Blue Jays MiLB recap – Lugnuts hold on to early lead

Jays Journal takes its daily look into the Toronto Blue Jays Minor League system.  Some rough days on the mound led to some losses but the Lugnuts early lead helped them hold on to the win.

Buffalo Bisons vs Durham Bulls (Rays)
1-3 Loss

Chris Rowley had another spectacular outing Thursday afternoon. The one blemish on his start accounted for all three runs scored by the Bulls as Patrick Leonard knocked a three run bomb.  Rowley threw 7.2 innings and allowed just five hits. He did get tagged for three earned runs on the homer but issued just one walk and struck out three. John Stilson recorded the final four outs in shut down fashion.

The Bisons were able to score a run on five hits.  Dwight Smith Jr. went 2-4 with a pair doubles and a run scored.  Smith has been hot of late and has produced a .317 batting average over his past 10 games.  He also has four multi-hit games in that span while scoring eight runs and driving in four.  Rob Refsnyder would collect the lone RBI in the game and went 2-4 as well.  Refsnyder has played in three games thus far with the Herd and has a hit in each game and has a pair of RBIs.

TJ House will open up the weekend series against the Louisville Bats. House allowed two runs during his last outing against the bats and pitched 4.1 innings.

MVB – Dwight Smith Jr.  2-4 with 2 doubles and a run scored

New Hampshire Fisher Cats at Binghampton Rumble Ponies (Mets)
4-6 Loss

Conner Greene struggled with his command but still found a way to keep the Ponies in check.  He battled through five innings of work and allowed just a pair of runs.  Greene threw 54 of his 105 pitches for strikes which led to six walks. He was able to limit the damage around all those walks as the Ponies managed just three hits. Kender Villegas would come on and allow the Ponies to rumble during his inning of work. He allowed four earned runs during the inning. Griffin Glaude calmed things back down to allow the offense a chance. Glaude would pitch two innings.

Emilio Guerrero showed off some muscle as he hit his 4th homer of the season. The late inning home run put the Cats down by two heading into the 9th. The Fisher Cats 13 hits just were not enough to overcome the deficit. Tim Lopes and Harold Ramirez each had three hits.  Lopes added a double to his 3-5 performance. Lordes Gurriel had a single and picked up two RBIs.

Ryan Borucki will look to keep pace with his incredible debut against the Rumble Ponies. Borucki pitched seven shut out innings in his debut against the Trenton Thunder.

MVFC – Emilio Guerrero 2-4 with a home run

Dunedin Blue Jays at Charlotte Stone Crabs (Rays)
1-7 Loss

The D-Jays were put into a big hole early as the Stone Crabs scored six runs in the first three innings. Leonel Campos got the start and pitched one inning. Campos gave up a solo home run to Ryan Boldt while striking out a pair. Tayler Saucedo would enter the game next and got hit hard for five runs. They scored five on six hits and four walks. Bo Bichette collected another two hits to extend his hitting streak to 10 games. Juan Kelly picked up the D-Jays on run with a double. Max Pentecost scored the run after taking a walk.

The D-Jays have not announced a pitcher for Friday’s game vs Stone Crabs.

MVDJ – Juan Kelly 1-4 with a double and an RBI

Lansing Lugnuts vs Dayton Dragons (Reds)
8-7 Win

The Lugnuts staked an early claim to the lead and were able to fend off the Dragons. J.B. Woodman picked up the first run on a sac fly in the first inning. This was a prelude to what came in the second inning as the Lugnuts continued to mount up on offense. Joshua Palacios cracked a triple to scored the 2nd run. Nash Knight would drive in Palacios to tie the game back up at three. The Lugnuts poured it on in there 3rd and scored four runs. Ridge Smith doubled in a run to open up the inning. Nick Sinay kept things moving with another double to score Smith. Another single by Palacios scored the 3rd run. Mitch Nay would score the 8th run with a home run in the 6th.

Where the offense fueled the Lugnuts Thursday the flip side of the ball still continues to be a weakness. Three unearned runs put the Dragons right back into this game.  Osman Gutierrez got the start and pitched five innings. He was on the mound for the three unearned runs but was also charged for two of them. He allowed six hits and walked two while striking out four. Nick Hartman was tagged for two more runs during his 1.2 innings of work. Jared Carkuff picked up the save 2.1 innings and did not allow a run.

Andy Ravel will look to bounce back during Fridays start from a wicked outing. He lasted just 3.1 innings and allowed eight runs. Ravel and the Lugnuts will take on the Dragons Friday.

MVL – Joshua Palacios 2-4 with a triple, 1 run scored, 3 RBIs

Short Season Team Notes
Vancouver Canadians (Northwest League)

The Canadians took it on the chin in Washington State Thursday as the lost 12-3. The Tri-City Dust Devils jumped all over starter Juan Nunez in the first inning for five runs. Logan Warmoth continues to rake with the Canadians as he picked up his first home run with the team. He is now batting .388 in his 11 games with the club and has 8 extra base hits.

Bluefield Blue Jays (Appalachian League)

The game for Thursday night was rained out against the Pulaski Yankees. They are going to play a double header Friday evening starting at 5:05 PM EST. The rain puts a damper on the Blue Jays winning streak that currently stands at six in a row. The 24-10 record currently has them sitting in first place.

Next: Time to end the Montero experiment