Jay Blue: Borucki, Leblebijian, Panas, Ramirez, Romano, Zeuch

Right-hander T.J. Zeuch pitched a complete game shutout in the second game of the double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats' doubleheader against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies.. Photo Credit: Jay Blue

June 2, 2018 Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Report
By Jay Blue
Blue Jays from Away

The DSL Blue Jays got their 2018 season under way with an ugly, ugly loss but it wasn't all bad for the Toronto Blue Jays' minor leaguers as they went 3-3 on Saturday.

Buffalo Bisons 9, Charlotte Knights 2

Facing one of the top pitching prospects in the game, the triple-A Buffalo Bisons lit up Michael Kopech and the Charlotte Knights, winning 9-2.

Jason Leblebijian led the way, hitting his ninth home run, going 2-for-3 with a double, home run, three RBI and two runs. Danny Jansen was 1-for-3 with a double, a walk, two RBI and two runs while Anthony Alford was 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, two RBI, two runs and a stolen base. Darnell Sweeney also had two hits, going 2-for-4 with a triple, an RBI and a run.

While Kopech was chased after two innings for the Knights, Ryan Borucki was excellent for the Bisons. The lefty went six innings, allowing just four hits and a walk while striking out three, getting nine ground ball outs and just three on fly balls. Al Alburquerque gave up two runs on three hits (including a home run) in two innings and Conor Fisk finished it off, walking one and striking out one in the ninth.

W: Ryan Borucki (5-5)
HR: Jason Leblebijian (9)

Roster Notes: Nick Tepesch was promoted from double-A New Hampshire to Buffalo and Richard Urena was placed on the DL after getting a cut on his finger that needed three stitches.

Player of the Game: Ryan Borucki and Jason Leblebijian

New Hampshire Fisher Cats 5, Binghamton Rumble Ponies 6

While the double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats walked off the first game of their double header a couple of weeks ago, the Binghamton Rumble Ponies turned the tables, scoring two in the bottom of the seventh inning to come away with a 6-5 win over the 'Cats.

Harold Ramirez had a huge game, going 3-for-3 with two doubles and two runs while also picking up an outfield assist and Jonathan Davis was 1-for-2 with a double, two walks, two RBI and a run. Andrew Guillotte had two hits including a double, drove in a run and scored one. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Montreal, Que.) was 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.

In the loss, Jordan Romano (Markham, Ont.) lost his chance to win his 10th game of the year, getting through five innings with the lead, allowing four runs (two earned) on eight hits and four walks with four strikeouts. Jose Fernandez tossed a scoreless sixth despite walking three and striking out one but Kirby Snead couldn't get out of the seventh, allowing two runs on two hits and two walks in 2/3 of an inning.

L: Kirby Snead (2-2)

Roster Notes: Nick Tepesch was promoted to Buffalo.

Player of the Game: Harold Ramirez

New Hampshire Fisher Cats 3, Binghamton Rumble Ponies 0

In the second game of the doubleheader, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats got on top in the first inning and never relinquished the lead, beating the Binghamton Rumble Ponies 3-0.

T.J. Zeuch tossed a complete game, throwing seven innings and giving up three hits and four walks with four strikeouts. (Note: Premium Content subscribers can find our recent scouting report of T.J. Zeuch).

Jonathan Davis had two of the Fisher Cats' six hits, scoring a run while Bo Bichette had a double and an RBI and Guerrero Jr. was 1/4 before Andrew Guillotte ran for him in the seventh. Cavan Biggio walked twice and a hit a double and Connor Panas (Toronto, Ont.) was 1-for-3 with an RBI and a stolen base.

W: T.J. Zeuch (3-2)

Player of the Game: T.J. Zeuch

Dunedin Blue Jays 4, Tampa Tarpons 0

The class-A Advanced Dunedin Blue Jays shut out the Tampa Tarpons, getting an excellent effort from righty Patrick Murphy in a 4-0 win.

Murphy went five innings, striking out six and allowing just four hits and three walks to pick up the win. Andy Ravel tossed two scoreless frames, allowing just a hit and striking out one while Jake Fishman and Jackson McClelland each struck out a pair in a perfect inning each.

Ivan Castillo was 3-for-4 with a double, stealing a base while Eduard Pinto hit two doubles, going 2-for-5 with a run. Bradley Jones was also 2-for-5 with a triple, an RBI and a run. Alberto Mineo was 1-for-4 with a walk, a run and an RBI.

W: Patrick Murphy (3-4)

Player of the Game: Patrick Murphy and Ivan Castillo

Lansing Lugnuts 4, Dayton Dragons 5

The game was a 1-1 tie after four innings and stayed that way until the ninth when the Lansing Lugnuts scored a run in the top half. The Dayton Dragons scored one in the bottom half to send the game into extra innings where the Dragons scored three in the bottom of the ninth to defeat the Lugnuts 5-4.

Chavez Young had a great game, going 3-for-5 with a double and two outfield assists. Kevin Vicuna was 2-for-5 with two RBI and Yeltsin Gudino was 2-for-3 with a sac bunt. Cullen Large hit his third home run of the year in the first inning, going 1-for-5 for the game. Brock Lundquist was 1-for-4 with a triple and an RBI.

Matthew Gunter got the start, tossing 4 1/3 innings and giving up just one unearned run on five hits and two walks with one strikeout. Claudio Custodio stranded two runners and tossed 1 2/3 innings of scoreless ball. Emerson Jimenez allowed just a run over three innings, giving up two hits (including a solo home run) and a walk with two strikeouts. Matt Shannon took the loss, giving up three runs (one earned) in 2/3 of an inning, allowing two hits and a walk with two strikeouts.

L: Matt Shannon (2-2)
HR: Cullen Large (3)

Player of the Game: Chavez Young

DSL Blue Jays 0, DSL Reds 17

The DSL Blue Jays got their season off to a rocky start by losing to the DSL Reds 17-0, despite allowing just eight hits.

Starting pitcher Lazaro Estrada allowed the first five runs (four earned) on five hits (including a home run) and a walk while striking out four in 3 1/3 innings. Brayan Mejia gave up another three, walking four batters and giving up a hit in 1 1/3 innings while striking out two batters. Moises De La Cruz had a meltdown to end all meltdowns, coming in to finish off the fifth inning. He walked the first batter he faced before getting a ground out to end the fifth. In the sixth, De La Cruz hit the first batter he faced and let him score by throwing three wild pitches and walking the next batter. He walked the next one and hit two batters in a row before he was replaced by Jose Brito. Brito gave up two hits and walked three batters, throwing two more wild pitches and getting only one batter out before Eliezer Bello was forced into service to relieve him. De La Cruz's line had him allowing five runs on three walks in 1/3 of an inning, hitting three batters and throwing three wild pitches. Brito gave up four runs (three earned) on two hits and three walks with one strikeout while throwing two more wild pitches. Bello ended up tossing 1 2/3 innings, walking one and striking out one before Jeison Contreras finished the game, walking one and striking out one.

The offense did little to help out the pitching, getting just five hits overall. Jose Rivas was 2-for-4 and Jhon Solarte was 1-for-4 with a double. Miguel Hiraldo was 0-for-3 but walked and stole a base. Pedro Hurtado was 1-for-2 with two walks.

L: Lazaro Estrada (0-1)

Player of the Game: Pedro Hurtado and Jose Rivas

Jay's Jay of the Day: T.J. Zeuch

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