Jay Blue Canada Day edition: Panas, Reeves, Romanin

2B Mattingly Romanin (Burlington, Ont.) celebrated Canada Day with his first home run -- a grand slam in a win for class-A Vancouver. Photo: Jay Blue. 

July 1, 2016 Minor League Report
By Jay Blue
Blue Jays from Away
The Blue Jays played 19 innings of baseball and their minor leaguers got through nine games (including a double header in New Hampshire) on Canada Day Friday. The clubs were 6-3 with two players hitting their first professional home runs and both of them were grand slams.

 
Buffalo Bisons 1, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders 2
On Friday, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders held the Bisons to just one run to beat them in a closely contested 2-1 match. John Anderson was strong for the Bisons, giving up just one run on four hits and three walks through five innings, striking out three. Franklin Morales walked two in his inning while Danny Barnes was outstanding, striking out four in two scoreless innings of work. Ryan Tepera gave up a run on a solo home run in his inning but struck out two batters.

The Bisons had just five hits including a solo home run in the ninth inning by Darrell Ceciliani. Andy Burns was 2/4.

Player fo the Game: John Anderson and Darrell Ceciliani

 
New Hampshire Fisher Cats 4, Binghamton Mets 10
In Game 1 of a double header the Binghamton Mets scored five times, getting 15 hits to beat the Fisher Cats by a 10-4 score. Notably, Jose Reyes (yes, that Jose Reyes), played third base for the Mets, going 1/4. Taylor Cole gave up nine runs for the Fisher Cats but only four of them were earned as the Fisher Cats made three errors in the seven-inning game. Over just three innings Cole allowed 11 hits and a walk, giving up two home runs. John Stilson allowed an unearned run on two hits and a walk in 1 2/3 innings while Tim Mayza finished the game with 1 1/3 innings of two-hit ball.

Rowdy Tellez had a strong game, hitting his 11th home run, going 2/3 with two RBI. Ryan Lavarnway also had two hits, going 2/3 with a double and two runs.

Player of the Game: Rowdy Tellez

Roster Notes: Casey Lawrence was placed on the temporarily inactive list while Jason Berken was activated off the 7-day DL.

 
New Hampshire Fisher Cats 11, Binghamton Mets 5
Game 2 of the twin bill was a much better affair for the Fisher Cats with the bats booming and the visiting squad coming away with an 11-5 win. Jason Leblebijian led the hit parade, going 3/4 with two doubles (plus the double he hit in the first game), two RBI and two runs. Roemon Fields was 2/3 with a walk, two RBI, two runs and two stolen bases. Rowdy Tellez was on base three times with two walks and a single, scoring twice and driving in two and Shane Opitz was 2/3 with two runs. The biggest blast of the day came from catcher Jorge Saez who was 1/3 with a three-run home run and a sacrifice fly, giving him four RBI on the day.

Jason Berken came off the DL to deliver three one-run innings, allowing four hits and a walk with a strikeout. Brady Dragmire was tagged for three runs in two innings, giving up a home run among four hits and three walks. Chris Smith also allowed a run on a home run in two innings.

Player of the Game: Jason Leblebijian

Dunedin Blue Jays 2, Tampa Yankees 4
Dunedin only lost by two runs but the Blue Jays didn’t score until the bottom of the ninth, making it a case of “too little, too late” in a 4-2 loss to the Tampa Yankees. Conor Fisk got the start for the D-Jays but was hit for three runs on six hits in four innings, walking one and striking out six. Alonzo Gonzalez provided three stellar innings of relief, giving up only one hit and striking out four. Dusty Isaacs allowed a run in 1 1/3 innings but struck out thee batters and Jose Fernandez cleaned things up, pitching 2/3 of an inning without incident.

Richard Urena has been hot lately and he had a great game, going 3/4 with a walk and an RBI while Mike Reeves was 3/4 with a run.

Player of the Game: Richard Urena, Mike Reeves and Alonzo Gonzalez

Lansing Lugnuts 3, South Bend Cubs 2
The Lugnuts scored three runs early and held on to beat the South Bend Cubs 3-2 on Friday. Jon Harris had another strong start, going six innings and allowing two runs (one earned) on eight hits and a walk, striking out four. Josh DeGraaf earned the save, allowing the inherited runner from Harris to score but otherwise, giving up just two hits and striking out three in three innings.

