Blue Jays MiLB recap – Shutouts and Callups

Jays Journal takes its daily look into the Toronto Blue Jays Minor League system. Bisons shut out the Chiefs, the D-Jays keep rolling, and plenty of call ups.

Buffalo Bisons at Syracuse Chiefs (Nationals)
4-0 Win

A Bisons combined for shut out and broke records on Friday evening in Syracuse, NY. Chris Rowley got the start and was solid through three innings of work. He struck out two while walking just one batter. He got the ball rolling for the eventual shut out. Chad Girado would pick up the win and also pitched three innings while allowing just one hit. Griffin Glaude would allow the 3rd and final hit for the Chiefs during his two innings of work. Jeff Beliveau pitched a perfect two frames to finish the game and picked up his second save. The Bisons picked up the shut out and combined for just three hits and four walks.

Roemon Fields broke the Bisons single season stolen base record as he picked up a pair during a 1-3 performance. He stole his 41st and 42nd bases to tie then break Tony Womack‘s team record. Fields also scored a run and took a walk. Dwight Smith Jr. continues to impress at the plate as he picked up three RBI on a 2-4 night. Christian Lopes picked up the other RBI on a single. The Bisons had just seven hits but were able to capitalize when it was needed to seal the shut out victory.

A quartet of Bisons players got called up to play with the Blue Jays. Michael Saunders and Luke Maile rejoined the Blue Jays while Carlos Ramirez and Teoscar Hernandez made their Blue Jays debuts. Ramirez threw two scoreless innings with the Jays and struck out a pair. Hernandez went 1-4 with a double and an impressive catch in right field.

Murphy Smith will take the mound on Saturday in Syracuse as the series with the Chiefs continues. He will take on former Blue Jays farm hand Esmil Rogers.

MVB – Dwight Smith Jr. 2-4 with 3 RBI

New Hampshire Fisher Cats at Portland Sea Dogs (Red Sox)
2-7 Loss

Four late runs sunk the Fisher Cats Friday as the Sea Dogs ran away with the lead. Jon Harris was on the mound to start the game and once again found a few inconsistent innings that cost him a chance at the W. He allowed a three run inning in the second along with a run in the 6th and 7th. The big inning made his start look pretty rough but Harris battled. He scattered nine hits while not hurting himself. He did not walk a batter and struck out six. Daniel Young would come on in relief and struggled to shut down the 7th inning after Harris allowed a run to open the inning. He allowed a 2-run homer to Jeremy Barfield to blow open the lead. The son of Jesse Barfield now has 27 homers for the Sea Dogs.

On offense the Fisher Cats were unable to find their punch. They had six hits but took just 2 walks from the Sea Dogs pitchers. There were no extra base hits and Matt Dean had the only multi hit performance of the night. Derrick Loveless picked up an RBI on a single. J.D. Davis picked up the other RBI on a sac fly. The Fisher Cats were able to go 2-3 with runners in scoring position but did not create enough opportunities with the lack of base runners.

Richard Urena made his MLB debut with the Blue Jays Friday. He was brought into the extra innings game to play short and picked up a double during his first at bat.

Tom Pannone will look to silence the bats of Jeremy Barfield and the Sea Dogs. Pannone has not allowed more then three runs in his past four outings. He owns a 3.03 ERA on the season and over his last 23.1 innings he has allowed just 8 runs.

MVFC – Matt Dean 2-3

Dunedin Blue Jays at Clearwater Threshers (Phillies)
2-1 Win

The playoff bound D-Jays took another win from the Threshers in a close pitchers dual Friday. Conor Fisk had another fine start in which he threw 6.1 innings allowing six hits and an unearned run. Fisk also did not issue any free passes and struck out six. Philip Walby and Nick Hartman combined for eight outs scoreless baseball to close out the game.

With the pitchers on cruise control the offense had to find a way to back up the quality performance. Bo Bichette took that matter into his hands in the 1st with a lead off home run. This early jolt put the D-Jays on top until the Threshers scored a run in the 3rd. In the 5th a Threshers defensive meltdown led to Jake Thomas scoring on a ground out by Andres Sotillo. This was enough for the D-Jays to take away for the win. Connor Panas had a double in a 1-4 performance He is now batting .294 over his last 10 games with four homers and six RBI.

Patrick Murphy will hope to have a better second start after a rough debut with the D-Jays. He will take on the Threshers in Clearwater Saturday evening.

MVDJ – Conor Fisk 6.1 IP, 4 hits, 0 ER, 1 walk, 6 K’s

Lansing Lugnuts at Lake County Captains (Indians)
3-2 Loss

The battle continues in Lake County as the Captains and the Lugnuts battled throughout the evening. Nick Sinay would score both of the Lugnuts runs. Sinay walked three times and stole a pair of bases to help the club. Joshua Palacios doubled home Sinay for one of the runs. Rodrigo Orozco had a pair of hits and stole his 8th base. The Lugnuts managed just four hits and were unable to get an extra run to take a sweep in Lake County.

Juliandry Higuera was great on the mound and made just one mistake. That mistake was a pitcht that was mashed over the fence by Li-Jen Chu. Higuera would pitch six innings allowing four hits and a pair of runs. He retired seven hitters via the strikeout and walked only one batter. Jake Fishman would allow the go ahead run during hits two innings of work. A solo home run to Miguel Eladio sealed the loss for the Lugnuts.

Dalton Rodriguez will open up the series against the Dayton Dragons and the Lugnuts return home.

MVL – Juliandry Higuera 6 IP, 4 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, and 7 K’s

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