Games of September 5

Rain was the big winner yesterday.

PALM BEACH 3, FORT MYERS 2 AT FORT MYERS

Brent Rooker singled home a run in the first, but Chris Chinea's RBI single in the third tied it 1-1.  In the sixth, Thomas Spitz delivered a two-out two-run double to put the Cardinals ahead 3-1.  A sacrifice fly in the eighth cut the lead to 3-2.  The Miracle had men on first and second with one out in the eighth, but a pair of strikeouts ended the inning.  They again had the tying run in scoring position with two out in the ninth, but a liner to left ended the game.

Lewis Thorpe struck out five in five innings, giving up one run on six hits and two walks.  Tyler Jay struck out three in 2.1 scoreless innings, but allowed the Spitz double in the sixth.  Sam Clay pitched a perfect inning.  Tanner English was 2-for-4 with two doubles.  Brandon Lopez was 2-for-4 with a triple.

GREENEVILLE AT ELIZABETHTON

Rained out.

TODAY'S TILTS

4:00  Fort Myers at Palm Beach
Game 2  Fort Myers at Palm Beach*
6:00  Greeneville (Cole Watts, 2-3, 6.68) at Elizabethton (Edwar Colina, 3-5, 3.34)
6:15  Montgomery (Jose Mujica, 13-8, 3.03) at Chattanooga (Zack Littell, 5-0, 2.81)
6:35  Kane County (Mack Lemieux, 7-5, 4.69) at Cedar Rapids (Tyler Wells, 5-3, 3.11)

*The Florida State League finals have been cancelled due to the threat of Hurricane Irma.  The semi-finals will end today with a doubleheader, if necessary.  The two divisional champions will be declared co-champions.  This has happened at least once before, in 2004, when the finals were also cancelled due to the threat of a hurricane.

PLAYOFF PICTURE

Chattanooga plays its first playoff game today.  It's series is best-of-five.
Fort Myers trails its best-of-three playoff series 1-0.
Cedar Rapids plays its first playoff game today.  It's series is best-of-five.
Elizabethton is tied in its best-of-three playoff series 1-1.
The GCL Twins lost in the first round of the playoffs.
The DSL Twins lost in the second round of the playoffs.

Games of September 4

Adalberto Mejia does well in a rehab assignment, but the Red Wings miss the playoffs.  The Lookouts set a modern-era wins record.  The Kernels prepare for the playoffs.  A big offensive day keeps the E-Twins alive.

ROCHESTER 10, PAWTUCKET 1 IN ROCHESTER

The Red Wings needed a win and an IronPig loss to make the playoffs.  They did their part.  With Rochester leading 2-1, Jonathan Rodriguez hit a two-run homer in the fifth to make it 4-1.  They put the game out of reach with five in the seventh, as Matt Hague led off the inning with a home run and J. B. Shuck hit a three-run shot later in the inning.  Hague hit another home run in the ninth.  They did their part, but it wasn't enough,as Lehigh Valley won 4-3 and goes on to the playoffs.  The bright side is that it allows the Twins to make more September call-ups without worrying about the effect in might have on Rochester's playoff chances, although they didn't appear to be overly concerned about that anyway.

Adalberto Mejia did well in a rehab assignment, pitching five innings and giving up one run on six hits and two walks with two strikeouts.  His ERA is 2.83.  Dietrich Enns pitched four shutout innings to drop his ERA to 2.29.  Levi Michael was 3-for-5.  Shuck was 2-for-3 with a home run (his fourth), a double, and four RBIs.  Hague was 2-for-4 with two home runs (his ninth and tenth) and scored three times.  Leonardo Reginatto was 2-for-4 with a double and finishes at .303.  Robbie Grossman, on a rehab assignment, was 1-for-3 with two walks.

CHATTANOOGA 2, MONTGOMERY 1 IN CHATTANOOGA

Two singles and two walks brought home a Lookouts run in the first.  Andy Wilkins homered in the fourth to make it 2-0.  The Biscuits got on the board in the sixth on a Joe McCarthy home run.  Montgomery got only one hit after that, though, as Chattanooga held on to set a new club record for wins in the modern era at 91.

Ryan Eades pitched five shutout innings, giving up three hits and a walk with one strikeout.  Keaton Steele pitched two shutout innings to lower his ERA to 1.29.  Wilkins was 1-for-1 with his twelfth home run and three walks.  Edgar Corcino was 1-for-4 and finishes the year batting .302.

