Rochester 4 Toledo 1
Jack Hannahan and Mike Hessman each had 2 hits. Chris Shelton struggled going 0 for 4 with 3 K’s. Brent Clevlen doubled and walked. Yorman Bazardo took the loss on a fine effort. He was 2 outs shy of a complete game an it only took him 100 pitches as he allowed 3 runs on 8 hits, 2 walks and 4 strikeouts.

Erie – DNP

Sarasota 7 Lakeland 2
Justin Justice and Ryan Roberson each had 2 hits. Cameron Maybin doubled in 4 at-bats. Eleazar Aponte only lasted 4 innings before surrendering 4 runs on 9 hits, 2 walks, and 5 K’s.

West Michigan 6 Kane County 1
It was a balanced attack with every Whitecap batter picking up a hit and 6 of them having 2 hit games. Angel Castro allowed 1 run on 4 hits, 3 walks, and 3 strikeouts over 5 innings.

Minors News

The big news is the suspension of Lakeland Flying Tiger Sendy Vasquez. Vasquez will be out for 50 games for testing positive for a banned substance. Vasquez had a decent year for the Whitecaps in 2006 with a 2.97 ERA, but it’s hard to be a real prospect at age 24 in low A ball.

Also of note, former Tiger Rule 5 pick Matt Roney was also suspended. He had been pitching in AAA in the Blue Jays organization.

Rochester 9 Toledo 6
Kevin Hooper went 4 for 5 with 2 doubles. Chris Shelton added 2 doubles and 2 walks and is now sporting a 301/422/458 line. Dennis Tankersley went 7 2/3 innings allowing 3 runs on 7 hits.

Erie 1 Bowie 2
Mike Hollimon walked twice. Despite a 242 batting average he has a 415 OBP and is slugging 452. Jon Connolly allowed 1 run on 3 hits over 5 innings.

Sarasota 7 Lakeland 8
Justin Justice homered and singled to raise his season line to 304/349/582. Cameron maybiin was 1 for 3 with 2 walks. Lucas French surrendered 4 unearned runs in 5 innings walking 1 and fanning 3.

West Michigan 0 Peoria 4
James Skelton was 3 for 3 with a walk. Deik Scram added 2 hits. Lauren Gagnier allowed 4 runs in 6 innings.

Rochester 3 Toledo 1
Brent Clevlen tripled and walked, and that was the extent of the offense. Ron Chiavacci had a nice start going 6 1/3 innings allowing 7 hits and 3 runs while fanning 5.

Erie 6 Bowie 2
Jackson Melian and Brent Dlugach each homered amongst their 2 hits. Erie knocked out 3 triples, one each for Mike Hollimon, Kody Kirkland, and Dlugach. Eddie Bonine started and allowed only 5 hits and no walks while fanning 3 in 7 innings. The lone run he allowed came on a solo homer.

Clearwater 7 Lakeland 1
Cameron Maybin returned to the lineup after missing 2 games with back stiffness. He was 1 for 3 with a walk. Wilkin Ramirez was 2 for 4 with a stolen base. Burke Badenhop was knocked around for 7 hits, 2 walks, and 5 runs in 7 innings.

West Michigan 2 Peoria 4
Deik Scram and Audy Ciriaco each had 2 hits. Gorkys Hernandez was 1 for 5. Jonah Nickerson had a strong start allowing 3 runs on 5 hits. He allowed no walks while fanning 9 in 7 innings.

Rochester 2 Toledo 6
Mike Hessman and Jack Hannahan each went deep for the Mud Hens. Chris Shelton was 0 for 3 with a walk and his average has dipped to .289. Virgil Vasquez had another strong start allowing 2 runs on 7 hits and no walks while striking out 6.

Erie 2 Bowie 3
With only 4 hits, there isn’t much to speak of offensively. Brent Dlugach had one of the hits and walked twice. Eulogio De La Cruz had a strong outing going 8 innings and allowing 3 runs on 7 hits with no walks and 10 K’s.

Clearwater 8 Lakeland 1
Again, not much offense to speak of with only 4 hits. And Andrew Miller got knocked around as he battled control problems. He surrendered 10 hits and 4 walks for 8 runs in 4 2/3 innings. Cameron Maybin didn’t play for the 2nd straight game. I’ll try and find injury information.

West Michigan 0 Peoria 1
Kind of a running theme tonight, but not much offense to speak of. Louis Ott had 2 hits to lead the bats. On the other side Chris Cody was excellent again allowing 2 hits and 1 unearned run while fanning 6 in 7 innings.

Akron 2 Erie 4
Clete Thomas singled, doubled, and walked. Andres Torres and Brent Dlugach each had 2 hits as well. Dallas Trahern went 6 innings allowing 2 runs on 6 hits, 1 walk, a homer, and 2 strike outs.

