The minor league affiliates went two and two on Sunday with the Lugnuts and Dunedin Blue Jays emerging as winners and the Bisons and Fisher Cats losing their matches.
Buffalo Bisons 1, Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs 3
Chris Colabello continues to be the straw that stirs the drink for the Buffalo Bisons as he went 3/4 with a double and the team’s only RBI in Sunday’s 3-1 loss to the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs. In a matchup of two Canadian starting pitchers, Andrew Albers allowed all three runs on eight hits and one walk in 6 1/3 innings before Greg Infante and Bobby Korecky mopped up. Phillippe Aumont threw five innings of three-hit ball for the Iron Pigs and former Blue Jay Darin Mastroianni had three hits.
Player of the Game: Chris Colabello
New Hampshire Fisher Cats 0, Binghamton Mets 3
In a real snoozer of a game, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats got lulled into sleep, getting just four hits after smashing Binghamton for 20 runs over the past two games. Taylor Cole got the start and was immediately behind the eight ball, giving up a solo home run to Jared King on the first pitch of the game. He struggled to find his location and allowed another home run to catcher Xorge Carrillo in the third inning which put the Fisher Cats down by a 3-0 score. After that, however, he settled down and used his excellent changeup to great effect, and finished with just the three runs on six hits and two walks with five strikeouts in six innings. Dustin Antolin worked a scoreless seventh and Cory Burns retired all six batters he faced to finish the game in an efficient two hours and 15 minutes in front of a near-sellout crowd. Jon Berti, Ryan Schimpf, Melky Mesa and Pierce Rankin each had hits.
Roster Notes: Pierce Rankin was activated off the DL and Chris Schaeffer went on the 7-day DL.
Player of the Game: None
Dunedin Blue Jays 9, Brevard County Manatees 6
The Dunedin Blue Jays rallied for three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, taking over a lead from the Dayton Tortugas and added two more to secure a 9-6 win. With two outs and down by two runs in the bottom of the sixth, Derrick Loveless sparked the offense with a single and was followed by singles from David Harris, Mike Reeves and Roemon Fields before Christian Lopes got on base on an error before Dawel Lugo lined out to first base. Up by a run, David Harris singled to start a new rally in the eighth, went to third on a Mike Reeves double and scored on a wild pitch before Dawel Lugo grounded out, bringing Reeves home. The top three and the bottom three of the order served as the meat of the order as all six of the players had at least two hits each and the middle three (Matt Dean, Andy Fermin and Emilio Guerrero) were held hitless. For David Harris, it was a 3/4 game with three runs scored while Mike Reeves (2/4, 2B, 2 R, RBI), Derrick Loveless (2/3, 2 R), Roemon Fields (2/4, 2B, 3 RBI, BB), Christian Lopes (2/4, 2 2B, 2 R, BB) and Dawel Lugo (2/5, 2 RBI) also contributed significantly.
Brad Allen got the start and was solid, going five innings and giving up three runs on eight hits with a walk and five strikeouts. Jonathan Wandling provided another example of why the win statistic is useless for relievers as he picked up the win despite allowing three runs on four hits and a walk in two innings. Chad Girodo and Wil Browning each threw a scoreless inning with Browning picking up his sixth save.
Roster Notes: Jonathon Wandling was assigned to Dunedin after Scott Silverstein was placed on the 7-day DL.
Player of the Game: Roemon Fields and David Harris
Lansing Lugnuts 6, Bowling Green Hot Rods 2
The Lansing Lugnuts finally beat Bowling Green with a 6-2 win that featured some outstanding pitching and a ton off offense. Starlyn Suriel got the start and only made it through four innings giving up two runs on four hits and two walks before Jose Fernandez pitched a scoreless fifth. Shane Dawson picked up the win with three more scoreless innings (with two hits, two walks and two strikeouts) and Phil Kish got some work in, retiring all three batters he faced on groundouts.
All of the starters for the Lugnuts had a hit except for Rowdy Tellez in a 15-hit affar. Anthony Alford went 2/4 with a walk, Richard Urena was 2/5 with a run and Dickie Joe Thon continues to scorch Midwest League pitching with a 2/5 day that included a double, an RBI and a stolen base. Chris Carlson also chipped in with a pair of hits (including a double) and a walk while D.J. Davis was 2/5 with a run. Danny Jansen was only 1/5 with a double and an RBI but he threw out two of the four runners who tried to steal on him in a good day behind the plate. Ryan McBroom pushed his batting average to .328 with three singles and two RBI to claim the high total for hits.
Player of the Game: Ryan McBroom
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