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Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders: L 5-7 vs. Columbus Clippers
Headed into the ninth inning the RailRiders seemed poised to win 5-4 until James Pazos got into trouble. He walked the first two batters that he faced then recorded an out on a sac bunt and struck out a batter. Pazos failed to get the final out of the inning, and instead earned his first blown save of the season after giving up back-to-back singles followed by a double. Brady Lail was the starter, and he gave up three runs through five and two-thirds innings, walked a batter and notched three strikeouts.
It was not a huge night for the RailRiders offensively, as they managed just seven hits in the game. However, two of those hits were solo home runs off the bats of Tyler Austin and Kyle Higashioka. Aaron Judge and Ben Gamel both had two hits apiece, including a double for each. The only other hit of the night belonged to Jake Cave.
Double-A Trenton Thunder: W 7-1 vs. Erie SeaWolves (seven innings)
The Thunder had to play a doubleheader today, thanks to a rainout that occurred in early April. Starter Daniel Camarena put together a great outing, allowing just one run to score through seven innings of work. He also kept the bullpen fresh for the second game. The SeaWolves' third baseman made an error on the very first play of the game which led to four unearned runs scoring. It was a two-hit night for Dustin Fowler, Dante Bichette Jr., and Juan Silva. The latter also hit a two-run homer towards the end of the game. Mark Payton and Lane Adams also picked up a hit apiece.
Double-A Trenton Thunder: L 2-5 vs. Erie SeaWolves (seven innings)
Things didn't go quite so swimmingly in the second game, but at least the Thunder split the doubleheader. The SeaWolves turned to five different pitchers and the Thunder only managed to muster four total hits (all singles) in the game. Adams ended up being the only player with more than one hit, while Silva and Cito Culver also singled.
Starter Caleb Smith had a very strange night. After hitting three batters in the first inning, he struck out the three batters that he faced in the second. Smith then gave up three doubles in a row before he was yanked in the third inning. Jonathan Holder prevented any more runs from scoring during that inning, but allowed two to score on three hits in the fourth. Mark Montgomery pitched two scoreless innings with four strikeouts to end the game.
High-A Tampa Yankees: L 4-12 vs. Charlotte Stone Crabs
The Charlotte Stone Crabs really beat up on the Tampa Yanks tonight, but both teams were incredibly sloppy on the field, combining for seven total errors. Yikes. In fact, all four of the T-Yanks' runs tonight were unearned. One run scored after Thairo Estrada reached on a fielding error, and another scored after a passed ball. In the eighth inning, back-to-back runners reached due to throwing errors. Unfortunately, the T-Yanks did not do any better fielding-wise. Bo Thompson, Jorge Mateo and Jake Skole all made throwing errors, while Miguel Andujar made a fielding error.
The T-Yanks' shoddy defense didn't do Ian Clarkin any favors, but he was only charged with two runs through five innings. He also struck out three batters and walked one. It was a night of struggles all-around for the T-Yanks, as Gabriel Encinas, Jonny Drozd, and Jordan Foley combined to give up six runs between them. Offensively, Andujar had the only extra-base hit of the night, a triple. The other Tampa players to record a hit were Mateo, Austin Aune, Abiatal Avelino, Skole and Thompson.
Low-A Charleston RiverDogs: L 3-5 vs. Kannapolis Intimidators
The RiverDogs actually out-hit the Intimidators 8-7, but they were also doomed by poor defense. Much like the RailRiders, the RiverDogs appeared to be cruising to victory after a great start by Domingo Acevedo when disaster struck in the ninth inning. With a 3-1 lead, two outs, and a runner on first, Nestor Cortes threw a wild pitch allowing the runner to advance to second. Then he walked a batter and gave up a RBI single. The next runner reached on a throwing error by Kyle Holder that allowed another run to score. Runners advanced on a passed ball then two more runs score on a single and Cortes was charged with a throwing error.
As previously mentioned, Acevedo had a nice start, striking out six batters through three and two-thirds innings without being charged with any earned runs. Because of the defensive miscues, Cortes ended the night having allowed just one earned run, along with eight strikeouts. Offensively, Connor Spencer and Jeff Hendrix picked up two hits apiece. Hendrix also doubled and stole his ninth base of the season. Hoy Jun Park also singled, walked, and stole two bases, bringing him up to 12 so far this season.