Akron 7 Erie 3
Jair Jurrjens had a no hitter for the first 5 innings, but then allowed 5 runs in the 6th inning. Jeff Larish singled and walked. Matt Joyce added a double for the Wolves only extra base hit.

Clearwater 11 Lakeland 3
Sendy Vasquez was knocked around for 9 hits and 8 runs – 5 earned – in 4 2/3 innings. In relief Matt Righter pitched 3 innings allowing 2 runs on 4 hits while fanning 5. Justin Justice tripled and singled to lead the offense.

West Michigan 11 Peoria 3
Gorkys Hernandez had a big game with 3 hits and a walk. Audy Ciriaco added 3 hits as well. Scott Sizemore had 2 hits and a walk while Ryan Strieby added 2 hits as well. Brennan Boesch hit his first homer of the year. Duane Below started and lasted 5 innings allowing 3 runs on 2 hits, 2 walks, and 6 strikeouts.

Toledo 4 Charlotte 6 10 innings
Zach Miner’s control numbers look better than they have. He walked none over 7 innings. He did allow 4 runs on 7 hits and 2 homers while striking out 4. Preston Larrison, who has been effective in relief, took the loss when he surrendered 2 unearned runs on a homer in the 10th. Chris Shelton, Mike Hessman and Ryan Raburn all homered for the Hens.

Erie – rained out

Lakeland 4 Sarasota 1
Eleazar Aponte pitched 6 shut out innings allowing only 3 hits and 2 walks while fanning 5. Justin Justice doubled twice in 4 at-bats

West Michigan – DNP

Toledo 2 Charlotte 4
Yorman Bazardo only allowed 3 hits, a walk, and an unearned run over 6 innings of work. Chris Shelton was 2 for 4 with a a walk.

Akron 9 Erie 2
Jon Connolly allowed 3 runs on 7 hits spanning 5 innings. Kyle Sleeth came on in relief and allowed 6 runs, 2 of which were earned in 1 2/3 innings. Jeff Larish homered and doubled to lead the offense.

Lakeland 7 Sarasota 5
Mike Hernandez went 4 for 4 with 2 doubles and Wilkin Ramirez added 2 hits. Lucas French allowed 5 hits, a walk, and 2 runs while fanning 5 in 7 innings.

Wisconsin 3 West Michigan 6
Lauren Gagnier went 5 innings allowing 3 runs on 2 hits and 2 walks. Brennan Boesch, Jeremy Laster, and Audy Ciriaco all had 2 hit games.

Toledo 8 Charlotte 1
Timo Perez hit his 4th homer and added 2 other hits. Brent Clevlen went 2 for 4 with a walk. Chris Maples and Dane Sardinha each had 2 hit games. Dennis Tankersley pitched 7 innings allowing only 4 hits and 1 run while walking one and fanning 5.

Akron 4 Erie 9
Jeff Larish doubled and walked raising his season line to an impressive 268/344/554. Mike Hollimon hit his first homer of the season and added a walk. Kody Kirkland and Brent Dlugach had 2 hit games and Jackson Melian had 3 hits. Eddie Bonine started and went 5 2/3 innings fanning 7 and allowing 3 runs on 7 hits. Anthony Tomey who was just promoted from Lakeland retired all 4 batters he faced, striking out 2.

Lakeland 2 Sarasota 7
Cameron Maybin tripled and singled and is n ow hitting 321/465/661. Burke Badenhop allowed 4 runs, but only one was earned, over 5 innings.

Wisconsin 6 West Michigan 3
Not much offense for the Caps with only 4 hits posted. Ryan Strieby picked up 2 of them. Jonah Nickerson pitched shutout baseball for 5 innings before being touched for 5 runs in his last 1 1/3.

Minors News

Virgil Vasquez was named International League pitcher of the week.

Toledo 7 Durham 4 16 innings
It was a nice day, so they almost played two. The Hens pushed across a run in the 12th, only to see Durham answer. The Mud Hens broke through for 3 in the top of the 16th to end it. Ron Chiavacci allowed 2 runs and fanned 10 in 6 innings starting. He was the first of 8 pitchers used. Chris Shelton was 2 for 7 and scored the winning run in the 16th. Mike Hessman had 4 hits, and Ramon Santiago had 3. Ryan Raburn had a rough night going 0 for 7. Brent Clevlen had a rougher night also posting an 0 for 7, but with 6 K’s.

Bowie 6 Erie 11
Jeff Larish was a triple short of the cycle and drove in 6 runs. Mike Hollimon doubled and walked twice. Eulogio De La Cruz went 6 innings and allowed 4 runs on 7 hits, 3 walks, 2 K’s, and a homer. Andrew Kown came on in relief and allowed 2 runs, 1 earned, on a hit, and a walk. He fanned 5.