FORT MYERS MIRACLE

No game scheduled.  The playoffs begin tonight.

BELOIT 3, CEDAR RAPIDS 0 IN BELOIT

The Snappers scored on a wild pitch in the first inning.  It stayed 1-0 until the eighth, when Beloit scored a pair of insurance runs.  The Kernels only once advanced a man past first base.

Tyler Beardsley pitched six innings, giving up one run on four hits and two walks with three strikeouts.  Logan Lombana pitched a perfect inning to make his ERA 2.60.  Lewin Diaz was 2-for-3.

ELIZABETHTON 14, GREENEVILLE 7 IN ELIZABETHTON (PLAYOFF GAME TWO)

Jose Benjamin singled home a run in the top of the first, but the Twins responded with six in the bottom of the first and went into the lead to stay.  A wild pitch tied the score and J. J. Robinson's three-run homer put Elizabethton ahead.  The Astros got within four runs in the top of the fifth, at 7-3, but the Twins again had a big inning, scoring five, to put the game out of reach.  Kolton Kendrick had a two-run homer in the fifth inning.

Brusdar Graterol struck out five in three innings, giving up one run on five hits and a walk.  Melvi Acosta struck out eight in four innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on four hits.  Kendrick was 3-for-5 with a home run and a double.  T. J. Dixon was 2-for-3.  Robinson was 2-for-4 with a home run, a walk, and three RBIs.  Akil Baddoo was also 2-for-4 with a home run, a walk, and three RBIs.  Carson Crites was 2-for-4.

TODAY'S TILTS

5:35  Palm Beach at Fort Myers (Playoff Game One--best-of-three series)
6:00  Greeneville (Cole Watts, 2-3, 6.68) at Elizabethton

PLAYOFF PICTURE

Chattanooga faces Montgomery in a best-of-five series beginning Wednesday, Sept. 6
Fort Myers faces Palm Beach in a best-of-three series beginning tonight.
Cedar Rapids faces Kane County in a best-of-five series beginning Wednesday, Sept. 6.
Elizabethton faces Greeneville in the conclusion of their best-of-three series tonight.

Games of September 3

The Twins apparently aren't too concerned about whether Rochester makes the playoffs.  A second consecutive good game by Randy LeBlanc.  Fort Myers prepares for the playoffs.  A fine Class A debut for Randy Dobnak.  The E-Twins face a must-win game tonight.  The GCL Twins end their season.

PAWTUCKET 7, ROCHESTER 2 IN ROCHESTER

Matt Dominguez hit a two-run homer in a four-run second that put the Red Sox ahead 4-0.  Bryce Brentz hit a two-run homer in the fifth that made it 6-0.  Dominguez homered again in the sixth to make it 7-0.  The Red Wings finally got on the board in the eighth on a two-run double by Daniel Palka, but it was too little and too late.

Hector Santiago, who in no way has resembled a man who is ready to pitch, continued to not do so, throwing 4.1 innings and allowing six runs (five earned) on eight hits and a walk with four strikeouts.  Drew Rucinski struck out two in two shutout innings of relief to drop his ERA to 2.57.  Matt Hague was 2-for-3 with two doubles.  Leonardo Reginatto was 0-for-4 and is batting .300.  Robbie Grossman, on a rehab assignment, was 0-for-4.  Ryan Walker made his AAA debut and was 0-for-3.

CHATTANOOGA 5, MONTGOMERY 1 IN CHATTANOOGA

Edgar Corcino hit a three-run homer in the fifth to put the Lookouts ahead 3-1.  Alex Perez singled home a run in the sixth and Chattanooga added one more in the seventh to make it 5-1.

Randy LeBlanc, who had flopped in his earlier attempt at AA, had his second consecutive strong outing since coming back there.  He pitched eight innings, giving up one run on six hits and no walks with seven strikeouts.  Todd Van Steensel struck out two in a scoreless inning to lower his ERA to 1.38 with 59 strikeouts in 58.2 innings.  Ryan Strasborger was 2-for-3 with a walk.  LaMonte Wade and Perez were each 2-for-4.  Corcino was 2-for-5 with a home run (his sixth) and three RBIs and is batting .302.

