Kennys Vargas is hot. it took three batters for the Lookouts to lose. A wild inning costs the Miracle. Tanner Kiest took an interesting path to his Class A debut.
ROCHESTER 5, DURHAM 4 IN DURHAM
The Red Wings scored two in the ninth to take a 5-2 lead. Kean Wong hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth and the Bulls had the tying run on base when the game ended.
Taylor Featherston was 2-for-4 with a home run (his fourth) and a walk, driving in three. Jake Cave was 2-for-4 with a home run, his fourth. Kennys Vargas was 2-for-4 with a home run, his eighth. In his last ten games he is batting .343 (12-for-35) with five home runs. Nick Gordon was 2-for-4 with a walk and is batting .302. Taylor Motter was 0-for-3 with a walk in his Rochester debut.
Dietrich Enns struck out seven in six innings, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks. D. J. Baxendale struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.
BIRMINGHAM 3, CHATTANOOGA 0 IN BIRMINGHAM
Eloy Jimenez hit a three-run homer in the first and that was it. The Lookouts had just two hits, both singles.
Zander Wiel was 0-for-3 and is batting .311.
Sean Poppen struck out six in 4.2 innings but allowed three runs on three hits and five walks. Tyler Jay struck out three in 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and two walks. His ERA is 1.74. Williams Ramirez struck out three in a scoreless inning, giving up two hits.
CLEARWATER 5, FORT MYERS 1 IN CLEARWATER
A hit batsman and three walks allowed the Threshers to score four runs in the third on just two hits. The lone Miracle run scored in the seventh on a Lewin Diaz single.
The Miracle had just four hits, with no one getting more than one.
Clark Beeker pitched six innings, giving up four runs on six hits and three walks. The three walks he allowed in the third were the only walks he surrendered. He did not record a strikeout.
WISCONSIN 7, CEDAR RAPIDS 2 IN CEDAR RAPIDS
It was tied 2-2 after five, but the Timber Rattlers scored two in the sixth and three in the ninth.
Royce Lewis was 2-for-4 with two doubles and is batting .316. Jose Miranda was 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Robby Rinn was 0-for-4 and is batting .333. Alex Kirilloff was 0-for-4 and is batting .319.
Tanner Kiest struck out four in three innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on four hits and three walks. It was the Class A debut for Kiest, who was in the GCL for the Phillies in 2014-2015, played for three independent teams in three different leagues in 2016, and did not play at all in 2017. That's not exactly the traditional path to the majors, but we wish him well.
TODAY'S TILTS
4:00 St. Lucie at Fort Myers (completion of twice-suspended game)
5:30 Fort Myers at St. Lucie (Gabriel Llanes, 2-5, 5.89)
6:05 Rochester (Adalberto Mejia, 0-1, 5.19) at Norfolk (Yefry Ramirez, 2-3, 4.93)
6:30 Cedar Rapids (Randy Dobnak, 3-2, 5.26) at Burlington (Isaac Mattson, 3-2, 3.82)
7:05 Chattanooga at Birmingham (Jordan Guerrero, 1-5, 6.46)