Rochester stays alive in the wild card race.  New Britain loses one late.  Elizabethton prepares for the playoffs.

ROCHESTER 3, BUFFALO 2 IN ROCHESTER

Batting stars:  Chris Colabello was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring once.  Eric Farris was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his third.

Pitching stars:  Sean Gilmartin struck out five in 5.1 innings, giving up two runs on six hits and no walks.  A. J. Achter struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up two hits.  Lester Oliveros pitched a perfect inning with one strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Cole Gillespie was 2-for-2 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one.  Rob Rasmussen retired all five batters he faced, striking out two.

The game:  A sacrifice fly put Buffalo on top 1-0 in the first.  In the third, Chris Rahl singled and Farris hit a two-run homer to give Rochester a 2-1 lead.  A. J. Jimenez delivered a two-our single in the fourth to tie it at two.  In the sixth, Colabello hit a one-out double and scored on two wild pitches to give the Red Wings a 3-2 advantage.  The Bisons put a man on third with two out in the eighth, but a strikeout ended the inning and they went down in order in the ninth.

Of note: Pedro Florimon was 1-for-4.  Chris Herrmann was 1-for-4.  Josmil Pinto was 0-for-4.

Pennant race update:  With the win, Rochester moves into second place in the wild card race; however, the Red Wings remain two games behind Pawtucket with three games to play.

NEW HAMPSHIRE 4, NEW BRITAIN 3 IN NEW BRITAIN

Batting stars:  Reynaldo Rodriguez was 1-for-4 with a home run, his twenty-first.  Tony Thomas was 1-for-4 with a home run, his twelfth.  Stephen Wickens was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

Pitching stars:  Pat Dean pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and no walks with two strikeouts.  Madison Boer struck out two in 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Michael Lee struck out eight in seven innings, giving up three runs on six hits and no walks.  K. C. Hobson was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs.  Gustavo Pierre was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer.

The game:  Hobson doubled in a run for New Hampshire in the second inning to start the scoring.  In the bottom of the second, Rodriguez homered and Wickens provided an RBI double to give New Britain a 2-1 advantage.  Thomas homered in the fourth to make it 3-1 and it looked like that might be enough.  Two singles and a ground out made it 3-2 after seven, but it was still 3-2 going to the ninth.  With two out, however, Sean Ochinko singled and Pierre followed with a two-run homer to give New Hampshire a 4-3 lead.  The Rock Cats did not advance a man past first base in the ninth.

Of note:  Jorge Polanco was 0-for-4.  Eddie Rosario was 1-for-4.  Nate Hanson was 0-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch.  Mike Gonzales was 0-for-4.

JUPITER 3, FORT MYERS 1 IN FORT MYERS (GAME 1--7 INNINGS)

Batting stars:  Max Kepler was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Dalton Hicks was 1-for-2 with two walks.  Niko Goodrum was 1-for-4 with a walk.

Pitching stars:  D. J. Baxendale pitched five innings, giving up two runs on five hits and no walks with four strikeouts.  Todd Van Steensel struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up two hits.

Opposition stars:  Matt Juengel was 2-for-4 with two doubles and a run.  Jesus Solarzano was 2-for-3 with a double and a run.  Ryan Goetz was 2-for-4 with an RBI.

The game:  It was scoreless until the fourth, when Fort Myers got three singles and a walk but could score only once.  In the fifth, RBI singles by Juan Avila and Goetz put Jupiter ahead 2-1.  The Hammerheads added a run in the sixth on Cody Keefer's RBI single.  The Miracle loaded the bases in the fifth and got the tying run on base with one out in the seventh, but could not score.  Fort Myers stranded eleven runners in seven innings.

Of note:  Aderlin Mejia was 0-for-4.  Travis Harrison was 0-for-3.  Adam Brett Walker II was 1-for-4 with a run.

JUPITER AT FORT MYERS (GAME 2)

Rained out.

Pennant race update:  Fort Myers remains third in the Florida State League South, two games behind Bradenton and a half game behind Palm Beach with three games to play.  The Miracle will be in the playoffs because they won the first half.

KANE COUNTY 6, CEDAR RAPIDS 1 IN CEDAR RAPIDS (6 INNINGS--RAIN)

Batting star:  Mitch Garver was 1-for-2 with a home run, his sixteenth).

Pitching star:  Starter Mat Batts struck out two in two perfect innings before being removed following a rain delay.

Opposition stars:  Jonathan Martinez pitched a 5.1 inning "complete game", allowing one run on four hits and a walk with four strikeouts.  Trey Martin was 2-for-3 with a home run (his fifth) and two RBIs.  Jeimer Candelario was 1-for-2 with a two-run homer (his sixth) and a walk.

The game:  Garver homered leading off the second to give Cedar Rapids a 1-0 lead.  That was as good as it got for the Kernels.  An error, a wild pitch, a walk, and two singles gave Kane County a 2-1 lead after four.  In the fifth, Martin hit a solo homer and Candelario a two-run homer to give the Cougars control of the game at 5-1.  Margin had an RBI single in the sixth to make it 6-1.  Cedar Rapids was batting in the sixth with a man on first and one out when the game was ended.

Of note:  Jonatan Hinojosa was 0-for-3.  Chad Christensen was 0-for-3.  Alex Swim was 1-for-2.  Max Murphy was 0-for-2.

KINGSPORT 5, ELIZABETHTON 2 IN ELIZABETHTON

Batting stars:  T. J. White was 1-for-2 with two walks.  Alex Real was 1-for-3 with a walk.

Pitching stars:  Randy LeBlanc struck out four in 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.  Josh Burris struck out three in two perfect innings.

Opposition stars:  Persio Reyes struck out nine in seven innings, allowing one run on three hits and three walks.  Leon Canelon was 1-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring twice.  Jean Rodriguez was 1-for-3 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one.

The game:  Three walks and a two-run single by Oswald Caraballo gave Kingsport a 2-0 lead in the first.  Rodriguez singled in a run in the second and another scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-0 after two.  Each team scored once in the fifth.  Tyler Kuresa singled in a run in the eighth and Elizabethton had the bases loaded with two out, but a ground out ended the inning and the Twins did not threaten again.

Of note:  Tanner English was 0-for-4.  Nick Gordon was 0-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch and a run.  Trey Vavra was 1-for-4.  Tyler Kuresa was 1-for-4 with an RBI.  Jorge Fernandez was 0-for-3.  Starter Brandon Poulson pitched 1.1 innings, giving up four runs on three hits and five walks with two strikeouts.

Pennant race update:  The regular season is over.  Elizabethton finished in first place with a record of 38-30, one game ahead of Johnson City.  The Twins will play in Johnson City Sunday in game one of the playoffs.

TODAY'S TILTS

4:05  Fort Myers (TBA) at Jupiter (Austin Brice, 8-8, 3.71)

Game 2  Fort Myers (Brett Lee, 10-5, 2.48) at Jupiter (Scott Lyman, 5--11, 3.44)

6:05  Buffalo (Brad Mills, 1-1, 3.91) at Rochester (Alex Meyer, 7-6, 3.41)

6:05  New Hampshire (P. J. Walters, 2-2, 2.42) at New Britain (Taylor Rogers, 10-6, 3.42)

6:30  Cedar Rapids (Stephen Gonsalves, 2-2, 1.91) at Clinton (TBA)