P. J. Walters does poorly in a rehab start, but is picked up by Esmerling Vasquez. Anthony Slama is back in Rochester. A bases-loaded single fails to produce a run in Beloit. A big day for Bo Altobelli. It’s time for Junior Subero to move up.
ROCHESTER 5, SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE 2 IN ROCHESTER
Batting star: Eduardo Escobar was 3-for-4 with a double.
Pitching star: Esmerling Vasquez worked 7.2 shutout innings of relief, giving up two hits with four walks and seven strikeouts.
Opposition star: Chris Dickerson was 2-for-3 with a double and two walks.
Key inning: The second. The Red Wings trailed 2-0. Clete Thomas singled, stole second, and scored on a one-out double by Escobar. Rene Rivera hit a ground-rule double to tie the score. Ray Chang singled, and Pedro Florimon squeezed home the go-ahead run. Brian Dinkelman singled home another to give Rochester a 4-2 lead.
Other: The reason Vasquez pitched 7.2 innings of relief is that a rehab start by P. J. Walters did not go well. Facing seven batters, he allowed a double, a homer, a walk, and two singles…Anthony Slama was activated from the disabled list…Dave Leonhard and Fred Merkle will be inducted into the Red Wings Hall of Fame tonight.
BINGHAMTON 6, NEW BRITAIN 4 IN BINGHAMTON
Batting stars: Estarlin De Los Santos was 3-for-4. Rene Tosoni was 2-for-4.
Pitching stars: Dakota Watts gave up one hit and struck out two in 1.1 scoreless innings. Jose Gonzalez allowed an unearned run while giving up one hit and striking out two in one inning.
Opposition stars: Rease Havens was 4-for-5. Wilmer Flores was 3-for-4 with a double and a walk. Jefry Marte was 2-for-4 with a double.
Key inning: The seventh. The Rock Cats trailed 5-1. A walk, three singles, and a ground out plated three for New Britain, cutting the lead to 5-4. They had the bases loaded with two out, but a ground out ended the threat. In the bottom of the inning, an error and a single gave the Mets an insurance run.
FORT MYERS 4, JUPITER 1 IN FORT MYERS
Batting stars: Daniel Santana was 3-for-4. Andy Leer was 2-for-3 with a walk. Angel Morales was 2-for-4.
Pitching stars: A. J. Achter struck out three in 2.2 scoreless innings. He gave up no hits but walked two. Michael Tonkin struck out three in 1.2 scoreless innings, allowing one hit.
Opposition star: Noah Perio was 3-for-5 with a double.
Key inning: The seventh. The Miracle led 2-1. A single and two walks resulted in the bases being loaded with two out. Daniel “Danny” Rams delivered a two-run single to give Fort Myers a pair of insurance runs.
BELOIT 8, QUAD CITIES 3 IN QUAD CITIES
Batting stars: Eddie Rosario and Drew Leachman were each 2-for-5. Miguel Sano was 1-for-3 with two walks.
Pitching stars: Jason Wheeler pitched five innings, giving up one run on six hits and two walks. Tim Atherton worked two shutout innings, allowing no hits but walking three while striking out two.
Opposition stars: Nicholas Longmire was 2-for-4 with a walk. Stephen Piscotty was 2-for-5. Dixon Llornes struck out seven of the ten batters he faced in three shutout innings.
Key inning: The first. Four of the first five Snapper batters walked, resulting in one run and loaded bases. A Leachman single did not produce a run, as Kennys Vargas was hit by the batted ball and declared out. A Stephen Wickens single plated two, however, and a balk scored the fourth run of the inning.
Other: Quad Cities out-hit Beloit 10-8. The River Bandits made four errors.
ELIZABETHTON 4, JOHNSON CITY 3 IN JOHNSON CITY
Batting stars: Bo Altobelli was 4-for-4. Travis Harrison was 2-for-4 with a triple. Candido Pimentel was 2-for-4 with a walk.
Pitching stars: Starter Hudson Boyd gave up an unearned run on four hits in four innings. Joshua Burris threw two perfect innings of relief. Andrew Ferreira struck out two and walked one in two shutout innings.
Opposition stars: Bruce Caldwell was 2-for-4 with a double. Cesar Aguilar gave up three hits in three shutout innings.
Key inning: The ninth. The Twins led 4-1. The Cardinals led off the bottom of the ninth with two doubles, a single, and a walk, making the score 4-2 and leaving the bases loaded with none out. Ronard Castillo hit into a double play, cutting the lead to one but leaving two out and a runner on third. Ricardo Lizcano then grounded out to end the game.
GCL ORIOLES 6, TWINS 4 AT ORIOLES
Batting stars: Joel Licon was 2-for-4 with a walk. Will Hurt was 2-for-4.
