Baby Bird Brief - May 11

BUF (16-15) - W 9-4 over Durham
NH (16-15) - L 5-4 to New Britain
DUN (14-17) - W 5-2 at Fort Myers
LAN (17-14) - L 7-4 in South Bend

Buffalo Recap
Buffalo responded to a run allowed in the top of the 1^st with 3 of their own in the bottom and pushed some late runs to squash a Durham rally in a 9-4 win. Buffalo pounded out 17 hits as every starter had at least a hit. Buffalo also had 2 walks and struck out 8 times. The Herd made 2 errors which made the game closer than it needed to be. Durham had 7 hits and 3 walks, and struck out 8 times.

• Daniel Norris started and went 6.1 innings. He allowed 4 runs (2 earned) on 5 hits and 3 walks. Norris got touched up with a lead-off home run and then settled in a bit. Norris had 7 K's, 6 ground outs and 4 fly ball outs. Norris threw 103 pitches, 65 for strikes
• Chad Jenkins followed with 1.2 scoreless innings of relief. He allowed a hit
• Luis Perez threw a scoreless inning as well. He gave up a hit and struck out one
  
  
• Dalton Pompey had his best game since being sent down. Pompey picked up a double and 3 singles. Pompey also scored 3 runs and stole his 3^rd base for Buffalo.
• Caleb Gindl had 3 hits, including a double. He drove in 3 and scored a run
• Brad Glenn had a single and a double. He also picked up a walk and struck out twice
• Matt Hague & Chris Dickerson both had 2 singles and 2 K's. Hague is now up to 12 straight with a hit
• Andy Burns, Sean Ochinko & Ryan Schmipf all had a double. Schmipf added a walk
• Jonathan Diaz had a hit in this one too

New Hampshire Recap
New Hampshire fell behind in the 2^nd and their comeback attempt didn't quite get there in the 9^th, as the Fisher Cats fell to New Britain 5-4. New Hampshire scored 2 in the 9^th off ex-teammate Tyler Ybarra to close the gap, but Jon Berti grounded out to end the game. New Britain got to Austin BIbens-Dirkx for 4 in the 2^nd and held on from there. New Hampshire had 9 hits and 2 walks. The Fisher Cats struck out 8 times on the night. New Britain had 7 hits and 6 walks. The Rock Cats had 6 stolen bases on the night and also committed 3 errors in the win.

• Austin Bibens-Dirkx started and gave up 4 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks in 2 innings. He did record 4 strikeouts
• Cory Burns followed allowing a run on 2 hits and 3 walks in 2 innings. Burns picked up 2 K's
• Danny Barnes threw a solid 2.2 innings, with a walk and 5 strike outs
• Greg Burke had 1.1 innings of scoreless ball. He gave up a hit and struck out 2
• Blake McFarland had a perfect inning with a K
  
  
• Pierce Rankin was all over the box score in this one. Rankin had 2 hits and a walk. He also scored a run. Rankin was caught stealing, thrown out at home to end the 2^nd, and picked a runner off 2B
• Jorge Flores had 2 hits and scored a run
• Kevin Nolan had a double to extend his hitting streak to 10 games.
• Jon Berti had a single which extended his hit streak to 9. Berti also threw a runner out at the plate
• Andy Fermin had a hit
• Matt Newman picked up a pinch hit single in the 9^th but was stranded at 3^rd
• Shane Optiz had a single
• Christian Lopes had a walk
• Dwight Smith saw his hit streak end at 8 games as he went 0-for with 2 K's
• K.C. Hobson had a rough night, going 0-4 with 4 K's

Dunedin Recap
Dunedin bounced back from their 15-1 shellacking on Saturday with a 4-run 3^rd inning to beat Fort Myers 5-2 on Monday. The D-Jays had 5 hits and 2 walks in this one. Dunedin was able to take advantage of 3 Fort Myers errors. They also struck out 5 times. Fort Myers picked up 7 hits and a walk. They struck out 6 times. If you are looking for a more in-depth look, click here to see Scott C.'s review

• Murphy Smith started and went 5 innings. He allowed 2 runs on 4 hits and a walk. Smith struck out 4 in his best outing in a while. Smith recorded 6 ground outs as well
• Alberto Tirado threw 3 scoreless innings. He allowed 3 hits and struck out 2. He also made an error on a pick off
• Wil Browning threw a scoreless inning with a hit batter
  
  
• L.B. Dantzler had 2 singles, drove in a run and scored a run for Dunedin. He also picked up a strike out
• Roemon Fields had a hit and scored a run. He also had a sac bunt and grounded in to a double play
• Derrick Loveless had a hit and a K
• Jorge Saez had a single and picked off a batter at 1^st
• Dickie Joe Thon scored 2 runs on a walk and a K

Lansing Recap
Lansing & South Bend scored 9 runs in the first 3 innings, and then settled in as South Bend was able to hold on for a 7-4 win. Lansing scored 2 in the top of 1, allowed 3 in the bottom and 2 more in the bottom of 2. That was all South Bend would need as they added single runs in the 6^th and the 8^th. Lansing had 8 hits and 4 walks. The Lugs struck out 8 and were hit twice with pitches. South Bend had 11 hits in this one, including 2 home runs. The also walked 3 times and struck out 5 times.

• Chase De Jong started and went 6.2 innings. He allowed 6 runs on 10 hits and a walk. He gave up 2-run HR and a solo shot in this one
• Carlos Ramirez allowed a run on 1 hit and 2 walks in 1.1 innings
  
  
• J.D. Davis continues to swing a hot bat with 2 more hits in this one
• Gunnar Heidt had a single and a double and drove in 2 runs
• Anthony Alford had a typical Alford game. He had a double, 2 walks and 2 K's. He also was caught stealing for the first time this year
• Rowdy Tellez had a hit and 2 walks on the night. He also struck out once and was thrown out at the plate in the 1^st
• Richard Urena had a hit
• D.J. Davis had a single and no K's. He was caught stealing and also threw a runner out at the plate in the 5^th
• Tim Locastro saw his 11-game hitting streak end, although he was hit by a pitch and picked up his 11^th stolen base of the year
• Michael De La Cruz had 2 K's
• Ryan McBroom was hit by a pitch

Look Ahead

BUF - Buffalo takes on Durham (BAL) at home. Starter TBD
NH - New Hampshire takes on New Britain (COL). Matt Boyd takes on the top team in the Eastern League
DUN - Dunedin plays Fort Myers (MIN). Jeremy Gabryszwski starts
LAN - Lansing has an early morning start with South Bend (CHC). Jesus Tinoco makes his second start