JUPITER 7, FORT MYERS 2 IN JUPITER

Trailing 2-0, the Miracle got a run-scoring double from Mitchell Kranson and an RBI single from Kevin Garcia to tie the score 2-2 in the fourth.  They had the bases loaded with one out, but could not do any more damage.  It cost them, because the Hammerheads scored five in the fifth to put the game out of reach.  Gunner Pollman hit a two-run single in the inning.  Fort Myers did not get a man past first base after the fourth inning.

Brady Anderson struck out five in four innings, giving up two runs on five hits and a walk.  Alex Robinson pitched a scoreless inning.  Williams Ramirez struck out three in two shutout innings to make his ERA 2.98 with 65 strikeouts in 60.1 innings.  Michael Theofanopoulos struck out two in a scoreless inning.  Jermaine Palacios was 2-for-4 with a triple and a double.  Brent Rooker was 2-for-4.  Ariel Montesino was 0-for-2 and is batting .400.

BELOIT 3, CEDAR RAPIDS 2 IN BELOIT

Caleb Hamilton singled home a run in the top of the first.  The 1-0 lead held up until the sixth, when J. C. Rodriguez hit a two-out two-run double to put the Snappers up 2-1.  Travis Blankenhorn doubled home a run in the eighth to make it 2-2, but Beloit got the run back in the bottom of the eighth on a single, a wild pitch, and two bunts.  The Kernels had men on second and third with one out, but Ben Rortvedt was thrown out at the plate trying to score on a foul popup to end the game.

Randy Dobnak made a successful Class A debut, pitching seven innings and giving up two runs on six hits and a walk with one strikeout.  Blankenhorn was 2-for-4 with a double.  Royce Lewis reached on an error to start the game and was replaced by a pinch-runner.  No word on what happened to him, but manager Tommy Watkins says he "should be fine".

GREENEVILLE 3, ELIZABETHTON 2 IN GREENEVILLE (PLAYOFF GAME ONE)

J. J. Robinson homered in the second, but Frankeny Fernandez answered with a homer in the bottom of the second to tie it 1-1.  Fernandez struck again in the fourth, singling home a run to put the Astros ahead 2-1.  Jose Miranda tied it up in the eighth with an RBI double, but Juan Pineda tripled in a run in the bottom of the eighth to make it 3-2 Greeneville.  The Twins got a two-out single in the ninth, but no more.

Bailey Ober struck out eight in six innings, giving up two runs on five hits and no walks.  Rainis Silva and Gorge Munoz were each 2-for-4.

GCL NATIONALS 4, GCL TWINS 0 AT NATIONALS (PLAYOFF GAME)

Yasel Antuna singled home a run in the third.  In the sixth, Antuna tripled in a run and scored on a Juan Soto double.  A passed ball added another run to make it 4-0 and there it stayed.  The Twins had men on first and third in the second and had a leadoff double in the seventh, but were turned aside each time.

Blayne Enlow struck out six in five innings but allowed four runs on five hits and a walk.  Kevin Marnon struck out two in 1.2 scoreless innings.  Derek Molina struck out three in 1.1 scoreless innings.  Benjamin Rodriguez and Taylor Grzelakowski were each 2-for-4 with a double.  The loss ends the GCL Twins' season.

TODAY'S TILTS

12:35  Pawtucket (Jalen Beeks, 6-6, 3.66) at Rochester (Adalberto Mejia, 0-1, 3.04)
1:15  Montgomery (Benton Moss, 4-4, 3.68) at Chattanooga (Ryan Eades, 3-3, 3.87)
2:00  Cedar Rapids at Beloit (Seth Martinez, 4-10, 3.77)
6:00  Greeneville (Chad Donato, 1-1, 4.02) at Elizabethton

PLAYOFF PICTURE

Rochester is tied for Lehigh Valley for first place in the wild card race.  According to the Red Wings' facebook page, Lehigh Valley holds the tiebreaker, so it will take both a Rochester win and an IronPig loss for the Red Wings to reach the playoffs.
Chattanooga won the first half and has clinched the second half.
Fort Myers won the second half.  It appears they will host Palm Beach in the first game of a best-of-three series tomorrow.
Cedar Rapids qualified for the playoffs by finishing second in the first half.  They will finish third in the second half.
Elizabethton won their division.  They trail Greeneville 1-0 in their best-of-three playoff series.
The GCL Twins won their division.  They lost in the first round of the playoffs.
The DSL Twins won their division.  They lost in the second round of the playoffs.

