Niko Goodrum's homer leads the Red Wings. A not-good rehab appearance by Glen Perkins. A big day for Tanner English. Joe Cronin caps a big Kernel comeback. Mark Contreras and Melvi Acosta lead the E-Twins.
ROCHESTER 4, NORFOLK 3 IN ROCHESTER
The Tides scored two in the fourth to take a 3-1 lead. Daniel Palka singled in a run in the fifth to make it 3-2. In the sixth, Niko Goodrum hit a two-run homer to put the Red Wings in front for the first time at 4-3. Norfolk put men on first and second with two out in the seventh but did not get a man past first after that.
Tim Melville pitched 6.2 innings, giving up three runs on four hits and three walks with six strikeouts. Nik Turley struck out two in 1.1 scoreless innings to drop his ERA to 2.83 with 76 strikeouts in 63.2 innings. Alex Wimmers pitched a perfect inning to lower his ERA to 2.82 with a WHIP of 0.91. Goodrum's home run was his tenth. Zack Granite was 1-for-4 and is batting .337.
BIRMINGHAM 7, CHATTANOOGA 4 IN BIRMINGHAM
The Barons scored three in the fifth to take a 4-0 lead. The Lookouts then scored one in the seventh and three in the eighth to tie it 4-4, missing a chance to take the lead when Nick Gordon was thrown out at the plate trying to score from first on an Edgar Corcino single. In the bottom of the seventh, five walks plated two Birmingham runs to put them in the lead to stay. Two more walks and a single provided a Barons insurance run in the eighth.
Felix Jorge struck out six in 4.2 innings but allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits and three walks. Randy Rosario pitched 1.1 scoreless innings. Glen Perkins pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up two runs on no hits but two walks. He threw 17 pitches. Gordon was 2-for-3 with a double and two walks. Carlos Paulino was 2-for-3 with a walk and is batting .350. Corcino was 2-for-5 and is batting .308. Jonathan Rodriguez was 1-for-4 and is batting .307.
FORT MYERS 11, DUNEDIN 7 IN FORT MYERS
The Miracle scored two in the second to take a 2-0 lead. The Blue Jays got one in the top of the fourth, but Fort Myers responded with two in the bottom of the fourth to go up 4-1. It was 5-2 going to the bottom of the sixth, but the Miracle scored three in the sixth and three in the seventh to take control of the game. Dunedin scored five in the ninth and had the bases loaded with none out, but a strikeout, popup, and another strikeout ended the game.
Brady Anderson pitched five innings, giving up one run on four hits and a walk with one strikeout. Alex Muren struck out two in a scoreless inning to make his ERA 2.18 with 36 strikeouts in 33 innings. Tanner English was 4-for-4 with two doubles and three runs. Zander Weil was 3-for-4 with a triple, a double, and a walk. Nelson Molina was 2-for-4. Jermaine Palacios was 2-for-5 with three RBIs.
CEDAR RAPIDS 7, QUAD CITIES 6 IN CEDAR RAPIDS
Aaron Whitefield hit a two-run homer in a three-run first the put the Kernels up 3-1. The River Bandits came back with five in the third, as Chas McCormick hit a grand slam and Luis Payano hit a solo homer. The score remained 6-3 until the bottom of the ninth. with Cedar Rapids not even threatening in innings two through eight. The Kernels opened the ninth with two singles and a walk, loading the bases. Shane Carrier singled home a run and another was walked in to make it 6-5 with the bases still loaded and none out. Joe Cronin then delivered a two-run single to win the game for Cedar Rapids.
Charlie Barnes pitched just three innings, allowing six runs on seven hits and two walks with one strikeout. Evan Sanders pitched three shutout innings, giving up no hits and two walks. Patrick McGuff pitched three shutout innings to drop his ERA to 2.11 with 41 strikeouts in 38.1 innings. Carrier was 2-for-4. Whitefield's home run was his eleventh. Royce Lewis was 1-for-4 and is batting .556.
ELIZABETHTON 12, JOHNSON CITY 1 IN JOHNSON CITY
The Cardinals scored in the first inning, but the Twins took over from there. Mark Contreras doubled home the tying run and Matt Albanese singled in the lead run, both in the second inning. Kolton Kendrick had a two-run single in a four-run fifth that put Elizbethton ahead 6-1. The Twins added three more in the seventh and Contreras hit a two-run homer in a three-run ninth.
Melvi Acosta pitched his best game of the season, going seven innings and giving up one run on six hits and two walks with no strikeouts. Jovani Moran struck out five in two shutout innings to keep his ERA at zero with a WHIP of 0.82 and 30 strikeouts in 18.1 innings. Andrew Bechtold was 2-for-4 with two doubles and a walk and is batting .324. Contreras was 2-for-5 with a home run (his third), a double, and four RBIs. Kendrick was 2-for-5 with a double. Albanese was 2-for-5 and is batting .300. Carson Crites was 1-for-5 and is batting .324. Jose Miranda was 1-for-5 and is batting .304.
GCL TWINS
No game scheduled.
DSL TWINS
No game scheduled.
TODAY'S TILTS
9:30 DSL Nationals at DSL Twins
11:00 GCL Rays at GCL Twins
6:00 Elizabethton (Nick Brown, 1-1, 4.24) at Johnson City (Evan Guillory, 2-1, 2.87)
6:05 Lakeland (Austin Sodders, 2-4, 1.90) at Fort Myers (Lewis Thorpe, 3-4, 2.86)
6:30 Cedar Rapids (Tyler Beardsley, 3-6, 5.63) at Burlington (Andrew Vinson, 7-9, 4.90)
7:05 Chattanooga (D. J. Baxendale, 0-0, 9.00) at Birmingham (Spencer Adams, 7-12, 4.09)
PLAYOFF PICTURE
Rochester is tied with Lehigh Valley in the wild card race.
Chattanooga won the first half and is in first place by 4 games over Montgomery in the second half.
Fort Myers is in first place by 4.5 games over Jupiter.
Cedar Rapids qualified for the playoffs by finishing second in the first half.
Elizabethton is in first place by 2.5 games over Greeneville and Johnson City.
The GCL Twins are in first place by 2 games over the GCL Orioles.
The DSL Twins are in first place by 6.5 games over the DSL Mets1.