The Red Wings sweep. The Rock Cats throw a shutout. The Miracle and the Snappers die with their boots.
ROCHESTER 2, BUFFALO 1 IN ROCHESTER (GAME 1—SCHEDULED 7 INNINGS)
Batting star: Matt Rizzotti was 1-for-3 with a double.
Pitching star: P. J. Walters got a complete game victory, striking out seven while allowing a run on four hits and a walk.
Opposition star: Dylan Owen gave up two runs (one earned) on five hits and two walks in 4.2 innings.
Key inning: The fifth. With the score tied at one, Rene Rivera and Darin Mastroianni opened the inning with singles. Ben Revere moved the runners up and Brian Dozier hit a sacrifice fly to score what would turn out to be the winning run.
Other: No one on either team had more than one hit.
ROCHESTER 5, BUFFALO 0 IN ROCHESTER (GAME 2—SCHEDULED 7 INNINGS)
Batting stars: Darin Mastroianni was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk and drove in four. Aaron Bates was 2-for-3 with a double.
Pitching stars: Brendan Wise allowed three hits and two walks in three innings. Deolis Guerra struck out four in 2.1 innings, giving up one hit. Anthony Slama struck out two in 1.1 innings, allowing just a walk.
Opposition star: Jack Egbert pitched 1.1 scoreless innings.
Key inning: The fourth. In a scoreless tie, Matt Carson, Aaron Bates, and J. R. Towles opened the inning with singles, scoring one. A sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position, and a double by Mastroianni brought them home to give the Red Wings a 3-0 lead.
Other: After losing nine straight, the Red Wings have now won four in a row.
NEW BRITAIN 5, PORTLAND 0 IN NEW BRITAIN
Batting star: Estarlin De Los Santos was 1-for-3 with a triple and drove in two.
Pitching stars: David Bromberg struck out five in five innings, giving up three hits and a walk. Caleb Theilbar allowed only one hit in two innings. Luis Perdomo worked two perfect innings.
Opposition stars: Ronald Bermudez was 2-for-3. Eammon Portice worked two shutout innings.
Key inning: The sixth. Leading 2-0, the Rock Cats struck for three runs to put the game out of reach. Pedro Florimon singled, Chris Colabello doubled, Aaron Hicks brought in a run with a fielder’s choice, and Nathan Hanson and Danny Lehmann each hit RBI singles.
LAKELAND 4, FORT MYERS 3 IN FORT MYERS (11 INNINGS)
Batting stars: Daniel Santana was 2-for-5 with two RBIs. Daniel Ortiz was 2-for-4.
Pitching star: Edgar Ibarra gave up one run on three hits and a walk while striking out five in four innings.
Opposition stars: Tyler Collins was 3-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring three times. Tyler Clark struck out three in 2.2 scoreless innings.
Key inning: The eleventh. With the score tied at three, Collins drew a one out walk. Avisail Garcia singled to left. The ball was misplayed by Ortiz and Collins was able to score from first with what turned out to be the winning run.
KANE COUNTY 7, BELOIT 4 IN BELOIT
Batting stars: Jairo Rodriguez was 2-for-2 with two walks. Tyler Grimes was 2-for-4 with a double. Drew Leachman was 2-for-4.
Pitching star: Tim Shibuya struck out six in six innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on three hits and a walk.
Opposition stars: Runey Davis was 2-for-2 with two walks and a two run homer. Daniel Mateo was 2-for-5 with a double. Santiago Garrido allowed only an unearned run on five hits and a walk in five innings.
Key inning: The eighth. Trailing 4-3, the Cougars opened the inning with a single by Mateo and a triple by Jorge Bonifacio to tie the game. Bonafacio scored on a sacrifice fly to give Kane County the lead. The Cougars would add two more in the ninth to put the game away.
Other: The Snappers made four errors in the game.
TODAY’S TILTS
12:05 Lakeland at Fort Myers Shawn Teufel v. Marty Popham
12:35 Portland at New Britain Billy Buckner v. B. J. Hermsen
2:00 Kane County at Beloit TBA v. TBA
That pitching matchup in the Snappers game looks pretty even.