A big day from Pedro Florimon keeps Rochester alive in the wild-card race. Tony Thomas and Jason Wheeler lead New Britain. A big inning clinches the pennant for Elizabethton.
ROCHESTER 6, SYRACUSE 3 IN SYRACUSE
Batting stars: Pedro Florimon was 3-for-4 with a triple, scoring once and driving in three. Chris Herrmann was 2-for-4 with a home run, his fifth. Daniel Ortiz was 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs.
Pitching stars: Logan Darnell struck out three in 3.2 innings of relief, giving up one run on one hit and one walk. Stephen Pryor struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk.
Opposition stars: Emmanuel Burriss was 2-for-3 with two walks. Steven Souza, Jr. was 1-for-3 with two walks and an RBI. Brandon Laird was 1-for-4 with a home run, his seventeenth.
The game: Florimon singled in a run in the second to give Rochester a 1-0 lead. Souza, Jr. singled in a run in the third and Jhonatan Solano had an RBI single in the fourth to give Syarcuse a 2-1 lead. Herrmann tied it with a home run in the sixth. The Red Wings went ahead to stay in the seventh on a sacrifice fly and a run-scoring single by Eric Farris. Florimon delivered a two-out two-run triple in the eighth to make it 6-2. Laird homered in the bottom of the eighth. The Chiefs threatened to come back in the ninth, loading the bases with two out, but a grounder to second ended the game.
Of note: Farris was 1-for-5. Josmil Pinto was 0-for-4. Chris Colabello was 1-for-4 with two runs. Starter Virgil Vasquez struck out five in four innings, giving up two runs on five hits and four walks.
Pennant race update: Rochester remains third in the wild card race, two games behind Pawtucket and a half game behind Buffalo, with four games left.
NEW BRITAIN 5, BINGHAMTON 3 IN BINGHAMTON
Batting stars: Tony Thomas was 3-for-4 with a home run (his eleventh) and three RBIs. Nate Hanson was 2-for-4 with a double and a run. Mike Gonzales was 2-for-4 with a double and a run.
Pitching star: Jason Wheeler pitched seven innings, giving up one run on eight hits and a walk with four strikeouts.
Opposition stars: Greg Peavey pitched eight innings, allowing two runs on six hits and no walks with five strikeouts. Dilson Herrera was 3-for-4 with a home run (his tenth) and two runs. T. J. Rivera was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
The game: Herrera homered in the first to put Binghamton up 1-0. Thomas homered in the second to tie it 1-1. A Thomas RBI single in the seventh gave New Britain a 2-1 lead. The Mets came back in the eighth, getting a two-run single from Rivera to go ahead 3-2. The Rock Cats would not be denied. With one out in the ninth, Nate Hanson singled and scored from first on a Gonzales single-plus-error. Thomas singled in the go-ahead run and a ground out provided an insurance run. Binghamton went down in order in the bottom of the ninth.
Of note: Corey Wimberly was 0-for-4. Eddie Rosario was 0-for-4.
JUPITER AT FORT MYERS
Rained out.
KANE COUNTY 3, CEDAR RAPIDS 2 IN CEDAR RAPIDS
Batting stars: Jonatan Hinojosa was 3-for-4 with a walk. Tanner Vavra was 2-for-4 with a double.
Pitching stars: Hudson Boyd pitched three shutout innings, giving up two hits with two strikeouts. Chris Mazza struck out five in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.
Opposition stars: Tyler Ihrig pitched six innings, allowing one run on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts. Cael Brockmeyer was 2-for-3 with two doubles and a walk. Jeimer Candelario was 2-for-4 with a run.
The game: In the first, Kane County got three consecutive one-out singles to score their first run, then got three consecutive two-out walks to score two more, giving the Cougars a 3-0 lead. In the bottom of the first, Cedar Rapids loaded the bases with one out and scored on a rare thing, the sacrifice double play, as the runner from third tagged up and scored but the runner from second was caught in a rundown trying to go to third. The Kernels got a man into scoring position in the second, third, and fifth, but did not score again until the ninth, when Logan Wade delivered a two-out RBI single. Cedar Rapids loaded the bases, but a ground out ended the game.
