A sweep for the Twins! Kennys Vargas hits his first AA homer! Diamond's starts continue to be rough.
ROCHESTER 7, SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE 6 IN ROCHESTER
Batting stars: James Beresford was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring once and driving in one. Danny Santana was 2-for-5 with a double and two runs. Chris Parmelee was 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI.
Pitching stars: Yohan Pino struck out two in 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and two walks. Brooks Raley struck out both batters he faced to get a save.
Opposition stars: Scott Sizemore was 2-for-3 with a sacrifice fly, a hit-by-pitch, and a double, scoring once and driving in two. J. R. Murphy was 2-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs. Zelous Wheeler was 2-for-4 with a walk and a double, scoring twice.
The game: Rochester scored two in the first on an RBI single by Deibinson Romero and a sacrifice fly by Brad Nelson to go ahead 2-1. The Railriders scored one in the third and two in the fourth to go up 4-2, but the Red Wings tied it in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI ground out and a bases-loaded walk. Dan Rohlfing singled in a run in the fifth to give Rochester a 5-4 lead and in the sixth, Beresford doubled in a run and Parmelee singled in another to make it 7-4. In the eighth, a walk, an error, a sacrifice fly, and a Murphy double made it 7-6 with two out, but Deolis Guerra came in to get the last out. SWB got a one-out single in the ninth, but Raley came in to strike out the last two batters and preserve the victory.
Of note: Wilkin Ramirez was 2-for-4 with a double and a run. Starter Scott Diamond lasted only three innings, allowing four runs on eight hits and one walk with two strikeouts. It's only two starts, of course, and it could mean nothing, but one wonders if he could be pitching through an injury.
NEW BRITAIN 5, HARRISBURG 4 IN NEW BRITAIN
Batting stars: Kennys Vargas was 2-for-3 with a walk and a three-run homer, scoring twice. Nate Hanson was 3-for-4 with a run. Aderlin Mejia was 3-for-3 with a run.
Pitching stars: B. J. Hermsen pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit. Jim Fuller pitched a scoreless inning, giving up two hits. A. J. Achter struck out two in a perfect inning.
Opposition stars: James Martinson was 3-for-4 with a triple and two runs. Destin Hood was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.
The game: Vargas hit a three-run homer in the first to put New Britain up 3-0. Harrisburg came right back, getting a two-run single by Brandon Bantz as part of a three-run second to tie the score. Martinson tripled and scored in the third to give the Senators a 4-3 lead, but the Rock Cats tied it in the fourth on an RBI single by Brad Boyer and took a 5-4 lead in the fifth when Vargas singled, went to second on a walk, and scored on an error. Harrisburg had a chance to tie it in the eighth, but was denied when center fielder Corey Wimberley threw out Martinson trying to score from second on a single.
Of note: Daniel Ortiz was 0-for-3. Starter Pat Dean pitched six innings, giving up four runs on seven hits and one walk with five strikeouts.
FORT MYERS 4, CHARLOTTE 2 IN FORT MYERS (GAME 1--7 INNINGS)
Batting stars: Dalton Hicks was 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Niko Goodrum was 0-for-1 with two walks, scoring once and driving in one. Jorge Polanco was 1-for-3 with a double and a run.
Pitching stars: Starter Mason Melotakis pitched three innings, giving up one run on three hits and two walks with two strikeouts. Alex Wimmers pitched 3.2 innings, giving up one run on five hits with one strikeout.
Opposition stars: Leonardo Reginatto was 3-for-4 with a double. Tyler Goeddel was 2-for-3 with a double and a run.
The game: Hicks singled in a run in the first, but Charlotte tied it at one in the second. In the fifth, Hicks followed three walks with a two-run single to give Fort Myers a 3-1 lead. A walk, a single, and two more walks brought home an insurance run in the sixth. The Stone Crabs scored once in the seventh and put the tying run on base with two out before Brian Gilbert came on to strike out the only man he faced to preserve the victory.
Of note: Adam Brett Walker II was 0-for-4. Max Kepler was 0-for-2 with a walk and a run.
FORT MYERS 10, CHARLOTTE 6 IN FORT MYERS (GAME 2--7 INNINGS)
Batting stars: Jorge Polanco was 2-for-3 with a walk, a double, and a triple, scoring twice and driving in two. Adam Brett Walker II was 1-for-3 with a walk and a two run homer, his second. Niko Goodrum was 2-for-4 with a triple, scoring once and driving in one.
Pitching star: Tim Shibuya struck out two in 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits.
Opposition stars: Patrick Leonard was 2-for-4 with two doubles, scoring twice and driving in two. Marty Gantt was 2-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in one. Kevin Brandt struck out three in two shutout innings, allowing two walks.
The game: Walker II hit a two-run homer in the first to put the Miracle in front. A two-run triple by Polanco highlighted a four-run second to put Fort Myers ahead 6-0, and Goodrum tripled in a run and scored on a passed ball in the fourth to make it 8-0. Charlotte scored once in the fourth but got back into the game with a five-run fifth. An error caused all five runs to be unearned, but the Stone Crabs also got a walk, a single, a double, and three more singles in the inning. Shibuya came on with two out in the fifth, and while he allowed one inherited runner to score on a wild pitch, he shut the door the rest of the way.
Of note: Dalton Hicks was 0-for-4. Jason Wheeler started and did all right until the fifth: his line was 4.2 innings, six runs (one earned), ten hits, and two walks with one strikeout.
CEDAR RAPIDS 5, GREAT LAKES 3 IN GREAT LAKES
Batting stars: Mitch Garver was 2-for-4 with a double and a two-run homer (his second), scoring twice. Tanner Vavra was 2-for-3 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one. Logan Wade was 2-for-5 with a triple and a run.
Pitching stars: Aaron Slegers struck out six in six innings, giving up one run on four hits. Brandon Bixler struck out two in two shutout innings, allowing two walks.
Opposition star: Alex Santana was 1-for-3 with a walk and a double, driving in two.
The game: Garver hit a two-run homer in the second and Vavra and Engelb Vielma had RBI singles in the fourth to put Cedar Rapids ahead 4-0. Great Lakes got one back in the bottom of the fourth, but Wade tripled and scored in the eighth to make it 5-1. The Loons got back into the game in the ninth. Santana hit a two-run double to cut the lead to 5-3 and bring the tying run up to bat with two out, but a foul popup ended the game.
TODAY'S TILTS
11:05 Cedar Rapids (Ryan Eades, 0-1, 5.79) at Great Lakes (Zachary Bird, 0-1, 6.75)
5:00 New Britain (D. J. Baxendale, 0-0, 3.86) at Portland (Keith Couch, 1-0, 0.00)
6:05 Charlotte (Roberto Gomez, 0-0, 3.60) at Fort Myers (Tyler Duffey, 1-0, 4.50)
6:05 Rochester (Logan Darnell, no record) at Lehigh Valley (Barry Enright, 0-0, 9.00)