New Britain finally gets some good pitching. Fort Myers gets almost no hitting. A good outing by Felix Jorge.
LEHIGH VALLEY 3, ROCHESTER 2 IN LEHIGH VALLEY
Batting stars: Wilkin Ramirez was 2-for-4 with a run. Eric Farris was 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Pitching stars: Deolis Guerra pitched two shutout innings, giving up one hit with one strikeout. A. J. Achter pitched a scoreless inning, walking one and striking out one.
Opposition stars: Ex-Twin Clete Thomas was 2-for-2 with a double and two walks, scoring once and driving in one. Brad Lincoln struck out four in four shutout innings, giving up three hits.
The game: Doubles by Andres Blanco and Cameron Rupp led to a two-run first for Lehigh Valley, giving the IronPigs a 2-0 lead. It went to 3-0 in the second on Thomas' RBI double. Rochester did not get on the board until the seventh, when singles by Chris Parmelee and Ramirez, a Farris sacrifice fly, and a Dan Rohlfing RBI double made it 3-2. That was as good as it got for the Red Wings, though. They again got a man to second with two out in the eighth, but could advance him no farther.
Of note: Parmelee was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run. Eduardo Nunez was 0-for-4. Kris Johnson started and pitched five innings, allowing three runs on five hits and a walk with two strikeouts.
NEW BRITAIN 6, PORTLAND 3 IN PORTLAND
Batting stars: Nate Hanson was 3-for-5 with two doubles, scoring once and driving in two. Reynaldo Rodriguez was 2-for-5 with two doubles and two runs. Daniel Ortiz was 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI.
Pitching stars: Sean Gilmartin pitched six innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on four hits and two walks with three strikeouts. Lester Oliveros pitched a perfect ninth with one strikeout.
Opposition stars: Derrik Gibson was 3-for-3 with a double and two runs. Mookie Betts was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring once and driving in one.
The game: A Hanson RBI double plated one in the first and Rodriguez doubled and scored in the second. It stayed 2-0 until the fifth, when Hanson singled in a run. Each team scored twice in the sixth, but Portland never got closer than three runs.
Of note: Kennys Vargas was 0-for-3 with two walks. Aderlin Mejia was 1-for-2 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one.
ST. LUCIE 6, FORT MYERS 2 IN ST. LUCIE
Batting stars: None. Fort Myers had just two hits, both singles.
Pitching stars: David Hurlbut pitched three shutout innings, giving up two hits and one walk with one strikeout. Madison Boer pitched a scoreless inning while giving up one hit.
Opposition stars: Gilbert Gomez was 2-for-2 with two walks and a home run, his second. Dilson Herrera was 4-for-5 with a double and a run. Domingo Tapia pitched five hitless innings, allowing only two walks with two strikeouts.
The game: In the first, St. Lucie loaded the bases with a single and two walks. Gomez singled in one, an error plated another, and a sacrifice fly brought home a third to give the Mets a 3-0 lead. Gomez homered in the third to make it 4-0 and a two-run double by Aderlin Rodriguez boosted the lead to 6-0. Fort Myers got both of their runs, and both of their hits, in the sixth. A single and two walks loaded the bases, Mike Gonzales singled in one, and an error scored another.
Of note: Jorge Polanco was 1-for-4 with a run. Dalton Hicks was 0-for-3 with a walk and a run. Adam Brett Walker II was 0-for-3 with a walk. Max Kepler was 0-for-4, dropping his average to .111 (3-for-27). Mason Melotakis started and pitched four innings, surrendering six runs (four earned) on eight hits and three walks with four strikeouts.
CEDAR RAPIDS 6, LANSING 2 IN LANSING
Batting stars: Zach Larson was 2-for-4 with a double, scoring twice and driving in one. Chad Christensen was 2-for-4 with a triple, scoring once and driving in one. Bryan Haar was 1-for-3 with a walk and a home run, his third.
Pitching stars: Felix Jorge pitched five innings, giving up two runs on three hits and one walk with three strikeouts. Alex Muren pitched two shutout innings, giving up one hit with one strikeout. Christian Powell pitched a perfect ninth.
Opposition stars: D. J. Davis was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Carlos Ramirez was 1-for-3 with a double and a run.
The game: A two-run single by Mitch Garver gave Cedar Rapids the early lead. The Kernels scored two more in the third on RBI singles by Larson and Christensen. The lead would never get smaller than three runs again.
Of note: Tanner Vavra was 1-for-4 with a run. Garver was 1-for-4 with two RBIs. Jason Kanzler was 0-for-4 and scored once.
TODAY'S TILTS
5:30 Fort Myers (Alex Wimmers, 1-0, 2.45) at Charlotte (TBA)
5:35 New Britain (TBA) at New Hampshire (Deck McGuire, 1-1, 3.60)
6:05 Pawtucket (Brandon Workman, no record) at Rochester (Trevor May, 0-0, 1.80)
6:35 South Bend (TBA) at Cedar Rapids (Aaron Slegers, 1-0, 2.45)