JB: Espada, Alford, Carlson, Francis. Higuera, Panas, Pompey
OF Dalton Pompey (Mississauga, Ont.) went 4-for-8 with his sixth home run at Double-A New Hampshire with a pair of RBIs in a 16-inning loss to Portland.
July 2 Minor League Report
By Jay Blue
Blue Jay from Away
It was an interesting day in the minor leagues as a couple of popular minor leaguers, Chase De Jong and Tim Locastro were traded to the Dodgers’ organization. These trades resulted in some shuffling, particularly with the Dunedin squad which will see some dramatic lineup and pitching changes over the next couple of days.
Buffalo Bisons 3, Syracuse Chiefs 2
Two Bisons were named to the International League All-Star team and both figured in the Bisons victory over the Syracuse Chiefs: Matt Hague was 2/4 and Greg Infante earned the save with an inning of relief. Jeff Francis got the start and struck out ten without walking anyone in just six innings of work, giving up two runs on six hits. Greg Burke walked a pair and gave up a hit but no runs over 1 2/3 innings and Rob Rasmussen retired the one batter he faced via the strikeout to strand one of Burke’s runners. Greg Infante walked two and gave up a hit but earned the save with a scoreless ninth.
The batters got just enough done with Jonathan Diaz joining Matt Hague with two hits but Caleb Gindl delivered the big blow, going yard in the second inning and driving home all three of the Bisons’ runs.
Roster Notes: Steve Tolleson was sent outright to Buffalo and Daric Barton was released.
Player of the Game: Francis
New Hampshire Fisher Cats 5, Portland Sea Dogs 6
The Fisher Cats lost a heartbreaker to Portland, 6-5 in 16 innings, punctuated by an outstanding performance by Dalton Pompey. Pompey went 4/8 with his sixth home run of the season in Double-A, driving in three runs. Roemon Fields was 3/7 with a stolen base and a run while Dwight Smith, Jr. was 3/7 with an RBI and a walk. Both K.C. Hobson and Jack Murphy were added to the Eastern Division’s roster in the All-Star game and had two hits with Murphy driving in a run. Jorge Flores was 1/4 with two walks, a stolen base and two runs.
Austin Bibens-Dirkx saw some action and gave up two runs on five hits and a walk in 5 2/3 innings with five strikeouts. He was followed by Luis Perez who allowed three more runs in 2/3 of an inning. The bullpen buckled down after that, getting nine scoreless innings from Jimmy Cordero (1 2/3 IP), Colt Hynes (1 IP), Dustin Antolin (1 IP), Scott Barnes (3 IP, 3 H, 3 K) and Cory Burns. Burns was burned for the winning run in the 16th but he had already pitched two innings’ worth of scoreless ball.
Roster Notes: Murphy Smith was promoted from the Dunedin Blue Jays and Joel Pineiro was placed on the temporarily inactive list.
Player of the Game: Pompey
Dunedin Blue Jays 6, Brevard County Manatees 1
Jeff Hoffman earned his second win and Miguel Castro was dominant as the Blue Jays won 6-1 on Thursday. Hoffman went 5 2/3 innings, allowing just one run on two hits and two walks with three strikeouts in his outing. Arik Sikula retired the only batter he faced and Miguel Castro was dominant, striking out four in two innings, facing only the minimum. Brady Dragmire completed the game with a scoreless inning, allowing a hit and striking out.
Matt Dean had a pair of hits, as did Emilio Guerrero (who also had a double and drove in a run). Anthony Alford was 1/3 with a triple, a walk and three RBI while scoring twice and Mitch Nay also contributed a double.
Roster Notes: There was a big influx of players to the Dunedin Blue Jays as the big club decided to move some young players up a level. J.D. Davis was placed on the DL and the young trio of Richard Urena, Sean Reid-Foley and Conner Greene were promoted to Dunedin. Murphy Smith was also promoted to New Hampshire while Dawel Lugo was sent back down to Lansing. Chase De Jong was traded to the L.A. Dodgers.
