Another strong start for Jose Berrios. A huge day for Stuart Turner. Lewis Thorpe does well before running into pitch count issues.
ROCHESTER RED WINGS
No game scheduled. The Red Wings are tied for second with Buffalo in the wild card race, two games behind Pawtucket, with six games remaining. They're still in it, but it's not going to be easy.
NEW BRITAIN 5, BINGHAMTON 1 IN NEW BRITAIN (GAME 1--7 INNINGS)
Batting star: Tony Thomas was 1-for-3 with a three-run homer, his ninth.
Pitching stars: Jose Berrios pitched six innings, giving up one run on four hits and two walks with four strikeouts. Ryan O'Rourke pitched a scoreless ninth, giving up one hit.
Opposition star: Brian Burgamy was 1-for-3 with a double and a run.
The game: Burgamy doubled and scored on a Jayce Boyd single to put Binghamton up 1-0 in the first. New Britain countered with a Thomas three-run homer in the second and added two in the third on three singles and two productive outs. The Mets put men on first and third with two out in the second and again in the fourth, but ground outs ended both innings.
Of note: Levi Michael was 1-for-4 with a run. Jorge Polanco was 1-for-4. Nate Hanson was 0-for-2 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one. Mike Gonzales was 1-for-2 with a hit-by-pitch and a run. Eddie Rosario was 1-for-3 with a run.
BINGHAMTON 3, NEW BRITAIN 2 IN BINGHAMTON (GAME 2--7 INNINGS)
Batting stars: Nate Hanson was 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI. Tony Thomas was 1-for-2 with a walk.
Pitching star: Daniel Turpen struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up two walks.
Opposition star: Hansel Robles struck out six in 3.2 innings, allowing one run on three hits and two walks.
The game: A wild pitch put New Britain on the board in the first inning. Binghamton started the fourth with three singles (two of them infield hits) and a double play scored a run to tie it up 1-1. Hanson doubled in a run in the fifth to put the Rock Cats back in front 2-1, but the Mets got two in the bottom of the fifth in a rally that consisted of catcher's interference, a single, a bunt, a passed ball, and a wild pitch. The last six New Britain batters went out.
Of note: Levi Michael was 0-for-1 with a walk and a run. Jorge Polanco was 0-for-3 with a walk and a run. Reynaldo Rodriguez was 0-for-2. Eddie Rosario was 1-for-3. Starter Adrian Salcedo pitched five innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on five hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
FORT MYERS 7, BRADENTON 4 IN BRADENTON
Batting stars: Stuart Turner was 4-for-4 with three doubles and a walk, scoring once and driving in four. Adam Brett Walker II was 2-for-5 with a double, scoring twice and driving in one. Jason Kanzler was 2-for-4 with a hit-by-pitch, scoring once and driving in one.
Pitching stars: Steven Gruver pitched five innings, giving up two runs on five hits and a walk with four strikeouts. Nick Burdi pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up a walk with one strikeout. Alex Muren pitched a perfect inning with one strikeout.
Opposition stars: Jacob Stallings was 2-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in three. Eric Wood was 2-for-3 with two doubles and a walk, scoring twice. Adam Frazier was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
The game: With two out and nobody on in the first, singles by Travis Harrison and Dalton Hicks and doubles by Walker II and Turner produced three runs. Stallings hit a two-run double in the second to cut the lead to 3-2. Turner doubled in another run in the fifth to make it 4-2, but in the seventh, Bradenton got an RBI single by Stallings and a run-scoring double by Frazier to tie the score. Max Kepler singled in a run in the eighth to put Fort Myers back in the lead and in the ninth, Turner doubled in one more run and Kanzler added an RBI single. The Marauders got the tying run up to bat with two out in the ninth, but a fly out ended the game.
Of note: Niko Goodrum was 2-for-6 with a double. Kepler was 2-for-6 with a run and an RBI. Harrison was 1-for-4 with a walk and a run. Hicks was 2-for-5 with a run.
Pennant race update: Fort Myers is tied for second with Bradenton, a game behind Palm Beach. The Miracle has already qualified for the playoffs by winning the first half. Fort Myers has five games remaining in the regular season.
CEDAR RAPIDS 6, QUAD CITIES 1 IN QUAD CITIES
Batting stars: Mitch Garver was 1-for-3 with two walks, scoring once and driving in two. J. D. Williams was 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs. Alex Swim was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.
