Zack Granite makes a successful comeback and Felix Jorge makes a successful AAA debut. Anthony McIver makes a successful AA debut. Gabriel Moya has nothing to learn in Chattanooga. A fine game by Tyler Watson. Randy Dobnak had a fine game as well as Akil Baddoo keeps hitting. Benjamin Rodriguez and Jean Carlos Arias hit three-run homers. The DSL Twins clinch the division.
ROCHESTER 5, SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE 4 IN ROCHESTER (COMPLETION OF SUSPENDED GAME)
The RailRiders got two in the first, but the Red Wings got one back in the bottom of the first on ByungHo Park's RBI single. Homers by Mark Payton and Jonathan Diaz made it 4-1 after two. In the third, Park struck again, hitting a three-run homer that tied it 4-4. It was suspended in the top of the fourth and completed yesterday. Nobody scored until the eighth, when J. B. Shuck led off with a double and Leonardo Reginatto delivered a two-run double. The RailRiders got a leadoff single in the ninth but did not advance the runner past first base.
Aaron Slegers had pitched 3.1 innings before the suspension and allowed four runs on eight hits and a walk with two strikeouts. Drew Rucinski struck out five in 3.1 scoreless innings to drop his ERA to 2.79. Alex Wimmers struck out two in two shutout innings to lower his ERA to 2.45 with a WHIP of 0.83 and 46 strikeouts in 44 innings. Reginatto was 3-for-4 with a double. Park was 2-for-4 with his thirteenth homer. Shuck was 2-for-4 with a double. Zack Granite returned to the lineup and was 1-for-5 to make his average .335.
ROCHESTER 1, SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE 0 IN ROCHESTER (SCHEDULED GAME--7 INNINGS)>
There was no score until the seventh, when Leonardo Reginatto hit a two-out walkoff home run. The RailRiders biggest threat came in the second, when they put men on second and third with one out. A strikeout and a ground out ended the threat.
Felix Jorge was brilliant in his AAA debut, striking out seven in six shutout innings while giving up five hits and a walk. He threw 93 pitches. Michael Tonkin struck out all three batters he faced to make his ERA 1.93 with 57 strikeouts in 37.1 innings. Zack Granite was 2-for-3 with a double to make his average .338. Reginatto's home run was his third.
CHATTANOOGA 7, MISSISSIPPI 2 IN CHATTANOOGA
A two-run double by Max Murphy and an RBI double by T. J. White put the Lookouts ahead 3-0. The Braves scored one in the fourth, but Chattanooga got four in the bottom of the fourth to take control of the game. Edgar Corcino and LaMonte Wade each had a two-run single in the inning.
D. J. Baxendale pitched four innings, giving up one run on two hits and two walks with three strikeouts. His ERA is 1.54. Anthony McIver pitched two shutout innings in his AA debut. Gabriel Moya pitched a scoreless inning to drop his ERA to 0.84 with a WHIP of 0.78 and 83 strikeouts in 53.2 innings. White was 3-for-3 with a double and a walk. Jonathan Rodriguez was 0-for-2 with two walks and is batting .306. Edgar Corcino was 1-for-4 and is batting .304.
FORT MYERS 6, CLEARWATER 4 IN CLEARWATER
The Miracle scored two in the fourth to take a 3-1 lead. Brent Rooker had an RBI double in the fifth and later scored to put Fort Myers up 5-2. The Threshers responded with two in the bottom of the fifth, but the potential tying run was thrown out trying to score from second on a single and they would never get that close again. Zander Weil homered to provide an insurance run in the seventh.
Starter Sean Poppen pitched only two-thirds on an inning before being removed after a rain dealy. Sam Clay struck out two in two shutout innings to lower his ERA to 1.20. Michael Kohn pitched a scoreless inning to keep his ERA at zero with a WHIP of 0.75 and 5 strikeouts in 4 innings. Tom Hackimer pitched a scoreless inning to make his ERA 2.23 with 36 strikeouts in 32.1 innings. Jaylin Davis was 3-for-4. Chris Paul was 1-for-4 with a walk and is batting .344. Weil's home run was his twelfth.
CEDAR RAPIDS 5, KANE COUNTY 3 IN KANE COUNTY (10 INNINGS)
Joe Cronin tripled and scored in the third and Travis Blankenhorn homered in the fifth to give the Kernels a 2-0 lead. The Cougars got one back in the bottom of the fifth and tied it on Marcus Wilson's RBI single in the eighth. In the tenth, Trey Cabbage delivered an RBI single to put Cedar Rapids ahead and they scored two more on a pair of bases-loaded walks. The insurance runs came in handy, as Anfernee Greer had an RBI single in the bottom of the tenth. The tying run was up to bat with two out, but a strikeout ended the game.
