Both Todd Boss and Byron Kerr have broken down the roster cuts further. Meanwhile, MLB remains at an impasse for 2020, which may be why MiLB hasn’t officially canceled its season yet. Finally, Baseball America’s proposal for an expanded Fall League appears to be progressing from clickbait to a possiblity.
Syracuse 4 Buffalo 2 – 2014
• Laffey (W, 6-3) 5⅓ IP, 6H, 2R, ER, 6BB, 2K
• Mattheus 2IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, K
• Souza 1-2, R, 2BB, HR, RBI
• Solano 1-3, R, BB, HR, RBI
• Goodwin 1-3, R, HR, 2RBI
Syracuse went deep three times for all four runs as they beat Buffalo, 4-2 and reclaimed first place in the I.L. North. Aaron Laffey danced with the devil in the pale moonlight danger by walking six and giving up six hits over five and a 1/3rd innings but let in just two while notching his sixth win. Three relievers combined for three and 2/3rds scoreless relief with Zach Jackson and Ryan Mattheus earning hold and Mike Gonzalez going 1-2-3 in the 9th for his 5th save. Steve Souza reached base three times with two walks and a home run while Brian Goodwin’s two-run shot in the 5th gave the Chiefs a 3-2 lead. Jhonatan Solano provided the insurance run with his 8th big fly. Souza had one of the more tumultuous runs up the Nats ladder, starting as 3rd Rd. pick in 2007 and ending with a trade to Tampa Bay in 2014 which famously netted the Nats both Joe Ross and Trea Turner. Souza moved on to Arizona in 2018 but suffered a torn ACL and LCL that caused him to miss all of 2019. The Diamondbacks non-tendered him and somehow Mike Rizzo did not claim him. Instead, he signed a one-year deal with the Cubs this past January.
New Britain 10 Harrisburg 3 – 2012
• Rosenbaum (W, 7-1) 7⅔ IP, 5H, 2R, 2ER, 3BB, 2K, HR
• Garcia (SV, 7) 1⅓ IP, 1H, 1R, 0ER, 0BB, 2K
• Rahl 2-3, RBI, SF
• Valdez 2-4, R, 2B, RBI
After his worst outing of the season, Danny Rosenbaum bounced back with a strong start and secured his 7th win as the Senators held off the Rock Cats for a 4-3 win. Harrisburg raced out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning and extended it to 4-0 in the 6th. New Britain spoiled any chance of a shutout with a two-run HR in the 7th that cut the lead to 4-2. Rosenbaum was lifted with two outs in the 8th, having given up just the two runs on five hits and three walks and two strikeouts. Christian Garcia let in an unearned run in the 9th (fielding error) to secure the win and register his 7th save. Alas, Rosenbaum would win just one more game in 2012 to finish with an 8-11 mark. The Rockies selected him in the 2012 Rule 5 Draft but returned him at the end of spring training. Rosenbaum would get the bump to Syracuse in 2013 and post a 7-11, 3.87 ERA before succumbing to Nationals elbow in April 2014. The Nats would trade him to Boston in January 2015, but the southpaw never regained his form, going 0-8 in 15 starts in 2015 and was released in March 2016.
Potomac 3 Lynchburg 0 – 2017
• Reyes 6IP, 4H, 0R, 0BB, 7K, HBP, WP
• Sanburn 2IP, 1H, R, ER, BB, K
• Gushue 2-4, 2RBI
• Gutierrez 2-4, R
Three P-Nats pitchers combined for a four-hit shutout, Last Night in Woodbridge. 2017 was a breakout year for Kelvin Gutierrez, who had lingered in short-season ball for parts of four seasons. In 2018, he was in the midst of another strong campaign when he was traded, along with two other minor-leaguers, to Kansas City for Kelvin Herrera. Gutierrez would make his MLB debut in April 2019 but spent most of the season at AAA Omaha.
Hagerstown 3 Kannapolis 2 – 2018
• Alastre (W, 3-2) 6IP, 6H, R, ER, 2BB, 5K, 2HBP
• C. Pena (SV, 1) 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• Corredor 2-3, R, 2B, BB, RBI
• Antuna 1-3, 2B, BB, RBI
It was a breezy night in Kannapolis (24K combined) but Hagerstown took advantage of two errors to take this one, 3-2. Tomas Alastre put on 10 baserunners in six innings but only allowed one of them to score for his third victory. A.J. Bogucki earned a hold while letting in one run over two innings but Carlos Pena emerged from witness protection the Suns bullpen to pitch a 1-2-3 ninth and notch the save. Aldrem Corredor doubled, singled, and walked while Yasel Antuna doubled and walked to power the Suns offense. Both drove in one run. Six weeks later, Antuna would go on the DL and eventually have TJ surgery in August 2018. He made just three appearances in the GCL before reportedly suffering groin and hamstring injuries that wiped out the rest of 2019.