Jay Blue: Bichette, Grube, Lopes, Rios
Bo Bichette doubled and homered for the class-A Lansing Lugnuts.
April 26, 2017 Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Report
By Jay Blue
Blue Jays from Away
The Blue Jays' minor league teams played six games on Wednesday thanks to a pair of double headers in the upper levels that made up for a couple of weather-related postponements. Overall the clubs were 1-5 on a day in which the spotlight was on the minor leagues with the Blue Jays' rained out.
Buffalo Bisons 0, Norfolk Tides 4
The Buffalo Bisons' bats fell silent in the opener of a double header with the Norfolk Tides, getting shutout on just five hits. Christian Lopes had three of those hits, two singles and a double, bringing up his batting average to .310 on the season. Darrell Ceciliani had the club's other two hits.
Luis Santos made his second Buffalo appearance, giving up all four Norfolk runs on five hits and a walk in four innings. Matt Dermody went two perfect innings, striking out one.
Player of the Game: Christian Lopes
Buffalo Bisons 2, Norfolk Tides 1
In the second game of the double header with Norfolk, the Buffalo Bisons (12-5) scored just enough to win, beating the Tides 2-1. Starter Jarrett Grube went five innings for the win, striking out four and allowing a solo home run among three hits and two walks. Jeff Beliveau picked up his first Buffalo save with two innings of one-hit, one-walk ball, striking out a pair.
Five different players had hits for the Bisons including a single and an RBI for Christian Lopes while Darrell Ceciliani added another hit and a run. Rowdy Tellez was 0/2 with a walk and Jason Leblebijian was 1/3. Dwight Smith, Jr. was also 1/3.
Player of the Game: Jarrett Grube
New Hampshire Fisher Cats 0, Trenton Thunder 3
The New Hampshire Fisher Cats (7-11) opened their double header against the Trenton Thunder by getting whitewashed in a 3-0 loss. Francisco Rios allowed three runs but all were unearned, despite giving up a home run among seven hits. Rios walked just one and struck out five. Dusty Isaacs and Carlos Ramirez each followed with a perfect inning.
The offense had just three hits including a double from Emilio Guerrero and singles from Tim Lopes and Richard Urena.
Player of the Game: Francisco Rios
New Hampshire Fisher Cats 3, Trenton Thunder 4
In Game 2 of their double header with the Trenton Thunder, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (7-12) fought hard, getting out to a 2-1 lead after the fifth but the Thunder responded with two more to go out in front 3-2 after the top of the sixth. The see-saw battle continued as the Fisher Cats tied it up in the bottom of the frame, only to see the Thunder take the lead for good with a run off Justin Shafer in the top of the seventh to beat the Fisher Cats 4-3. Jon Harris provided the Fisher Cats with 5 1/3 innings of three-run ball, giving up three hits and two walks with four strikeouts. Tim Mayza took over in the sixth inning with two Thunder runners on, inherited from Harris, and allowed both to score before finishing the inning without any runs to charged to himself. Justin Shafer gave up the deciding blow in the top of the seventh, a home run to second baseman Billy Fleming.
Richard Urena was 2/4 with a double and RBI while Raffy Lopez hit a two-run double. Ryan McBroom had a pair of singles and a walk, scoring a run while Roemon Fields was 1/3 with a walk and two stolen bases.
Player of the Game: Richard Urena and Ryan McBroom
Dunedin Blue Jays 1, Charlotte Stone Crabs 4
The Charlotte Stone Crabs turned the tables on the Dunedin Blue Jays, winning the second game of their series by a 4-1 score. Starter T.J. Zeuch allowed four runs in 5 2/3 innings but just one of those runs was earned thanks to a pair of errors in the sixth inning, one each by Cavan Biggio and Juan Kelly. Zeuch walked three and gave up five hits, striking out two. Ryan Cook allowed just a hit in 1 1/3 innings, stranding two inherited runners from Zeuch and striking out two while Adonys Cardona continues to pitch well, striking out a pair and walking one in his inning.
The D-Jays hitters had just seven hits, getting a pair from 19-year-old Venezuelan shortstop Kevin Vicuna who brought his batting average up to .300 in his three games with Dunedin so far while scoring the club's only run. Andrew Guillotte brought the run in with a sac fly, adding a single while Biggio was 0/1 with three walks. Max Pentecost, Juan Kelly, Matt Dean, and D.J. Davis each had a hit.
Player of the Game: Kevin Vicuna
Lansing Lugnuts 9, South Bend Cubs 14
The 2017 edition of the Lansing Lugnuts (10-10) have a propensity for high-scoring games and Wednesday night's affair was no exception with the Lugnuts falling to the South Bend Cubs by a 14-9 score. The Lugnuts got another rough outing from their starting pitcher, leaving Denis Diaz in the game to get shellacked to the tune of six runs (five earned) on six hits and five walks in just four innings. Chris Hall actually took the loss, giving up another six runs in just two-plus innings, again, five were earned as he allowed six hits (including a home run) and two walks. Griffin Glaude fared better in two innings, allowing a run on two hits (including a home run) and two walks with two strikeouts and Nick Hartman finished the game with an inning, allowing a run on two hits and a walk with one strikeout.
The "Slug-nuts" slugged their way to nine runs but they weren't enough in the end. Josh Palacios drove in two runs, going 2/5 with a double and a run while J.B. Woodman (2/4, BB, RBI, R), and Edward Olivares (2/4, BB, RBI, 2 R) also had two hits. The biggest blow came from Bo Bichette who hit a solo home run in the first inning and was 2/5 with a double and the one RBI. Jake Thomas added to his insane walk totals by walking three times.
Player of the Game: Bo Bichette, J.B. Woodman and Edward Olivares
Roster Notes: Griffin Glaude returned to the Lugnuts from extended spring training and Tayler Saucedo went on the 7-day DL.
If you like us here, like us on Facebook!
The 2017 Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Handbook is now available! Check out the Handbook page for more information!