July 16, 2018 Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Report
By Jay Blue
Blue Jays from Away

The Toronto Blue Jays' minor league affiliates went 4-4 on a full schedule on Monday with a couple of four-hit performances.

Buffalo Bisons 8, Norfolk Tides 1

The triple-A Buffalo Bisons opened up their series against the Norfolk Tides with an 8-1 win. Gio Urshela was 3-for-5 wtih two runs and an RBI while Reese McGuire was 2-for-3 with a walk and a grand slam in the seventh inning. Richard Urena was 2-for-5 with a run and Rowdy Tellez was 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI and two runs. Anthony Alford was on base twice, going 1-for-3 with a walk.

Brandon Cumpton made his first start with Buffalo, tossing five innings and giving up just one run on four hits (including a solo home run) while striking out three. Craig Breslow gave up a walk in 1 1/3 innings and Justin Shafer struck out one in 2/3 of an inning. Zach Stewart pitched the final two frames, walking one.

W: Brandon Cumpton (2-0)
HR: Reese McGuire (5)

Roster Notes: Chris Rowley was optioned to Buffalo and Preston Guilmet was placed on the 7-day DL.

Player of the Game: Reese McGuire

New Hampshire Fisher Cats 4, Trenton Thunder 2

Harold Ramirez pushed his batting average to .313 and Jordan Romano (Markham, Ont.) had a strong start for the double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats as they beat the Trenton Thunder 4-2 in the opener of their series.

Ramirez was 4-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI, adding a stolen base, while Jon Berti was 2-for-5 with two runs and an RBI, stealing a base as they accounted for six of the club's seven hits (Andrew Guillotte had the other one).

Jordan Romano went 6 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits and a walk with four strikeouts. Kirby Snead inherited a runner and stranded him, throwing an inning and giving up a hit and striking out one. Dusty Isaacs inherited a runner from Snead and stranded him, striking out the only batter he faced. Travis Bergen picked up the save, allowing two hits and a walk with two strikeouts in the ninth inning.

W: Kirby Snead (3-3)
S: Travis Bergen (2)

Player of the Game: Harold Ramirez

Dunedin Blue Jays 5, Florida Fire Frogs 2

The class-A Advanced Dunedin Blue Jays rolled their winning streak to five games as they defeated the Florida Fire Frogs 5-2 on the power of three home runs on Monday.

Kevin Smith (1-for-4), David Jacob (1-for-3, two RBI) and Kacy Clemens (1-for-4, two RBI) provided the punch and RIley Adams was 2-for-4 with a double while Joshua Palacios was 1-for-4 with a double.

Patrick Murphy had another strong start, giving up two runs on four hits (including a home run) and one walk with six strikeouts over seven innings to mark the third start in which he went seven innings in a row and fourth of his past five. Andy Ravel gave up three hits in 1/3 of an inning to load the bases before Jackson McClelland came on to mow down the Fire Frogs, stranding all three runners and striking out a pair with one hit allowed over 1 2/3 innings.

W: Patrick Murphy (7-4)
S: Jackson McClelland (7)
HR: Kacy Clemens (4), Kevin Smith (10), David Jacob (5)

Player of the Game: Patrick Murphy

Lansing Lugnuts 8, Clinton LumberKings 9

The low-A Lansing Lugnuts almost came away from Clinton with a win, playing to a tie at eight runs apiece after nine innings but the Clinton LumberKings scored in the bottom of the 10th to walk off with a 9-8 victory.

Chavez Young certainly did his best, going 4-for-5 with a double and three runs while Ryan Noda was on base twice, going 1-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run. Ryan Gold was 1-for-5 but drove in three runs and Jesus Navarro was 1-for-4 with a walk, an RBI and two stolen bases. Reggie Pruitt was 1-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a sac fly. Norberto Obeso and Brandon Grudzielanek each walked twice.

