July 24 Minor League Report
By Jay Blue
Blue Jays from Away
Pitching and hitting. That’s how you win games and most of the Jays’ clubs in action got one, the other, or both, winning four of the five games they completed.

Buffalo Bisons 2, Pawtucket Red Sox 1
Matt Boyd is looking to get back to the big leagues and he certainly helped his cause on Friday night, having a very strong start for the Bisons in a 2-1 win over Pawtucket. Boyd went seven innings and allowed just two hits and two walks with seven strikeouts, getting eight ground ball outs and just two fly ball outs, appearing to show some progress in working on his tendency to give up long fly balls. Miguel Castro threw a scoreless inning, giving up two hits while Rob Rasmussen gave up two hits without retiring a batter in the ninth, one of whome ended up coming around to score on Greg Infante who still nailed down the save.

The offense didn’t do much but it didn’t have to with Josh Thole and Dalton Pompey driving in runs. Pompey was 1/4 with a walk and was caught stealing while Thole was 0/4. Andy Burns was 2/3 with a walk and a run while Matt Hague pushed hit batting average to .250 with a 2/4 game.

Roster Notes: Ryan Schimpf was activated off the DL and sent down to New Hampshire while Ramon Santiago was released.

Player of the Game: Boyd

New Hampshire Fisher Cats 5, Portland Sea Dogs 10
Lefty John Anderson got shelled in what was an aberrant start for him, giving up all 10 of Portland runs in the first three innings of loss. Jimmy Cordero and Scott Barnes allowed three hits but no runs in two innings each while Chad Girodo finished the game with a scoreless eighth.

Matt Newman led the offense, going 2/4 with a three-run home run while Kevin Nolan was 2/3 with two RBI and a walk. Roemon Fields was also 2/5.

Roster Notes: Ryan Schimpf was assigned to New Hampshire and Ian Parmley was put on the 7-day DL.

Player of the Game: Newman

Dunedin Blue Jays 1, Bradenton Marauders 1
Game suspended in the sixth inning.

Lansing Lugnuts 18, Dayton Dragons 1
The Lugnuts brought out the bats to support the return of Pan-Am Games Gold Medal winner Shane Dawson who went six scoreless, two-hit innings, walking just one and striking out a whopping 10. Phil Kish contributed two more strikeouts with one hit and one walk allowed in two innings while Carlos Ramirez gave up a solo home run in the ninth.

The batters lashed out with 23 hits and 18 runs, getting hits from everyone in the lineup except for D.J. Davis who was 0/5 with an RBI, a walk and three strikeouts. Jason Leblebijian led the way, going 5/6 and missing the cycle by a triple, hitting two doubles and a home run, driving in six, scoring twice and stealing a base. Chris Carlson pushed his batting average to .312 with a 4/6 game, also missing a cycle by a triple, hitting two singles, a double and a home run, driving in two and scoring four times. David Harris hit the Lugnuts’ third home run, also missing a cycle by a triple, going 3/6 with four RBI and two runs. Alex Maldonado (3/4, BB, 4 R) and Dawel Lugo (3/6, 2 R, 2B) had three hits while Juan Kelly (2/4, 2 BB, R) andBoomer Collins (2/5, 3B, BB, 3 RBI, 2 R) also had two hits. Christian Vazquez had just one hit but drove in a pair and scored with a triple.

Player of the Game: Dawson and Leblebijian

Vancouver Canadians, Tri-City Dust Devils
Game postponed due to rain.

Bluefield Blue Jays 20, Danville Braves 5
The Blue Jays showed that the Lugnuts weren’t the only club in the Jays’ system who could destroy the baseball, rapping out 17 hits and 20 runs (thanks, in part, to four Danville errors) in a big victory of their own. Of the 17 hits, Freddy Rodriguez had three (3/6, RBI, 2 R) while Gabe Clark had three more, all doubles, while scoring four times and driving in one. The Blue Jays hit three home runs, with Juan Tejada (1/3, HR, BB, 3 R, 3 RBI), Christian Williams (2/4, 2B, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI) and Deiferson Barreto (2/4, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R) joining the tater party. Yeltsin Gudino (2/4, 2B, BB, R, RBI) and Dean Bell (2/2, 3B, RBI, 2 R) also added two hits.

With so much offense, the pitching staff didn’t need to be great but neither were they bad as they were let down by their defense to a large degree. Angel Perdomo went six innings, allowing four runs but only one of those was earned. Gino Encina allowed another run over three innings, but it, too, wasn’t earned.

Player of the Game: Williams, Barreto and Clark

GCL Blue Jays, GCL Pirates
Game postponed due to rain

DSL Blue Jays 12, DSL Padres 7
With another high-scoring game in the Blue Jays’ system, the DSL Jays continue to power their way to a first-place tie in their division. The Blue Jays took advantage of three Padres errors while making none themselves to cruise to the win. Sterling Guzman is now back over .300 after going 4/5 with two doubles, two runs, an RBI and a stolen base. Francisco Rodriguez was 3/5 with a single, a double, and a home run, driving in three and scoring twice. Yorman Rodriguez was 2/5 with a double and a run while Enmanuel Moreta was 2/4 with a walk, two RBI and two runs, Antony Fuentes was 2/5 and Cristian Peguero was 2/2 with a run and a RBI, adding a stolen base.

Juan Nunez allowed four runs on just one hit and two walks in 2 2/3 innings while Wilmin Lara allowed two runs of his own (as well as the two runs inherited from Nunez) over 2 1/3 innings. He didn’t walk anyone but struck out four. Alvaro Galindo allowed a run on two hits over two innings while Jose Acosta picked up a save, throwing two innings and allowing no hits, one walk and striking out three.

Player of the Game: Rodriguez and Guzman

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