Lakeland – DNP

Wisconsin 2 West Michigan 8
The dream is over, Chris Cody allowed a run. Well, just the one actually in 7 innings of work to go along with 7 strikeouts. His ERA now stands at 0.34. In 26 2/3 innings he’s fanned 28 and walked only 6. Ryan Strieby and Louis Ott had a 3 hit game and Jeremy Laster hit his 2nd homer. Gorkys Hernandez singled, stole a base, and walked twice.

Toledo 10 Durham 2
The bats came out in a a big way with Kevin Hooper, Brent Clevlen, Timo Perez and Ramon Santiago all having multi-hit games including a homer for Hooper. Chris Shelton was one of the few who didn’t get in on the party with an 0 for 4 and 3 K’s. Virgil Vasquez didn’t need much help with 6 shut out innings allowing only 4 hits and a walk while striking out 10. If nothing else it keeps the pressure on Chad Durbin.

Bowie 4 Erie 8
Mike Hollimon doubled and walked. Hollimon is 24 and the organization skipped him over Lakeland. So far with a 324/480/514 line things are looking good. Kody Kirkland doubled and singled and Jeff Larish drove in 3 runs without a hit. Jair Jurrjens pitched 6 innings allowing 2 runs on 7 hits, 2 walks and 5 K’s. He had people pounding the ball into the ground with an 11:1 GO to FO ratio.

Dunedin 8 Lakeland 1
Andrew Miller was knocked around for 9 hits (singles), 2 walks, and 5 runs. He fanned 3, and posted the same 11:1 ground ball-fly ball ratio that Jurrjens did. Cameron Maybin doubled and walked and is now hitting 308/463/635.

Wisconsin 3 West Michigan 4
Duane Below had a very good start allowing 4 hits and no walk for 2 runs over 6 innings. He also struck out 9 and induced 8 ground ball outs. Scott Sizemore and Gorkys Hernandez each had 2 hit games.

Buffalo 6 Toledo 5
Zach Miner started and allowed 5 runs over 6 innings. This was actually an improvement as he allowed only 5 hits and a walk against 4 k’s. Ryan Raburn was 1 for 2 with 2 walks. Chris Shelton doubled, singled, and walked.

Bowie 1 Erie 4
Dallas Trahern allowed 1 run on 6 hits and 3 walks over 7 innings while fanning 3. Ian Ostlund struck out the side for the save. Jeff Larish and Kody Kirkland each doubled and walked.

Dunedin 5 Lakeland 7
Ronnie Bourquin had two hits. Wilkin Ramirez hit his 2nd homer and walked. Cameron Maybin was 1 for 4 with a stolen base. Speaking of SB’s Ovandy Suero added 2 to run his total to 10 against 2 caught stealings. Sendy Vasquez allowed 4 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks over 5 innings. Anthony Tomey added another scoreless inning.

Clinton 3 West Michigan 1
The Whitecaps had 8 hits and their opponent made 4 errors, and yet they only scratched across 1 run. Scott Sizemore was 2 for 4. Audy Ciriaco was 0 for 3 and saw his average drop to 196. Angel Castro allowed 4 hits, but 3 of them were homers. He walked one and struck out 7 in 7 innings.

Buffalo 1 Toledo 3
Yorman Bazardo gave up an unearned run in the first inning, and then shut out Buffalo for the next 5 allowing 7 hits, 2 walks and fanning 5. Preston Larrison added 2 scoreless innings of relief. Brent Clevlen was moved up to the 2nd spot in the Mud Hen lineup, perhaps to help him focus on contact like they did with Chris Shelton. Clevlen was 1 for 4. Shelton doubled and struck out 3 times. Mike Hessman homered.

Bowie 11 Erie 5
This was a tight game until an 8 run 7th inning. Kyle Sleeth and Kevin Ardoin each gave up 4 runs in relief of Jon Connolly. Matt Joyce singled and hit his first homer. Steve Torrealba and Nick McIntrye added 2 hits apiece.

Dunedin6 Lakeland 13
There’s a whole lot of offensive highlights in this one. Jusitn Justice was a double short of the cycle and had 6 RBI. Justice was hitting behind Maybin who was a homer short of the cycle and added 2 walks scoring 5 times. Maybin and Justice each added a stole base. Mike Hernandez doubled twice and tripled. Elezar Aponte pitched 6 innings allowing 44 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks.

Clinton 3 West Michigan 0
The Whitecaps only mustered 4 hits, but they did add 8 walks. Gorkys Hernandez, Scott Sizemore, and Jeff Kunkel all had 2 walks a piece. Lauren Gagnier had a pretty strong effort allowing 3 runs, 1 earned, in 6 1/3 innings. He fanned 8, walked 2, and gave up 6 hits.