The top four teams win, the next two teams lose, the DSL Twins get rained out.
ROCHESTER 6, NORFOLK 2 IN NORFOLK
Tommy Field hit a two-run homer in the third to put the Red Wings up 3-1 and they never trailed. Omar Bencomo had his third good start out of four, going 6.2 innings and giving up two runs (one earned) on six hits and a walk with four strikeouts. D. J. Baxendale struck out three in 1.1 scoreless innings, giving him an ERA of 1.27 with 32 strikeouts in 28.2 innings. Byron Buxton was 2-for-3 with a home run (his ninth) and is batting .321. Field and Daniel Palka were each 2-for-4 with a home run. Field's homer was his tenth and Palka's was his twelfth. Adam Brett Walker II also hit a home run, his twenty-sixth. Mitch Garver was 0-for-4 and is batting .333. The win kept the Red Wings 4.5 games behind Lehigh Valley in the wild card race with eleven games remaining. Their elimination number is eight.
CHATTANOOGA 7, JACKSONVILLE 6 IN JACKSONVILLE
The Lookouts led 5-0, were tied 5-5, went up 7-5 in the top of the ninth, and had to throw the tying run out at home in the bottom of the ninth to hang on to the win. Ryan Eades pitched 6.2 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits and a walk with two strikeouts. Zach Granite was 3-for-5 with a double and is batting .303. Edgar Corcino was 2-for-4 with a double. Niko Goodrum was 2-for-4. Chattanooga remains tied with Montgomery for the last playoff spot.
FORT MYERS 1, PALM BEACH 0 IN FORT MYERS
Christian Ibarra singled in a run in the seventh and the Miracle won their second straight 1-0 game. Fernando Romero had his third straight start without giving up an earned run, going seven shutout innings and giving up just two hits and no walks with nine strikeouts. Over his last three starts, he has pitched 20.1 innings and given up just eleven hits and two walks with twenty-eight strikeouts. Joe Maloney was 2-for-3 with a double. Fort Myers remains third, a game behind St. Lucie and Jupiter.
CEDAR RAPIDS 12, QUAD CITIES 2 IN CEDAR RAPIDS
Already leading 4-0, the Kernels scored five in the fourth to put the game out of reach early. Lachlan Wells pitched six shutout innings, giving up one hit and four walks with five strikeouts. In his last three starts, he has pitched 17.2 innings and given up no earned runs on ten hits and seven walks with fifteen strikeouts. His ERA is now 1.94 and his WHIP is 1.08. Luis Arraez was 2-for-4 and is batting .349. Christian Cavaness was also 2-for-4. Nelson Molina was 2-for-5 and is batting .312. Travis Blankenhorn was 1-for-5 with a triple and is batting .304. Cedar Rapids leads Burlington by four games for the last playoff spot. Their magic number is seven.
BURLINGTON 11, ELIZABETHTON 0 IN ELIZABETHTON
The Royals scored in seven of the nine innings. Jose Martinez pitched four innings and surrendered eight runs (six earned) on eight hits and two walks with one strikeout. The Twins had six hits, all singles. Alex Kirilloff was 0-for-2 with two walks and is batting .311. He is 2-for-22 in his last seven games. Ariel Montesino was 1-for-4 and is batting .303. Elizabethton continues to lead Greeneville by four games for the last playoff spot and their magic number is four.
GCL ORIOLES 9, GCL TWINS 2 AT TWINS
The Twins were blown out by the Orioles for the second consecutive day. Huascar Ynoa, who has pitched well most of the season, yielded six runs (five earned) on four hits and two walks in just 2.2 innings. He did strike out five. Justin Hazard was 1-for-4 and is batting .329. Aaron Whitefield was 1-for-3 with two walks and is batting .307. The Twins fall to second place, a game behind the GCL Red Sox. Their elimination number is six.
DSL TWINS AT DSL DODGERS1
Apparently they're getting a lot of rain in the Dominican Republic, as the DSL Twins were rained out for the second consecutive day.
TODAY'S TILTS
9:30 DSL Twins at DSL Dodgers2
11:00 GCL Red Sox at GCL Twins
5:30 Fort Myers (Dereck Rodriguez, 1-1, 1.83) at Jupiter (Scott Squier, 4-0, 3.42)
6:00 Burlington (Ofreidy Gomez, 5-3, 5.40) at Elizabethton (Miguel De Jesus, 0-2, 3.21)
6:05 Chattanooga (Felix Jorge, 1-4, 4.38) at Jacksonville (Matt Tracy, 2-5, 5.12)
6:05 Rochester (Adalberto Mejia, 1-2, 4.66) at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Richard Bleier, 2-2, 2.98)
6:30 Cedar Rapids (Tyler Beardsley, 0-2, 3.60) at Clinton (Luis Gohara, 4-1, 1.61)