Three top pitching prospects threw; none were super outstanding, but all did fairly well. Another home run for Adam Brett Walker II. New Britain pitching continues to get pounded.
ROCHESTER 4, LEHIGH VALLEY 3 IN LEHIGH VALLEY (GAME 1--7 INNINGS)
Batting stars: James Beresford was 4-for-4 with two doubles, scoring once and driving in two. Danny Santana was 2-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in one.
Pitching stars: Alex Meyer stuck out five in 5.1 innings, giving up three runs (one earned) on six hits and no walks. Aaron Thompson pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit while striking out one.
Opposition stars: Andres Blanco was 2-for-3 with a double and a run. Ex-Twin Clete Thomas was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Leandro Castro was 1-for-2 with a hit-by-pitch and scored twice.
The game: Rochester started the game with back-to-back doubles by Santana and Beresford, a single by Deibinson Romero, and a sacrifice fly to go ahead 2-0. In the second, Eric Fryer singled, stole second, and scored on a Santana single to make it 3-0. An error led to an unearned run in the third and an error led to a two-run inning in the fifth to tie the score (one of the runs was considered earned). In the seventh, Chris Rahl singled, stole second, and scored on a Beresford double to take a 4-3 lead which would hold up.
Of note: Chris Parmelee was 0-for-2 with a sacrifice fly. Wilkin Ramirez was 0-for-3. Eduardo Nunez was 1-for-3.
ROCHESTER 5, LEHIGH VALLEY 1 IN LEHIGH VALLEY (GAME 2--7 INNINGS)
Batting stars: Chris Parmelee was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer. Eduardo Nunez was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer. Each of the Rochester batters had exactly one hit except Danny Santana, who was 0-for-3.
Pitching stars: Yohan Pino came out of the bullpen to make a start and struck out five in four innings, giving up one run on three hits and one walk. Ryan Pressly struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one walk. Matt Hoffman pitched a perfect inning with one strikeout.
Opposition stars: Reid Brignac was 2-for-3 with a home run. Kyle Simon struck out four in three perfect innings of relief.
The game: Wilkin Ramirez led off the second with a triple and Nunez hit a two-run homer to put Rochester ahead 2-0. Brignac homered in the bottom of the second to make it 2-1. In the third, Doug Bernier doubled, James Beresford had an RBI single, and Parmelee hit a two-run homer. Lehigh Valley threatened in the fourth, when they had men on first and third with two out, but never had more than one man on base after that.
Of note: Ramirez was 1-for-3 with a triple and a run.
PORTLAND 10, NEW BRITAIN 4 IN PORTLAND
Batting stars: Brad Boyer was 1-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in one. Daniel Ortiz was 1-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in one.
Pitching star: Lester Oliveros pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit and striking out one.
Opposition stars: Mookie Betts was 2-for-4 with a double, scoring twice and driving in two. Stefan Welch was 3-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring once and driving in one. Shannon Wilkerson was 2-for-4 with two doubles, scoring once and driving in one.
The game: It looked good for a while. Down 1-0, the Rock Cats scored four times in the third to take a 4-1 lead. Boyer had a two-run double, Ortiz drove in one with a double, and Kennys Vargas had an RBI single. Portland came back with one in the fourth and one in the sixth, but New Britain still led 4-3 after six. In the seventh, the SeaDogs put together a six-run inning to take command of the game. Michael Brenly's two-run single put Portland in front, doubles by Wilkerson and Betts made it 7-4, a pair of walks loaded the bases, and Carlos Rivero delivered a two-run single to give the SeaDogs a comfortable lead. After the fourth inning, the Rock Cats only once got a man as far as second base.
Of note: Nate Hanson was 2-for-4. Vargas was 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. Aderlin Mejia was 1-for-4 with a run. Starter Matthew Summers pitched five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and no walks with four strikeouts. If it seems like New Britain pitchers have given up a lot of runs, they have. Their team ERA is 6.12, nearly half a run higher than the next worst team. They also lead the lead in unearned runs allowed with ten. giving them an RA of 7.27.
ST. LUCIE 5, FORT MYERS 4 IN ST. LUCIE (10 INNINGS)
Batting stars: Adam Brett Walker II was 2-for-5 with a three-run homer, his fourth. Jorge Polanco was 2-for-3 with two walks and a run. Mike Gonzales was 1-for-4 with a walk and a home run, his second.
Pitching stars: Jose Berrios struck out five in six innings, giving up three runs on four hits and two walks. He had pitched four scoreless innings before giving up one run in the fifth and two in the sixth. Brian Gilbert struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.
Opposition stars: Cam Maron was 2-for-5 with a triple, scoring once and driving in two. Brandon Nimmo was 3-for-5 with a run. Michael Fulmer pitched seven innings, allowing one run on five hits with five strikeouts.
The game: The Gonzales homer got Fort Myers on the board in the second, but St. Lucie tied it in the fifth. In the sixth, Maron hit a two-out RBI triple and scored on a wild pitch to put the Mets up 3-1. The Miracle came back in the eighth when Walker II hit a III run homer, also with two out, to put Fort Myers ahead 4-3. In the bottom of the eighth, a pair of singles, a passed ball, and an infield out tied the score for St. Lucie. In the tenth, Nimmo led off with a single, went to second on a walk, and scored on a one-out single by Maron to end the game.
Of note: Dalton Hicks was 1-for-5 with a run. Max Kepler was 0-for-3 with a walk.
CEDAR RAPIDS 5, LANSING 3 IN LANSING
Batting stars: Tanner Vavra was 1-for-4 with a run and three RBIs. Joel Licon was 2-for-4 with a double.
Pitching stars: Josue Montanez struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up one hit. Brandon Peterson struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up one walk. Brandon Bixler struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up one hit and one walk.
Opposition stars: Matt Dean was 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Kendall Graveman struck out seven in seven innings, allowing one run on three hits.
The game: There was not even a baserunner until the third, but when Lansing broke through, they did so in a big way, taking a 3-0 lead after three. Dean drove in two with a bases-loaded single and Mitch Nay followed with an RBI double. Cedar Rapids tallied once in the sixth, but still trailed 3-1 going to the eighth. A single, an error, and a stolen base put men on second and third with two out. Vavra then singled in two and Zach Larson followed with an RBI double to give the Kernels a 4-3 advantage. Cedar Rapids added one in the ninth when Bryan Haar circled the bases on a triple-and-error.
Of note: Larson was 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Jason Kanzler was 0-for-4. Engelb Vielma was 1-for-2 with a run. Starter Kohl Stewart pitched well other than the third inning, going four innings and giving up three runs on four hits and one walk with two strikeouts.
TODAY'S TILTS
12:00 Fort Myers (TBA) at St. Lucie (Domingo Tapia, 0-1, 1.80)
12:00 New Britain (TBA) at Portland (Mike McCarthy, 0-1, 15.75)
12:35 Rochester (Kris Johnson, 1-0, 0.00) at Lehigh Valley (David Buchanan, 1-0, 1.64)
1:05 Cedar Rapids (Felix Jorge, 0-1, 9.00) at Lansing (Tom Robson, 0-0, 6.75)