Baby Bomber Recap 4/20/16: Offensive ineptitude everywhere

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders: L 1-8 vs. Buffalo Bisons

The RailRiders' offense was a bit like their parent club's on Wednesday night, tallying only one run and five hits in a loss to Buffalo. Nick Swisher was responsible for two of those hits, reaching base three times on two singles and a walk. There may not be room for him on the big league club unless someone gets injured, but he has at least hit well while being stashed in the minors.

Aaron Judge stayed hot offensively with a hit of his own to bring his season average to .327. It's comforting to see Judge doing well after the early returns on his Triple-A hitting weren't so great. Donovan Solano and Lane Adams contributed the other hits for Scranton. No other batter even reached base except via being hit by a pitch.

Starter Anthony Swarzak surrendered five runs on 10 hits in five innings. He did strike out six batters and walked only one. The runs he allowed didn't come until the fourth and fifth inning, but the RailRiders' offense was pretty dormant either way. Only Vinnie Pestano managed to work a clean outing for Scranton. Tyler Olson and Nick Goody each gave up one earned run a piece.

Double-A Trenton Thunder: L 0-1 vs. Portland Sea Dogs

Trenton and Portland were incredibly evenly matched right up until the end on Wednesday night, but a walk-off hit sent Trenton home unhappy after a hard-fought pitchers duel. The Thunder actually out-hit Portland 6-4, for what that's worth. Jared Mitchell and Jose Rosario were the leaders on offense with two hits each. Mitchell also reached base via a walk. Only Cito Culver and Tyler Wade (who also stole a base) recorded other hits for the team. Jake Cave and Tyler Austin did manage to work walks. It was an uninspiring performance for the offense.

Daniel Camarena and Matt Wotherspoon were great, keeping the Sea Dogs off the board entirely. The starter, Camarena, pitched four innings allowing only two hits and no walks while striking out three. Wotherspoon pitched three innings of no-hit ball in relief, allowing only one runner to reach base via a walk. Things didn't go as well for Matt Tracy. He allowed two hits and walked a batter that helped Portland scratch out a ninth inning run for the win.

High-A Tampa Yankees: L 4-8 vs. Dunedin Blue Jays

The Yankees and Blue Jays traded two runs a piece in the first inning, but things rapidly fell apart for Tampa from there. The defense played a very sloppy game, committing four errors that led to two unearned runs. That wasn't why they lost, but it certainly didn't help.

Mark Payton led the way for the T-Yanks with two hits including his second home run of the season. Jorge Mateo, Abiatal Avelino, and Wes Wilson each singled for their only hits of the game, and Jake Skole contributed the team's only other hit for extra bases with a triple. Mateo did walk twice and drove in a run on top of stealing two bases. Unfortunately, he was also responsible for one of the team's errors. Avelino, Wilson, and Austin Aune were the other offenders.

Gabriel Encinas struggled in his start, lasting only 1.2 innings and walking six batters. He allowed only one hit and got victimized by the defense's sloppy play that led to an unearned run, but his struggles were very much his own. Eric Ruth was a bit better, but not by much. He allowed four runs, all earned, in 3.1 innings of relief on just five hits. Matt Marsh was the only Tampa pitcher to make it out unscathed with two clean innings.

Low-A Charleston RiverDogs: L 0-7 vs. Columbia Fireflies

The story of the day has been offensive struggle and the RiverDogs were no exception to that rule. You can't win if you don't score and the team's five hits were not enough to provide even a single run. Trey Amburgey, who has been red-hot all season, continued his hot hitting with two hits including a double. That brings his season average to .362, easily tops among his teammates. Drew Bridges was responsible for the team's only other hit for extra bases with his first triple of the year. Jeff Hendrix and Hoy Jun Park each singled as well.

Cody Carroll fell victim to a Park error that led to three Columbia unearned runs. Unfortunately, Carroll gave up three runs that were not assisted by defensive failure after allowing six hits and three walks in four innings of work. Simon De la Rosa also pitched four innings out of the bullpen, allowing two hits and three walks. He did strike out five batters and allowed only one run, but any amount of runs were too many for the RiverDogs on this particular night.