Brad Nelson leads Rochester to a comeback win. Todd Van Steensel preserves a Cedar Rapids victory. Nick Gordon stays hot for Elizabethton.
ROCHESTER 6, LEHIGH VALLEY 5 IN LEHIGH VALLEY
Batting stars: Brad Nelson was 1-for-3 with a double and a hit-by-pitch, driving in four. Chris Herrmann was 2-forr-3 with a trriple, scorrinng twice and drrivinng in onne. Chris Colabello was 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI.
Pitching stars: Aaron Thompson struck out two in a perfect inning. Ryan Pressly pitched a perfect inning with one strikeout.
Opposition stars: Ex-Twin Jason Marquis, on a rehab assignment, struck out six in six innings, allowing one run on three hits and a walk. Russ Canzler was 2-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in one.
The game: Canzler singled in a run in the first and Sebastian Valle hit a two-run homer in the second to put Lehigh Valley up 3-0. Leandro Castro singled in a run in the sixth to make it 4-0. Rochester finally got on the board in the seventh, as Herrmann hit an RRBI trriple and scorred on a grrounnd out to cut the lead to 4-2, but the IronPigs got an RBI double from Tyler Henson to go up 5-2 after seven. In the eighth, the Red Wings got serious. Colabello singled in one, Rochester loaded the bases with two out, and Nelson delivered a bases-clearing double to give Rochester a 6-5 lead. Lehigh Valley was retired in order in each of the last two innings.
Of note: Eric Farris was 1-for-3 with a double and two walks, scoring once. Deibinson Romero was 0-for-4 with a walk and a run. Starter Sean Gilmartin settled down after a poor start, going six innings and giving up four runs on seven hits and two walks with one strikeout.
NEW HAMPSHIRE 3, NEW BRITAIN 2 IN NEW HAMPSHIRE (GAME 1--8 INNINGS--SCHEDULED 7 INNINGS)
Batting stars: Reynaldo Rodriguez was 2-for-4 with two doubles and a run. Eduardo Nunez was 2-for-2 with two walks.
Pitching star: Tyler Duffey pitched 6.1 innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on three hits and two walks with three strikeouts.
Opposition stars: Randy Boone retired all six batters he faced, striking out three of them. Mike McDade was 1-for-3 with a home run, his fourth.
The game: Tony Thomas delivered a two-out two-run double in the fourth to give New Britain a 2-0 lead. An error put New Hampshire on the board in the fifth and the Fisher Cats tied it in the seventh on McDade's home run. The Rock Cats got the go-ahead run to third in the eighth, but could not score him. In the bottom of the eighth, Kenny Wilson singled and scored on a Jon Berti double to end the game.
Of note: Corey Wimberly was 0-for-4. Kennys Vargas was 1-for-3 with a walk. Eddie Rosario was 0-for-4.
NEW HAMPSHIRE 8, NEW BRITAIN 0 IN NEW HAMPSHIRE (GAME 2--7 INNINGS)
Batting star: Mike Kvasnicka pinch-hit and was 1-for-1.
Pitching stars: Mark Hamburger came out of the bullpen to make his first start, going four innings and giving up one run on one hit and two walks with three strikeouts.
Opposition stars: Casey Lawrence pitched a complete game, striking out eight and giving up one hit and no walks.
The game: Mike McDade singled in a run in the fourth and New Hampshire got RBI singles from Jon Berti and Matt Newman in the fifth to go up 3-0. The Fisher Cats put the game out of reach with a five-run sixth, as Berti and Newman again had RBI singles, two runs were walked in, and the fifth scored on a wild pitch. Meanwhile, Lawrence was going for a perfect game. New Britain did not get a man on base in the first six innings. In the seventh, the first two batters were retired, making twenty up and twenty down. Then Kvasnicka, pinch-hitting, grounded a single to left, forcing Lawrence to settle for a one-hitter.
Of note: Eddie Rosario was 0-for-3. Aaron Hicks was 0-for-3. Eduardo Nunez was 0-for-2. Kennys Vargas was 0-for-3. Reynaldo Rodriguez was 0-for-2.
ST. LUCIE AT FORT MYERS
The completion of the previous game and the regularly scheduled game were both rained out.
CEDAR RAPIDS 6, CLINTON 5 IN CEDAR RAPIDS
Batting stars: Jason Kanzler was 2-for-4 with a triple, scoring once and driving in one. Chad Christensen was 2-for-4 with a double, scoring twice and driving in one. Jon Murphy was 1-for-3 with a home run.
Pitching star: Todd Van Steensel struck out three in 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.
Opposition star: Marcus Littlewood was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring once.