Games of September 2

The Red Wings let one get a way.  LaMonte Wade leads the Lookouts.  The Miracle clinch the division.  Elizabethton has its first playoff game rained out and will play tonight.  The GCL Twins have a playoff game this morning.  The DSL Twins are done.

PAWTUCKET 5, ROCHESTER 3 IN PAWTUCKET

It looked good early.  Levi Michael hit a two-run double in a three-run third that put the Red Wings up 3-0.  It was all downhill after that, though.  Dan Butler hit a two-run double in the fourth to cut the lead to 3-2.  In the fifth a walk, a single, and a sacrifice fly tied it 3-3.  Rochester had the bases loaded with none out in the sixth and failed to score. Jeremy Barfield homered in the seventh to give the Red Sox their first lead of the game at 4-3.  A Jantzen Witte single in the eighth made it 5-3.  The Red Wings did not get a hit after the sixth.

Felix Jorge pitched 4.1 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and two walks with no strikeouts.  Luke Bard struck out four in 1.2 scoreless innings.  Yohan Pino pitched a scoreless inning.  ByungHo Park was 2-for-4.  Leonardo Reginatto was 1-for-3 with a walk and is batting .301.

CHATTANOOGA 4, MONTGOMERY 3 IN CHATTANOOGA

Justin Williams hit a two-run double in the first to give the Biscuits a 2-0 lead.  It held up until the sixth, when LaMonte Wade hit a two-run homer to tie it 2-2.  In the eighth Wade struck again, delivering an RBI double that put the Lookouts in the lead.  Max Murphy singled home an insurance run and Chattanooga needed it, as Montgomery scored in the ninth and had men on first and second with one out.  A pair of ground outs ended the game.

Kohl Stewart started but pitched just three innings on his return from the disabled list, giving up two runs on four hits and three walks with no strikeouts.  He threw 59 pitches.  D. J. Baxendale pitched 4.2 scoreless innings to drop his ERA to 1.27.  Wade was 3-for-4 with a double and a home run (his seventh), driving in three.  Edgar Corcino was 2-for-4 with a double and is batting .301.  Murphy was 2-for-4 with a double.

FORT MYERS 4, JUPITER 1 IN FORT MYERS

Zander Weil homered in the second inning to give the Miracle a 1-0 lead.  The Hammerheads tied it in the top of the sixth, but Mitchell Kranson homered in the bottom of the sixth to make it 2-1.  Ariel Montesino singled home a run in the seventh and Kranson had an RBI double in the eighth.  Jupiter did not get a man past first base after the sixth inning.

Lachlan Wells struck out seven in five shutout innings, giving up two hits and two walks.  Tom Hackimer struck out two in two shutout innings to lower his ERA to 1.93 with 43 strikeouts in 37.1 innings.  Kranson was 3-for-4 with two doubles and his fourth home run.  Tanner English was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Montesino made his high-A debut and was 2-for-3.  Sean Miller and Jermaine Palacios were each 2-for-4.

CEDAR RAPIDS 4, BELOIT 2 IN BELOIT

The Kernels scored three times in the fourth to take a 3-1 lead.  A sacrifice fly in the fifth made it 4-1.  The Snappers scored once in the sixth and had the tying run on base with one out.  They couldn't get the ball out of the infield after that, though, and never had the tying run on base again.

Bryan Sammons struck out six in five innings, giving up an unearned run on three hits and a walk.  Patrick McGuff struck out two in two shutout innings to make his ERA 2.49 with 53 strikeouts in 50.2 innings.  Jordan Gore was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Aaron Whitefield and Shane Carrier were each 2-for-4.  Royce Lewis was 0-for-5 and is batting .300.

ELIZABETHTON AT GREENEVILLE (PLAYOFF GAME ONE)

Rained out.

GCL TWINS V. GCL RED SOX

A doubleheader was rained out.  The GCL Twins will play the GCL Nationals tomorrow in a one-game playoff, with the winner going to the league championship series.

DSL DODGERS2 2, DSL TWINS 0 AT TWINS (PLAYOFF GAME 3--8 1/2 INNINGS--RAIN)

Both of the runs scored in the sixth inning.  With men on second and third and none out, Maikel Pineda had an RBI single and another run scored on a wild pitch.  The Twins got only one hit and had just two baserunners, with none of them getting past first base.

Andriu Marin pitched five shutout innings, giving up three hits and two walks with three strikeouts.  Fernando Sanchez struck out two in two shutout innings.  Jesus Toledo pitched a scoreless inning.  Agustin Marte had the only Twins hit and went 1-for-2.  The Twins batted just .146 in the series.

