It was another tough day for the Blue Jays affiliates on Saturday.
Of the five games the affiliate played, there were only two wins, with several teams embarking on losing streaks.
Let’s dig in to see what happened.
Addison Barger’s home run lifted the Bisons to a win
One of two wins on the day came for the Buffalo Bisons, who defeated the Columbus Clippers 5-3.
It was the Addison Barger show, as the 24-year-old hit his second home run of the season while also hitting a double and a single. Brian Serven also hit his first home run of the season, while Rafael Lantigua hit the other Bisons’ extra-base hit.
LET'S GO BOYS!
2 run home run for BARGER pic.twitter.com/cYzmVzDxQy
— Buffalo Bisons (@BuffaloBisons) April 20, 2024
In terms of players with multi-hit games, Orelvis Martinez extended his hit streak to 14 games, with two singles (one going 370 feet), while Nathan Lukes also hit two singles. Serven and Barger also had multi-hit games, while Cam Eden picked up the other Bisons’ hit.
Chad Dallas had a solid start, finishing with a line of 5.2 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, while all three of the earned runs were solo home runs. Mason Fluharty had a good bounce back game, striking out three and allowing a hit and a walk in an inning and a third pitched.
Hagen Danner picked up the win, striking out two batters in his inning of work, while Zach Pop picked up the save pitching a clean inning and striking out two.
Fisher Cats have lost four in a row
Stop me if you’ve heard this during the week, the Fisher Cats were tied in the second-half of the game, before ultimately falling to the Portland Sea Dogs. This time, they were tied in the bottom of the sixth before a three-run inning put the game out of reach.
Michael Turconi picked up two singles, the only Fisher Cat with a multi-hit game. Garrett Spain hit his second double of the season for New Hampshire’s only extra-base hit. Other Fisher Cats with a single were Alan Roden, Zach Britton, and Gabriel Martinez, while Alex De Jesus walked twice.
Here's Garrett Spain's double from yesterday. pic.twitter.com/qKTLad7MT8
— Ryley Delaney (@Ryley_L_D) April 21, 2024
Adam Macko had a solid start, finishing with a line of 5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, bringing his season ERA to 3.07. However, he was tagged with the loss. Hunter Gregory finished with a line of 1.2 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K with a home run given up, while Adrián Hernández pitched two thirds of an inning with a walk and hit allowed, as well as striking out a batter.
This was the first of six strikeouts from Adam Macko yesterday afternoon. pic.twitter.com/0o6CgzufUJ
— Ryley Delaney (@Ryley_L_D) April 21, 2024
Canadians split the double-header
The Canadians played two games on Saturday, losing one 3-1 and winning the other 7-5. Let’s start with the loss.
Vancouver picked up just five hits in the game, with Brennan Orf and Jean Arnaez both picking up doubles, while Dasan Brown, Dylan Rock, and Jaden Rudd all had singles. The Canadians also walked seven times, with Brown, Nick Goodwin, Jeffrey Wehler, Rock, and Arnaez walking once, while Jommer Hernandez walked twice.
Ryan Jennings didn’t have the greatest of starts, finishing with a line of 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 6 BB!, 2 K, but due to the scoreless outing, his season ERA sits at 0.75. Grayson Thurman came in from the bullpen and finished with a line of 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K with a home run given up.
Justin Kelly was tagged with a loss, finishing with a line of 1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER (2 R), 0 BB, 2 K to bring his season ERA to 3.
The second game went significantly better for the Canadians, as they beat the Eugene Emeralds 7-5. Nick Goodwin hit his third home run of the season, driving in three runs with one swing of the bat to give the Canadians a 7-0 lead. Jaden Rudd hit the only other extra-base hit in the game for Vancouver.
Yesterday, Nick Goodwin hit his third home run of the season to the opposite field. pic.twitter.com/o0nHTRkBZU
— Ryley Delaney (@Ryley_L_D) April 21, 2024
Ryan McCarty had another multi-hit game, surprise surprise, while Dasan Brown, Jeffrey Wehler, Jackson Hornung, and Dylan Rock all had singles.
Rafael Sánchez started the game, finishing with a line of 5.2 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 7 K to bring his season ERA to 3.45. Interestingly, three of the five starters pitched 5.2 innings on Saturday. Anders Tolhurst finished the game with a line of 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K.
D-Jays lost the top spot in the Florida State League
With the 2-0 win on Saturday, the Clearwater Threshers moved into a tie for first in the Florida State League with the Dunedin Blue Jays. Spoiler alert for tomorrow’s Minor League Report; Clearwater also won on Sunday, moving into first place outright.
The D-Jay had just four hits, with Roque Salinas having two of those hits in three plate appearances. Arjun Nimmala hit the team’s only extra-base hit, a double, while Ricardo Balogh picked up a single as well. Bryce Arnold was the only Blue Jay to walk, while Manuel Beltre was hit by a pitch.
Lazaro Estrada made his season debut on a rehab assignment, finishing with a line of 2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K. Carson Pierce finished with a line of 3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, generating eight whiffs on 25 total swings (32 whiff%). The changeup itself had nine total swings and four whiffs (44 whiff%)
Here's the second of three strike outs from Lazaro Estrada yesterday. pic.twitter.com/CPuyMEFozR
— Ryley Delaney (@Ryley_L_D) April 21, 2024
Felipe Bello made his third appearance of the season, and struck out a batter and allowed a hit in his two innings of work. Kai Peterson pitched a clean inning, striking out the side to bring his season ERA to 2.45. Keiner Leon pitched an inning, walking two batters and striking out one.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.