Dereck Rodriguez makes his pitching debut. A big day for Eddie Rosario. It's sad that Matthew Batts is a pitcher and Chih-Wei Hu is not a first baseman.
BUFFALO 5, ROCHESTER 3 IN BUFFALO
Batting stars: Chris Colabello was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer. Josmil Pinto was 0-for-1 with three walks and a run. Doug Bernier was 2-for-4 with a run.
Pitching star: Kris Johnson pitched 6.2 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and three walks with three strikeouts.
Opposition stars: Jonathan Diaz was 1-for-2 with a home run and two walks, driving in four. Hector Gimenez was 2-for-2 with two walks and a run. Ex-Twin Luis Ayala struck out three in two shutout innings, allowing one hit.
The game: Colabello hit a two-run homer in the second and Chris Herrmann sinngled in a rrunn in the thirrd to give Rochester a 3-0 lead. It held through six, and in fact Buffalo had only three hits through six innings. In the seventh, though, two singles preceded a three-run homer by Diaz to tie the score. In the Bisons eighth, the first two batters were retired, but then came a walk, a single, and three more walks, producing two runs. The Red Wings went out in order in the ninth and had no hits after the sixth.
Of note: Eric Farris was 0-for-4. Herrmann was 1-forr-3 with a walk annd ann RRBI. Deibinson Romero was 0-for-4.
NEW BRITAIN 10, READING 8 IN NEW BRITAIN
Batting stars: Eddie Rosario was 3-for-5 with a double, scoring once and driving in two. Reynaldo Rodriguez was 1-for-3 with a home run (his eleventh) and a walk, driving in two. Tony Thomas was 1-for-3 with a triple and a walk, scoring once and driving in two.
Pitching star: Ryan O'Rourke struck out both batters he faced.
Opposition stars: Jake Fox was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring once and driving in two. Anthony Phillips was 2-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in three. Aaron Altherr was 2-for-5 with a double, scoring once and driving in two.
The game: Thomas hit a two-run triple to cap a three-run fifth that gave New Britain a 5-0 lead and apparent control of the game. That control didn't last long, as got a three-run double from Phillips and an RBI single from Logan Moore in the sixth to cut the lead to 5-4. It was tied at six after six and a half. In the bottom of the seventh, Rodriguez led off with a home run, Mike Kvasnicka hit a two-run homer, and Rosario contributed a run-scoring double to give the Rock Cats a 10-6 advantage. Reading got two in the ninth and brought the tying run up to bat with two out, but a popup ended the game.
Of note: Aaron Hicks was 1-for-5 with a run. Nate Hanson was 2-for-4 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one. Kennys Vargas was 1-for-4 with a walk and a run. Starter Taylor Rogers pitched 6.2 innings, giving up five runs (one earned) on nine hits and three walks with three strikeouts.
FORT MYERS AT ST. LUCIE
Rained out.
KANE COUNTY 6, CEDAR RAPIDS 4 IN CEDAR RAPIDS
Batting stars: Mitch Garver was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his eighth) and a walk, scoring twice. Engelb Vielma was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring once. Bryan Haar was 2-for-4 with a run.
Pitching stars: None.
Opposition stars: Kyle Schwarber was 2-for-3 with a home run, a double, and a walk, scoring twice. Jacob Rogers was 2-for-4 with a triple and two runs. Corbin Hoffner struck out two in 2.2 scoreless innings, allowing a hit and a walk.
The game: Garver hit a two-run homer in the first to give Cedar Rapids a 2-0 lead. Kane County got single runs in the first two innings to tie it. Jacob Hannemann homered in the fourth and Schwarber went deep in the fifth to give the Cougars a 4-2 lead. The Kernels got two in the sixth to tie it up, but in the eighth Jeimer Candelario hit a two-run double to put Kane County in the lead for good. Cedar Rapids went down in order in the ninth and did not have a hit after the sixth.
Of note: Zack Granite was 0-for-3 with a walk. Chad Christensen was 0-for-4. Starter Lewis Thorpe pitched four innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and a walk with two strikeouts.
ELIZABETHTON 6, GREENEVILLE 4 IN GREENEVILLE
Batting stars: Jeremias Pineda was 2-for-3 with two walks, scoring once and driving in one. Max Murphy was 2-for-4 with a walk and a run. Brett Doe was 2-for-4 with a walk and a run.
Pitching stars: Dereck Rodriguez pitched three shutout innings, giving up a hit with two strikeouts. C. K. Irby struck out three in 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up two walks.
Opposition stars: Sean McMullen was 3-for-5 with two runs and an RBI. Devonte German pitched four innings, allowing one run on five hits and two walks with two strikeouts.