Of note: Chad Christensen was 1-for-4. Mitch Garver was 0-for-3 with a walk. Alex Swim was 0-for-3 with an RBI. Max Murphy was 0-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch and a run. Starter Chih-Wei Hu struck out five in four innings, giving up three runs on four hits and three walks.
ELIZABETHTON 13, KINGSPORT 6 IN ELIZABETHTON
Batting stars: Tyler Mautner was 2-for-5 with a home run (his tenth) and a double, scoring twice and driving in four. Nick Gordon was 3-for-5 with a triple, scoring once and driving in four. Tyler Kuresa was 1-for-2 with a double and three walks, scoring once and driving in two.
Pitching stars: Zach Tillery pitched three innings, giving up one run on two hits and no walks with two strikeouts. Kuo Hua Lo struck out five in two innings, giving up two hits and two walks. Keaton Steele struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up two hits.
Opposition stars: Jimmy Duff pitched five shutout innings, giving up five hits and no walks with two strikeouts. Luis Ortega was 3-for-4 with two doubles, scoring twice and driving in one. Zach Mathieu was 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.
The game: It didn't go well early. Kingsport opened the game with three singles that produced a run, a ground out scored a second, and RBI doubles by Ortega and Mathieu made it 4-0 before Elizabethton even came to bat. The Mets added single runs in the third and fifth to go up 5-0 half-way through. The second half of the game belonged to the Twins, though. An RBI single by Jorge Fernandez and a two-run double by Mautner made it 6-3 in the sixth. Elizabethton then exploded for a nine-run seventh. They batted fifteen. Gordon tripled in two, Trey Vavra singled in the tying run, a wild pitch brought home the go-ahead run, an error brought home one more, Austin Diemer had an RBI single, Gordon brought home two more with a single, and a bases-loaded walk closed out the scoring for the inning. Kingsport loaded the bases in the eighth and got two on in the ninth but could not get back into the game.
Of note: Tanner English was 1-for-4 with a walk and two runs. Vavra was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring twice and driving in one. Fernandez was 1-for-5 with two runs and an RBI. Starter Derrick Penilla struck out four in three innings, giving up five runs on eight hits and no walks.
Pennant race update: The win clinches first place for Elizabethton in the Appalachian League West.
GCL RAYS 3, GCL TWINS 1 AT RAYS
Batting star: Joel Polanco was 2-for-4 with a run.
Pitching stars: Alexis Tapia pitched five innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on three hits and no walks with three strikeouts. Miles Nordgren pitched three shutout innings, giving up four hits with two strikeouts.
Opposition stars: Matt Reida was 3-for-4 with two home runs, his second and third. Cade Gotta was 2-for-4 with a run. Angel Yepez struck out three in three shutout innings, allowing two hits and a walk.
The game: Reida homered in the first to put the Rays up 1-0. Two singles, a passed ball, and a ground out tied it at one after two. Reida homered again in the third to give the Rays a 2-1 lead. Jack Barrie doubled to lead off the fifth, but was thrown out trying to score on a single. In the bottom of the fifth, a hit batsman, a balk, and two errors put the Rays ahead 3-1. The Twins got a pair of two-out singles in the eighth but did not otherwise threaten to tie the score.
Of note: Dubal Baez was 0-for-3 with a walk. Nelson Molina was 0-for-4.
TODAY'S TILTS
4:00 Jupiter (Matt Milroy, 1-9, 7.47) at Fort Myers (Ethan Mildren, 2-3, 6.31)
Game 2 Jupiter (Austin Brice, 8-8, 3.71) at Fort Myers (D. J. Baxendale, 4-3, 6.24)
6:00 Kingsport (Persio Reyes, 1-0, 1.35) at Elizabethton (TBA)
6:05 New Hampshire (Michael Lee, 2-1, 1.80) at New Britain (Pat Dean, 8-9, 4.93)
6:15 Buffalo (TBA) at Rochester (Sean Gilmartin, 2-4, 4.35)
6:35 Kane County (Jonathan Martinez, 3-0, 2.50) at Cedar Rapids (Mat Batts, 2-0, 2.36)