The game: Isaiah Yates homered in the second to give Clinton a 1-0 lead, but Cedar Rapids came roaring back. Murphy homered in the third to tie it, Kanzler hit an RBI triple and scored on an Alex Swim single to make it 3-1 after four. In the fifth, Tanner Vavra had an RBI single, Christensen drove in a run with a double, and another run scored on a wild pitch, giving the Kernels a seemingly comfortable 6-1 lead. The LumberKings got two in the sixth to get back into it, and in the eighth a double, three singles, and a wild pitch cut the lead to 6-5 and put men on second and third with two out. A strikeout ended the threat, and Clinton went down in order in the ninth.
Of note: Zack Granite was 1-for-3 with a walk. Bryan Haar was 0-for-4. Starter Lewis Thorpe pitched 5.1 innings, giving up three runs on four hits and two walks with three strikeouts.
BURLINGTON 4, ELIZABETHTON 3 IN BURLINGTON
Batting stars: Nick Gordon was 2-for-4 with a triple and a run. Austin Diemer was 1-for-4 with two runs.
Pitching stars: Chih-Wei Hu pitched six innings, giving up two runs on three hits and no walks with three strikeouts. Randy LeBlanc pitched two perfect innings with one strikeout.
Opposition stars: Chase Darhower pitched five shutout innings, allowing one hit and no walks with four strikeouts. Joshua Banuelos was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
The game: Brandon Dulin tripled in a run and scored on a Banuelos single to give Burlington a 2-0 lead in the first. There was no more scoring until the seventh, when Gordon tripled and scored on a wild pitch. An error and another wild pitch tied the score later in the inning. In the ninth, Diemer singled, went to third on a Tyler Mautner double, and scored on a balk to give Elizabethton a 3-2 lead. In the bottom of the ninth, a single was followed by a single-plus-error, tying the score and putting the winning run on second. Riley King then singled in the winning run.
Of note: Tanner English was 0-for-4. Mautner was 1-for-4 with a double. Brett Doe was 0-for-2.
GCL RED SOX 3, GCL TWINS 2 AT TWINS
Batting star: Jarrard Petitte was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run.
Pitching stars: Starter Zach Tillery struck out four in three shutout innings, giving up no hits and two walks. Brandon Easton struck out seven in four innings of relief, giving up one run on three hits and two walks. Trevor Hildenberger pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.
Opposition star: Luis Ramos struck out six in five shutout innings, allowing two hits and no walks.
The game: There was no scoring until the seventh, when Josh Ockimey hit a leadoff triple and scored to give the Red Sox a 1-0 lead. The Twins got the lead with two in the bottom of the seventh, getting RBI singles from Roberto Gonzalez and Ariel Montesino. Victor Acosta singled in a run in the eighth to tie it up, and in the ninth two singles and two errors put the Red Sox in front 3-2. The Twins went down in order in the bottom of the ninth.
Of note: Logan Wade was 0-for-4. Nelson Molina was 1-for-3. Amuarys Minier was 0-for-3 with a walk and a run.
DSL WHITE SOX 5, DSL TWINS 2 AT TWINS
Batting stars: Jorge Parra was 1-for-3 with a triple and a walk, scoring once and driving in one. Jorge Andrade was 2-for-3 with a triple and a walk. Antonio Tovar was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring once.
Pitching stars: Jose Martinez pitched four shutout innings of relief, giving up three hits with two strikeouts. Argenis Silva pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk with one strikeout.
Opposition stars: Nelson Acosta struck out four in four shutout innings, giving up three hits and no walks. Ramon Beltre was 2-for-4 with a triple and a walk, scoring once and driving in three. Hanleth Otano was 2-for-4 with a run.
The game: RBI singles by Daniel Gonzalez and Bradley Valdez put the White Sox ahead 2-0. A bases-clearing triple by Beltre made it 5-0 after four, and that was all the White Sox would need. The Twins got on the board in the seventh on a Parra RBI triple. He later scored on a ground out. The Twins did not get the tying run up to bat.
Of note: Lewin Diaz was 0-for-4. Robert Molina was 1-for-4 with a double. Junior Aramante was 1-for-4. Starter Robener Cabrera pitched four innings, giving up five runs on five hits and three walks with three strikeouts.
TODAY'S TILTS
9:00 GCL Twins at GCL Red Sox
9:30 DSL Reds at DSL Twins
5:00 Bristol (Billy Roth, 0-1, 11.25) at Elizabethton (TBA)
5:05 Palm Beach (Nick Petree, 1-2, 4.90) at Fort Myers (TBA)
6:05 New Britain (Virgil Vasquez, 4-3, 3.71) at New Hampshire (Richard Bleier, 3-5, 3.93)
6:05 Norfolk (Chris Jones, 4-5, 4.42) at Rochester (Alex Meyer, 4-4, 3.79)
6:35 Clinton (Carlos Misell, 6-7, 4.02) at Cedar Rapids (Ryan Eades, 4-6, 6.08)