The Canberra Cavalry are heating up Down Under in the Australian Baseball League and have been led by a few Blue Jays minor leaguers including catcher Jack Murphy and second baseman Christian Lopes.
On Friday’s 11-4, 13-inning win over Brisbane, three Blue Jays’ prospects got into the game and contributed with the bat. Anthony Alford went 2/5 with a run scored, two walks and an RBI, stealing two bases without getting caught. Christian Lopes went 3/5 with his first home run in the ABL, driving in two runs and drawing a walk. Lopes also had a sacrifice fly and, playing shortstop (where he hasn’t played more than three games since his first season in 2012), made an error. Jack Murphy hit his home run in typical, Murphy-esque fashion: in the 13th inning, to cap a seven-run inning and put the Cavalry on top for good.
Canberra swept Saturday’s double header with Lopes going 1/4 with another home run in the first game. L.B. Dantzler also hit a home run, his second of the ABL season, also going 1/4, in the 6-1 victory over Brisbane. Murphy was 0/3, catching Tim Atherton who had an outstanding outing.
In the second half of the double header, the Cavalry won 8-2 thanks to a 3/5 game from catcher Jack Murphy who hit a double, drove in four runs and scored twice. Murphy pushed his batting average for the ABL season to .352 while Christian Lopes remained hot, going 2/5 and finishing the day with a .337 batting average. Anthony Alford was 0/4 with a walk and a run while L.B. Dantzler played first and third base, going 1/4 with a double, a walk and an RBI.
Overall, Alford is hitting .222/.344/.346 with a pair of home runs (including an “in-the-parker”) and five stolen bases. Dantzler’s overall numbers are .256/.314/.400 with a pair of home runs, seven doubles and 16 RBI over 24 games. In his third Australian campaign, Murphy is hitting .352/.408/.538 with five doubles and four home runs over 23 games while Lopes, 22, is hitting .337/.384/.461 with five doubles and a pair of home runs and has walked (eight times) more than he’s struck out (seven times).
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