TODAY'S TILTS

10:05  Jupiter (Pablo Lopez, 0-3, 1.93) at Fort Myers
11:00  GCL Twins at GCL Nationals--Playoff Game
2:00  Cedar Rapids (Randy Dobnak, no record) at Beloit (Zack Erwin, 6-4, 2.22)
5:00  Elizabethton at Greeneville (Jairo Solis, no record)
5:05  Pawtucket (Kyle Kendrick, 4-7, 6.02) at Rochester (Hector Santiago, 1-1, 4.12)*
5:15  Montgomery (Logan Darnell, 5-2, 3.93) at Chattanooga

*I don't know why they'd be pitching Hector Santiago when they just moved him to the 60-DL, but that's what the reports say, so we'll go with it.

PLAYOFF PICTURE

Rochester is in first place in the wild card race, leading Lehigh Valley by 1.5 games.  Their magic number is two.
Chattanooga will finish first in both halves of the season.  They lead Montgomery by eight games.
Fort Myers has clinched first place in the second half.  They lead Charlotte by four games.
Cedar Rapids qualified for the playoffs by finishing second in the first half.  They are in third place in the second half, one game behind second-place Peoria.
Elizabethton won their division.  They play Greeneville in the first game of a best-of-three series tonight.
The GCL Twins won their division.  They play the GCL Nationals in a one-game playoff this morning.
The DSL Twins won their division and got a first-round playoff bye.  They lost to the DSL Dodgers2 in the second round of the playoffs, two games to one.

Games of September 1

A solid performance by Aaron Slegers.  Dereck Rodriguez pitches well and Gabriel Moya has nothing to learn in Chattanooga.  Anthony Marzi pitches well in his high-A debut, but Fort Myers fails to clinch the division.  Jimmy Kerrigan hit two homers.  Mariano Calcano keeps the DSL Twins' hopes alive.

ROCHESTER 6, PAWTUCKET 4 IN ROCHESTER

ByungHo Park hit a two-run homer in the first and Matt Hague had a two-run double in a three-run second that put the Red Wings ahead 5-0.  Brian Bogusevic hit a three-run homer in the third to cut the margin to 5-3.  There was no more scoring until the seventh, when a sacrifice fly made the score 6-3.  The Red Sox got one back in the eighth and put men on first and second in the ninth, but a ground out ended the game.

Aaron Slegers struck out ten in 6.2 innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk.  Leonardo Reginatto was 2-for-3 and is batting .301.  Hague was 2-for-4 with a double.  Park hit his fourteenth home run and had three RBIs.

CHATTANOOGA 3, MONTGOMERY 2 IN CHATTANOOGA (11 INNINGS)

A sacrifice fly put the Lookouts on the board in the first inning.  The 1-0 lead held up until the fifth, when Jake Cronenworth delivered a two-out two-run single to put the Biscuits up 2-1.  Chattanooga tied it in the eighth on LaMonte Wade's RBI single.  The Lookouts loaded the bases with one out in the ninth and had men on first and second with none out in the tenth, but were turned away each time.  With two out in the eleventh, however, Chattanooga put together three consecutive singles, the last a run-scoring hit by Edgar Corcino, to win the game.

Dereck Rodriguez struck out seven in six innings, giving up two unearned runs on two hits and a walk.  Alex Muren pitched a scoreless inning to drop his ERA to 3.00.  Cody Stashak struck out three in two shutout innings to keep his ERA at zero with a WHIP of 0.67 and 10 strikeouts in 6 innings.  Gabriel Moya struck out three in two shutout innings to lower his ERA to 0.77 with a WHIP of 0.77 and 87 strikeouts in 58.1 innings.  I have no idea what more the Twins think they need to see before they move him up.  Corcino and Nick Gordon were each 3-for-6 with a double.  Wade was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Brian Navarreto was 2-for-5.

JUPITER 1, FORT MYERS 0 IN JUPITER

An RBI single by Colby Lusignan in the first inning produced the game's only run.  The Miracle got six hits but only once advanced a man past first base.  That came in the third, when Jermaine Palacios walked and advanced to third on a couple of ground balls.

