Lots of runs for Rochester and New Britain. B. J. Hermsen continues to struggle. A pitchers' duel in Wisconsin.
ROCHESTER 15, NORFOLK 11 IN ROCHESTER
Batting stars: Chris Colabello was 2-for-5 with two home runs (his fifth and sixth) and five RBIs. Wilkin Ramirez was 5-for-5 with a double, scoring twice and driving in two. Chris Herrmann was 2-for-4 with a home run (his second) and a double, scoring three times and driving in two.
Pitching star: Aaron Thompson struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one hit and two walks.
Opposition stars: Ivan De Jesus was 4-for-5 with a double, scoring twice and driving in one. Cord Phelps was 1-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring twice and driving in three. Brian Ward was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring once.
The game: Rochester took a big lead and had to hold on. Colabello hit a three-run homer in a five-run first and the Red Wings added three more in the second to go ahead 8-1 after two. They got a run in the third and four in the fourth, as Herrmann hit a homer and two runs came in on an error, to go up 13-2 after four. It looked like it was pretty much over, but Norfolk came back to score two in the fifth and six in the sixth to cut the lead to 13-10. Quintin Berry had a three-run double in the sixth inning. The Tides got another run in the seventh to make it 13-11, but Colabello hit his second homer, a two-run shot, in the bottom of the seventh to give Rochester a four-run lead. Norfolk did not get the tying run up to bat.
Of note: Eric Farris was 2-for-5 with a double and two runs. Nate Hanson was 3-for-4 with a double, scoring three times and driving in two. Starter Kris Johnson pitched five innings, giving up four runs on six hits and a walk with four strikeouts.
NEW BRITAIN 9, BINGHAMTON 6 IN NEW BRITAIN
Batting stars: Eddie Rosario was 1-for-3 with a home run (his second) and two walks, scoring twice. Reynaldo Rodriguez was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring once and driving in one. Aaron Hicks was 2-for-3 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one.
Pitching star: Jason Wheeler pitched six innings, giving up three runs on five hits and two walks with five strikeouts.
Opposition stars: Dustin Lawley was 2-for-4 with two home runs, his twelfth and thirteenth. Brian Burgamy was 1-for-4 with a walk, scoring twice and driving in one. Adam Kolarek struck out two in two perfect innings.
The game: Rosario homered and Tony Thomas hit a two-run double in a five-run first. Binghamton got single runs in the second and fourth to cut the lead to 5-2, but Mike Kvasnicka hit a two-run homer in a three-run bottom of the fourth to make the score 8-2. Each team scored once in the sixth. The Mets tried to get back into it, scoring two in the eighth and one in the ninth, but did not bring the tying run up to bat.
Of note: Stephen Wickens was 1-for-5. Kennys Vargas was 1-for-4 with a run.
BRADENTON 5, FORT MYERS 4 IN FORT MYERS
Batting stars: Lance Ray was 2-for-4 with a home run (his second) and two runs. Travis Harrison was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, driving in two. Niko Goodrum was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run.
Pitching star: Alex Wimmers struck out seven in six innings of relief, giving up two runs on five hits and no walks.
Opposition stars: Eric Wood was 3-for-4 with three doubles and a run. Jordan Steranka was 1-for-3 with a three-run homer (his sixth) and a walk. Orlando Castro pitched six innings, allowing one run on one hit and no walks with five strikeouts.
The game: Ray homered to give Fort Myers a 1-0 lead, but a walk, a single, and Steranka's three-run homer made it 3-1 Bradenton after one inning. It stayed 3-1 until the seventh, when Harrison had an RBi double to cut the lead to 3-2. Bradenton tallied twice in the eighth to make it 5-2. The Miracle opened the ninth inning with a walk, a single, two more walks, and a hit batsman, cutting the lead to 5-4 and leaving the bases loaded with none out. It seemed that Fort Myers would at least tie the score, but it was not to be. A ground ball resulted in a force out at home and a double play ended the game.
Of note: Jorge Polanco was 0-for-4. Adam Brett Walker II was 0-for-2 with two walks and a run. Dalton Hicks was 0-for-4. Max Kepler was 1-for-3 with a double. Starter B. J. Hermsen pitched two innings, giving up three runs on five hits and four walks with one strikeout.
WISCONSIN 1, CEDAR RAPIDS 0 IN WISCONSIN (12 INNINGS)
Batting star: Jason Kanzler was 2-for-4 with a walk.
Pitching stars: Aaron Slegers pitched five shutout innings, giving up two hits and no walks with three strikeouts. Brandon Bixler struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up two walks. Dallas Gallant pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk with one strikeout.
Opposition stars: Zach Quintana struck out six in six innings, allowing two hits and two walks. Tristan Archer pitched six innings of relief, allowing two hits and one walk with five strikeouts. Rafael Neda was 2-for-2 with a walk and two hit-by-pitches, driving in one.
