Minor Details: Games of July 31

Aaron Hicks is getting things going in New Britain.  Ditto for Byron Buxton in Fort Myers.  Max Murphy hits his first Class A home run.

LEHIGH VALLEY 5, ROCHESTER 2 IN LEHIGH VALLEY

Batting stars:  Pedro Florimon was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.  Eric Farris was 2-for-4 with a double.  Chris Rahl was 2-for-3 with an RBI.

Pitching star:  Deolis Guerra pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk with one strikeout.

Opposition stars:  David Buchanan pitched 7.1 innings, allowing one run on seven hits and a walk with five strikeouts.  Russ Canzler was 1-for-2 with a three-run homer (his seventh) and two walks, scoring twice.  Maikel Franco was 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs.

The game:  Two walks preceded Canzler's three-run homer in the first inning.  Lehigh Valley led 3-0 and Rochester never really got back into the game.  A Rahl RBI single got the Red Wings on the board in the fifth, cutting the lead to 3-1, but Jim Murphy's two-run homer in the sixth made it 5-1.  Florimon singled in a run in the ninth, but Rochester did not get the tying run up to bat.

Of note:  Doug Bernier was 0-for-4.  Josmil Pinto was 1-for-4.  Deibinson Romero was 0-for-4.  Starter Sean Gilmartin pitched six innings, giving up five runs on five hits and three walks with four strikeouts.

NEW BRITAIN 5, ERIE 4 IN NEW BRITAIN

Batting stars:  Aaron Hicks was 3-for-4 with a home run (his fourth) and a double, scoring twice.  Mike Kvasnicka was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer, his tenth.  Stephen Wickens was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

Pitching star:  Alex Wimmers pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Steven Moya was 3-for-4 with a two-run homer, his twenty-seventh.  Devon Travis was 2-for-4 with two runs.  Jeff Ferrell struck out seven in 6.2 innings, allowing two runs on nine hits and no walks.

The game:  Moya hit a two-run homer in the top of the first to give Erie a 2-0 lead.  Hicks homered in the bottom of the first to make it 2-1.  Dean Green doubled and scored in the second to give the SeaWolves a 3-1 advantage.  In the fourth, Tony Thomas doubled and scored on a Wickens single to cut the lead to 3-2.  Erie led 4-2 after seven.  In the eighth, Hicks got a leadoff single, Brandon Waring drew a one-out walk, and Kvasnicka followed with a three-run homer to give New Britain its first lead of the game at 5-4.  Erie got a leadoff single in the ninth but did not advance the runner past first.

Of note:  Jorge Polanco was 1-for-4.  Mike Gonzales was 1-for-4.  Starter Tyler Duffey pitched eight innings, giving up four runs on seven hits and a walk with two strikeouts.

CLEARWATER 9, FORT MYERS 3 IN CLEARWATER

Batting stars:  Byron Buxton was 1-for-3 with a triple and a walk, scoring twice.  Levi Michael was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run.

Pitching stars:  Brandon Peterson struck out three in 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up a walk.  Todd Van Steensel struck out three in 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up two walks.  D. J. Johnson pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one walk with one strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Aaron Nola struck out eight in five innings, allowing one run on two hits and a walk.  Roman Quinn was 2-for-4 with a home run (his fourth), a double, and a walk, driving in two.  Chris Serritella was 2-for-3 with a home run (his fourth) and a walk, driving in three.

The game:  A double, four singles, and another double led to a four-run second for Clearwater.  Serritella singled in two in the inning.  The Threshers followed that up with a five-run third to take a 9-0 lead.  Harold Martinez singled in one, Gabriel Lino doubled in two, and Serritella and Quinn hit back-to-back home runs.  Buxton tripled and scored to get Fort Myers on the board in the fourth and Max Kepler hit a two-run single in the sixth to make it 9-3.

Of note:  Aderlin Mejia was 1-for-5.  Dalton Hicks was 1-for-3 with an RBI.  Kepler was 1-for-4 with two RBIs.  Adam Brett Walker II was 0-for-3 with a walk.  Starter Matt Tomshaw pitched three innings, giving up nine runs on eleven hits and a walk with four strikeouts.

