Blue Jays MiLB recap – Lugnuts win 3rd in a row

Jays Journal takes its daily look into the Toronto Blue Jays Minor League system. The D-jays hit in bunches and the Lansing Lugnuts hold on in a close match up.

Buffalo Bisons at Durham Bulls (Rays)
3-6 Loss

The Bisons did not help themselves in the early going in this one.  They three errors in the infield and those translated into 2 of the 6 Bulls runs.  Brett Oberholtzer was on the mound for 4 of the Bulls runs but was only charged 2 earned runs.  Oberholtzer would pitch 5 innings allowing 6 hits, 3 walks, and 4 strikeouts.  A respectable line that could have kept this a closer game in the early going without the 2 unearned runs.  Jeff Beliveau and Wil Browning allowed a tag on run each as the Bulls scored 6 runs on just 9 hits in this one.  They were able to score those runs despite batting just 2-17 with runners in scoring position.  The Bisons pitchers could not hold base runners as they stole 5 bases.

The Herd was able to score 3 but also struggled to bat runners around.  They would go just 3-11 with runners in scoring position.  Rowdy Tellez led the Bisons attack as he went 3-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored.  Christian Lopes had and RBI double as well but went just 1-5.  Alex Monsalve had the other RBI on a 2-2 evening before being lifted in favor of Mike Ohlman

Prior to the game, Roemon Fields was called up from the Fisher Cats to the Bisons.  He started the season with a .237 batting average, 5 RBIs, and 7 stolen bases.  He went 0-4 in his Triple-A debut Saturday.

Luis Santos will get the start Sunday evening and will look to improve on his last performance.  He allowed 4 runs in 4 innings of work but will look to slow down the Bulls Sunday.

MVB – Rowdy Tellez 3-4 with a double, a run scored, and an RBI

New Hampshire Fisher Cats at Binghampton Rumble Ponies (Mets)
3-7 Loss

Sean Reid-Foley appears to still be adjusting to the Double-A level as he has another rough start.  After having a few strong outings the Rumble Ponies got to him early.  Reid-Foley would allow 4 earned runs in the first 3 innings.  He would allow 8 hits which included a big fly to Ponies cleanup hitter Matt Oberste.  He also walked two and struck out a pair.  Alonzo Gonzalez came on to stop the bleeding for 2 innings of 1 hit ball.  Justin Shafer came in to replace him and allowed a pair of runs in his 2 innings of work.

On offense, the Fisher Cats bats came to life in the late innings of this one.  They scored all 3 runs after the 6th inning.  Tim Lopes and Gunnar Heidt had RBI singles late in the game as the tried to get the big rally going.  Heidt also had another RBI single as him and Lopes collected a pair of hits each.  Tim Lopes has now reached base in 13 straight games.  The story for the offense was their inability to hit the Ponies knuckleballer Mickey Jannis who picked up his 3rd win of the season Saturday.

Connor Greene will get the start on Sunday as he will look to repeat his recent success.  He had the best outing of the young season his past start in which he threw 7 innings of 2 run ball.

MVFC – Gunnar Heidt 2-4 with 2 RBIs

Dunedin Blue Jays at Fort Myers Miracle (Twins)
6-2 Win

The D-Jays hitters remained hot during this game as they put up 15 hits on Saturday.  Leading things off Andrew Guillotte went 3-3 with a pair of doubles.  He also scored twice and drove in a run.  Speaking of hitting machines Danny Jansen had a 4-5 performance and drove in a pair of RBIs.  He is currently batting .416 through 19 games is leading the Florida State League in the category.  Cavan Biggio collected a pair of hits and an RBI as he continues to improve his batting average after a mild start to the season.  Max Pentecost continued his hitting streak and is now at 14 games after a single in Saturday’s game.  He added an RBI to his total as well which is now 16 on the season.

On the hill, Jordan Romano was equally impressive on the way to his 2nd win of the season.  He tossed 5.1 innings allowing a pair of runs on 7 hits.  He did not issue a free pass during this one and struck out 3.  The pen picked up from there and allowed just 1 hit the rest of the game.  Tom Robson allowed 3 free passes in his 1.2 innings of work but did not allow that to hurt him as he worked out of trouble.

The D-Jays have an off day Sunday and will be returning home to face the Tampa Yankees on Monday.

MVDJ – Andrew Guillotte 3-3 with 2 doubles, a pair of walks, 2 runs scored, and an RBI

Lansing Lugnuts at Bowling Green Hot Rods (Rays)
3-2 Win

Three wins in a row for the Lugnuts.  For all you Major League Fans that is called a winning streak!  The Lugnuts had another solid performance in this one as the offense showed just enough pop to support a great evening of pitching.  Patrick Murphy was great through 5.2 innings of work Saturday.  He allowed just 4 hits and 1 earned run.  He did walk 4 batters as he struggled with his control at times.  He was able to minimize the damage and struck out 3.  The bullpen would allow just 2 base runners the rest of the game.  The combination of Zach Jackson, Philip Walby, Kirby Snead, and Jackson McClelland proved to be the right recipe to stop the Hot Rods in their tracks.

The offense in this one collected 9 hits and was able to scrape together 3 runs.  J.B. Woodman got things going with a solo bomb to right center.  The solo shot was Woodman’s second of the year and got the bats going for the Lugnuts.  Yeltsin Gudino was the cleanup crew on Saturday as he collected a pair of RBI singles in the 9 hole.  He drove in Jake Thomas both times Nash Night and Bradley Jones collected multi-hit games in this one as well.  Bo Bichette failed to get a hit in this one so his streak ended at 15 games Saturday.

Mike Ellenbest will get the start Sunday evening as the Lugnuts will look to sweep the Hot Rods in their own park.

MVL – The bullpen combo – 3.1 innings, 2 hits, 0 Runs, 0 Walks, 4 Strikeouts

Next: Smoak on fire, Tellez looking to end slump