July 4, 2017 Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Report
By Jay Blue
Blue Jays from Away

The Toronto Blue Jays' minor league organization had another 7-1 day, with every affiliate winning on U.S. Independence Day except for Buffalo.

Buffalo Bisons 0, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders 7

The struggling Buffalo Bisons couldn't continue their winning ways, dropping their series opener with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders 7-0. Brett Oberholtzer allowed all seven runs on nine hits and two walks, striking out five in 6 2/3 innings. Tim Mayza made his triple-A debut, tossing 1 1/3 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk with one strikeout.

The Bisons only had three hits with singles from Dwight Smith, Jr., Jason Leblebijian and Jake Elmore. Dalton Pompey (Mississauga, Ont.) joined the Bisons on his rehab journey and was 0/3.

Player of the Game: None

Roster Notes: Dalton Pompey was sent to Buffalo to continue his rehab assignment.

New Hampshire Fisher Cats 4, Portland Sea Dogs 0

The New Hampshire Fisher Cats opened their series against the Portland Sea Dogs with much better results than they had in their last series, winning 4-0 on July 4. Sean Reid-Foley had an excellent outing, tossing six shutout innings, allowing three hits and three walks with one strikeout. Danny Young continued the scoreless momentum, throwing two perfect frames, striking out one and Andrew Case (Saint John, N.B.) finished it, giving up two hits but no runs to close out the ballgame and preserve the shutout.

Richard Urena took two of the club's 12 walks, going 1/3 with a double, and a RBI and a run. Gunnar Heidt also drove in a run, going 1/3 with a walk. Matt Dean was 0/1 with three walks, an RBI and a run.

Player of the Game: Sean Reid-Foley

Roster Notes: Griffin Glaude was sent to the New Hampshire Fisher Cats and Yonardo Herdenez was sent back down to Bluefield.

Dunedin Blue Jays 3, Lakeland Flying Tigers 1

The Dunedin Blue Jays vaulted over the .500 mark with a 3-1 win over the Lakeland Flying Tigers. Josh DeGraaf continues to shine stepping into the starting rotation, tossing six innings of scoreless baseball, allowing only three hits and one walks with five strikeouts. Adonys Cardona benefitted from an offence that was slow to start by getting the win with a scoreless seventh. Zach Jackson allowed a run over 2/3 of an inning on two hits and a walk but Kirby Snead shut the door, stranding two runners and pitching a scoreless ninth to earn the save.

Edward Pinto made his Blue Jays debut after being acquired for Jason Grilli. He went 2/4 with a run. Connor Panas (Toronton, Ont.) hit his fifth home run of the year, going 1/3 with a walk and a three-run home run. Josh Almonte was 2/4 and Michael De La Cruz was 2/5.

Player of the Game: Connor Panas and Josh DeGraaf

Roster Notes: Dominic Abbadessa and Ridge Smith were promoted to Dunedin from the GCL and Lansing respectively. Ryan Hissey and Carl Wise were both placed on the DL.

Lansing Lugnuts 10, West Michigan Whitecaps 4

Did the Lansing Lugnuts finally get the monkey off their back? They defeated the West Michigan Whitecaps for the first time since June 4 and for the second time all season, beating them up 10-4. Edward Olivares slammed his 13th home run, adding a walk and two RBI. Vladimir Guerrero (Montreal, Que.) was 2/4 with a double, a walk, an RBI and three runs while Rodrigo Orozco was 4/4 with a double, a triple a walk, an RBI and a run. Joshua Palacios had his third consecutive game with three hits or more, going 3/5 with two RBI. Nash Knight also had a multi-hit game, going 2/4 with a walk, two RBI and a run. Bo Bichette's league-leading batting average dropped to .388 as he was 1/5 with a double, an RBI and a run. Nick Sinay was 1/3 with an RBI, two runs and two stolen bases.

Osman Gutierrez struck out six, allowing three runs on four hits and two walks over five innings to get just his second win of the season. Daniel Lietz allowed just a walk over two innings and Connor Eller allowed a run over two innings to finish the game.