Anthony Marzi pitched very well in his high-A debut, going six innings and giving up one run on four hits and a walk with five strikeouts.  Sam Clay struck out three in two shutout innings to make his ERA 1.38.  Sean Miller was 3-for-4.  Zander Weil was 2-for-4.  Joe Cronin made his high-A debut and was 1-for-3.

BURLINGTON 5, CEDAR RAPIDS 4 IN BURLINGTON

Jimmy Kerrigan hit a two-run homer in the first to put the Kernels up 2-0, but the Bees responded with three in the second, with John Schuknecht hitting a two-run homer, to take a 3-2 lead.  Brandon Sandoval tripled and scored in the third to make it 4-2 and Brennan Morgan had an RBI single in the fifth build the lead to 5-2.  Kerrigan hit another two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth to cut the lead to 5-4, but that was where it stayed.  Cedar Rapids did not get a hit after the fifth inning.

Charlie Barnes pitched 4.2 innings and allowed five runs (four earned) on seven hits and a walk with four strikeouts.  Max Cordy pitched 2.1 scoreless innings.  Hector Lujan struck out three in two perfect innings to drop his ERA to 1.33 with a WHIP of 0.91 and 54 strikeouts in 54 innings.  Kerrigan was 2-for-4 with two home runs (his fourth and fifth) and four RBIs.  Caleb Hamilton was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Royce Lewis was 0-for-3 with a walk and is batting .323.

ELIZABETHTON TWINS

No game scheduled.  They will begin their best-of-three playoff series with Greeneville tonight.

GCL RED SOX 5, GCL TWINS 4 AT RED SOX (GAME 1--7 INNINGS)

Jared Akins hit a three-run triple in a four-run third that put the Twins ahead 4-1.  The Red Sox came right back with two in the bottom of the third to cut the lead to 4-3.  It was still 4-3 going to the bottom of the seventh.  The Red Sox drew a pair of one out walks.  A popup made two down, but two more walks tied the game and a wild pitch brought home the winning (and losing) run.

Matt Jones started and pitched 3.2 innings, allowing three runs on four hits and four walks with no strikeouts.  Colton Burns was 2-for-2 with two doubles and a walk.  Alex Robles was 1-for-2 to make his average .320.

GCL TWINS 9, GCL RED SOX 1 AT TWINS

The Twins scored all of their runs in the first three innings.  Taylor Grzelakowski hit a two-run double in a three-run first.  Colton Burns had a two-run single in the second to make it 5-0.  In the fourth, Victor Tademo hit a two-run triple and Alex Robles had a two-run single to make it 9-0.  The Red Sox got their lone run in the fourth.  They had only one hit, a third-inning single by Ricardo Cubillan.

Taylor Clemensia struck out seven in 3.2 innings, giving up an unearned run on one hit and five walks.  Petru Balan struck out four in 3.1 scoreless innings.  Robles was 2-for-4 and is batting .324.

DSL TWINS 3, DSL DODGERS2 2 AT DODGERS (PLAYOFF GAME 2)

The Twins opened the scoring in the fifth when they pulled off a double steal of second and home.  Mariano Calcano singled home a run in the sixth to make it 2-0.  The Dodgers2 came back to score in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single by Ismael Alcantara and tied it in the seventh on Luis Rodriguez' run-scoring single.  Calcano led off the ninth with a walk.  Pinch-runner Ruben Santana stole second, went to third on a ground out, and scored on another ground out to give the Twins a 3-2 lead.

TODAY'S TILTS

9:00  GCL Rays at GCL Twins
Game 2  GCL Twins at GCL Rays
9:30  DSL Dodgers2 at DSL Twins
5:00  Elizabethton at Greeneville (Jairo Solis, no record)
5:05  Jupiter (Scott Squier, 5-9, 3.85) at Fort Myers (Lachlan Wells, 4-10, 4.24)
5:05  Pawtucket (Hector Velazquez. 8-4, 2.23 at Rochester (Felix Jorge, 0-1, 4.50)
6:15  Montgomery (Anthony Misiewicz, 3-1, 3.63) at Chattanooga
7:00  Cedar Rapids (Bryan Sammons, 2-1, 4.35) at Beloit (Matt Milburn, 7-10, 4.33)

PLAYOFF PICTURE

Rochester is in first place in the wild card race, leading Lehigh Valley by two games.  Their magic number is two.
Chattanooga won the first half and has clinched first place in the second half.  They lead Montgomery by seven games.
Fort Myers is in first place in the second half, leading Charlotte by 2.5 games.  Their magic number is one.
Cedar Rapids qualified for the playoffs by finishing second in the first half.  They are in third place in the second half, trailing Peoria for second place by two games.
Elizabethton won their division.  They begin a best-of-three playoff series with Greeneville tonight.
The GCL Twins have clinched their division.  They lead the GCL Rays by 7.5 games.
The DSL Twins won their division and received a first-round bye in the playoffs.  They play the DSL Dodgers2 this morning in the third game of their best-of-three semi-final series.

