Blue Jays MiLB Recap – A.J. Jimenez breaks out

Mar 27, 2016; Port Charlotte, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays catcher A.J. Jimenez (8) works out prior to the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Charlotte Sports Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 27, 2016; Port Charlotte, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays catcher A.J. Jimenez (8) works out prior to the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Charlotte Sports Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
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Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

Buffalo Bisons @ Scranton/ WB Rail Riders (Win 6-5)

A battle with a late rally spelled victory for the Bisons on Thursday.  Casey Lawrence got the ball and had a rough outing.  Lawrence got bounced around during his 4.2 innings on his way to allowing five earned runs.  The runs came on six hits and four walks.  

The biggest blow was on a Gary Sanchez solo homer in the 3rd inning.  After Lawrence exited in the 4th, though, the bullpen locked it down.  Chad Jenkins got his turn first and only allowed one hit through 2.1 innings.  David Aardsma got an inning of work in and allowed two walks but was able to walk way unscathed.  

Ryan Tepera came on in the 9th and collected the save. A rough start to the game ended with a solid effort for the bullpen.  The pen only allowed two hits and walked two batters in their 4.1 innings of cumulative work.  This excellent showing kept the Herd in the game and opened the gate for the late charge.  

Pitching Grade:  B

A huge night from A.J. Jimenez led the way on offence for Buffalo.  He hit a two-run homer in the third inning to open up the scoring and put the Bisons ahead at the time.  The Bisons did not get anything else going until the 7th inning when a single and a walk led to a Jimenez RBI single.  This was his 3rd RBI of the game batting in the 8th spot.

During the 8th inning, the Herd ran away with the lead.  After recording one out in the inning, the Bisons recorded three straight singles.  Jesus Montero‘s single scored the first run of the inning.  A ground out by Matt Dominguez scored another run to tie the game at 5.  A.J Jimenez then walked in the go-ahead run with the bases loaded.  Jimenez’s huge night helped anchor a steady late charge by the Bisons.

Offensive Grade:  B

Line of the game – A.J. Jimenez 2-3 with a home run and 4 RBI

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Buffalo Bisons @ Rochester Red Wings (Chris Leroux vs Logan Darnell)

Next: D-Jays pitchers struggle and Lugnuts hold on

Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

Dunedin Blue Jays @ Tampa Yankees (Loss 4-10)

To say it was a rough day for D-Jays pitching might be an understatement.  Nine earned runs spread between three different pitchers was the story Thursday.

Kyle Westwood pitched 4.2 innings and allowed six earned runs on seven hits while walking four, allowing the Yankees to get off to a great start.  The runs did not stop there, though, as the bullpen allowed the Yankee bats to keep up the trend.  Jose Fernandez allowed another run through his 2.1 innings on four hits and three walks.  In the 8th Brad Allen allowed a two-run home run to Jorge Mateo.  The Yankee hitters had all the momentum in this one.

Pitching Grade:  D-

Michael De La Cruz opened up the scoring for the D-Jays with a two-run homer in the 3rd.  This was his first home run of the season and would be one of the few bright spots in the game for the D-Jays.  The only other extra-base hit was a Derrick Loveless double.  The D-Jays had a tough game against a solid pitching attack from the Yankees.  The Yankee pitchers only allowed six hits but did allow five walks.  The Yankees pitchers also had the hitters under control as they struck out 14 batters through out the game.

Offensive Grade:  C-

Line of the game – Michael De La Cruz 2-4 with a home run and 2 RBI

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Dunedin Blue Jays @ Lakeland Flying Tigers (Conner Greene vs Endrys Briceno)

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Lansing Lugnuts vs Lake County Captains (Win 6-4)

After getting an early lead the Lugnuts had to dig in and hold off the first place Captains.  Angel Perdomo got the ball for the start and pitched an excellent 5.0 innings of work.  He allowed one hit and two walks that attributed to just one earned run through his work.  Through those 5.0 innings he was able to strike out nine Captain hitters.  Perdomo also threw 52-of-81 pitches for strikes during the game.

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The bullpen nearly let Perdomo’s start go to waste as Starlyn Suriel allowed the Captains to creep back into the game.  Suriel allowed three runs in his 2.0 innings of work as he allowed three hits.  This included the home run to Anthony Miller that scored all three of the earned runs for Suriel in the 7th.  Colton Turner came in and recorded the two-inning save and allow just a hit and a walk while striking out three.

Pitching Grade:  B

The offence got off to a hot start as they were able to get to Captains’ starter Shao-Ching Chiang in the first inning for two runs.  A lead off single by Andrew Guillotte was followed by a Lane Thomas double to set the table.  Juan Kelly hit a single that scored the first Lugnut run.  Justin Atkinson later singled in the 2nd run to put the Lugnuts up 2-0 to start the game.

The Lugnuts were be held in check until they got to Chiang again in the 5th.  Guillotte once again acted as the igniter as he laced a double to left field.  After a walk to Thomas and a passed ball the stage was set for Kelly, who scored Guillotte on a sac fly.  Ryan Hissey with a runner on second cracked a triple to the nether parts of right field to score the second run of the inning.  After yet another walked batter and a stolen base by Gunnar Heidt Atkinson was not done.  Atkinson doubled to center and scored two more runs.  This was the end of the scoring, however, as the Captains’ bullpen held the game close for the remainder.

Offensive Grade:  A-

Line of the game – Justin Atkinson 2-3 with a walk, a double, and 3 RBI

Up Next
Dunedin Blue Jays vs Lake County Captains (Sean Reid-Foley vs Thomas Pannone)

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