Player of the Game: Rodrigo Orozco

Roster Notes: Mattingly Romanin (Burlington, Ont.) was promoted to Lansing with Ridge Smith heading to Dunedin and Griffin Glaude heading to New Hampshire.

Vancouver Canadians 5, Eugene Emeralds 0

The Vancouver Canadians had the pitchers rolling with Dalton Rodriguez starring in a 5-0 win over the Spokane Indians. Justin Dillon was the starter, throwing an inning and retiring all three batters he faced. Rodriguez followed with seven shutout innings, allowing only four hits and a walk with one strikeout. Chris Hall finished the game, getting all three players he faced out.

Deiferson Barreto was 2/5 for the Canadians and Matt Morgan was 2/2 with two walks, an RBI and a run. Kevin Vicuna was on twice, going 1/4 with a walk and an RBI, adding a run and two stolen bases.

Player of the Game: Dalton Rodriguez

Roster Notes: Brody Rodning was assigned to Vancouver from the GCL Blue Jays along with Brandon Polizzi who comes up from Bluefield. Mattingly Romanin was promoted to Lansing.

Bluefield Blue Jays 9, Burlington Royals 6

The Bluefield Blue Jays got the bats going, beating the Burlington Royals 9-6 on Independence Day. Yorman Rodriguez had three of the club's 13 hits, going 3/5 with two runs. Antony Fuentes had the biggest blow, going 2/5 with a double, a home run, four RBI and two runs. Jesus Severino hit his first home run of the year, going 1/4. Reilly Johnson was 2/3 with a walk and Mc Gregory Contreras was 2/5 with two RBI and a run. Kevin Smith was 2/3 with two doubles, two walks, an RBI and two runs.

Josh Winckowski allowed four runs on four hits and three walks in 3 1/3 innings, striking out a pair before Joe DiBenedetto took over, earning the win despite allowing another two runs on three hits and three walks in 1 2/3 innings. Mitch McKown walked one and struck out three in two innings and Ty Tice picked up his second save with two scoreless innings, walking one and striking out two.

Player of the Game: Antony Fuentes

Roster Notes: Brandon Polizzi was promoted to Vancouver and Bluefield got Yonardo Herdenez back from New Hampshire.

GCL Blue Jays 10, GCL Pirates 0

The GCL Blue Jays continue to roll, defeating the GCL Pirates 10-0 in a rout on Independence Day. D.J. Neal moved his batting average to .389 for the young season thanks to a 3/4 game, taking a walk, driving in two, scoring twice and stealing a base. Aldo Ovando also had three hits, all singles. Jose Theran was 2/3 with a walk, two doubles, an RBI and two runs while Jonelvy Molina was 2/5 with a double and two runs. Luis De Los Santos was 2/5 with a triple, an RBI and two runs and Davis Schneider was on base five times, going 2/2 with a double, three walks, an RBI and a run.

Roither Hernandez was dominant, allowing just four hits and one walk in six innings, striking out five to earn his first professional win. Anderson Nunez, Emmanuel Reyes and Danilo Manzueta each added a scoreless frame to preserve the shutout.

Player of the Game: Davis Schneider and Roither Hernandez

Roster Notes: Dominic Abbadessa was sent back to Dunedin from the GCL.

DSL Blue Jays 7, DSL Padres 5

The DSL Blue Jays won yet again, beating the DSL Padres 7-5. Amassing 13 hits, Gabriel Moreno, the catcher, had three, going 3/4 with a double, a triple, two RBI and two runs. Hugo Cardona also had two hits, going 2/4 with an RBI and a run. Yhon Perez was 2/4 with a walk, an RBI and two runs and Steward Berroa was 2/4 with a double, an RBI and a run.

Rafael Monsion struck out five in three innings, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks. Adolfo Molina provided two more innings of scoreless ball, giving up just a walk and striking out one. Juan Diaz struck out the side in the sixth, walking one while Luis Mendoza struck out two in the seventh, giving up a hit. Nicolas Medina allowed three runs on three hits and a walk in the eighth and Yunior Hinojosa saved the game with a scoreless ninth.

Player of the Game: Gabriel Moreno

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