Blue Jays MiLB recap – Bisons get the jump on Chiefs

Jays Journal takes its daily look into the Toronto Blue Jays Minor League system. The Bisons attacked early for a win and the Fisher Cats + Lugnuts found their offense.

Buffalo Bisons vs Syracuse Chiefs (Nationals)
6-2 Win

The Bisons trampled Chiefs starter Erick Fedde for 5 hits right out of the gate and knocked him from the game without recording an out.  The Herd struck for 6 runs in the first inning but watched their bats go quite for the remainder.  It all started with a Dwight Smith Jr. single which was followed by a Jon Berti double to score Smith.  This run opened up Pandora’s box for the Chiefs starter.  He then issued a walk to Michael Saunders to put runners on first and second for Rowdy Tellez.  Tellez has been coming around at the plate lately and laced a double to left field to clear the bases.  Mike Ohlman followed with another walk to once again put runners on first and second.  Singles from Raffy Lopez, Gregorio Petit, and Roemon Fields strung together 3 straight singles to put up the total of 6 in the first.

On the mound

Chris Rowley

had everything he needed.  Rowley was solid through 5 innings of work in which he allowed just 1 run.  He also threw 6 strikeouts while walking a pair.  The Chiefs were able to collect just 3 hits off of Rowley.

John Stilson

was first out of the pen and allowed a run during his 4 outs of work while walking 2 and striking out 1.

Matt Dermody

locked things down through 2.2 innings of work allowing just 1 base runner on 1 hit.  He also struck out 3 and currently sits at a nice 3.25 ERA on the season.  The Bisons looked like a winning team in this one.  Let us hope it is coming together again.

Brett Oberholtzer gets the Independence Day start at Coca-Cola Field against the Scranton/ WB Rail Riders at 7:05 PM EST.  Oberholtzer is fresh off of an outing in which he allowed just 2 runs over 5.2 innings of work.

MVB – Chris Rowley 5 IP, 3 hits, 1 ER, 2 walks, 6 K’s

New Hampshire Fisher Cats vs Trenton Thunder (Yankees)
6-11 Loss

A promising start has the Fisher Cats hopes crushed in the late going.  The Cats were able to get the jump on Thunder starter Zack Littell.  In the first 5 innings, they were able to score 6 runs off of Littell.  This looked like a great start but the Thunder chipped away at Shane Dawson after he got off to a good start.  He was charged 4 of the 5 runs over his 5 innings pitched and left the game with a one-run lead.  Alonzo Gonzalez would allow everything to slip away in the 7th inning as he allowed 5 runs (4 earned) without recording an out.

On offense the Cats rode the bat of Tim Lopes.  Lopes went 3-4 with a home run, a double, and 2 runs scored.  Danny Jansen continues to flirt with a .300 batting average and drove in a pair on a triple in this one.  Derrick Loveless went 2-3 with a run scored and an RBI.  Ryan McBroom extended his hitting streak with a single and currently sits at 6 games in a row.  Richard Urena added a home run along with going 2-5.

The recently trending upward Sean Reid-Foley will get the holiday start in Portland against the Sea Dogs.  Last week the Sea Dogs scored 4 runs off of Reid-Foley in 6 innings.

MVFC – Tim Lopes 3-4 with a double, a home run, 2 runs scored, and an RBI

Dunedin Blue Jays vs Daytona Tortugas (Reds)
5-0 Win

The now 6-5 D-Jays extended their winning streak to 4 in a row after the win Monday.  The new look team appears to be gel-ling together after a plethora of roster moves possibly doomed the teams record for the first half.  The offense and pitching hit on all cylinders to take down the Tortugas in this one.  Jordan Romano continues to be a force on the bump for the D-Jays.  He pitched 7 shut out inning while striking out 7 and walking a pair.  He would allow just 3 hits as he tore through the Tortugas lineup.  Jackson McClelland finished up the shut out with a perfect set over two innings.

Lourdes Gurriel supplied the power for the D-Jays as he continues to get used to playing ever day again.  Gurriel uncorked a big 2 run homer in the 5th inning to jump start the offense.  This was his first professional home run.  J.C. Cardenas picked up an RBI while going 2-3 with a double.  Cardenas also scored twice during the contest.  D.J. Davis also scored twice but did not have a hit in this one.  Cavan Biggio picked up his 36 RBI of the season on a sac fly.  The offense clicked and the pitching cruised toward win number 4.

The D-Jays will head to Lakeland to take on the Flying Tigers for the 4th of July.  No pitcher has been announced yet.

MVDJ -Jordan Romano 7 IP, 3 hits, 0 runs, 2 walks, 7 K’s

Lansing Lugnuts at South Bend Cubs
8-2 Win

The pitching staff had things working on Monday evening Geno Encina righted the ship on the hill.  Encina was great through 5.1 innings and allowed just 1 earned run.  He allowed 5 hits to the Cubs and struck out 4 without walking a batter.  Nick Hartman followed suit with 2.2 innings of shut out baseball.  Hartman allowed just 1 base runner in that time while striking out a batter.  Jared Carkuff closed the door and pitched a perfect inning to end it.

With Encina pitching well the offense ran away with this one.  Joshua Palacios continues to heat up and went 3-5 during this one with a double and scored twice.  Palacios also picked his 5th back of the season.  Behind him the ever prevalent Bo Bichette went 3-5 as well with 3 runs scored.  Bichette also hit his 10th home run of the season and had 2 RBI and a double to go with it.

The July 4th home start goes to Osman Gutierrez.  The Lugnuts will be taking on the West Michigan White Caps Tuesday evening.

MVL – Bo Bichette 3-5 with a double, a home run, 3 runs scored, and 2 RBIs.

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