Blue Jays Minor League Report: Daniel Norris dominates best team in Double-A

Triple-A: Buffalo Bisons (38-37)

Suspended due to rain. Liam Hendriks pitched four scoreless innings with four strikeouts and two hits allowed before the game was called.

Double-A: New Hampshire Fisher Cats (32-44)

Daniel Norris had an outstanding second start at Double-A and against a very good Portland team struck out a career-high 10 batters over five and two-thirds innings, allowing just three hits and three walks. The only run he allowed came after leaving the game as Tyler Ybarra hit a batter with the bases loaded with two outs in the sixth. Matt Newman homered and drove in two runs while Kenny Wilson and Jonathan Jones both collected two hits including a triple apiece. New Hampshire won 5-1.

Class A Advanced: Dunedin Blue Jays (48-27)

Andy Fermin had four hits and finished a home run short of the cycle while Gustavo Pierre had a three-hit game with two doubles as Dunedin was edged 6-5. Dalton Pompey and Dwight Smith Jr. added two hits each with both of Pompey’s going for extra bases (double, triple). Matt Boyd struck out six in four innings of work and allowed three runs, two of them earned.

Class A: Lansing Lugnuts (35-39)

D.J. Davis and Mitch Nay both reached base twice while Matt Dean and Justin Atkinson both hit doubles as Lansing was able to escape with a 5-4 victory. Shane Dawson gave up a two-run homer but struck out four in four and one-third innings. Griffin Murphy shut the door in the ninth with a clean frame to earn his 13th save of the season.

Class A Short-Season: Vancouver Canadians (7-5)

Ryan Metzler had two hits and a walk while Jonathan Davis and Ryan McBroom both had doubles as Vancouver won 3-0. Justin Shafer started and had 5 K’s in three and two-thirds while Jose (Manuel) Fernandez also pitched well with five strikeouts in just two innings. Daniel Lietz didn’t allow a hit but walked three batters.

Advanced Rookie: Bluefield Blue Jays (2-4)

Gabriel Cenas led the way with two doubles and two RBIs while Josh Almonte chipped in with two hits of his own as Bluefield lost 6-5. Rowdy Tellez walked twice, scored three runs and drove in his sixth RBI. Dusty Isaacs struck out six batters in just two and two-thirds innings of relief but Conor Fisk and Chase Wellbrooks couldn’t lock down the win by allowing three combined runs in the ninth.

Rookie: Gulf Coast League Blue Jays (2-2)

Lane Thomas continued to rake early and had two more hits while Yelstin Gudino and Juan Kelly followed him in the lineup and also had multi-hit games. Matt Morgan hit his first professional home run with a three-run walk-off blast in the ninth. Evan Smith struck out seven in six innings and allowed just one run off four hits.

Rookie: Dominican Summer League Blue Jays (7-14)

Rodrigo Orozco leads the DSL Blue Jays with a .302 batting average and added two more knocks yesterday. Enmanuel Moreta has also been swinging a hot bat and had two hits including a double. Dennis Diaz didn’t allow a hit over five innings, walked three and struck out six.