Games of August 31

A fine game by David Hurlbut.  A near cycle by T. J. White and a fine game by Zack Littell.  Lewis Thorpe also had a fine game in a loss.  A fine comeback for the Kernels.  Not much was fine for the E-Twins.  The GCL Twins roll along into the playoffs.  The DSL Twins face a must-win game today.

ROCHESTER 5, SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE 1 AT SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE

Miguel Andujar's RBI double put the RailRiders up 1-0 in the first, but the Red Wings took over from there.  They scored three runs in the fourth, as Daniel Palka's run-scoring triple tied the score, ByungHo Park singled home the go-ahead run, and Anthony Recker had an RBI double to provide an insurance run.  Rochester got two more in the sixth, as Leonardo Reginatto brought home a run with a double and later scored on a sacrifice fly.  Scranton/Wilkes-Barre did not get a hit after the sixth inning.

David Hurlbut pitched 6.1 innings, giving up a run on four hits and two walks with five strikeouts.  Drew Rucinski retired all five men he faced, striking out two of them, to drop his ERA to 2.66 with a WHIP of 0.98.  Michael Tonkin pitched a scoreless inning to lower his ERA to 1.73 with 61 strikeouts in 41.2 innings.  Palka was 2-for-3 with a triple and two walks.  Recker was 2-for-3 with a double.  Park and Matt Hague were each 2-for-5.

CHATTANOOGA 11, MONTGOMERY 2 IN CHATTANOOGA

T. J. White tripled and scored in the fourth to tie the score 2-2.  The Lookouts took the lead in the fifth on two singles and a sacrifice fly.  They then broke the game open with a five-run seventh.  Nick Gordon hit a three-run homer and White hit a two-run homer in the inning.  They added three runs in the eighth on four walks and a two-run single by Edgar Corcino.

Zack Littell pitched six innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on two hits and three walks with four strikeouts.  His ERA is 2.81.  Anthony McIver struck out two in two shutout innings to keep his ERA at zero with a WHIP of 0.83.  Nick Anderson struck out two in a perfect inning to make his ERA 0.83 with a WHIP of 0.73 and 36 strikeouts in 32.2 innings.  T. J. White fell a single short of the cycle, going 3-for-5 with a double, a triple, and his fourteenth home run.  Alex Perez was 2-for-3 with a walk and three runs.  Corcino was 2-for-4 with three RBIs.  Gordon was 2-for-5 with his ninth home run and three RBIs.

JUPITER 3, FORT MYERS 2 IN JUPITER (11 INNINGS)

Trailing 2-1 going to the ninth, the Miracle loaded the bases with a walk and two errors.  A sacrifice fly tied the score.  An infield single re-loaded the bases, but a force out at the plate and a fly out ended the inning.  In the eleventh, a single-plus-error and a walk put men on first and second for the Hammerheads with none out.  The next two batters were retired, but Angel Reyes delivered a single-plus-error to win the game for Jupiter.  Each team made four errors in the game.

Lewis Thorpe struck out eleven in 7.1 innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits and a walk.  His ERA is 2.69 with 84 strikeouts in 77 innings.  Williams Ramirez struck out two in two perfect innings.  Brandon Lopez was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Jaylin Davis was 2-for-5.  Chris Paul was 0-for-4 and is batting .328.

CEDAR RAPIDS 9, BURLINGTON 8 IN CEDAR RAPIDS (10 INNINGS)

The Bees scored six runs in the third to take an 8-0 lead.  Artemis Kadkhodaian had a two-run single and Stephen Kerr a two-run double in the inning.  The Kernels scored once in the third and tied it with seven runs in the fifth.  Shane Carrier had a two-run homer and Travis Blankenhorn a two-run single in the inning.  There was no more scoring until the tenth.  Burlington had the bases loaded with two out but did not score.  In the bottom of the tenth Jordan Gore singled, took second on a passed ball, and scored on an Aaron Whitefield double to win the game.

