JB: Atkinson, Hague, Maese, Smith, Urena, Williams

Aug. 30 Minor League Report
By Jay Blue
Blue Jays from Away
While the big Jays completed a three-game sweep of the Tigers, the GCL club faced the Tigers in a one-game playoff to determine who went to the GCL finals.

Buffalo Bisons 0, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders 2
Chad Jenkins couldn’t duplicate the magic his teammate, Jeff Francis, had the night before as he allowed two runs over 4 2/3 innings on Sunday for the Bisons. Ben Rowen (2 1/3 IP), Aaron Loup (1 IP) and Steve Delabar (1 IP) finished the game, providing 4 1/3 cumulative innings of scoreless baseball. The batters had only six hits including two from Matt Hague who pushed his batting average to .348.

Player of the Game: Hague

New Hampshire Fisher Cats 5, Binghamton Mets 3
The Fisher Cats snapped a four-game losing streak, beating Binghamton 5-3 on Sunday, taking 10 innings to do it. Casey Lawrence turned in a solid start, going six innings and allowing three runs on six hits and two walks with four strikeouts while Chad Girodo provided two outstanding innings of relief, giving up just one hit and striking out four. Blake McFarland earned the win, keeping the Mets off the board for the game’s final regularly scheduled inning as well as the only extra inning, allowing just a walk.

The club got multi-hit games from Dwight Smith, Melky Mesa and Derrick Chung who each had two hits with Smith  adding a walk and driving in two runs. Jack Murphy drove in three with a double and a sacrifice fly.

Player of the Game: Smith 

Dunedin Blue Jays, Lakeland Flying Tigers
Game suspended due to rain

Lansing Lugnuts 8, Fort Wayne TinCaps 3
Is the Lugnuts’ offense rounding into form? They certainly unloaded on Fort Wayne, scoring eight times and getting 15 hits in an 8-3 win on Sunday. The top six batters in the order all had multi-hit games with Richard Urena (3/5, HR, RBI, 2 R) and Ryan McBroom (3/5, RBI, R) leading the way. Chris Carlson (2/5, RBI, R), Jason Leblebijian (2/5, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R), D.J. Davis (2/5, R, SB) and David Harris (2/4, 2 RBI) all had two hits.

Justin Shafer went six innings and allowed three runs despite giving up five hits and four walks while Colton Turner picked up the three=inning save, moving down the TinCaps and giving up just one hit and striking out three.

Player of the Game: Urena

Vancouver Canadians 3, Spokane Indians 2
The Canadians eked out a win on Sunday, getting three runs in the sixth and holding on for the remainder of the game. Turner Lee threw 4 2/3 innings, allowing just two runs on seven hits with five strikeouts. Bob Wheatley (1 1/3 IP), Stuart Holmes (2 IP) and Andrew Case (1 IP) combined for the final 4 1/3 innings of scoreless ball. The batters only had seven hits including two from justin Atkinson and doubles from Ryan Hissey and James Lynch. Connor Panas was 1/3 with a walk and an RBI.

Player of the Game: Atkinson

Bluefield Blue Jays 10, Burlington Royals 9
In what turned out to be a wild finish, the Blue Jays managed to hold a 10-3 lead going into the ninth inning that became a 10-9 victory after a bullpen collapse almost cost them the game. Despite a rocky start from Daniel Lietz, who allowed two runs on three hits and four walks through 2 2/3, Tyler Burden righted the ship, giving up just one run over 3 1/3 while Zach Rodgers got the Blue Jays to the ninth with the seven-run lead after two more scoreless innings. Newly signed Christian Cox could only get one batter out, as he allowed five batters to reach base (three hits and two walks) and all five scored with four of the runs being earned. Alberto Guzman allowed both of the runners he inherited from Cox to score before nailing down the victory.

Christian Williams led the hitters with a four-hit game that included a double, two runs and an RBI. Deiferson Barreto drove home two runs, going 2/3 with a walk and two runs while Dave Pepe was 2/5 with two runs.

Player of the Game: Williams

GCL Blue Jays 7, GCL Tigers 1
The GCL Blue Jays clearly wanted to play more ball, defeating the Tigers convincingly in a 7-1 game to win their one-game semifinal and earn a place in the GCL Finals (best two out of three) against the Red Sox. 2015 third-round draft pick Justin Maese was dominant, striking out 10 Tigers on the way to the victory, giving up just one run on four hits and a walk in six innings. Griffin Glaude allowed one more hit, striking out two batters with a three-inning save.

Jake Thomas and Juandy Mendoza both went deep as part of their three hit games and both drove in two runs each. Thomas scored three times and added a double in addition to his home run, coming a triple shy of the cycle.

Player of the Game: Thomas, Mendoza and Maese

If you like us here, “like” us on Facebook!

Get your 2015 Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Handbook now! All the up-to-date information on the Blue Jays minor league system with 250 player profiles, team information and more! You can find it at the BJfA Shop or at our distribution partner, Smashwords.com!

The All-New Blue Jays from Away Premium Content section is here! Combined with the 2015 Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Handbook, it will be your best resource to the Toronto Blue Jays minor league system for just $1.99 per month or $15 for a full year (and get the 2015 Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Handbook free with a yearly subscription)!

All photos are copyright Blue Jays from Away (2013-2015) and may not be used without permission.