CEDAR RAPIDS 6, BURLINGTON 1 IN CEDAR RAPIDS

Batting stars:  Mitch Garver was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his fifteenth) and two walks, scoring twice.  Max Murphy was 2-for-3 with a home run and a hit-by-pitch, scoring twice.  Logan Wade was 2-for-4 with a run.

Pitching stars:  Chih-Wei Hu pitched six innings, giving up one run on three hits and a walk with four strikeouts.  Brandon Bixler struck out three in two innings, giving up one hit and two walks.  Jared Wilson pitched a perfect inning with one strikeout.

Opposition star:  Kody Eaves was 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI.

The game:  Garver hit a two-run homer in the first to give Cedar Rapids a 2-0 lead.  Engelb Vielma tripled and scored in the second to make it 3-0.  Eaves doubled in Erick Salcedo in the third to cut the lead to 3-1, but that was as close as Burlington would come.  Murphy hit his first Class A homer in the sixth to increase the margin to 4-1.  Murphy and Michael Quesada added RBI singles in the eighth to make it 6-1.

Of note:  Ryan Walker was 0-for-3 with an RBI.  Chad Christensen was 0-for-3 with a walk and a run.  Alex Swim was 1-for-4.

ELIZABETHTON AT KINGSPORT

Rained out.

GCL RAYS 5, GCL TWINS 4 AT RAYS

Batting stars:  Corey Wimberly was 2-for-4 with a double and a run.  Gabriel Ojeda was 1-for-3 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one.  Manuel Guzman was 1-for-4 with a triple and a walk, driving in one.

Pitching stars:  Onesimo Hernandez pitched five innings, giving up two runs on four hits and five walks with three strikeouts.  Seth Wagner pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up three walks.

Opposition stars:  Tim Beckham was 1-for-2 with a home run and three walks.  Jaime Ayende was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring twice.  Tommy Lawrence pitched four innings of relief, allowing one run on four hits with one strikeout.

The game:  Beckham homered in the first to give the Rays a 1-0 lead.  The Twins got single runs in the second, third, and fourth, to take a 3-1 lead.  The Rays cut it to 3-2 in the fifth, but in the sixth, Jarrard Poteete doubled and Guzman tripled to give the Twins a 4-2 advantage.  It was still 4-2 going to the ninth.  The Rays opened the inning with a pair of singles, but runners were still on first and third with two out.  Jose Royas then doubled to cut the lead to 4-3 and David Rodriguez delivered a two-run single to give the Rays the win.

Of note:  Rafael P. Valera was 1-for-4.  Amaurys Minier was 0-for-4.

DSL TWINS 6, DSL ORIOLES1 5 AT ORIOLES1

Batting stars:  Antonio Tovar was 3-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring once and driving in one.  Robert Molina was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring once and driving in two.  Jorge Andrade was 2-for-4 with a walk and a run.

Pitching star:  Luis Hernandez pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and two walks with one strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Miguel Pichardo was 3-for-3 with a double and two walks, driving in one.  Robertico Medina was 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs.  Ricardo Andujar was 3-for-5 with a run.

The game:  The Twins took a 2-0 lead in the first inning.  Each team scored once in the second and again in the third to make the score 4-2.  Byron Guerra singled in a run in the fourth to cut the margin to 4-3.  In the fifth, a two-run Molina double boosted the Twins to a 6-3 advantage.  It was 6-4 going to the bottom of the ninth.  A pair of errors opened the inning, but a man was thrown out trying to advance on the second one to leave a man on first with one down.  A pair of singles followed, but another man was thrown out on the bases, making two out with runners first and third.  Fabian Vizcaino singled to make the score 6-5 and a wild pitch put men on second and third.  The next man grounded out, the only time a batter was retired in the inning, to end the game.

Of note:  Junior Amarante was 1-for-5 with a run.  Jermaine Palacios was 1-for-5 with a double and a run.  Roni Tapia was 2-for-5 with an RBI.  Starter Jose Martinez struck out three in three innings, giving up two unearned runs on two hits and a walk.