David Hurlbut pitches well in a loss. Zack Littell pitches well in a win. A big home run for Brent Rooker and fine pitching by Sean Poppen. Clark Beeker needs to move up. Home runs drop the E-Twins. Humberto Maldonado comes through with a walkoff single. Estamy Urena keeps hitting.
NORFOLK 7, ROCHESTER 2 IN ROCHESTER
There was no score until the seventh, when Logan Schafer singled home the game's first run. In the eighth, Mike Yastrzemski hit a two-out three-run double and scored on a Paul Janish single to put the game out of reach. The Red Wings had only two hits through eight innings. They put together three more in the ninth to score their only two runs but did not threaten to get back into the game.
David Hurlbut struck out eight in 7.1 innings, giving up two runs on ten hits and no walks. Kennys Vargas was 2-for-4. Zack Granite was 1-for-4 and is batting .338.
CHATTANOOGA 7, BIRMINGHAM 2 IN BIRMINGHAM
A pair of sacrifice flies gave the Lookouts a 2-0 lead in the third. In the fourth, two singles, three walks, and a strikeout/wild pitch plated three runs to make it 5-0. The Barons got single runs in the sixth and seventh, but Andy Wilkins delivered a two-run single in the eighth to build the lead back up to five.
Zack Littell pitched six innings, giving up one run on five hits and three walks with three strikeouts. Ryan Eades pitched two shutout innings. Nick Gordon was 2-for-5. Jonathan Rodriguez was 0-for-2 with two walks and is batting .307. Edgar Corcino was 1-for-4 with a double and is batting .306.
FORT MYERS 6, DUNEDIN 4 IN FORT MYERS (GAME 1--7 INNINGS)
Brent Rooker hit a three-run homer in a five-run first. The Blue Jyas got two in the fourth and two in the fifth to cut the lead to 6-4. They had the tying run on base in both the fifth and the sixth but were turned aside each time.
Randy LeBlanc pitched 4.2 innings, giving up four runs on eight hits and two walks with three strikeouts. His ERA is 2.60. Anthony McIver pitched 2.1 scoreless innings to drop his ERA to 2.11. Rooker's home run was his fifth. Brian Olson made his Fort Myers debut for this season and went 1-for-3.
FORT MYERS 1, DUNEDIN 0 IN FORT MYERS (GAME 2--7 INNINGS)
It was scoreless until the seventh. Jaylin Davis led off the inning with a single and Nelson Molina had a one-out single to put men on first and third. An intentional walk loaded the bases and Tanner English delivered a sacrifice fly to win the game.
Sean Poppen pitched six shutout innings, giving up one hit and one walk with five strikeouts. Andrew Vasquez pitched a scoreless inning to lower his ERA to 0.68 with a WHIP of 0.94 and 42 strikeouts in 26.2 innings. Davis was 2-for-3 with a double.
CEDAR RAPIDS 3, QUAD CITIES 0 IN QUAD CITIES
Ben Rortvedt homered in the second and had an RBI single in the third to put the Kernels up 2-0. Lewin Diaz added a run-scoring single in the sixth. The Timber Rattlers got a man to third in both the second and the eighth, both times with two out.
Clark Beeker had yet another excellent outing, going seven shutout innings and giving up three hits and three walks with no strikeouts. His ERA is 2.03 with a WHIP of 0.92. Ryan Mason lowered his ERA to 1.85. Diaz was 2-for-3. Rortvedt was 2-for-4 with a home run, his fourth.
GREENEVILLE 3, ELIZABETHTON 1 IN ELIZABETHTON
Roman Garcia homered in the fourth to put the Astros up 1-0. Garcia struck again in the sixth, hitting a two-run homer that made the score 3-0. Kolton Kendrick got the Twins on the board in the bottom of the sixth with a home run, but that was all the Twins could do. They did get men to second and third with two out in the eighth, but a ground out ended the game.
Bailey Ober pitched 5.2 innings, giving up three runs on four hits and a walk with five strikeouts. His ERA is 2.12 with a WHIP of 0.71 and 17 strikeouts in 17 innings. Ricky Ramirez pitched 2.1 scoreless innings. Jared Finkel pitched a perfect inning. Andrew Cosgrove was 2-for-4 with a double. Jose Miranda was 2-for-4 and is batting .307. Carson Crites was 0-for-4 and is batting .330.
GCL TWINS 4, GCL RED SOX 3 AT TWINS
The Twins scored three runs in the first inning, as Benjamin Rodriguez doubled home one and an error brought home two more. The 3-0 lead held up until the fifth, when Kervin Suarez hit a three-run homer to tie it up. The Red Sox got a leadoff triple in the seventh and loaded the bases in the ninth, but did not score. In the ninth, Humberto Maldonado delivered an RBI single to win the game for the Twins.
Austin Bizzle struck out six in four innings, giving up two runs on three hits and no walks. Carlos Suniaga struck out eight in 4.2 innings, giving up one run on three hits and three walks to make his ERA 2.23. Rodriguez was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk. Taylor Grzelakowski was 2-for-4. Alex Robles was 0-for-4 and is batting .328.
DSL TWINS 3, DSL METS1 1 AT METS1
There were no runs and very few hits until the seventh, when Yeison Perez came through with a two-run single-plus-error to put the Twins on the board. Estamy Urena made it 3-0 in the eighth with an RBI single. The Mets1 got their lone run in the eighth and had the tying run in scoring position with one out, but a strikeout and a fly out ended the inning.
Andriu Marin struck out four in four shutout innings, giving up three hits and no walks. His ERA is 2.13. Juan Mojica struck out two in two shutout innings to drop his ERA to 3.00. Frandy Torres pitched a scoreless inning to lower his ERA to 0.87. Urena was 2-for-4 and is batting .341. Alberoni Nunez was 1-for-3 with a walk and is batting .361. Yeltsin Encarnacion was 0-for-4 and is batting .328. Juan Martinez was 0-for-4 and is batting .304.
TODAY'S TILTS
9:00 GCL Twins at GCL Red Sox
9:30 DSL Mets1 at DSL Twins
5:05 Dunedin (Taylor Saucedo, 1-0, 5.13) at Fort Myers (Eduardo Del Rosario, 1-1, 4.50)
6:00 Elizabethton at Johnson City (Jacob Schlesener, 1-1, 2.45)
6:05 Norfolk (Mike Wright, 3-4, 3.62) at Rochester (Aaron Slegers, 12-4, 3.32)
6:30 Chattanooga (Dereck Rodriguez, 4-2, 4.18) at Birmingham (Michael Kopech, 8-7, 3.04)
6:35 Quad Cities (Patrick Sandoval, 1-1, 3.49) at Cedar Rapids (Anthony Marzi, 3-2, 2.21)
PLAYOFF PICTURE
Rochester is one game behind Lehigh Valley in the wild card race.
Chattanooga qualified for the playoffs by winning the first half and leads Montgomery by five games in the second half.
Fort Myers leads Jupiter by three and a half games.
Cedar Rapids qualified for the playoffs by finishing second in the first half.
Elizabethton leads Greeneville by two games.
The GCL Twins lead the GCL Orioles by two games.
The DSL Twins lead the DSL Mets1 by 5.5 games.