The game: Cedar Rapids got a man to third in the second and fifth. Their best scoring chance may have been in the twelfth, when they had men on first and second with one out and a line drive double play ended the inning. Wisconsin had men on second and third in the eighth and again had two on in the eleventh. In the twelfth, a walk, a bunt, and an RBI single by Neda ended the game.
Of note: Zack Granite was 1-for-5. Chad Christensen was 0-for-4 with a walk. Bryan Haar was 1-for-5.
JOHNSON CITY 7, ELIZABETHTON 4 IN JOHNSON CITY
Batting star: Dutch Deol was 2-for-3 with a walk and a run.
Pitching star: Cameron Booser pitched three shutout innings, giving up three hits with two strikeouts.
Opposition stars: Casey Turgeon was 1-for-3 with two walks and two runs. Oscar Mercado was 1-for-4 with a walk, scoring once and driving in two. Jordan DeLorenzo struck out six in four innings, allowing two unearned runs on three hits and a walk.
The game: RBI singles by Blake Drake and Casey Grayson contributed to a three-run fourth that put Johnson City ahead 4-2. In the sixth, a single was followed by four walks for Elizabethton to tie the game at four. In the eighth, a wild pitch put the Cardinals ahead Mercado had a two-run single to put Johnson City in control. The Twins went down in order in the ninth.
Of note: Jeremias Pineda was 0-for-5. Nick Gordon was 1-for-5. Max Murphy was 1-for-4 with a run. Tyler Kuresa was 0-for-3 with a walk and a run. Starter Stephen Gonsalves pitched four innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on seven hits and two walks with one strikeout.
GCL RAYS 8, GCL TWINS 7 AT RAYS
Batting stars: Joel Polanco was 1-for-3 with a walk, scoring twice and driving in one. Manuel Guzman was 3-for-5 with a run.
Pitching star: Trevor Hildenberger pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit-by-pitch and striking out one.
Opposition stars: Isais Alcantar was 2-for-3 with a double and a home run, driving in three. Jose Rojas was 3-for-5 with a run. Cade Gotta was 1-for-3 with a triple and two walks, scoring twice.
The game: Jack Barrie hit a two-run double in the second and the Twins added a run in the third to go ahead 3-1. The Rays cut it to 3-2 in the fourth and took the lead in the sixth, getting a two-run homer from Alcantar and an RBI single from Matt Ford to go ahead 5-3. In the eighth, a two-run single from Jarrard Poteete keyed a four-run inning that put the Twins up 7-5. In the bottom of the eighth, however, an error brought home two runs and a ground out scored the third to put the Rays in front 8-7. The Twins got a man to second with one out, but a line drive double play ended the game.
Of note: Logan Wade was 2-for-5. Amaurys Minier was 3-for-4. Rainis Silva was 2-for-5 with a run. Nelson Molina was 1-for-4 with a run. Dubal Baez was 1-for-4 with an RBI. Starter Alexis Tapia pitched four innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and no walks with three strikeouts.
DSL TWINS 8, DSL PADRES 4 AT PADRES (6 1/2 INNINGS-RAIN)
Batting stars: Antonio Tovar was 2-for-2 with a double and two walks, scoring once and driving in two. Jermaine Palacios was 1-for-2 with a triple and two walks, scoring once and driving in two. Jhonathan Alvarez was 1-for-3 with a walk, scoring once and driving in two.
Pitching star: None.
Opposition stars: Carlos Sosa was 1-for-3 with a three-run homer, his third. Westhers Magdaleno was 1-for-2 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one.
The game: Palacios tripled in a run and came around to score later in the inning to put the Twins ahead 2-0. Alvarez had a two-run single in the fourth to make it 4-0. The Twins added a run in the fifth and got a triple, a walk, a single, and three more walks to go up 8-0 in the sixth. The Padres scored all four of their runs in the bottom of the sixth, an inning capped off by Sosa's three-run homer. The game was halted after the Twins went out in the top of the seventh.
Of note: Jorge Andrade was 1-for-4 with a run and an RBI. Lewin Diaz was 0-for-3 with an RBI. Starter Williams Ramirez pitched a shutout for five innings, but his final line reads 5.1 innings, four runs, five hits, two walks, and five strikeouts.
TODAY'S TILTS
9:30 DSL Padres at DSL Twins
11:00 GCL Rays at GCL Twins
5:15 Rochester (Sean Gilmartin, 0-1, 4.20) at Pawtucket (Matt Barnes, 3-5, 4.52)
5:30 Fort Myers (Tim Shibuya, 5-2, 2.82) at Bradenton (TBA)
6:05 Binghamton (Tyler Pill, 6-5, 3.99) at New Britain (Tyler Duffey, 3-2, 4.26)
7:05 Cedar Rapids (Lewis Thorpe, 1-1, 6.50) at Wisconsin (Barrett Astin, 5-3, 4.40)