Games of August 20

ROCHESTER 9, PAWTUCKET 6 IN PAWTUCKET

Batting stars:  Tsuyoshi Nishioka was 2-for-5.  Wilkin Ramirez hit a grand slam, his eleventh homer of the season.  Brian Dinkelman hit a two-run homer, his fourth.

Pitching star:  Esmerling Vasquez gave up two runs on three hits and three walks in six innings.

Opposition stars:  Nate Spears was 3-for-4 with a triple.  Tony Pena, Jr. worked 3.1 scoreless innings, allowing one hit.

Key inning:  The third.  The score was tied at one.  A walk, a single, and another walk loaded the bases and Ramirez hit a grand slam.  Another single, a Brian Dozier double, and a sacrifice fly scored a fifth run.  Dinkelman followed with a two-run homer to make the score 8-1.

PORTLAND 4, NEW BRITAIN 3 IN NEW BRITAIN (10 INNINGS)

Batting star:  Oswaldo Arcia was 2-for-4 with a double.

Pitching star:  Blake Martin retired all four batters he faced, two by strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Ryan Dent was 3-for-4 with a double.  Zach Gentile was 2-for-2 with a walk and two doubles.  Drake Britton worked seven innings, allowing two runs on five hits and a walk.

Key inning:  The tenth.  In a 3-3 tie, the Sea Dogs scored the winning run.  Travis Shaw led off the inning with a double and scored when Peter Hissey fit a ground ball up the middle for an RBI single.

Other:  The Rock Cats had their chances, stranding nine runners and going 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

BELOIT 8, QUAD CITIES 2 IN QUAD CITIES

Batting stars:  Kennys Vargas was 3-for-5.  Nate Roberts was 2-for-3 with a walk and two doubles.  Drew Leachman was 2-for-5 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Cole Johnson pitched five shutout innings, striking out seven while giving up two hits and walking one.  Mason Melotakis struck out all four batters he faced.

Opposition stars:  David Medina was 2-for-4 with a double.  Jonathan Cornelius did not allow a hit or a walk in 3.1 scoreless innings.  Dixon Llorens struck out five in 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.

Key inning:  The second.  It was a scoreless tie.  Two singles, an error, and a balk plated two runs.  Two walks loaded the bases, and another balk scored the third run.  It was a three-run inning with no RBIs.

Other:  A total of three balks were called in the game, all on Quad Cities pitchers.

GREENEVILLE 6, ELIZABETHTON 5 IN ELIZABETHTON

Batting stars:  Jorge Polanco was 2-for-5 with a triple.  Adam Walker was 2-for-5 with a double.  Travis Harrison walked and hit a two-run homer, his fourth.

Pitching star:  Kaleb Merck struck out three in three shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Ariel Ovando was 2-for-2 with two walks and two home runs.  He scored three times and drove in three.  Terrell Joyce was 2-for-4 with two doubles.

Key inning:  The sixth.  Each team scored one in the second and three in the fourth for a 4-4 tie.  The Astros scored two in the top of the inning on a Rio Ruiz double, a walk, an RBI single by Jose Fernandez, and a wild pitch.  In the bottom of the inning, the Twins mounted a two-out rally.  Two singles and a walk loaded the bases and Walker delivered an RBI single to make it 6-5.  D. J. Hicks then struck out to end the threat.

Other:  The Twins got the tying run to third in the seventh and eighth as well, but could not score him.  Elizabethton out-hit Greeneville 13-7, stranding fourteen runners.

GCL TWINS 4, RAYS 1 AT TWINS

Batting star:  Bryan Santy claws his way onto the list by going 1-for-2 with a walk.

Pitching star:  Kuo Hua Lo worked six shutout innings, allowing three hits and a walk while striking out five.

Opposition stars:  Lucas Goodgion pitched four shutout innings of relief, giving up two hits.

Key inning:  The third.  It was a scoreless tie.  A walk, a single, and an error scored the first run.  Back-to-back RBI doubles by Aderlin Mejia and Dereck Rodriguez made the score 3-0 and an RBI single by Bryan Haar scored a fourth run.

Other:  Each team had six hits, with no player on either team getting more than one.

DSL DIAMONDBACKS 13, TWINS 0 AT TWINS

Batting star:  Rafael P. Valera was 1-for-2 with a double.

Pitching star:  Sebastian Perez threw two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Juan Heredia was 2-for-2 with two walks and a double, scoring three times.  Carlos Hernandez struck out six in five innings, allowing two hits and three walks.  Christian Cespedes struck out three in three innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

Key inning:  The second.  Leading 2-0, the Diamondbacks scored seven times to put the game away.  Ronny Mejias and Raul Garcia each hit a two-run double.  There were four walks, two wild pitches, and an error in the inning.