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.