Tyler Watson pitched six innings, giving up one run on four hits and no walks with four strikeouts. Cabbage was 3-for-5 with a double. Shane Carrier was 2-for-5. Blankenhorn's home run was his tenth. Royce Lewis was 0-for-4 with a walk and is batting .349.
ELIZABETHTON 10, BRISTOL 2 IN ELIZABETHTON
J. J. Robinson hit a two-run homer in the first and the Twins led all the way. A wild pitch scored a run in the second and back-to-back homers by Akil Baddoo and Wander Javier made it 5-0 after four. The Pirates got on the board in the fifth, but Elizabethton put the game out of reach with three in the bottom of the fifth, as Ariel Montesino hit a two-run triple and later scored.
Randy Dobnak pitched six innings, giving up one run on seven hits and two walks with four strikeouts. His ERA is 2.54. Javier was 4-for-5 with a double and a home run (his third) and is batting .326. Baddoo was 3-for-4 with a double and a home run (his second) and is batting .365. Robinson was 2-for-4 with a double and a home run, his eighth). Montesino was 2-for-4 with a triple. Andrew Bechtold was 2-for-4 with a walk and is batting .306. Matt Albanese was 2-for-5.
GCL TWINS 9, GCL ORIOLES 6 AT TWINS
Benjamin Rodriguez hit a three-run homer in the first inning to give the Twins a 3-0 lead. The Orioles came back with one in the second, three in the third, and got a two-run homer from Jose Lizarraga in the sixth to go ahead 6-3. Kerby Camacho singled home a run in the bottom of the sixth to make it 6-4. It stayed there until the eighth, when Jean Carlos Arias hit a three-run homer to put the Twins in the lead to stay. Victor Tademo provided a couple of insurance runs with a two-run single. The Orioles did not get a hit after the sixth inning.
Landon Leach pitched 2.2 innings, allowing three unearned runs on one hit and three walks with two strikeouts. Austin Bizzle pitched 2.1 perfect innings to drop his ERA to 2.25 with a WHIP of 0.75. Arias was 2-for-3 with a walk, a double, and a home run (his sixth) and is batting .311. Rodriguez' home run was his fourth. Alex Robles was 1-for-3 and is batting .315.
DSL TWINS 1, DSL YANKEES 0 AT TWINS (GAME 1--7 INNINGS)
Yeltsin Encarncion tripled and scored on an Estamy Urena double in the first inning and that was the only run of the game. The Yankees put men on first and second in the second and third, but did not get a man past first after that.
Fredderi Soto pitched three shutout innings, giving up four hits and no walks with two strikeouts. His ERA is 1.34. Junior Navas pitched three shutout innings to keep his ERA at zero in 18.2 innings. Frandy Torres pitched a perfect inning to lower his ERA to 0.76. Juan Martinez was 2-for-2 with a walk. Alberoni Nunez was 0-for-2 and is batting .357. Ruben Santana was 0-for-2 and is batting .354. Encarnacion was 1-for-3 with a triple and is batting .316. Urena was 1-for-3 with a double and is batting .313.
DSL YANKEES 3, DSL TWINS 0 AT YANKEES (GAME 2--7 INNINGS)
An error gave the Yankees a run in the third and Christian Andrade hit a two-run homer in the sixth. The Twins put men on first and third with two out in the seventh, bringing the tying run to the plate, but a fly out ended the game.
Steven Cruz struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk. The Twins had just four hits. Alberoni Nunez was 0-for-2 with a walk and is batting .352. Yeltsin Encarnacion was 1-for-3 and is batting .317.
TODAY'S TILTS
9:30 DSL Twins at DSL Yankees
11:00 GCL Twins at GCL Orioles
12:35 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Jordan Montgomery, no record) at Rochester
6:00 Bristol at Elizabethton (Bailey Ober, 2-1, 1.96)
6:00 Fort Myers (Clark Beeker, 1-0, 4.50) at Clearwater (Edgar Garcia, 3-4, 4.19)
6:15 Mississippi (Touki Toussaint, 1-3, 2.05) at Chattanooga
6:30 Cedar Rapids (Anthony Marzi, 5-2, 1.99) at Kane County (Mack Lemieux, 7-5, 4.72)
PLAYOFF PICTURE
Rochester is in first place in the wild card race, leading Lehigh Valley by four games. Their magic number is nine.
Chattanooga qualified for the playoffs by winning the first half and is in first place in the second half, leading Montgomery by seven games. Their magic number is six.
Fort Myers is in first place in the second half, leading Charlotte by 4.5 games. Their magic number is eight.
Cedar Rapids qualified for the playoffs by finishing second in the first half. They are in third place in the second half, trailing second-place Peoria by one game.
Elizabethton is in first place, leading Johnson City by three games. Their magic number is eight.
The GCL Twins are in first place, leading the GCL Orioles by four games. Their magic number is six.
The DSL Twins are in first place, leading the DSL Mets1 by six games. They have clinched their division.