Saturday’s News & Notes

Pawtucket 2 Syracuse 1
• McGregor (L, 1-2) 4IP, 7H, 2R, 2ER, BB, 3K, HR
• Runion 2IP, 0H, 0R, BB, 3K
• Leon 1-2, BB
• Laird 1-4, R, HR, RBI

The Syracuse offense failed to rise up to the task of clinching a playoff spot in last night’s 2-1 loss to Pawtucket. The Chiefs managed just three hits and three walks. The right field defense delivered in the bottom of the 2nd when Steven Souza threw out Ryan Lavarnway at home. The bullpen delivered with four shutout innings, including two perfect innings from Aaron Barrett. Sadly, starter and loser Scott McGregor did not deliver and only lasted four innings and eighty pitches. He gave up a single by Bryce Brentz and a homer to Lavarnway to start out the 4th. Brandon Laird’s solo shot (18th homer) to start the 5th was Syracuse’s only response. Following Souza’s strikeout and a Tyler Moore walk, PawSox reliever Dalier Hinojosa retired the final two Chiefs and recorded his third save.
Roster moves: OF Eury Perez placed on 3-Day Temporary Inactive List; UT Jose Lozada activated from TIL.

Portland 3 Harrisburg 2
• Poveda (L, 1-3) 5IP, 8H, 3R, 1ER, BB, 7K
• Bates 3IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• Martinson 3-4, R, 3B
• Keyes 2-4, RBI

History scored another victory against Harrisburg when the Portland Sea Dogs defeated the Senators 3-2. In the 1st, Portland jumped out to a 1-0 lead on two singles and an RBI double by Keury De La Cruz that scored Shannon Wilkerson. Starter and tough-luck loser Omar Poveda struck out the final two batters, however, and escaped further damage. Poveda’s luck went from bad to horrible when Matt Skole’s error from third base extended the 4th inning. Sean Coyle then snuck a grounder into left for a single that resulted in two unearned runs for Poveda and a 3-0 deficit. In the 6th, the Sens edged closer with a Quincy Latimore double and an RBI single by Kevin Keyes. Harrisburg narrowed the deficit to 3-2 when Jason Martinson tripled to lead off the 9th and scored on a Noe Ramirez balk. Ramirez then rebounded to strike out two of the next three Senators and record his seventeenth save.

Wilmington 2 Potomac 0
• Dickson (L, 5-9) 6⅔ IP, 5H, R, ER, 0BB, 7K, WP
• Harper 1⅓ IP, 1H, R, ER, 0BB, 3K, HR, 1-0 IR-S
• Martinez 1-3
• Dent 1-2, SAC

Fighting for their playoff lives, Wilmington shut out Potomac for a second straight by a 2-0 count. Starter Ian Dickson fired another quality start (6th in 15GS) with one run let in on five hits but was saddled with the loss. He walked none and struck out seven over six and 2/3rds innings. Bryan Harper got the last out of the 7th but was greeted by the first batter in the 8th with a big fly to give the Blue Rocks a critical insurance run. Stephen Perez doubled to lead off the P-Nats 9th and took third on a Tony Renda groundout to second, but couldn’t score on flyball to center for the second out, and watched from 90′ away as Randolph Oduber became the 14th strikeout for the Blue Rocks pitchers. Lynchburg and Frederick both won to keep pace with Wilmington.
Roster moves: UT Cody Dent reassigned from Hagerstown.

Hagerstown 10 Lakewood 4
• Dickey 4IP, 6H, 4R, 3ER, 5BB, 2K
• Valdez (W, 2-0) 3IP, 0H, 0R, BB, 2K
• Bautista 3-5, 3R, 2B, RBI
• Yezzo 2-4, R, 2B, HR, 3RBI
• Davidson 1-4, R, BB, HR, 3RBI

Hagerstown responded to a two-run top of the 1st with three in the bottom of the 1st and piled on four more in the 2nd as they cruised to a 10-4 win over Lakewood. Robbie Dickey wobbled through four innings and thus couldn’t get the Jack Morris win as he allowed all four BlueClaws runs on six hits and five walks with just two strikeouts. Philips Valdez and David Napoli combined for five shutout innings to earn the win and save respectively. Austin Davidson homered in his Low-A debut, hitting a three-run bomb in the 2nd and was followed two batters later by James Yezzo with a solo shot. Rafael Bautista led the Suns’ 13-hit parade with a double, two singles, and three runs scored. Roster moves: OF Austin Davidson reassigned from Auburn.

Mahoning Valley 5 Auburn 2
• Torres (L, 1-2) 3IP, 6H, 3R, 3ER, 0BB, 2K
• Mapes 1⅔ IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, K, 2-0 IR-S
• Langlois 2-4, R, 2B
• Gunter 2-4, 2B, RBI
• Read 2-4, 2B

Mahoning Valley scored three runs early and held off a late Auburn charge for a 5-2 win. Starter and loser Luis Torres was dinged for the aforementioned three runs on six hits over three innings. He struck out two and walked none. Robert Orlan was effective early, but the Scrappers got to him for two runs in his fourth inning of work on a pair of one-out singles and a double before Tyler Mapes came on to roll a double play. Brian Langlois, Cody Gunter, and Raudy Read all went 2-for-4 with a single and a double, but the clutch hit eluded the Doubledays as they finished with a 1-for-7 mark with RISP.