Another big day for Wilkin Ramirez. Kyle Waldrop takes the first step on his comeback. The Red Wings have a bad day.
SYRACUSE 11, ROCHESTER 0 IN SYRACUSE
Batting star: Clete Thomas was 2-for-3 with a double, a triple, and a walk.
Pitching star: Anthony Slama worked two shutout innings, allowing only a walk.
Opposition stars: Jarrett Hoffpauir was 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs. Corey Brown was 2-for-3 with a double, a homer, and two walks, scoring four times and driving in three. Tanner Roark struck out six in six shutout innings, giving up four hits and a walk.
Key inning: The third. Already up 1-0, the Chiefs used a walk and four singles to take a 4-0 lead. The game was never close after that.
Other: The Red Wings had six starters with averages of .250 or below. In 17.2 innings (14 appearances), Slama has an ERA of 0.51 and an opposition batting average of .150.
NEW BRITAIN 8, READING 4 IN NEW BRITAIN
Batting stars: Wilkin Ramirez was 3-for-4 with two triples, a homer, and a walk, scoring three times. Aaron Hicks was 3-for-4 with two doubles and a walk, driving in three. Nathan Hanson was 2-for-4.
Pitching star: B. J. Hermsen worked seven strong innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and no walks.
Opposition stars: Cesar Hernandez and Jiwan James were each 2-for-4 with a double. Darin Ruf was 2-for-4.
Key inning: The third. Trailing 2-1, the Phillies used a double and a single to tie the score. In the bottom of the inning, Ramirez tripled and scored on a Hicks single to regain the lead for the Rock Cats. Hicks then stole second, went to third on a ground out, and scored on a sacrifice fly to make the score 4-2.
Other: Ramirez has now hit a home run in four consecutive games.
FORT MYERS 3, CHARLOTTE 1 IN CHARLOTTE
Batting stars: Andy Leer was 2-for-4. Daniel Rohlfing doubled and drove in two.
Pitching stars: Pat Dean went five innings, giving up a run on eight hits and a walk. Nelvin Fuentes worked two shutout innings, giving up one hit. Kyle Waldrop made his first appearance of the year, allowing a hit in a scoreless inning.
Opposition stars: Mikie Mahtook was 2-for-4 with a double. C. J. Riefenhauser struck out two in two shutout innings.
Key inning: The sixth. With the Miracle leading 2-1, Lance Ray doubled, took third on a wild pitch, and scored on a sacrifice fly to give Fort Myers an important insurance run.
BELOIT 3, CLINTON 1 IN BELOIT
Batting stars: Jonathan Goncalves was 2-for-4 with a double. Tyler Grimes hit a two run homer, his second.
Pitching star: Matthew Summers allowed one run on seven hits and two walks in seven innings.
Opposition stars: Guillermo Pimentel was 2-for-3 with two doubles and a walk. Steve Baron was 2-for-4 with two doubles and a walk.
Key inning: The sixth. Trailing 2-0, the LumberKings used a pair of doubles to cut the lead in half. In the bottom of the inning, doubles by Eddie Rosario and Goncalves restored the two run lead.
TODAY’S TILTS
12:35 Reading at New Britain Julio Rodriguez v. Andrew Albers
1:00 Rochester at Syracuse Liam Hendriks v. Zach Duke
2:00 Clinton at Beloit TBA v. TBA
Keep it up Slama.
Seriously. Assuming that Duensing makes the rotation at some point and Grey's luck starts to run out, there would have to be room in there somewhere for him to finally get his real shot, right?
Dude, there are 13 on the pitching staff -- there's ALL KINDS of room.
We need to trade him. He could put up that kind of performance against the Twins on a regular basis.
One would have thought the same about Chuck James last year, but no dice.
I saw he's coming back from an injury in the Mets' org (AAA Buffalo, Hitman: you need to go see him sometime). Probably best for James that he's in any other organization. I'm guessing on the Twins he'd be trotted out there every other day, pitching with an injury, getting lit up, being DFAd, passing through waivers, and then finding out months later that he needs Tommy John.