Baby Jays Recap - Samad Taylor keeps hitting homers

Buffalo (22-18) - Postponed by Covid in Syracuse

New Hampshire (18-24) - Win 10-5 over Bowie

New Hampshire got out to a quick start in this one, and was able to keep the foot on the engine enough to withstand Bowie’s push back. The Fisher Cats got 4 in the top of the 1st as Austin Martin had a 1-out single, followed by back-to-back walks to Otto Lopez & Gabriel Moreno to load the bases. Jordan Groshans drove in 2 with a single, followed by a Chavez Young single to drive in another. Brock Lundquist singled in the 4th run in the inning. Nick Podkul walked to reload the bases, but Samad Taylor hit one hard at the CF to be the 1st & 3rd outs of the 1st inning. After Bowie battled back to tie the game, Lundquist walked and scored on a Podkul 2-run HR (3) in the 3rd.

The Cats scored 2 more in the 6th as Podkul walked, Taylor singled, Martin was hit by a pitch to load the bases and then Lopez & Moreno each had run scoring walks. In the 7th, Lundquist walked and scored on another 2-run HR, this time by Taylor, his 12th of the year. All told, NH had 8 hits and 13 walks in the ball game.

Podkul was 1-3 with 2 walks, scoring 2 and driving in 2. Lundquist had a single and 2 walks, scoring twice. Taylor had a single and the HR, scoring 2. Martin went 1-3 with 2 walks and a hit by pitch. Lopez was 1-3 with 3 walks. Moreno finished the game 0-1 with 4 walks, perhaps because AA pitchers are pitching around him, or because Bowie struggled to find the strike zone. The only Fisher Cat starter without a hit was Tanner Kirwer in his debut. He flew out twice and struck out 3 times in 5 trips.

Mike Ellenbest started a bullpen game for New Hampshire and was hit hard. Ellenbest went 1.1 innings, allowing 4 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks. One of the hits was a 2-run HR to top O’s prospect Adley Rutschman. The rest of the night, the Cats pitchers were able to keep Rutschman down. Sean Rackoski followed with 2.1 innings of relief, allowing an unearned run on a hit and a walk, while also committing an error. Marcus Reyes made his AA debut with 1.1 scoreless. Reyes worked around 2 hits and a walk. Will McAffer & Andrew McInvale each had 2 scoreless innings of relief to get out of this one.

Vancouver (24-19) - Loss 4-3 to Eugene

As noted in the Jays recap by MattW, the Canadians lost in a difficult manner, after looking to have completed a comeback in the top of the 9th. Down 4-1 heading into 9, Luis De Los Santos hit a solo HR to cut the lead to 2, his 4th of the year. Ryan Gold walked, followed by a DJ Neal infield single. The game would have been over on a Eric Rivera lineout, but the 1B made a throwing error, missing out on a double play. That brought Rafael Lantigua to the plate. Lantigua had a double into right that scored Gold & Neal, putting Lantigua at 3rd, except that DJ Neal didn’t step on 3rd and Eugene caught that and appealed the call, which turned out to be the final out in a 4-3 loss.

Vancouver didn’t score until the 7th in this one, as Ryan Gold doubled and then Eric Rivera singled him in. Lantigua had a single and a double in this one. Gold added a walk. Phil Clarke & Cameron Eden both had a single. Eden added a walk. Overall the C’s only had 8 hits and 3 walks on the night.

On the mound, Brian Rapp started for Vancouver. Rapp was a 26th round pick of Minnesota in the 2018 draft out of Boston College. Rapp pitched in A-ball in 2019 but was pitching in the Frontier league prior to last nights start. He wound up going 5 innings, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks. Alex Nolan made his 2021 Vancouver debut, going 1.2 innings of relief. Nolan allowed 2 runs on 5 hits, while striking out 2. Cobi Johnson pitched the last 1.1 innings, allowing a walk and striking out 1.

Dunedin (17-24) - Postponed by rain in St. Lucie

Today’s Probables

Buffalo will take on Syracuse, pending there being no postponement again due to Covid.

New Hampshire will take on Bowie again, no starting pitcher has been listed. Perhaps another bullpen game

Vancouver will take on Eugene again, sending CJ Van Eyk (2-1, 4.45 ERA, 3.81 FIP, 4.33 xFIP) to the mound

Dunedin is scheduled for a doubleheader in St. Lucie with game 1 starting at noon. Nathanael Perez was listed as the starter for last nights game, but no starters are listed for Dunedin to date.