Rehabbing Yankees sink the Red Wings. Fernando Romero seems to be wearing down. Brent Rooker keeps hitting as Clark Beeker struggles to make the jump to high-A. Jimmy Kerrigan has the big hit for Cedar Rapids. The E-Twins give up a couple of big innings. Alberoni Nunez keeps hitting.
SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE 8, ROCHESTER 3 IN ROCHESTER
Anthony Recker doubled home a run in the third to give the Red Wings a 1-0 lead, but the RailRiders responded with a seven-run fourth that put the game out of reach early. Starlin Castro and Greg Bird opened the inning with back-to-back homers and Mason Williams had a two-run double.
Chris Heston pitched three innings, giving up seven runs (six earned) on eight hits and two walks with one strikeout. Mason Melotakis pitched two shutout innings. Jake Reed pitched 1.1 scoreless innings to drop his ERA to 2.08. Levi Michael made his AAA debut and was 0-for-3.
MISSISSIPPI 6, CHATTANOOGA 2 IN CHATTANOOGA
Already leading 1-0, the Braves scored four in the third to take control early. Joey Meneses had a two-run single and Keith Curcio had a two-run double in the inning. Jonathan Rodriguez had a two-run homer in the fourth to cut the lead to 6-2 but that was all the Lookouts could do.
Fernando Romero pitched five innings, giving up six runs (five earned) on nine hits and no walks with three strikeouts. Todd Van Steensel pitched two shutout innings to lower his ERA to 1.27 with 57 strikeouts in 56.2 innings. Nick Anderson pitched a perfect inning to make his ERA 0.88 with a WHIP of 0.75 and 34 strikeouts in 30.2 innings. Rodriguez was 2-for-3 with a walk, a double, and a home run (his nineteenth) and is batting .308. Edgar Corcino was 0-for-4 and is batting .301.
CLEARWATER 8, FORT MYERS 5 IN CLEARWATER
Brent Rooker hit a two-run homer in the top of the third to give the Miracle a 4-2 lead, but the Threshers came back with five in the bottom of the third to go into the lead to stay. Jose Pujols homered to tie the score and Mark Laird had an RBI single to put Clearwater ahead. Fort Myers scored one in the fourth to cut the lead to 7-5, but that was as close as they would come. The Miracle had only one hit after the fourth inning.
Clark Beeker pitched four innings, allowing seven runs on thirteen hits and a walk with one strikeout. Michael Theofanopoulos struck out four in two shutout innings. Rooker was 2-for-4 with a double, a home run (his ninth), and three RBIs. Chris Paul was 1-for-3 with a walk and is batting .344.
CEDAR RAPIDS 6, KANE COUNTY 3 IN KANE COUNTY
The Kernels scored three in the fifth to take a 3-1 lead. The Cougars came back in the sixth with two runs to tie it 3-3. It stayed tied until the ninth, when Jimmy Kerrigan delivered a bases-loaded triple to put Cedar Rapids in the lead to stay. Kane County brought the tying run to the plate with two out in the bottom of the ninth, but a strikeout ended the game.
Anthony Marzi pitched five innings, giving up one run on three hits and two walks with two strikeouts to make his ERA 1.98. Eduardo Del Rosario pitched a scoreless inning. Aaron Whitefield and Ben Rortvedt were each 2-for-4. Royce Lewis was 1-for-4 with a walk and is batting .340.
BRISTOL 10, ELIZABETHTON 2 IN ELIZABETHTON
T. J. Dixon had an RBI triple to put the Twins up 1-0 in the second. The lead held until the fifth, when the Pirates scored five times. Edison Lantigua had a two-run single in the inning. Elizabethton got on in the seventh, but Bristol put the game firmly out of reach with a four-run eighth. Paul Brands had a two-run single in that inning.
Bailey Ober struck out seven in five innings but allowed five runs on seven hits and no walks. He did well for the first four innings. Dixon was 2-for-3 with a triple. Miranda was 2-for-4 with a triple. Akil Baddoo was 0-for-4 and is batting .350. Wander Javier was 1-for-4 and is batting .323. Rainis Silva was 0-for-3 with a walk and is batting .310.
GCL TWINS 7, GCL ORIOLES 1 AT ORIOLES
Each team scored a run in the second and it was 1-1 through five. The Twins then scored two in the sixth, two in the seventh, and two in the ninth. Ricky De La Torre had a two-run homer in the ninth inning.
Carlos Suniaga pitched 5.2 innings, giving up one run on nine hits and no walks with four strikeouts. His ERA is 1.93. Kevin Marnon struck out five in 3.1 scoreless innings to drop his ERA to 0.66 with 15 strikeouts in 13.2 innings. Colton Burns was 2-for-3 with two walks. De La Torre's home run was his third. Alex Robles was 1-for-1 with two walks and is batting .319. Jean Carlos Arias was 1-for-3 with a double and is batting .311.
DSL TWINS 11, DSL YANKEES 5 AT YANKEES
Alberoni Nunez hit a two-run homer in the fourth to put the Twins ahead 3-1. It was 6-4 after seven, but a five-run eighth put the game out of reach. Samuel Vasquez hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning.
Andriu Marin struck out six in five innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on three hits and no walks. His ERA is 2.09, Vasquez was 3-for-5 with a double, a home run (his second) and three runs. Nunez was 2-for-3 with a home run (his third) and is batting .358. Ruben Santana was 2-for-4 and is batting .355. Yeltsin Encarnacion was 1-for-5 and is batting .313. Estamy Urena was 1-for-4 with a walk and is batting .312.
TODAY'S TILTS
9:30 DSL Angels at DSL Twins
11:00 GCL Red Sox at GCL Twins
6:00 Bristol at Elizabethton (Ryley Widell, 0-2, 2.08)
6:05 Buffalo at Rochester (Stephen Gonsalves, 1-1, 5.06)
6:05 Charlotte (Burke Brock, 4-5, 4.42) at Fort Myers (Brady Anderson, 6-8, 4.16)
6:15 Mississippi (Wes Parsons, 3-3, 2.76) at Chattanooga
6:35 Cedar Rapids (Charlie Barnes, 2-0, 3.18) at Quad Cities (Nathan Thompson, 0-0, 4.50)
PLAYOFF PICTURE
Rochester is in first place in the wild card race, leading Lehigh Valley by three games. Their magic number is nine.
Chattanooga qualified for the playoffs by winning the first half. They are in first place in the second half, leading Montgomery by six games. Their magic number is six.
Fort Myers is in first place in the second half, leading Charlotte by three games. Their magic number is eight.
Cedar Rapids qualified for the playoffs by finishing second in the first half. They are tied for second place in the second half with Peoria.
Elizabethton is in first place, leading Johnson City by 2.5 games. Their magic number to qualify for the playoffs is six.
The GCL Twins are in first place, leading the GCL Orioles by five games. Their magic number is four.
The DSL Twins have clinched first place and are qualified for the playoffs. They lead the DSL Mets1 by six games.