Minor League Report: Addison Barger hit his eighth home run of the season for the Bisons
20 days ago
For the first time this season, all six Blue Jays affiliates were in action.
The Dominican Summer League kicked off on Tuesday, while the Florida Complex League Jays played a high scoring affair. Sadly, only two of the six teams picked up a win.
Let’s take a look at the latest Minor League Report!
Buffalo lost the series opener
The Buffalo Bisons opened their series on the road against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, falling 5-3 to bring their record to 30-28. They dropped a spot in the standings to the 5th best team in the International League East.
All three of Buffalo’s runs came via a solo home runs, as Nathan Lukes hit his sixth home run of the season, which gave the Bisons a 1-0 lead at the time.
Steward Berroa has been incredibly impressive this season, and he hit his fifth home run of the season in the top of the fifth to tie the game at two. This season, the centrefielder is slashing .316/.405/.481 in 154 plate appearances.
The last home run came from Addison Barger, who’s solo blast brought the Bisons within one, making it a 4-3 game. This was his eighth-home run of the season and he’s now slashing .268/.398/.523 for a 139 wRC+ this season.
Elsewhere in the lineup, Spencer Horwitz hit his International League-leading 21st double of the season. Although he may lack home run power, he’s a lean, mean, doubles, machine. Lukes, Berroa, and Cam Eden had multi-hit games.
Andrew Bash made the start for the Bisons, finishing with a line of 4 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K with a home run given up to bring his season ERA to 4.40. Mike Mayers was tagged with the loss, finishing with a line of 1.1 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K with a home run given up. Connor Cooke was the only reliever to not give up a home run, striking out two in an inning and two thirds pitched.
Erik Swanson’s struggles with the long ball continued in Buffalo, as he gave up a home run and two walks in the eighth inning. Thankfully, the home run came first.
New Hampshire doubled up Erie
Like Buffalo, it was home run galore for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, but they won their game 10-5 over the Erie SeaWolves. Their record now sits at 24-28.
Ryan McCarty was recently called up to the Fisher Cats, and the Ryan McCarty Party doesn’t stop, as he hit his first home run in the upper-minors. On top of that, McCarty had one of three doubles for the Fisher Cats.
Garrett Spain also hit his eighth home run of the season, tied for third in the organization, while Rainer Nuñez hit his fourth home run of the season. Alan Roden and Alex De Jesus each had a double, with the latter having a three-hit performance.
Roden, Spain, McCarty, Phil Clarke, and Gabriel Martinez all had multi-hit games as well, with the last two hitting two singles.
Trenton Wallace is quickly rising his stock in the Jays’ organization, as he finished with a line of 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K with a home run given up to bring his season ERA to 2.64. Hunter Gregory struck out two, but allowed an earned run in an inning and two thirds. Jimmy Burnette gave up two earned runs in an inning and a third, while Eric Pardinho’s scoreless streak continued, striking out and walking two in his inning of work.
Vancouver can’t seem to go above .500
The Vancouver Canadians fell 6-2 on Tuesday, bringing their record to 23-24. They seemingly cannot reach above .500, but are just 3.5 games back of the division lead with three teams to jump.
Vancouver had just two hits, but both were of the long-ball variety. First off, shortstop Nick Goodwin hit his sixth home run of the season, giving the Canadians an early 1-0 lead.
In the next inning, Jeffrey Wehler hit his third home run of the season, giving the Canadians a 2-0 lead. Unfortunately, the Everett AquaSox scored six unanswered, and Vancouver failed to get another hit in this game.
The Canadians used a ton of pitchers, as starter Lazaro Estrada went only an inning and two thirds, giving up four runs, none earned, and striking out two batters. Carson Pierce struck out and walked a batter in his 2.1 innings pitched, while Grayson Thurman gave up two earned runs in two thirds of an inning pitched.
Johnathan Lavallee struck out a batter in his inning and a third pitched, while Conor Lark struck out the side in his inning of work. Naswell Paulino pitched a scoreless inning with a hit allowed.
Damiano Palmegiani leads Dunedin to a win
Like the Canadians, the Dunedin Blue Jays have been hovering around .500 for the season, and their 3-1 win over the Palm Beach Cardinals brought them to 26-26.
Damiano Palmegiani hit the team’s only home run, as he went 1-2 with a walk as well. The Canadian is on a rehab assignment and should return to Buffalo in the coming weeks. Manuel Beltre, Bryce Arnold, and Jean Joseph all hit doubles, while Cristian Feliz hit a single.
Jorge Bautista finished with a line of 7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K to bring his season ERA to 3.75. J.J. Sanchez struck out two in an inning of work, while Bo Bonds picked up the save, striking out two batters in his inning of work.
Shoutout to former Blue Jays prospect, catcher Sammy Hernandez, who drove in Palm Beach’s only run.
FCL Jays scored 13 runs, but the FCL Yankees scored more
You know what makes a long article even longer? When the FCL Jays and the FCL Yankees combined for 30 runs, 13 of which came from the Florida Complex League Jays.
Canadian Sam Shaw hit one of two doubles and was one of two players with an extra-base hit. He also walked three times, as did David Guzmán. Adrian Meza was the player with a multi-hit game, while Carlos Vasquez hit his third double of the season. Other players with a hit were Enmaneul Bonilla, Maykel Minoso, and Kendry Chirinos, who also walked twice (as did Gregori Cano).
Pitching didn’t have a great day, as you can see by the 17 runs. Daniel Guerra had a solid start, finishing with a line of 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER (2 R), 2 BB, 7 K. After that though, woof, Julio Ortiz gave up three earned runs in an inning and a third and Jorge Guerra gave up three earned runs in two thirds.
Carlos Meza was the only pitcher that didn’t give up an earned run, as he finished with a line of 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER (2 R), 1 BB, 1 K. Next up was Canadian Evan Elliott, who gave up one earned run (two runs) in an inning pitched. Luis Gomez gave up four earned runs in an inning.
DSL Jays played in a high scoring affair
From one high-scoring game to another, the Dominican Summer League Blue Jays opened their season off with a bang, falling 15-9 in 12 innings to the DSL Cardinals.
Only three players had hits in this game for the DSL Jays, as Aldo Gaxiola had three hits, including the team’s only extra-base hit, a double. Pascual Archila had two singles and three walks, while Randy Soto had a single and a walk.
So where did the nine runs come from? Well, the DSL Jays walked 17 times in this game, gotta love rookie ball. Angel Guzmán walked four times, Juarlin Soto walked three times, as did Dariel Ramon.
Pitching wasn’t great for the DSL Jays on Tuesday. Eduar Gonzalez finished with a line of 3 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K. First out of the bullpen was Victor Espiritu, who gave up five earned runs, three walks, but struck out six in three innings and two thirds. Edgar Gallegos pitched a scoreless inning and a third.
Ramon Suarez had the best outing of any DSL Jays pitcher, giving up a hit in three innings while striking out six. Afterwards, Danny Martinez gave up five earned runs (six runs) in a third of an inning, while Geremy Barroso gave up two earned runs in two thirds of an inning.
Hopefully, Thursday sees less runs.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.
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