Pitching star: Markus Solbach struck out two in two shutout innings, allowing three hits.
Opposition star: Manuel Hernandez was 2-for-4 with a walk.
Key inning: The third. Trailing 1-0, the Orioles scored five times. The inning featured two singles, a double, three walks and two hit batsmen. The big hit of the inning was a two-run double by Kristopher Richards.
DSL ORIOLES 8, TWINS 4 AT TWINS (GAME 1—SCHEDULED 7 INNINGS)
Batting stars: Jonatan Ynojoso was 2-for-2. Dubal Baez was 2-for-3. Engelb Vielma was 2-for-4.
Pitching stars: Starter Javier Vargas gave up one run on four hits and two walks in three innings. Jhon Silva worked a scoreless innings, allowing two hits while striking out two.
Opposition stars: Ronarsy Ledesma was 4-for-4 with two doubles. Alexander Mercedes was 3-for-5. Victor Medina was 2-for-3 with a double.
Key inning: The sixth. Leading 2-1, the Orioles scored five times. The inning featured four singles, a double, and three errors. The key hit was a two-run single by Carlos Larez. The Twins came back with three in the bottom of the inning, but never really got back into the game.
DSL ORIOLES 2, TWINS 1 AT ORIOLES (GAME 2—SCHEDULED 7 INNINGS)
Batting stars: Carlos Martinez was 2-for-3. Eddy Concepcion was 1-for-2 with two walks.
Pitching stars: Junior Subero struck out seven in six innings, allowing two unearned runs on five hits and a walk.
Opposition stars: Oscar Vasquez was 2-for-3. Miguel Garcia gave up one run in 6.2 innings, allowing six hits and four walks.
Key inning: The sixth. Trailing 1-0, the Orioles scored two. Two singles and an error loaded the bases with none out. A force out at home gave the Twins hope, but Victor Medina singled to tie the game and a sacrifice fly brought in the winning run.
Other: The Twins stranded ten runners and were 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
TODAY’S TILTS
9:30 DSL Cubs1 at Twins
11:00 GCL Red Sox at Twins
6:00 Elizabethton at Bristol Angel Mata v. Jake Cose
6:05 St. Lucie at Fort Myers Logan Verrett v. Cole Nelson
6:05 Reading at New Britain Julio Rodriguez v. TBA
6:05 Pawtucket at Rochester Daisuke Matsuzaka v. Eric Hurley
7:00 Beloit at Quad Cities David Hurlbut v. Boone Whiting
um... twins baseball!
It seems like that would be a good trivia/sports knowledge question: How can you get a base hit with the bases loaded and not score a run?
Hmm, that is a good question. I thought of this scenario:
Bases loaded, batter hits a clean single through the infield. Guy from third pulls up lame. The defense gets the force at home, and the batter is already on first. That's not a fielder's choice is it? Would it make a difference if the runner was tagged, and not forced?
Still a fielder's choice, I'm pretty sure.
Still a fielder's choice, and it makes no difference if they tag the runner or the base.
I always thought the fielder had to have an opportunity to get the batter and decides to get someone else for it to be a FC. If the runners at 1st, 2nd, and 3rd are all already safe by the time the fielder gets the ball, it's not really a "choice" anymore, is it?
I know what you're saying, but that's not the rule. A relatively common example is a runner on first, the batter hits a shallow pop fly that looks like it could be caught, but it bloops in or is missed. If the fielder is quick enough, he can throw to second and force the runner from first. It's not a hit or an error, but a fielder's choice.
How about if the runner on third runs outside of the base paths? Or runner's interference (if getting hit by the ball isn't considered runner's interference)?
You can only be called out of the baseline if they're making a play on you, so it would be really unusual for a runner on third to be out for running out of the baseline with the bases loaded, although I suppose it's possible. I don't think runner's interference (other than getting hit by a batted ball) is a base hit, but I'm not sure about it without looking it up, and I have too many other things to do right now to look it up.
Could be a swinging bunt, and the 3B tries to tag rather than throw to C, because the runner is right there. Runner dodges too far out of line for the Ump's pleasure, and 3B throws to first but is too late to catch the batter. But does he get a hit b/c third out recorded before batter was safely on base? I'd think it's still a FC.
Late to the conversation, but:
Bases loaded, groundball through the IF to left, the batter and runners from first and second reach their base safely. Runner from third pulls up lame, runner from second, safe at third, dawdles around because his teammate is there in front of him, drifts off base. LF throws the ball back to the IF, 3B grabs the throw next to 3b and tags the runner from second who had been safe at third until he drifted off. Batter gets a hit, as the runner had advanced before being tagged out.
Or it could be something similar but with a should-have-been caught shallow fly, with one baserunner overrunning a bag before the runner from third is home. If any baserunner is out before reaching their forced base safely, it's a FC.