the Bisons off the board until the 9th inning.

On the mound Ricky Romero lasted all of 3.0 innings allowing all 5 runs while walking 5 and serving up 2 taters.  Romero throw only 31 of his 72 pitches for strikes….moving on. Rob Rasmussen, John Stilson, and Bobby Korecky pitched 5 scoreless innings to keep the Bisons in the game.

Darin Mastroianni– 1/4
Anthony Gose- 2/4, R, HR(1), RBI(8), K, CS(4)
Kevin Pillar- 2/4, R
Dan Johnson– 1/3, R, 2B(6), RBI(24), BB, 2K
Jared Goedert-2/4, RBI(11), K
Brett Carroll– 0/3, BB
Ryan Goins– 0/3, 2K
Mike Nickeas– 0/3
Jonathan Diaz– 0/3, 3K

Ricky Romero (L, 0-1)- 3.0IP, 5H, 5R, 5BB, 3K, 2HR
Rob Rasmussen- 2.0IP, H, BB, 2K
John Stilson- 2.0IP, 3H, BB, K
Bobby Korecky- 1.0IP

New Hampshire Fisher Cats (14-19) 

The Fisher Cats lost their third in a row, 5-2, and have scored a total of four runs in those losses. They are 3-7 in their past 10 games. Deck McGuire lost his fourth game and he is riding a personal losing streak of 3 games. McGuire hasn’t pitched poorly during this stretch but his hasn’t exactly shut down his opponents either allowing 12 runs over 16 IP. Tonight McGuire’s defense failed him as all four runs he allowed were unearned.

Mike Crouse and Gabe Jacobo both had doubles but the Fisher Cats were limited to 6 hits and only drew one walk.  They were 0-5 as a team with RISP.

Jon Berti– 1/4, K
Andy Burns– 0/3, K
A.J. Jimenez– 1/4
Mike McDade– 1/4, K
Brad Glenn– 0/3, R, BB, 2K
Mike Crouse- 1/4, R, 2B(7), K
Kevin Nolan– 0/4, RBI(9), 2E(5)
Gabe Jacobo- 2/4, 2B(3)
Jonathan Jones– 0/3, K

Deck McGuire (L, 3-4)- 5.1IP, 4H, 4R, 4BB, 3K
Tony Davis– 1.0IP, 2H, R, BB, K
Tyler Ybarra– 1.2IP, H

Dunedin Blue Jays (25-9)

The Dunedin Blue Jays five-game win streak came to an end as Clearwater won 2-1. The D-Jays got a solid pitching performance from Jesse Hernandez who has pitched well in his two May starts but has not been able to collect a win yet this month. He is 0-0 with a 3.09 ERA, but he has been allowing far too many hits as opponents have hit .326 of him in May. On the plus side, Hernandez continues to keep the ball on the ground with seven ground outs to three fly outs Danny Barnes is the hard luck loser as he allowed one run in his only inning of work but collected 3 strikeouts.

The D-Jays had just five hits and only one hit went for extra bases. Dalton Pompey got the D-Jays only extra base hit and K.C. Hobson knocked in the D-Jays only RBI. Pompey has cooled off a bit after a blazing hot start to the season and is hitting below .200 over his past ten games, so lets hope this two-hit affair will be the beginning of another hot streak.  Pompey was caught stealing for the first time this season in 16 attempts.

Dwight Smith Jr.- 0/3, BB
Dalton Pompey- 2/3, R, 2B(6), BB, CS(1)
Matt Newman– 0/4, K
K.C. Hobson- 2/4, RBI(31)
Emilio Guerrero– 0/3, BB, 2K
Nick Baligod– 0/3, BB, K
Gustavo Pierre– 1/4, 2K
Michael Reeves- 0/3, BB, K
Christian Lopes– 0/3, K, E(4)

Jesse Hernandez- 6.0IP, 9H, R, BB, 2K
Danny Barnes (L, 0-2)-1.0IP, R, 3K, HR
Blake McFarland– 1.0IP, K
Chad Girodo– 1.0IP, H, K

Lansing Lugnuts (16-18)

The Lugnuts lost 7-3 to West Michigan and are in danger of being swept if they can’t win the rubber match tomorrow. The Lugs have lost five of nine in May and three of their past four games. Chase De Jong pitched 5 innings and allowed 3 runs. Alonzo Gonzalez had a rough night allowing 3 run in 2 innings on work.

Derrick Loveless was player of the game as he hit his 7th double and stole his 4th base of the season. Justin Atkinson continues impress, over his past 10 games he is hitting .432. Atkinson hit his 4th double and went 1/5 in the game. Matt Dean was the only ‘Nut to collect multiple hits.

Derrick Loveless- 1/3, 2B(7), RBI(13)
Justin Atkinson- 1/5, R, 2B(4), K
Mitch Nay– 1/3, R, BB, K
Matt Dean- 2/4
Dawel Lugo– 0/3, RBI(9), K
Jason Leblebijian– 0/4
Santiago Nessy– 1/3, R, 2B(4), BB, 2K
Carlos Ramirez– 0/4, 2K
Dickie Joe Thon– 1/3, BB, K

Chase De Jong (L, 0-1)- 5.0IP, 4H, 3R, BB, K
Alonzo Gonzalez- 2.0IP, 3H, 3R, BB, 3K
Griffin Murphy– 1.0IP, 1R, K

Today’s Probable Starters:

Bisons- Kyle Drabek (2-2, 4.85ERA)
Fisher Cats- Scott Copeland (3-3, 3.66ERA)
D-Jays- Daniel Norris (3-0, 0.63 ERA)
Lugnuts- Tom Robson (2-3, 5.40ERA)