Tyler Wells started and pitched two innings, allowing eight runs on ten hits and a walk with two strikeouts.  Logan Lombana pitched three shutout innings to drop his ERA to 2.64.  Ryan Mason struck out three in two shutout innings to lower his ERA to 1.86.  Colton Davis struck out three in two shutout innings.  Patrick McGuff struck out three in a scoreless inning to make his ERA 2.59 with 51 strikeouts in 48.2 innings.  Blankenhorn was 3-for-5 with two doubles.  Gore was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.  Amaurys Minier was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Whitefield was 2-for-5 with two doubles and a walk.  Trey Cabbage was 2-for-5.

KINGSPORT 8, ELIZABETHTON 0 IN KINGSPORT

Danny Hoy hit a two-run homer in the fourth, Hansel Moreno hit a two-run homer in the fifth, and Moreno and Mark Vientos each had a two-run single in the eighth.  The only time the Twins got a man as far as third base was the seventh, when Jose Miranda doubled and went to third on a wild pitch with one out.  A strikeout and a ground out ended the inning.

Moises Gomez struck out three in three shutout innings, giving up one hit and no walks.  Jared Finkel struck out all three batters he faced to drop his ERA to 2.18.  Akil Baddoo was 1-for-4 and is batting .357.

GCL TWINS 8, GCL RAYS 2 AT TWINS

Jared Akins hit a two-run double in the third and came around to score later to make the score 3-0 Twins.  Jake Fraley homered in the fourth to make it 3-1, but the Twins scored three more in the fifth, getting an RBI single by Benjamin Rodriguez and two sacrifice flies, to put the game out of reach.

Jordan Balazovic pitched 4.2 innings, giving up one run on four hits and three walks with four strikeouts.  Derek Molina struck out three in two shutout innings to lower his ERA to 1.08 with a WHIP of 0.90 and 21 strikeouts in 16.2 innings.  Austin Bizzle struck out two in 1.2 scoreless innings to make his ERA 1.86 with a WHIP of 0.83.  Taylor Grzelakowski was 2-for-3 with a home run.  Rodriguez was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Ricky De La Torre was 2-for-4 with a double.  Jean Carlos Arias was 2-for-4 and is batting .307.  Akins was 2-for-5 with a double.

DSL DODGERS2 7, DSL TWINS 0 AT TWINS (PLAYOFF GAME 1)

The Dodgers2 scored on a wild pitch in the second and got an RBI single by Luis Yanel Diaz in the sixth to make it 2-0.  The Twins got a man to third base with none out in the third and one out in the fourth but failed to score.  They then had their last sixteen batters retired.  The Dodgers2 scored five runs in the ninth, with Frank Sanchez hitting a three-run homer, to put the game out of reach.

Michael Montero struck out five in five innings, giving up one run on six hits and no walks.  The Twins had only five hits and drew one walk.  The series is best-of-three, so the Twins will need to win today to keep their championship hopes alive.

TODAY'S TILTS

9:00  GCL Twins at GCL Red Sox
Game 2  GCL Red Sox at GCL Twins
9:30  DSL Twins at DSL Dodgers2
5:30  Fort Myers (Anthony Marzi, no record) at Jupiter (Ben Meyer, 3-3, 2.10)
6:05  Pawtucket (Brian Johnson, 3-3, 2.77) at Rochester (Aaron Slegers, 14-4, 3.37)
6:15  Montgomery (Genesis Cabrera, 5-4, 3.77) at Chattanooga
6:35  Burlington (Jose Suarez, 4-1, 3.44) at Cedar Rapids (Charlie Barnes, 2-0, 3.00)

PLAYOFF PICTURE

Rochester is in first place in the wild card race, leading Lehigh Valley by two games.  Their magic number is three.
Chattanooga qualified for the playoffs by winning the first half and has now clinched the second half championship.  They lead Montgomery by six games.
Fort Myers is in first place in the second half, leading Charlotte by three games.  Their magic number is one.
Cedar Rapids qualified for the playoffs by finishing second in the first half.  They are in third place in the second half, trailing second-place Peoria by one game.
Elizabethton had clinched their division.  They lead Greeneville and Johnson city by 7.5 games.
The GCL Twins have clinched their division.  They lead the GCL Orioles by 7.5 games.
The DSL Twins won their division, but trail the DSL Dodgers2 in the playoff semi-finals one game to none.