April 11 Minor League Report

Buffalo Bisons (3-3)

Game postponed due to weather.

New Hampshire Fisher Cats (5-3)

It was a night of firsts (of the year) in Manchester, New Hampshire as the Fisher Cats pulled off a 3-1 win on Thursday in a close game against the Binghamton Mets.  Deck McGuire had his best outing in a long time, picking up his first win of 2013.  I’m wondering if McGuire made any adjustments for tonight’s game, mainly because he was inducing a lot of swinging strikes and keeping the ball very close to the strike zone, even when he missed (according to Gameday on MiLB.com).  Two more firsts were registered tonight as Adam Loewen, reassigned to AA, and Kevin Pillar each hit their first home runs of the season, providing all of the offense for the Fisher Cats on this night of fantastic pitching.

Roster notes: 1B/OF Adam Loewen and P Tyson Brummett were assigned to AA New Hampshire from AAA Buffalo today.  RP Randy Boone and OF Brian Van Kirk were placed on the DL and RHP Fernando Hernandez was activated off the DL and got into some game action tonight. 

Hitting:

Kenny Wilson – 1/4, K

Kevin Pillar – 2/4, R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI

Ryan Schimpf – 0/4, 2 K

Clint Robinson – 2/4, CS

Adam Loewen – 2/3, R, HR, RBI, BB, K

Kevin Nolan – 1/4, 2 K, E

Brad Glenn – 1/4,

Sean Ochinko – 0/3

John Tolisano – 1/2, R, BB, CS

Pitching:

Deck McGuire – W, 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K, WP

Fernando Hernandez – 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

Chad Beck – S, 1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K

Blue Jays from Away Player of the Game: Deck McGuire

Dunedin Blue Jays (5-2)

Dunedin played host to a marquee pitching matchup between Yankees prospect, 21-year-old Corey Black and the Jays’ #1 prospect, 20-year-old fireballer Aaron Sanchez, with Dunedin coming out on top 3-2 in 11 innings.  Sanchez proved unhittable through 5 despite throwing primarily fastballs the first time through the order.  He was hitting 97 and 98 mph on the radar gun and it looks like he’s really working on commanding that heat.  Tampa simply waited for him to come out of the game, promptly scoring two runs in the top of the sixth, both charged to rehabbing Evan Crawford who gave up two hits and walked a pair.  The bullpen held fast from then on, with Ajay Meyer, Tony Davis, and Marco Grifantini combining for five scoreless innings while only giving up four hits and no walks over that span. 

In the bottom of the 11^th, the offense almost didn’t get it done with 3B Andy Burns getting thrown out at home with one out.  However, that fielder’s choice left pinch runner Nick Baligod at second base with Gabe Jacobo at first with two outs.  The next batter, Marcus Knecht (who had driven in the D-Jays’ previous run) singled, scoring Baligod from second and finishing up the walk-off victory for the home squad. 

Don’t forget to tune into the Dunedin Blue Jays radio team of Tyler Murray and Patrick Kurish for their great job on the broadcast!  You can find details HERE.

Roster Notes: Evan Crawford was assigned to Dunedin after starting the season in New Hampshire, and OF Michael Crouse, and RP Shawn Griffith were placed on the DL while C Pierce Rankin and OF Nick Baligod were activated from the DL.

Hitting:

Jon Berti  -0/5, K

Peter Mooney – 1/4, R, RBI, K

Andy Burns – 1/5, E

Kevin Patterson – 1/4, BB

                Nick Baligod PR – 0/0, R

Gabe Jacobo – 0/4, BB, 2 K

Marcus Knecht – 2/5, 2 RBI, 3 K

Matt Newman – 1/2, 2 BB

Derrick Chung – 0/3, K

Jonathan Jones –1/3, R, 2B, BB

Pitching:

Aaron Sanchez – 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K

Evan Crawford – 2/3 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 B, K

Ajay Meyer – 1 IP, 1 H, K

Tony Davis – 1 1/3 IP, 1 H, 2 K

Marco Grifantini – W, 3 IP, 2 H

Blue Jays from Away Player of the Game: Aaron Sanchez.  Honourable mentions to Marco Grifantini and Marcus Knecht.

Lansing Lugnuts (3-4)

The "Crosstown Showdown" versus the Michigan State baseball team was postponed to May 1 due to weather.

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