Daniel Ortiz slams the Red Wings to a victory. A big day for Nate Hanson. A bigger day for Nick Gordon in his debut.
ROCHESTER 8, PAWTUCKET 6 IN ROCHESTER
Batting stars: Daniel Ortiz was 2-for-3 with a walk and a grand slam, his third homer. James Beresford was 1-for-4 with a double and four RBIs. Doug Bernier was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring twice.
Pitching stars: Michael Tonkin pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit with one strikeout. Aaron Thompson struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up two hits.
Opposition stars: Clay Buchholz pitched six shutout innings, giving up two hits and two walks with five strikeouts. Alex Hassan was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk, driving in two. Travis Shaw was 2-for-5 with a home run, his second.
The game: It was all Pawtucket early. In the second Hassan had a two-run double as part of a three-run inning that gave the Red Sox a 3-0 lead. Four hits led to two runs in the third that made it 5-0 and Shaw's homer leading off the seventh increased the lead to 6-0. Then Rochester made its move. A single and two walks loaded the bases with two out and Beresford delivered a bases-clearing double to cut the lead to 6-3. In the eighth, a double and two walks preceded a grand slam by Ortiz that put the Red Wings in front 7-6. A double, a single, and a sacrifice fly produced an insurance run. Pawtucket put two men on with two out in the ninth, but Hassan struck out to end the game.
Of note: Chris Herrmann was 1-forr-4 with a double annd a rrunn. Deibinson Romero was 0-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch. Josmil Pinto was 0-for-3 with a walk and a run. Chris Colabello was 2-for-3 with a walk and a run. Starter Logan Darnell pitched 5.1 innings, giving up five runs on eight hits and four walks with one strikeout.
NEW BRITAIN 13, HARRISBURG 5 IN HARRISBURG
Batting stars: Nate Hanson was 4-for-6 with a home run (his fourth), scoring twice and driving in three. Reynaldo Rodriguez was 3-for-5 with a two-run homer, his tenth. Mike Kvasnicka was 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in one.
Pitching stars: Adrian Salcedo struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up one hit. Cole Johnson struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.
Opposition stars: Michael A. Taylor was 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI. Matt Skole was 2-for-4 with a home run, his eighth. Quincy Latimore was 2-for-4 with a home run, his third.
The game: New Britain scored two in the second and got a two-run homer by Kennys Vargas in the third to take a 4-2 lead. The Rock Cats took control of the game in the fourth. A walk and two singles loaded the bases, a walk forced in a run, Eddie Rosario hit a bases-clearing double, and Hanson followed with a two-run homer, making the score 10-2. Harrisburg got two back in the fourth, but never really got back into the game.
Of note: Aaron Hicks was 0-for-3 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one. Rosario was 1-for-6 with a double, scoring once and driving in three. Vargas was 2-for-6 with a two-run homer (his fourteenth) and two runs. Stephen Wickens made his AA debut and went 1-for-3 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one. Starter Pat Dean pitched six innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on eight hits and no walks with four strikeouts.
ST. LUCIE 7, FORT MYERS 4 IN ST. LUCIE
Batting stars: Max Kepler was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, his third. Jairo Rodriguez was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring once. Aderlin Mejia was 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Pitching stars: Mason Melotakis pitched a scoreless inning, giving up two hits. Steven Gruver pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit with one strikeout.
Opposition stars: Eudy Pena was 4-for-4 with a double and a triple, scoring twice and driving in two. L. J. Mazzilli was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer. Gavin Cecchini was 1-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in two.
The game: In the third, Cecchini doubled in one and Mazilli hit a three-run homer to give St. Lucie a 4-0 lead. Travis Harrison doubled and scored in the fourth to get Fort Myers on the board, but in the sixth Pena hit a two-run triple and scored on a sacrifice fly to make it 7-1. The Miracle came back in the seventh, as Kepler hit a two-run homer and Mejia singled in a run to make it 7-4. They had the tying run at bat with two out, but a strikeout ended the inning. Fort Myers brought the tying run up to bat with none out in both the eighth and the night, but could not make it amount to anything.
Of note: Jorge Polanco was 2-for-5. Lance Ray was 1-for-5 with a double. Adam Brett Walker II was 1-for-3 with an RBI. Starter B. J. Hermsen pitched three innings, giving up four runs on four hits and two walks with one strikeout.
