AAA: Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees
Scranton/Wilkes Barre topped Lehigh Valley on Wednesday 8-5 in an explosive fashion. Both Brandon Laird (6) and Russell Branyan (11) homered for the Yankees, providing half of the team’s runs with one swing of the bat. Corban Joseph, Cole Garner, and Gustavo Molina all contributed RBIs and at least two hits on the evening to help the cause as well. Every starter except for Chris Dickerson (who left after two at-bats) and Ramiro Pena had at least one hit on the evening. On the mound, Nelson Figueroa got his sixth victory of the season. The veteran allowed five runs (four earned) on eight hits over six innings. After he left, the Yankees bullpen combined for three perfect innings to close the game out.
AA: Trenton Thunder
J.R. Murphy and Rob Segedin each made their debuts with Double-A Trenton on Wednesday, and combined to go 0-for-7 with a walk on the evening. The show offensively was stolen by Addison Maruszak, who came up a triple short of the cycle, but ultimately Trenton wasn’t able to do enough to overcome New Britain. Luke Murton brought home the team’s only other run, scoring Maruszak on a sacrifice fly in the first inning. Mikey O’Brien was on the mound for Trenton last night, throwing six innings of one-run ball. O’Brien allowed just three hits and struck out four. Kelvin Perez was handed his first loss of the season after allowing two runs on six hits in three innings of work, arguably his worst outing of the year.
High-A: Tampa Yankees
Tampa couldn’t overcome Brevard County on Wednesday despite starting pitcher Matt Tracy leaving them with a lead in the sixth inning. One of the breakout stars of the system this year, Tracy threw five innings, allowing three runs (two of which were runners left on base when he exited in the 6th) on three hits. He would not factor into the decision though, as things were blown apart when Sean Black entered. Black allowed both inherited runners to score, then allowed a couple more of his own to score over three innings. He would be charged with his fifth loss of the season. Ramon Flores and Zach Wilson contributed multi-hit games for Tampa and each brought a runner home in the loss. Tampa’s only other runs were as a result of Kyle Roller’s sixth inning two-run home run.
Class A: Charleston Riverdogs
Despite losing the three biggest names on their roster this week, the Charleston Riverdogs just keep finding ways to win. Yesterday, it was strong pitching by SP Bryan Mitchell that put Charleston over the top. Mitchell went five strong innings, allowing just two runs on four hits. He also struck out three to earn his sixth win of the season. Ali Castillo hit a third inning single which brought home Kelvin De Leon and Eduardo Sosa to give Charleston an early 2-1 lead that they would never relinquish. The third and final run for the Riverdogs came when DH Francisco Arcia stole home as part of a double steal where Cito Culver headed towards second and the ball was thrown away as Savannah tried to come back home to nab the runner. Culver had a solid game at the plate as well, going 2-for-4.
