Luis Perdomo saves the day for Rochester. A walk-off walk for Fort Myers. Byron Buxton hits his fifth homer.
ROCHESTER 7, COLUMBUS 6 IN COLUMBUS
Batting stars: Nathan Hanson was 2-for-5 with a home run (his second), scoring twice and driving in three. Clete Thomas was 2-for-3 with two walks, scoring twice. Ray Olmedo was 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.
Pitching stars: None.
Opposition stars: Matt LaPorta was 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs. Omir Santos was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring once. Juan Diaz was 2-for-5 with a double and scored once.
Key inning: The ninth. Rochester led 7-4, but a walk and a two-run homer by Jeremy Hermida made it 7-6 with none out. An error and a two-out single put the tying run on third and the winning run on first. Luis Perdomo then relieved Tim Wood and retired Diaz on a fly out to end the game.
HARRISBURG 6, NEW BRITAIN 1 IN NEW BRITAIN
Batting stars: Antoan Richardson was 2-for-3 with a walk. James Beresford was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk.
Pitching stars: Bobby Lanigan pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit. Michael Tonkin gave up two hits but struck out three in a scoreless inning.
Opposition stars: Nate Karns pitched 6.1 innings, allowing one run on three hits and three walks. Jerad Head was 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs. Destin Hood was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk and scored twice.
Key inning: The fifth. Trailing 4-1, Harrisburg scored four times. The Rock Cats made two errors in the inning. Josh Johnson delivered a bases-loaded two-run single with two out.
FORT MYERS 3, ST. LUCIE 2 IN FORT MYERS
Batting stars: Stephen Wickens was 3-for-3 with a walk and scored once. Kennys Vargas was 2-for-3 with a walk and a home run, his fourth.
Pitching stars: Jason Wheeler pitched five innings, giving up two runs on six hits and three walks. Cole Johnson struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one hit. Dakota Watts gave up one hit and two walks in two shutout innings.
Opposition stars: Alex Panteliodis allowed one run on four hits and a walk in five innings. Travis Taijeron was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.
Key inning: The ninth. The score was tied at two. Kyle Knudson singled and was replaced by pinch-runner Drew Leachman, who was bunted to second and took third on a single by Wickens. Adam Pettersen was intentionally walked to load the bases, and Levi Michael was accidentally walked to bring in the winning run.
WEST MICHIGAN 4, CEDAR RAPIDS 3 IN WEST MICHIGAN (10 INNINGS)
Batting stars: Byron Buxton was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, his fifth. Dalton Hicks was 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.
Pitching stars: Hudson Boyd struck out four in five innings, giving up two runs on six hits and three walks. Steven Gruver struck out five in four innings, giving up one run on four hits and a walk.
Opposition stars: Jeff Holm was 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Adolfo Reina was 2-for-4 with a double and scored once. David Gonzalez was 2-for-4 with a walk and scored once.
Key inning: The tenth. The score was tied at three. Tyler Jones entered the game and walked two of the first three batters he faced, putting runners on first and second with one out. Danry Vasquez then singled to center to win the game.
TODAY'S TILTS
10:00 Cedar Rapids (Mason Melotakis, 1-1, 4.08) at West Michigan (Endrys Bricino, 0-1, 5.48)
5:00 New Britain (Pat Dean, 0-3, 4.56) at Portland (Drake Britton, 2-2, 4.44)
6:05 St. Lucie (Noah Syndergaard, 1-0, 3.24) at Fort Myers (Matthew Summers, 1-1, 3.86)
6:15 Rochester (Kyle Gibson, 1-3, 3.33) at Columbus (Joe Martinez, 0-2, 3.25)
Is it just me, or is Clete Thomas a really good AAA player this year? I realize he was really, really bad with the Twins last year, but as well as he's started off this year, I think I'd rather have him sitting on the bench and getting occasional starts in center instead of Wilkin.
He's doing very well, and was my Rochester position player of the month for April. He's 29, though, and really hasn't done much in the majors. This is the sixth year he's spent at least part of in AAA, and this is far and away the best he's ever done, so while it's possible that he's figured something out, it's also possible that he'll come crashing back to earth soon.
Wilkin Ramirez, as of this date, is hitting .381/.391/.476. It's 21 at-bats, of course, and is pretty meaningless. He's 27, and his career AAA numbers are remarkably similar to those of Clete Thomas. Thomas has played more centerfield, which makes me assume he's a better fielder.
I guess, when I look at it, I don't see that it matters a whole lot. Ramirez may have slightly more upside that Thomas due to age, but not much. The more I look at it, the more skeptical I am that either of them can ever be more than a bit player in the majors.
Great stats and nice response Padre - I agree with the "bit player" opinion at the end, but will happily take either off the bench over Butters. Nice to have that option for a change.
It should also be noted, as I see LEN III did, that Clete Thomas is not on the forty-man roster.
I am rooting for Clete to become a trader to are team.
The 40-man roster is a part I keep forgetting, as is the LH-thing that Will notes below.
His age and his defense are why I would like him to be a bench player right now. The Twins have corner outfield options (Mauer, Escobar and Plouffe wouldn't embarrass themselves out there, and even Doumit in desperate times, I guess), but the Willingham-Ramirez-Parmalee alignment when Hicks sits scares me a little bit.
I guess my real question becomes- when's Mastroianni due back?
Plus, Ramirez can give Gardy a RH bat to slide in a corner if he wants to let Chrissy Chrissy Parm Parm have a day off (or slide to first and sit Morneau) against a tough lefty.
Also, Buxton is amazing.