A good start for Kris Johnson. Kennys Vargas continues to hit. Another fine outing for Jose Berrios.
ROCHESTER 6, SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE 2 IN SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE
Batting stars: Dan Rohlfing was 2-for-3 with two doubles and a walk, scoring twice and driving in one. Doug Bernier was 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. Wilkin Ramirez was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs.
Pitching stars: Kris Johnson pitched eight innings, giving up two runs on four hits and three walks with five strikeouts. A. J. Achter pitched a scoreless inning with a walk.
Opposition stars: Jose Pirela was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run. Russ Canzler was 1-for-3 with a double and a run.
The game: Two singles, an error, and two walks only scored one run for S/WB in the first inning, as they left the bases loaded. They got another in the second on a double and a single to go up 2-0. Rochester got on the board with one in the third. In the fifth, an RBI single by Rohlfing tied it, a sacrifice fly put the Red Wings ahead, and an error made it 4-2. In the sixth, doubles by Ramirez and Rohlfing and a single by Bernier made it 6-2. The Railriders did not get a hit after the second inning.
Of note: Eric Farris was 0-for-5. Deibinson Romero was 0-for-5. Pedro Florimon was 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI.
BINGHAMTON 3, NEW BRITAIN 1 IN BINGHAMTON
Batting stars: Kennys Vargas was 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Nate Hanson was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run.
Pitching stars: Sean Gilmartin pitched six innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and two walks with five strikeouts. Jim Fuller struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and two walks. Matthew Summers pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a walk.
Opposition stars: Kyle Johnson was 3-for-4 with a double and two runs. Travis d'Arnaud was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer. Angel Cuan pitched five innings, allowing one run on seven hits and a walk with four strikeouts.
The game: Vargas doubled in a run in the first. Johnson doubled and scored in the bottom of the first to tie it at one. d'Arnaud hit a two-run homer in the third. And that was it for scoring. New Britain got eight hits, three of them doubles, but couldn't do anything with them, going 0-for-6 with men in scoring position.
Of note: Corey Wimberly was 1-for-4. Daniel Ortiz was 1-for-4 with a double.
FORT MYERS 6, JUPITER 1 IN FORT MYERS
Batting stars: Max Kepler was 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs. Dalton Hicks was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI. Travis Harrison was 1-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in one.
Pitching stars: Jose Berrios struck out seven in six innings, giving up one run on seven hits and a walk. Mason Melotakis pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and a walk. Tyler Jones pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up a walk with one strikeout.
Opposition stars: Austin Barnes was 2-for-2 with a double and two walks. Viosergy Rosa was 2-for-3 with an RBI.
The game: Jupiter scored in the first inning, but Fort Myers gradually took control after that. An error and a wild pitch led to the tying run in the second. In the third, Harrison doubled in one run and Hicks singled in another to put the Miracle ahead 3-1. It stayed 3-1 until the eighth, when two singles and a hit batsman loaded the bases and Kepler delivered a bases-clearing double to put the game away.
Of note: Jorge Polanco was 1-for-5. Mike Gonzales was 1-for-4. Adam Brett Walker II was 1-for-4 with two runs.
CEDAR RAPIDS 6, BELOIT 5 IN BELOIT
Batting stars: J. D. Williams was 3-for-5 with a double, scoring twice and driving in one. Jason Kanzler was 2-for-4 with a home run (his fifth) and two runs. Bryan Haar was 1-for-4 with a home run, his seventh.
Pitching stars: Jared Wilson struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up a walk. Todd Van Steensel pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits with one strikeout.
Opposition stars: Chih Fang Pan was 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs. Herschel Powell was 2-for-5 with two runs. Melvin Mercedes was 1-for-4 with a walk and two runs.
The game: It was 3-3 after two innings. An RBI double by Engelb Vielma put Cedar Rapids ahead 4-3 in the fourth, but Pan's two-run single in the fifth made it 5-4 Beloit. Two singles and an error tied it in the seventh, and Haar led off the eighth with a home run to put the Kernels ahead. The Snappers got a pair of two-out singles in the ninth, but Pan lined out to short to end the game.
Of note: Chad Christensen was 1-for-5 with an RBI. Mitch Garver was 1-for-5. Starter Josue Montanez pitched five innings, giving up five runs on six hits and four walks with two strikeouts.
TODAY'S TILTS
12:05 New Britain (TBA) at Binghamton (Darin Gorksi, 3-2, 2.68)
12:05 Syracuse (Taylor Jordan, 0-0, 1.93) at Rochester (Trevor May. 3-3, 3.35)
2:00 Cedar Rapids (Kohl Stewart, 1-1, 2.21) at Beloit (Kyle Finnegan, 4-1, 2.61)
Berrios now has allowed 3 R in his last 4 starts with a 32/10 K/BB ratio in 24 1/3 innings and no HRs allowed. I'm wondering if he'll be one of the players promoted up a level in June, which is when the Twins usually do their midseason promotions.
Hard to say. I'd like to see it, but the Twins aren't normally very aggressive about promoting guys that young. They may make an exception in his case, though.