Not much offense in the upper levels. Three pitchers combine for a shutout for Fort Myers. Cedar Rapids is down to its last out twice, but comes back to win.
SYRACUSE 4, ROCHESTER 2 IN SYRACUSE
Batting star: Deibinson Romero was 2-for-3 with a walk and a run.
Pitching star: Ryan Pressly struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one hit and three walks.
Opposition stars: Brandon Laird was 2-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in one. Emmanuel Burriss was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Omar Poveda pitched seven innings, allowing two runs on three hits and three walks with four strikeouts.
The game: Burriss doubled in a run in the third and Syracuse got two in the fourth to take a 3-0 lead. Rochester turned three singles and a couple of productive outs into two runs in the fifth to cut the lead to 3-2. In the sixth, Josh Johnson drew a two-out walk, stole second, and scored on a single by Jeff Howell to make it 4-2. The Red Wings threatened in the ninth, getting a pair of two-out singles to put men on first and third, but a ground out ended the game.
Of note: Eduardo Nunez was 0-for-3 with a walk. Chris Parmelee was 1-for-4. Starter Kris Johnson struck out eight in six innings, but gave up four runs on eight hits and two walks.
PORTLAND 6, NEW BRITAIN 1 IN NEW BRITAIN
Batting star: Matt Koch was 2-for-4 with a home run.
Pitching stars: None.
Opposition stars: Mookie Betts was 4-for-5 with a home run (his second), scoring three times. Shannon Wilkerson was 2-for-5 with a double, scoring once and driving in one. Mike Augliera pitched six shutout innings, allowing three hits and two walks.
The game: Betts singled, Wilkerson doubled, and Travis Shaw singled to open the game, giving Portland a quick 2-0 lead. Stefan Welch had an RBI single in the fifth to make it 3-0. New Britain got on the board in the seventh on the Koch homer to cut the lead to 3-1, but Portland added two in the eighth and Betts homered in the ninth to put the game away.
Of note: Nate Hanson was1-for-4. Reynaldo Rodriguez was 1-for-3 with a walk. Kennys Vargas was 0-for-3 with a walk. Starter Sean Gilmartin struck out nine in five innings, but gave up three runs on eight hits.
FORT MYERS 4, ST. LUCIE 0 IN FORT MYERS
Batting stars: Jorge Polanco was 2-for-5 with a double and two runs. Travis Harrison was 2-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in one.
Pitching stars: David Hurlbut pitched five innings, giving up two hits and three walks with one strikeout. Tim Shibuya pitched two innings, giving up no hits and no walks with one strikeout. Brian Gilbert pitched two innings, giving up two hits.
Opposition star: Brandon Allen was 1-for-2 with a double and a walk.
The game: in the second, Travis Harrison singled and scored on a Max Kepler double to put Fort Myers on the board. A single, two walks, and a balk made it 2-0 after three. An error produced a run in the fifth, and Harrison doubled in a run in the eighth. St. Lucie only got one man as far as third base.
Of note: Dalton Hicks was 0-for-2 with two walks. Adam Brett Walker II was 0-for-3 with a walk. Kepler was 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
CEDAR RAPIDS 7, WEST MICHIGAN 6 (12 INNINGS)
Batting stars: Bryan Santy was 1-for-5 with a walk and a home run, driving in two. Zach Larson was 2-for-5 with two runs and an RBI. Chad Christensen was 2-for-5 with a walk and a run.
Pitching stars: Brandon Peterson struck out three in 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit. Yorman Landa struck out four in two shutout innings, giving up one hit. Alex Muren pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and a walk.
Opposition stars: Raph Rhymes was 4-for-6 with two doubles and a home run (his second), scoring twice. Javier Betancourt was 2-for-6 with a home run and two RBIs. Tyler Gibson was 2-for-3 with a double and two walks, scoring once.
The game: Cedar Rapids scored first on a Jeremias Pineda RBI single, but Rhymes homered in the fourth to tie the game and West Michigan got homers by Tim Remes and Betancourt to score four times in the fifth and go ahead 5-1. The Kernels bounced back in the bottom of the fifth, being aided by an error and a wild pitch to score three times and cut the lead to 5-4. It stayed tied until the bottom of the ninth. The first two batters went out, but Santy hit a home run to tie the score. The Whitecaps scored in the top of the tenth to go up 6-5, and in the bottom of the tenth the first two Cedar Rapids batters again went out. Jason Kanzler then singled and scored on a Mitch Garver double to tie the score at six. In the twelfth, Engelb Vielma walked, went to second on a bunt, and scored on a Kanzler single to give the Kernels the victory.
Of note: Tanner Vavra was 2-for-5. Garver was used as a pinch-hitter, going 1-for-1. Bryan Haar was 0-for-4 with two walks. Starter Felix Jorge pitched 4.2 innings, giving up five runs on seven hits and three walks with two strikeouts.
TODAY'S TILTS
1:00 Rochester (Trevor May, 0-0, 4.82) at Syracuse (TBA)
New Britain, Fort Myers, and Cedar Rapids do not have games scheduled today.