Minors Wrap-Up: Tracy, Turley Dominant in Tampa
Nik Turley dominated Lakeland hitters on Monday (Photo Credit: Robert Pimpsner)
AAA: Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees Chris Dickerson continued on his recent hot streak, going 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and a two-run home run on Monday, but it wasn't enough to help the Yankees, who fell to the Gwinnett Braves 10-6. Dickerson, Corban Joseph, and Gustavo Molina were the three SWB Yankees to come away with multiple hits in a game where offense was plentiful. 1B Brandon Laird pushed two runs across the plate and hit his tenth home run of the season, a solo shot in the second inning. On the mound, Michael O'Connor made a spot start for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, allowing six runs (five earned) on ten hits in 3 1/3 innings. After O'Connor left, Preston Claiborne would give up three more runs, digging the Yankees into an insurmountable hole.
AA: Trenton Thunder Jose Pirela's hot streak continued Monday as he came up a home run shy of the cycle in six at-bats. Pirela would drive in a run and also score once. Kevin Mahoney, Rob Segedin, and Neil Medchill would all turn in multi-hit games, but the Thunder still fell in eleven innings to Portland by a score of 7-4. Medchill and David Adams both went deep on the day, with each hitting their fourth home run of the season. On the mound, Vidal Nuno limited Portland to three runs on six hits over five innings, but also allowed five walks. After he left, Graham Stoneburner, Lee Hyde, and Kelvin Perez combined to toss five innings, allowing just one run before Craig Heyer entered in relief. Heyer would enter in the 11th inning, and allowed a single and a walk before Peter Hissey took him deep for a walk-off home run.
High-A: Tampa Yankees Tampa played two today and saw dominant pitching performances in both games. In the first game, it was Matt Tracy who came away with the complete game victory, his fifth of the season. Tracy allowed just one run on six hits, while striking out three. He showed good control tonight, as he did not allow a single walk. Gary Sanchez, Kyle Roller, and Anderson Feliz knocked in the three runs for Tampa. Eduardo Nunez, activated from the disabled list and optioned to Tampa prior to the game, went 1-for-3 with a run scored.
In the second game, Nik Turley turned in a performance that can only be described as masterful. A complete-game shutout, Lakeland was able to scratch out just two hits against the big left-hander, who sent nine men down on strikes. Turley's victory was his sixth of the season. Adonis Garcia led the team with two hits and two RBIs. Zach Wilson and Anderson Feliz also had multiple hits in the second game.
Class A: Charleston RiverDogs It's been a while since I've had to mention the disaster that is Ben Paullus on the mound for the RiverDogs, but he was at it again last night, imploding in just one inning of work. When Paullus entered the game in relief of Brett Gerritse (L, 3-5), Charleston trailed 3-2 in the seventh inning. 27 pitches, two hits, two walks, and three outs later, Paullus had allowed the Rome Braves to expand it's lead to 6-2, and they never looked back from there. I'm still not sure why Charleston manager Carlos Mendoza continues to run Paullus out to the mound in close games, as he just hasn't been able to find any success this year and is currently sporting a 7.64 ERA. Offensively, Eduardo Sosa had the team's only multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 in the loss. Kelvin de Leon came away with the team's only RBI after he brought Reymond Nunez home on a single in the third inning.
The Rehab Report Walter Ibarra: Ibarra's struggles on his rehab assignment continued Monday, as the second baseman went 0-for-3, dropping his GCL batting average to .111.
Austin Romine: The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees catcher continued to work his way back yesterday, though he hit a speed bump with an 0-for-2 night. Romine did reach base once on a walk.
Tyler Austin: The Tampa outfielder began his rehab assignment as the designated hitter on Monday and wasted no time showing he's ready to go. Austin blasted a home run in his second at-bat, and went 2-for-3 on the day overall.
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