It’s time to call a first baseman up.
The Blue Jays organization had a solid day, winning three of five games, including shutting out a team, blowing a team out, and winning a close one.
Let’s take a look at the latest Minor League Report!
Buffalo blew out Syracuse
Before we look at Saturday’s game, there was a scary incident involving Buffalo Bisons catcher, Payton Henry, during Friday’s game. A back swing from a Syracuse Mets batter hit Henry in the back of the head, with the catcher needing to go to the hospital. Thankfully, Henry was released on Saturday, which is great news.
The Bisons followed up that scary incident with a win on Saturday, defeating the Mets 13-5 to bring their season record to 30-26 for fourth in the International League East.
There’s not much else Spencer Horwitz will need to do in Triple-A. On Saturday, he went 5-6 with two doubles, a home run, and two singles, along with six RBI. Simply put, the Blue Jays have to find a way to get him in their big league lineup.
Horwitz wasn’t the only Bison with a home run, as Addison Barger hit his seventh home run of the season, giving him a .923 OPS for the season. On top of all that, Steward Berroa had a four-hit performance, hitting his third, fourth, and fifth doubles of the season.
Rafael Lantigua, Nathan Lukes, and Michael Turconi each had two hit performances as well, while Orelvis Martinez hit a single. Brian Serven walked twice, while Will Robertson and Lantigua each walked once.
Aaron Sanchez made the start for the Bisons, finishing with a line of 5.1 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 5 K with a home run given up. His season ERA sits at 11.81, but this is his first win in the organization since 2019. Hayden Juenger was the first out of the pen, striking out two in an inning and a third.
Brandon Eisert struck out all four batters he faced to bring his season ERA to 6.61, while Hagen Danner struck out two in an inning of work.
New Hampshire won a close one
The New Hampshire Fisher Cats allowed two runs in the bottom of the first, but managed to win 4-3 to bring their season record to 23-27.
Gabriel Martinez hit his fourth home run of the season, the team’s only extra-base hit. On top of that, he also hit a single, as did Devonte Brown, Alex De Jesus, Phil Clarke, and Miguel Hiraldo.
Adam Macko made the start for the Fisher Cats, and finished with a line of 5 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 7 K with a home run given up to bring his season ERA to 3.86. Hunter Gregory struck out three in his two innings and picked up the win. Eric Pardinho’s streak of not giving up an earned run continued, as he struck out a batter and walked two in his inning of work. Jimmy Brunette picked up the save, striking out two and walking one in an inning.
Vancouver wins in a shutout
With a 5-0 win on Saturday over the Tri-City Dust Devils, the Vancouver Canadians are now .500 for the season with a 23-23 record.
Glenn Santiago hit his second home run of the season to drive in the first three runs for the Canadians, while Jeffrey Wehler hit his fourth double of the season, as well as a single. Estiven Machado and Jommer Hernandez also had multi-hit games, while Dasan Brown and Jackson Hornung had singles as well.
Rafael Sánchez made the start for the Canadians, and finished with a line of 5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K to bring his season ERA to 5.21. Johnathan Lavallee struck out two in an inning, while Naswell Paulino pitched a clean inning with a strikeout. Alex Amalfi struck out two in a clean inning, while Conor Larkin struck out two and allowed two base runners, but had a scoreless inning.
Dunedin shutout
It wasn’t a great game for the Dunedin Blue Jays on Saturday, as they were shutout 8-0 by the St. Lucie Mets to bring their season record to 25-25.
There were no extra-base hits for Dunedin, but two rehabbing first basemen, Damiano Palmegiani and Peyton William each had a single. As did Tucker Toman, Bryce Arnold, and Edward Duran. Moreover, Victor Arias and Yhoangel Aponte walked once each.
Nolan Perry had another great start, finishing with a line of 4.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K to bring his season ERA to 0.68. Felipe Bello recorded the loss, giving up two earned run in two thirds of an inning, but T.J. Brock had two strikeouts in his inning of work. Irv Carter had a rough game, giving up four earned runs in an inning and two thirds, while Eliander Alcalde gave up two earned runs in an inning and a third.
FCL Jays were walked-off
Sadly for the Florida Complex League Jays, their season continues to be a mess, as they fell 2-1 to the FCL Tigers to bring their record to 5-16, the worst in the division.
Like the Dunedin Blue Jays, the FCL Jays registered no extra-base hits, as Sam Shaw, David Guzmán, Gregori Cano, and Kendry Chirinos all had one single, while Kekai Rios had two. The team also had six walks, Shaw, Enmanuel Bonilla, Cano, Chirinos, Carlos Vasquez, and Adrian Meza reached via four balls.
Cristopher Castro made the start and had a solid game, finishing with a line of 5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K with a home run given up to bring his season ERA to 3. Carlos Meza was the first out of the pen, striking out three in three innings pitched. Julio Ortiz was tagged with the loss, giving up a walk and an earned run in a third of an inning.
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