Matt Gunter started for Lansing and gave up three home runs, leading to five runs on five hits and four walks with five strikeouts in four innings. Brayden Bouchey (White Rock, B.C.) allowed two runs over two innings, giving up a hit and a walk while Dany Jimenez allowed a solo home run but nothing else over three innings, striking out four. Orlando Pascual took the loss, giving up a run on three walks.

L: Orlando Pascual (0-2)

Player of the Game: Chavez Young

Vancouver Canadians 1, Tri-City Dust Devils 2

The class-A Short-Season Vancouver Canadians opened their series against the Tri-City Dust Devils with a 2-1 loss.

Randy Pondler allowed two runs in the first inning and that would be more than the Canadians could overcome against Henry Henry who dominated Vancouver. Pondler allowed two runs on five hits and two walks in 3 2/3 innings, striking out three to take the loss. Joey Pulido, making his Vancouver debut, allowing two hits in 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief, striking out one. Marcus Reyes struck out one in the eighth.

The Canadians had seven hits including two from Vinny Capra, who had a triple and two from Yorman Rodriguez who drove in the club's only run. Otto Lopez (Montreal, Que.) was 1-for-3 with a triple and a walk.

L: Randy Pondler (0-4)

Roster Notes: Joey Pulido was promoted to Vancouver.

Player of the Game: Vinny Capra and Otto Lopez

Bluefield Blue Jays 6, Danville Braves 3

The rookie-class Bluefield Blue Jays won their second straight against the Danville Braves, taking a 6-3 win.

Alejandro Kirk continues to swing a hot bat, going 2-for-3 with a walk, a home run and two RBI and he was one for two in throwing out potential base stealers. D.J. Neal also had two hits, going 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs, stealing a base. Patrick Morris was 1-for-3 with a walk.

Claudio Galva went five one-run innings, allowing six hits and two walks with three strikeouts to get the win. Grant Townsend pitched two perfect innings, striking out two before Sean Rackoski allowed two runs on four hits in the eighth, striking out one. Brad Wilson struck out two in the ninth, allowing a hit, to get the save.

W: Claudio Galva (3-0)
S: Brad Wilson (3)
HR: Alejandro Kirk (4)

Roster Notes: Joey Pulido was promoted to Vancouver.

Player of the Game: Alejandro Kirk

GCL Blue Jays 4, GCL Yankees West 6

The GCL Blue Jays scored four times as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Montreal, Que.) continues to rehab his knee injury but they still lost to the GCL Yankees West 6-4.

Guerrero Jr. was 1-for-3 with a double and a run while Jordan Groshans was 2-for-3 with a walk and a run. Gabriel Moreno pushed his batting average to .404 on the season with two hits and two RBI, scoring once while Leonardo Jimenez was 1-for-3 with a walk and two RBI. Logan Warmoth, also rehabbing, was 1-for-3.

Emanuel Vizcaino tossed six innings, allowing four runs on six hits and five walks, striking out five to take the loss. Gaudy Ramirez allowed the final two runs, giving up two hits (including a home run) without walking anyone and striking out two in the last two innings.

L: Emanuel Viczaino (0-1)

Player of the Game: Jordan Groshans and Gabriel Moreno

DSL Blue Jays 1, DSL Padres 8

The DSL Blue Jays scored once on eight hits in an 8-1 loss to the DSL Padres.

Jhon Solarte (2-for-4, BB), Jose Rivas (2-for-5, two SB) and Hanley Acevedo (2-for-3, 2B, BB) each had two hits.

Junior Guzman allowed two runs on six hits and three walks with three strikeouts over four innings before Erick Teran took over, giving up just a hit and a walk over three innings with three strikeouts. Jhoan Dominguez was tagged for six runs in 2/3 of an inning, allowing four hits and two walks and Christian Reyes allowed his inherited runner to score, giving up a hit before getting the final out of the game.

L: Junior Guzman (0-5)

Player of the Game: Jhon Solarte and Hanley Acevedo

Jay's Jay of the Day: Harold Ramirez and Chavez Young

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