Player of the Game: Hoffman and Alford
Lansing Lugnuts 11, Lake County Captains 3
The Lugnuts continued to be an offensive juggernaut, getting 11 runs on 16 hits on Thursday. Chris Carlson, Jason Leblebijian and D.J. Davis each had three hits with Carlson coming a triple short of a cycle. Carlson was 3/5 with three runs and an RBI and Leblebijian was a home run short of a cycle, driving in four runs and scoring three times. D.J. Davis drove in two and scored once. Alexis Maldonado also had two hits, including a double, and scored three times with an RBI.
Shane Dawson picked up his 11th win of the season, going seven innings and allowing three runs on eight hits and two walks with four strikeouts. Mark Biggs went two perfect innings to finish the game with two strikeouts.
Roster Notes: Richard Urena, Sean Reid-Foley and Conner Greene were promoted to Lansing, Dawel Lugo arrived from Dunedin and Tim Locastro was traded to the Dodgers.
Player of the Game: Leblebijian and Carlson
Vancouver Canadians 2, Spokane Indians 17
The Canadians fell to a 6-9 record after getting spanked by Spokane. Daniel Lietz and Bob Wheatley each gave up five runs while Turner Lee allowed four in just 2/3 of an inning and Joey Aquino surrendered three runs without getting an out. Sean Ratcliffe, from Pickering, Ontario, allowed two hits and a walk but was able to escape without allowing any runs while Joe Claver threw two scoreless innings.
The batters only managed to get five hits and Connor Panas had three of them, going 3/4 while playing first base. Sean Hurley accounted for the runs, going 1/3 with a walk and a home run and both RBI.
Roster Notes: Juan Tejada was demoted from Vancouver to Bluefield.
Player of the Game: Panas and Hurley
Bluefield Blue Jays 4, Pulaski Yankees 0
The Blue Jays evened their record at 5-5 with a 4-0 shutout of Pulaski. Juliandry Higuera made his second start in Bluefield after jumping up from the DSL and threw another five scoreless innings, bringing his total to 10 on the year. In his five innings, he allowed three hits and two walks with three strikeouts. Tayler Saucedo went another three scoreless frames, allowing three hits without a walk while striking out two. Zach Rogers struck out two in a perfect ninth inning.
On the offense, Andrew Guillotte was 2/3 with a home run, a walk, an RBI and three runs scored while catcher Andres Sotillo was 2/3.
Roster Notes: Juan Tejada was demoted to Bluefield from Vancouver.
Player of the Game: Higuera and Guillotte
GCL Blue Jays 3, GCL Yankees2 4
The GCL Yankees2 edged out the Blue Jays in 10 innings despite strong games from three of the club’s batters. Of the Blue Jays’ eight hits, seven were accounted for by Jake Thomas (3/5, HR), Levi Scott (2/5) and Ryan Hissey (2/4). Juan Meza only last 2/3 of an inning, giving up three hits and a walk, leading to three runs. Newly signed NDFA Jackson Lowery went 2 1/3 innings of scoreless ball, stranding all three runners he inherited from Meza and striking out four, giving up two hits. Jose Espada was just as impressive as the 18-year-old righty from Puerto Rico went three innings and allowed only one hit, striking out five. Kelyn Jose went two scoreless innings but walked three and Jonathan Torres allowed an unearned run over two innings.
Player of the Game: Espada and Thomas
DSL Blue Jays 9, DSL Orioles1 5
The DSL Jays got another win with a solid start from Guadalupe Chavez and three-hit games from Jesus Navarro and Yorman Rodriguez. The high-flying offense generated 14 hits and nine runs thanks to Rodriguez’s two singles and a double (and three runs scored) and Navarro’s three singles and a walk. Antony Fuentes was 2/5 with a double and two RBI while Cristian Peguero was 1/4 with a dobule and three RBI. Kevin Vicuna had two singles and a walk.
Guadalupe Chavez went six innings, giving up just two runs on three hits and three walks with three strikeouts. Joel Espinal allowed an unearned run while Guillermo De la Cruz walked five in 1 2/3 innings and was charged with two runs. Jairo Rosario finished the game, getting just one out but earned his third save of the year.
Player of the Game: Chavez, Rodriguez and Navarro
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