Juan Kelly and the red-hot Connor Panas each had three hits with Kelly going 3/5 with a double and Panas going 3/3 with a walk, RBI, run and stolen base.

Player of the Game: Jon Harris, Juan Kelly and Connor Panas

Roster Notes: Daniel Lietz was returned to the Lansing Lugnuts from the Vancouver Canadians and Alex Maldonado was put back on the DL to make room.

 
Vancouver Canadians 7, Spokane Indians 0
The Canadians got an excellent pitching performance and a first professional home run to boost their fortunes along the way to a 7-0 victory. Luis Sanchez went 4 2/3 innings, allowing three hits and three walks with two strikeouts. Grayson Huffman allowed a hit but nothing else in 2 1/3 innings, striking out three and earning the win. Stuart Holmes and Jackson Lowery went a scoreless inning each to put the shutout away.

Canadian Mattingly Romanin went deep with his first professional home run, going 1/3 with a walk and the grand slam. Yeltsin Gudino was 2/4 with a run and Cavan Biggio was 1/3 with a double and a walk, driving in two runs. Christian Williams and Lance Jones were 1/2 with a walk.

Player of the Game: Mattingly Romanin and Grayson Huffman

Roster Notes: Daniel Lietz was promoted to Lansing.

Bluefield Blue Jays 15, Kingsport Mets 2
Bluefield got its offense on track with a 15-run showing, beating the Kingsport Mets 15-2. Connor Eller threw five scoreless innings, giving up only one hit and two walks with four strikeouts while Denis Diaz allowed a run on four hits and two walks in 1 2/3 innings and Angel Alicea allowed a run on two hits in 2 1/3 innings with two strikeouts.

Nash Knight led the club with four hits including two doubles and three RBI (scoring twice) while Bradley Jones was 3/5 with a single, double and a home run, driving in three and scoring twice. Nick Sinay had two hits, going 2/5 with an RBI and two runs but he was picked off and caught stealing. Earl Burl III was 1/3 with two walks, a double, three RBI and two runs while Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. was 1/5 wtih two runs and two RBI. Cam O’Brien hit his first professional home run, going 1/3 with a walk, a home run, two RBI and two runs.

Player of the Game: Nash Knight and Conner Eller

 
GCL Blue Jays 9, GCL Pirates 0
The GCL Blue Jays had a big game, shutting down the GCL Pirates while a 2016 draft pick his his first professional home run. Joel Espinal got the start, striking out 10 Pirates in six innings, allowing only three hits. Yonardo Herdenez got his second save, allowing only one hit and completing the shutout (and walkless game) with three innings, striking out three.

Kevin Vicuna had three hits, going 3/5 with two runs while Norberto Obeso had two singles, and three walks, scoring twice. Bo Bichette was 1/4 with a sacrifice fly and a grand slam, making his first professional homer a big one. Javier Monzon also had a sac fly (playing third base this time) and hitting a triple, driving in two. David Jacob was 1/3 with two walks and a run.

Player of the Game: Norberto Obeso, Bo Bichette and Joel Espinal

Roster Notes: Travis Hosterman was assigned to the GCL Blue Jays.

DSL Blue Jays 7, DSL Padres 5
Seven runs on 13 hits were enough for the DSL Blue Jays to beat the Padres on Friday. Mc Gregory Contraras had the best game amongst the hitters, going 3/3 with a walk, a triple, a stolen base and two runs scored. Luis De Los Santos, the third baseman, was 1/2 with a double, two walks, two RBI and two runs. while Aldo Ovando was 2/4 with a double, a run and an RBI and Yorman Rodriguez was 2/4 with a double, a walk and a run.

Meliton Reyes allowed two unearned runs in five innings of work, walking one, allowing four hits and striking out five. Oscar Brito gave up three runs (two earned) in 2 1/3 innings on four hits with two strikeouts and Luis Mendoza gave up just a hit and a walk over 1 2/3 innings with a strikeout.

Player of the Game: Mc Gregory Contreras

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