Pitching stars: Lewis Thorpe struck out eight in four innings, giving up an unearned run on one hit and four walks. Chris Mazza pitched two shutout innings, giving up four hits and a walk. Brian Gilbert struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up two hits.
Opposition stars: A. J. Reed was 2-for-4. J. D. Davis was 1-for-3 with a walk.
The game: Garver had a two-run single as part of a three-run first that gave Cedar Rapids the early lead. RBI singles by Swim and Williams made it 5-0 in the top of the third. Quad Cities scored its lone run in the bottom of the third, but the Kernels got the run back in the fifth when Williams hit an RBI triple. The River Bandits loaded the bases in the fourth and had two on in the sixth and eighth but did not score again. Quad Cities stranded ten runners and was 0-for-12 with men in scoring position.
Of note: Ryan Walker was 1-for-5 with a run. Chad Christensen was 2-for-5 with two runs. Max Murphy was 3-for-4.
Pennant race update: Cedar Rapids has clinched second place, which is good for a spot in the playoffs.
BRISTOL 6, ELIZABETHTON 5 IN BRISTOL
Batting stars: Brian Navarreto was 2-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in one. Tyler Kuresa was 1-for-3 with two walks and a run. Pat Kelly was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring once.
Pitching stars: Samuel Clay struck out three in 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up four hits. Keaton Steele pitched a perfect inning with one strikeout.
Opposition stars: Chris Harvey was 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI. Enyel Vallejo was 2-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in one. Nick Buckner was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.
The game: Bristol opened the scoring in the third, getting an RBI single from Trey Vavra and a two-run single by Navarreto to take a 3-0 lead. An error made it 4-0 in the top of the fifth. In the bottom of the fifth, however, Bristol scored all six of its runs. A home run made it 4-1, but there were two out with nobody on base. The Pirates then put together a double, five consecutive singles, and another double to take a 6-4 lead. Tyler Mautner singled in a run in the eighth to make it 6-5 and the Twins had men on first and third with none out, but a home-and-second double play ended the threat and the last five Elizabethton batters went out.
Of note: Jeremias Pineda was 0-for-5. Nick Gordon was 1-for-5 with a run. Vavra was 1-for-5 with a run and an RBI. Jorge Fernandez was 1-for-4. Starter Sam Gibbons pitched 4.2 innings, giving up six runs on eight hits and no walks with three strikeouts.
Pennant race update: Elizabethton leads Johnson City by one game. The Twins lead Kingsport by three games for the last playoff spot. Their magic number is two. Elizabethton has three games remaining.
GCL TWINS 4, GCL RAYS 3 AT RAYS
Batting stars: Ariel Montesino was 2-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in one. Amaurys Minier was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring once and driving in one.
Pitching stars: Eduardo Del Rosario pitched three shutout innings, giving up one hit with one strikeout. Trevor Hildenberger struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.
Opposition stars: Bill Pujols was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Jose Alvarado struck out three in 3.2 innings, allowing two unearned runs on three hits and a walk.
The game: Pujols singled in a run in the second and a run scored on a double play in the third to give the Rays a 2-0 lead. Jarrard Poteete singled in a run in the fourth and Montesino doubled and scored in the fifth to tie it 2-2. The Rays took the lead back in the bottom of the fifth without a hit, getting a hit batsman, a stolen base, and a pair of productive outs. Montesino singled in a run in the seventh to tie the score. The Twins took their first lead in the eighth when Minier doubled and scored on a Joel Polanco single. The Rays got a one-out double in the ninth but did not advance him.
Of note: Rafael P. Valera was 0-for-4. Polanco was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Starter Josh Guyer pitched five innings, giving up three runs on four hits and two walks with one strikeout.
TODAY'S TILTS
11:00 GCL Rays at GCL Twins
5:30 Fort Myers (Matt Tomshaw, 11-5, 3.43) at Bradenton (TBA)
5:35 New Britain (TBA) at Binghamton (TBA)
6:00 Kingsport (TBA) at Elizabethton (Felix Jorge, 4-2, 2.29)
6:00 Rochester (Kris Johnson, 9-7, 3.60) at Syracuse (Aaron Laffey, 12-5, 3.38)
6:35 Kane County (Jen-Ho Tseng, 6-1, 2.45) at Cedar Rapids (Ryan Eades, 9-11, 5.48)