May 22, 2018 Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Report
By Jay Blue
Blue Jays from Away

The Toronto Blue Jays' affiliates played to a 2-3 record on Tuesday with the top two clubs coming away with victories.

Buffalo Bisons 5, Syracuse Chiefs 4

The triple-A Buffalo Bisons won their sixth game in a row, defeating the Syracuse Chiefs 5-4 on Tuesday night.

Gift Ngoepe did plenty of damage, hitting a two-run home run and adding another RBI for three on the night, going 2-for-3 with a triple as well as the dinger. Lourdes Gurriel also went deep, hitting his second home run with the Bisons, driving in two. Danny Jansen was 1-for-3 with a double, as were Reese McGuire and Jason Leblebijian who added another defensive position, starting the game in left field.

Luis Santos got the start, going three innings and giving up two runs on five hits and a walk with three strikeouts before making way for Conor Fisk who was excellent, going four hitless innings, walking one and striking out three. Sam Moll allowed two unearned runs in 2/3 of an inning and Justin Shafer stranded his inherited runner, allowing just a hit and striking out one in 1 1/3 innings for the save.

W: Conor Fisk (2-0)
S: Justin Shafer (2)
HR: Lourdes Gurriel (2), Gift Ngoepe (1)

Roster Notes: Devon Travis was promoted to Toronto.

Player of the Game: Conor Fisk and Gift Ngoepe

New Hampshire Fisher Cats 7, Reading Fightin Phils 2

After a day off, the double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats got back to business beating the Reading Fightin Phils 7-2. Jordan Romano (Markham, Ont.) came back from his abbreviated, hitless start (coming out early because of some cramping) and continued to pepper the strike zone, tossing 6 2/3 innings of two-run, five-hit ball, striking out seven without walking anyone. Romano tossed 93 pitches (62 for strikes) and got four of his outs on the ground, six from fly balls. Brayden Bouchey (Vancouver, B.C.) made his first double-A appearance, throwing 1 1/3 innings of scoreless ball, walking one and striking out one before Nick Hartman, also making his double-A debut, pitched the ninth, walking one.

On the offensive side of things, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Montreal, Que.) continues to do the unthinkable, getting on base three times, going 2-for-4 with a walk and a run. Patrick Cantwell is also on fire, going 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run. Max Pentecost took two walks and hit a sacrifice fly while Cavan Biggio, Connor Panas (Toronto, Ont.), Harold Ramirez and Andrew Guillotte each drove in a run.

W: Jordan Romano (8-0)

Roster Notes: Francisco Rios was placed on the 7-day DL and Nick Hartman and Josh DeGraaf were promoted to New Hampshire.

Player of the Game: Patrick Cantwell and Jordan Romano

Dunedin Blue Jays 1, Florida Fire Frogs 5

After their postponement on Monday, the class-A Advanced Dunedin Blue Jays launched their doubleheader against the Florida Fire Frogs, losing 5-1 after the club gave up four runs in the top of the eighth and had no answer in the bottom half.

Angel Perdomo was solid in the pitching duel, giving up four walks and no hits in five innings, striking out three. Jake Fishman struck out all three batters he faced and Jackson McClelland pitched the seventh, giving up one run before allowing another four in the eighth, going 1 1/3 innings total and giving up six runs and a walk. Connor Eller finished off, allowing both runners inherited from McClelland to score and giving up a hit with one strikeout in 2/3 of an inning.

Joshua Palacios had two of the Blue Jays' seven hits, hitting a double and driving in the club's only run. Randal Grichuk played in his first rehab game, walking twice and going 0-for-2. Bradley Jones, Nash Knight, Ivan Castillo, Riley Adams and Rodrigo Orozco had the other hits (one each) with Orozco and Knight each adding a walk.

L: Jackson McClelland (0-1)

Roster Notes: Connor Law and Yennsy Diaz were promoted to Dunedin from low-A Lansing while Nick Hartman and Josh DeGraaf were both promoted to New Hampshire.

Player of the Game: Angel Perdomo

Dunedin Blue Jays 2, Florida Fire Frogs 6

The Dunedin Blue Jays weren't able to exact any revenge in Game 2 of the doubleheader, losing 6-2 to the Florida Fire Frogs.

While they scored two runs this time, the Blue Jays only had four hits including a double and two RBI from Ivan Castillo while Eduard Pinto, Bradley Jones and Nash Knight each had a single. Knight also walked, allowing him to reach first four times in the doubleheader.

Patrick Murphy struck out six in his four innings of work but also gave up two runs on five hits and three walks. Jonathan Cheshire allowed four runs in his inning of work, giving up three hits and two walks. Connor Law made his Dunedin debut, allowing two hits over two innings but no runs and he struck out two.

L: Patrick Murphy (2-4)

Player of the Game: None

Lansing Lugnuts 1, South Bend Cubs 9

While they put together nine hits, the low-A Lansing Lugnuts could only scrape together one run in a 9-1 loss to the South Bend Cubs.

Kevin Smith had a double and a triple, scoring a run while Ryan Noda didn't walk, but went 2-for-4, getting his batting average up to .202.

Turner Larkins started for Lansing and gave up five runs on seven hits and four walks with two strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings. Brody Rodning allowed a run on a hit and two walks with three strikeouts in 1 2/3 innings. Kyle Weatherly pitched the seventh and struggled with the enforcement of the pause in his pitching mechanics, getting called for three balks, helping contribute to his giving up a run on a hit and a walk. Matt Shannon allowed two more runs in the eighth, giving up four hits.

L: Turner Larkins (3-4)

Roster Notes: Yennsy Diaz and Connor Law were both promoted to Dunedin while Claudio Custodio, who pitched in the Intercounty Baseball League in Ontario last year was added to the Lugnuts' roster (after getting signed in April).

Player of the Game: Kevin Smith and Ryan Noda

Jay's Jay of the Day: Gift Ngoepe

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