The game: Jacob Nottingham's two-run double gave Greeneville a 2-0 lead in the first. Elizabethton scored on wild pitches in the fourth and fifth to tie it up. A run scored on an error in the seventh to put the Twins up 3-2. In the eighth, a run scored on a bases-loaded walk, another scored on a ground out, and third scored on the throw to first following a strikeout to give Elizabethton a 6-2 advantage. The Astros cut it to 6-4 in the bottom of the eighth and had the tying run in scoring position with two out, but a popup ended the threat. They again got the tying run on in the ninth, this time with none out, but three straight strikeouts, all swinging, ended the game.
Of note: Nick Gordon was 0-for-5 with an RBI. Austin Diemer was 0-for-4 with a walk and a run. Tyler Mautner was 0-for-3 with a walk and a run. Starter Sam Gibbons pitched four innings, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks with three strikeouts. The Twins had only two RBIs and went 1-for-17 with runners in scoring position.
GCL RED SOX 6, GCL TWINS 4 AT RED SOX
Batting stars: Dubal Baez was 3-for-4 with a double, scoring twice and driving in one. Joel Polanco was 1-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in one. Frank Encarnacion was 2-for-4 with a run.
Pitching stars: Matthew Batts pitched three innings, giving up an unearned run on one hit with two strikeouts. Seth Wagner pitched two innings, giving up two hits with one strikeout. Callan Pearce struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.
Opposition stars: Javier Guerra was 2-for-4 with a triple, scoring once and driving in two. Rafael Oliveras was 2-for-3 with a double and a run.
The game: Each team scored once in the first. In the second, Guerra tripled in a run and scored on Oliveras' double to give the Red Sox a 3-1 lead. In the fifth, Polanco had an RBI double followed by a Baez RBI single to tie it, but the Red Sox got the lead back in the bottom of the fifth on a single and two errors. Two walks, three wild pitches, a hit batsman, and an RBI single by Guerra made it 6-3 after six. The Twins scored once in the eighth and briefly had the tying run on base, but a double play ended the inning and the Twins went down in order in the ninth.
Of note: Logan Wade was 0-for-3 with an RBI. Amaurys Minier was 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Starter Onesimo Hernandez pitched two innings, giving up three runs on four hits and three walks with no strikeouts.
DSL PADRES 5, DSL TWINS 4 AT TWINS
Batting stars: Junior Aramante was 2-for-3 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch, scoring twice. Robert Molina was 1-for-4 with a triple and a walk, driving in one. Jhonathan Alvarez was 1-for-2 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one.
Pitching stars: Carlos Aponte struck out three in 3.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and two walks. Johan Quezada struck out six in three shutout innings, giving up one hit and one walk.
Opposition stars: Westhers Magdaleno was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring once. Wilfri De La Cruz was 2-for-3 with two walks and a run. Emmanuel Ramos struck out three in three innings, allowing two hits and no walks.
The game: The Padres scored all five of their runs in the third inning, getting three singles, two walks, a double, two wild pitches, and a passed ball to take a 5-0 lead. The Twins got two in the fifth on a force out and a balk, scored one in the seventh on a sacrifice fly, and got one in the eighth on a Robert Molina RBI triple. That cut the lead to 5-4 and put the tying run on third with one out, but while the Twins got two walks to load the bases they could not tie the score. They put the tying run on second with one out in the ninth, but again could not bring him across the plate.
Of note: Jorge Andrade was 0-for-3 with two walks. Antonio Tovar was 0-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. Eugenio Diaz was 0-for-3 with two walks. Starter Robener Cabrera pitched 2.1 innings, giving up five runs on seven hits and two walks with three strikeouts. The Twins drew eleven walks in the game but stranded twelve runners.
TODAY'S TILTS
9:00 GCL Red Sox at GCL Twins
9:30 DSL Diamondbacks at DSL Twins
3:00 Fort Myers (Tim Shibuya, 4-2, 3.27) at St. Lucie (Michael Fulmer, 2-6, 4.82)
Game 2 Fort Myers (Matt Tomshaw, 6-1, 2.26) at St. Lucie (Matthew Koch, 6-2, 3.63)
4:35 Rochester (Trevor May, 7-4, 2.77) at Buffalo (Raul Valdes, 1-1, 4.61)
Game 2 Rochester (Scott Diamond, 3-6, 6.68) at Buffalo (Deck McGuire, 3-1, 4.50)
5:00 Elizabethton (Chih-Wei Hu, no record) at Greeneville (Gerardo Juarez, no record)
5:35 Reading (Perci Garner, 4-3, 4.10) at New Britain (Jason Wheeler, no record)
6:30 Cedar Rapids (Ryan Eades, 4-7, 6.51) at Kane County (Pierce Johnson, no record)