KANE COUNTY 7, CEDAR RAPIDS 0 IN KANE COUNTY (5 INNINGS--RAIN)
Batting stars: None.
Pitching star: Dallas Gallant pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit with one strikeout.
Opposition stars: Daury Torrez pitched a five-inning complete game, giving up three hits and no walks with one strikeout. Jacob Hanneman was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer, his third. Jacob Rogers was 1-for-2 with a double, scoring once and driving in one.
The game: Kane County got all seven runs in the third inning. In fact, the first eight Cougar batters of the game were retired. Then Trey Martin tripled, Hanneman hit an inside-the-park home run, the next four batters singled, Rogers doubled, and Danny Lockhart singled. That quickly, the game was decided. Cedar Rapids had only three hits, all singles, and did not get a man past first base.
Of note: Zack Granite was 0-for-2. Chad Christensen was 1-for-2. Mitch Garver was 1-for-2. Starter Aaron Slegers pitched three innings, giving up seven runs on eight hits and no walks with one strikeout.
ELIZABETHTON 11, GREENEVILLE 3 IN GREENEVILLE
Batting stars: Nick Gordon was 4-for-5 with a double and a walk, scoring twice. Austin Diemer was 1-for-4 with a walk and a three-run homer, scoring twice. Trey Vavra was 2-for-4 with a double and four RBIs.
Pitching stars: Kuo Hua Lo gave up an unearned run on two hits and a walk in one inning. Cameron Boozer struck out four in two shutout innings, giving up a walk. Randy LeBlanc struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.
Opposition stars: Trent Woodward was 0-for-2 with two walks, scoring once and driving in one. Sean McMullen was 2-for-4 with a run.
The game: Elizabethton scored single runs in the second and third to take a 2-1 lead. Diemer hit a three-run homer in the fourth to make it 5-1 and Vavra had a two-run single in the fifth, leaving the Twins up 7-3 after five. Elizabethton added one in the seventh and three in the eighth to put the game out of reach.
Of note: Jeremias Pineda was 2-for-6. Tyler Mautner was 1-for-5 with a double and a run. Dutch Deol was 1-for-2 with three walks and a run. Starter Stephen Gonsalves struck out four in four innings, giving up two runs on three hits and a walk.
DSL PADRES 8, DSL TWINS 7 AT PADRES (10 INNINGS)
Batting stars: Carlos Martinez was 1-for-3 with a home run and a walk, driving in two. Antonio Tovar was 1-for-2 with three walks and a run. Junior Aramante was 2-for-3 with a walk and a run.
Pitching stars: None.
Opposition stars: Joel Linares pitched five innings, allowing one run on four hits and a walk with three strikeouts. Carlos Sosa was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring twice.
The game: Martinez homered to give the Twins a 1-0 lead after four, but in the fifth, a sloppy inning which featured three errors, a walk, a hit batsman, a wild pitch, and a passed ball led to five Padres runs. The Twins drew four walks in the sixth to cut the lead to 5-2. In the seventh, Francisco Hernandez had a two-run single and Jermaine Palacios had an RBI triple and scored to put the Twins in front 6-5. Luis Asuncion homered in the eighth to tie it. The Twins scored in the top of the tenth on a walk, an error, and a sacrifice fly. In the bottom of the tenth, a single, a hit batsman, and a walk loaded the bases with one out. A sacrifice fly tied the score and Derwin Pomare singled home the winning run.
Of note: Emmanuel Morel was 0-for-3 with a walk and a run. Hernandez was 1-for-3 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one. Starter Williams Ramirez struck out four in 4.2 innings, giving up four unearned runs on one hit and four walks.
TODAY'S TILTS
9:30 DSL Padres at DSL Twins
11:00 GCL Twins at GCL Red Sox
5:30 Fort Myers (Tim Shibuya, 4-2, 3.27) at St. Lucie (Michael Fulmer, 4.82)
5:35 Reading (Hoby Milner, 5-3, 3.49) at New Britain (Taylor Rogers, 6-4, 4.40)
6:00 Elizabethton (Sam Gibbons, no record) at Greeneville (Devonte German, no record)
6:05 Rochester (Kris Johnson, 6-3, 2.60) at Buffalo (Aaron Sanchez, 0-1, 9.00)
6:30 Cedar Rapids (Lewis Thorpe, 0-1, 7.27) at Kane County (Juan Paniagua, 3-3, 3.25)