AAA: Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre was shut out by the Pawtucket Red Sox on Sunday, falling 4-0 while being limited to just two hits by a combination of Billy Buckner, Mark Prior, Daniel Bard, and Chris Carpenter. Chris Dickerson recorded one of those for the Yankees, extending his hitting streak to six games. Dickerson is batting .423 (11-for-26) during his streak. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s only other hit came at the hands of Jack Cust, who laced a double in the ninth inning. On the mound for the Yankees was Mike O’Connor, who dropped to 2-5 on the season after allowing three runs on seven hits in five innings of work. O’Connor struck out four. Manny Delcarmen and Chase Whitley would finish off the game for the Yankees, with only Whitley allowing a run.
AA: Trenton Thunder
Joba Chamberlain was in Trenton today for a rehab appearance, and stole the show in his 1.1 innings of work by striking out three of the six batters he faced and earning the win. Chamberlain had come on in relief of Shaeffer Hall, who allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits in 6.2 innings pitched. Mark Montgomery closed out the game, earning his first save with Trenton by tossing a perfect ninth inning. The Thunder managed to scrape together five hits, but it was still enough offense to secure a 3-2 victory. Jose Pirela had two of those hits on the day and recorded both of Trenton’s RBIs. Melky Mesa, J.R. Murphy, and Walter Ibarra were the only other members of the Thunder to record a hit on the day.
High-A: Tampa Yankees
Zachary Nuding returned to the Tampa rotation in a big way on Sunday, earning his fifth victory as Tampa defeated Palm Beach 4-2. Nuding allowed just one run on five hits over 5.1 innings pitched. He struck out three Cardinals hitters before allowing Manny Barreda and Tom Kahnle to finish out the game for Tampa. Tyler Austin went 2-for-2 at the plate, including a double, an RBI, and a run scored early on, but left after the third inning. No word yet as to why Austin left, but he could potentially be joining Mason Williams on the 7-Day Disabled List. Ramon Flores, Kyle Roller, and Slade Heathcott also worked to do their parts, with each bringing home a run in the victory.
Update: Per RiverAveBlues’ Mike Axisa, Austin suffered a minor leg injury but walked off under his own power. Sounds like he’ll avoid the DL.
Low-A: Charleston RiverDogs
Charleston played two on Sunday, but fell in both games as their losing streak hit seven. Game one was flat out ugly for the Charleston pitching staff, with Philip Wetherell and William Oliver each giving up four earned runs. The only saving grace on Wetherell’s part was that, in three innings of work, he did manage to strike out six hitters. In that game offensively, the RiverDogs were limited to just three hits, coming from Cito Culver, Dante Bichette, and Kelvin de Leon.
In game two, Charleston took Asheville to extra innings, despite deciding in the ninth inning that bringing in the human earned run machine, Ben Paullus, was a great idea. Paullus lasted through a shutout ninth, then, to no surprise whatsoever, promptly gave up what would be the winning run on a solo home run in the 10th inning. Why he’s in any game that is within five runs at this point is a mystery to me. Brett Gerritse struggled in the start, but was followed up by three solid innings from John Brebbia. Offensively, it was a two-man show for Charleston. Eduardo Sosa put together an impressive 3-for-4 effort, including a solo home run and two runs scored, while Tyson Blaser’s third inning grand slam provided the rest of Charleston’s runs. Ben Gamel had a nice day at the plate as well, producing a pair of singles in five trips to the plate.
Follow Dan on Twitter @danpfeiffer74 for more insight and analysis regarding the New York Yankees and the Yankee farm system.
