July 18 Minor League Report
By Jay Blue
Blue Jays from Away
Saturday was a day of great pitching performances as the Blue Jays’ minor league affiliates went 6-2.

Buffalo Bisons 5, Columbus Clippers 1
The force was with Scott Copeland and the Bisons as they cruised to a 5-1 victory on 2015’s version of Star Wars Night. Copeland allowed just one run on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts over six innings. Miguel Castro, Greg Infante and Bobby Korecky finished the game with a scoreless inning each.

Back in Buffalo, Dalton Pompey was 2/4 in his first game but it was International League batting leader, Matt Hague, who was the star, going 3/4 with a single, double and home run, driving in three and scoring twice. Alex Hassan also hit a big fly, going 2/2 with two walks, the home run and two RBI.

Roster Notes: Dalton Pompey was promoted to Buffalo from New Hampshire and Ryan Schimpf went on the DL.

Player of the Game: Hague and Copeland

New Hampshire Fisher Cats 5, Portland Sea Dogs 4
It took 11 innings and a strong outing from Danny Barnes to lock up the win for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats as they dominate July but the attention was on the Blue Jays’ first pick in the 2014 draft, Jeff Hoffman, as he made his Double-A debut. Hoffman was solid, going 6 1/3 innings and allowing just two runs on five hits without walking anyone and striking out three. Luis Perez, fresh off the DL, pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings but Scott Barnes allowed two runs in the ninth to allow the Sea Dogs to go ahead. The Fisher Cats tied it up and eventually won with two scoreless (but not uneventful) innings from Danny Barnes who allowed three hits and two walks with two strikeouts.

Roemon Fields (2/5, BB, RBI), Shane Opitz (2/4, 2B, BB, 2 RBI) and Emilio Guerrero (2/5, R) had two hits each while Matt Newman was 1/4 with a double and a walk.

Roster Notes: Cory Burns was placed on the DL and Luis Perez was activated. Mike Lee was sent down to the GCL for a rehab assignment.

Player of the Game: Hoffman and Opitz

Dunedin Blue Jays 4, St. Lucie Mets 2
The Blue Jays got the job done early, scoring four runs over the first two innings and then holding St. Lucie to just two of their own, coming away with a 4-2 win. Compiling just five hits, no one had an extra base hit and only Christian Lopes got on twice on his own accord, getting a single and taking a walk, stealing a base as well.

Jairo Labourt must have gotten his pitch count up because he only got through 2 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks but getting seven of his eight outs via the strikeout. Alonzo Gonzalez was outstanding in relief, throwing 4 1/3 innings and giving up only two hits with three strikeouts. Brad Allen and Arik Sikula each threw a scoreless inning to pick up a hold and a save, respectively.

Roster Notes: Jair Labourt was reinstated from the temporarily inactive list after returning from the MLB Futures game.

Player of the Game: Gonzalez

Lansing Lugnuts 2, Great Lakes Loons 10
Chase Mallard was looking behind him a lot on Saturday, despite striking out eight batters and setting a professional career high. In addition to the eight strikeouts (without any walks), Mallard allowed two home runs among eight hits and was tagged for six runs in five innings. Mark Biggs allowed the final four runs on another home run, giving up three hits and one walk over three innings.

Chris Carlson was a one-man wrecking crew but didn’t get a lot of help. Carlson was 4/5 on the day while Boomer Collins was 2/4 with a double and a walk. The Lugnuts struck out 13 times as a team, getting four from D.J. Davis and three from Dawel Lugo.

Roster Notes: The Blue Jays sent Tom Robson to Vancouver to continue his rehab from Tommy John.

Player of the Game: Carlson

Vancouver Canadians 3, Eugene Emeralds 4
The Canadians couldn’t take advantage of home-field advantage despite taking Eugene to extra innings. The Emeralds have the Canadians’ number, as the Cs lost yet again. Jon Wandling had the best outing of his pro career, going seven innings and allowing just one run on four hits and two walks with nine strikeouts. Turner Lee allowed another two runs over two innings and Andrew Case took the loss, giving up the final run over two innings despite striking out three.

Sean Hurley hit his seventh home run and went 2/5 with a run and an RBI while Gunnar Heidt was 2/4 with a walk and a stolen base.

Roster Notes: Tom Robson was assigned to Vancouver.

Player of the Game: Wandling and Hurley

Bluefield Blue Jays 6, Johnson City Cardinals 0
Angel Perdomo led the way, giving the Blue Jays minor league affiliates another outstanding pitching performance on Saturday. Perdomo went six innings and struck out nine batters, walking just one and giving up four hits. Miguel Burgos earned the three inning save without allowing a hit, walking two and striking out four.

The top four batters in the order provided the offense with Rodrigo Orozco (2/4, 3 R, BB), Yeltsin Gudino (2/4, 2B, 2 R, RBI), D.J. McKnight (2/2, 2 BB, R, RBI) and Gabe Clark (2/4, 2 RBI) all collected multiple hits.

Player of the Game: Perdomo

GCL Blue Jays 8, GCL Yankees2 3
In Game 1 of a double header, the Blue Jays came out on top 8-3. Rehabbing veteran Mike Lee went 2 2/3 scoreless innings, giving up four hits without a walk and three strikeouts. Osman Gutierrez gave up the three runs, allowing them to score on six hits and a walk with two strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings. Kelyn Jose gave up a hit and struck out a batter in an inning.

Derrick Chung was also making a return to action, going 2/4 with two RBI in a rehab start. Reggie Pruitt also had two hits, stealing a base and scoring twice. Kalik May was 1/3 with a walk, a stolen base, two runs and two RBI. Levi Scott also had two RBI without getting a hit.

Roster Notes: Mike Lee was assigned to the GCL Blue Jays for rehab.

Player of the Game: Pruitt and May

GCL Blue Jays 9, GCL Yankees2 6
The Blue Jays completed a sweep of the double header, getting a home run from Edward Olivares who was 2/3 with a walk, a stolen base, three runs and a double in addition to the big blast. Nash Knight and Jake Thomas each drove in two.

Denis Diaz gave up three runs (one earned) on four hits and two walks over three innings while Griffin Glaude threw two scoreless innings. Ryan Cook struck out the side, allowing a hit in his inning while Mike Estevez gave up three runs (one earned) over the final inning.

Player of the Game: Olivares

DSL Blue Jays
Scheduled off Day

 

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