Thanks to a combination of weather and off days, there were only three games in the Blue Jays minor league system on Sunday with the Bisons and Canadians losing while the Midwest League Eastern Division First Half winners Lansing Lugnuts cruised to the All-Star break with a big win.
Buffalo Bisons 0, Syracuse Chiefs 1
In an epic pitcher’s duel, the Buffalo Bisons kept the game locked at zero before finally succumbing to a Syracuse run in the bottom of the 10th inning. Canadian Jeff Francis had his best outing of the year, racking up a Game Score of 82 with eight innings of three-hit shutout, walking only one batter and striking out seven. Colt Hynes pitched a perfect eighth, striking out one before Andrew Albers took the loss (his ninth of the year), giving up a run on two hits and a sac bunt.
Of the Bisons’ five hits, Devon Travis picked up two of them and a walk with the bottom three hitters (Ramon Santiago, Josh Thole and Jonathan Diaz) picking up a hit each.
Roster Notes: Three pitchers were optioned to the minors after Sunday’s 13-run bloodletting in Toronto. Lefty Phil Coke and righties Ryan Tepera and Scott Copeland were sent down without any reciprocal moves made at the time of this writing.
Player of the Game: Jeff Francis
New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Binghamton Mets
Postponed due to rain.
Dunedin Blue Jays
Scheduled Off Day (All-Star Break)
Lansing Lugnuts 8, Great Lakes Loons 0
The Lansing Lugnuts closed out the first half of the season with a convincing victory over the Great Lakes Loons as they head into the All-Star break. 20-year-old Conner Greene had another great start, logging five scoreless innings, allowing five hits and two walks with six strikeouts. Chase Mallard, Tim Mayza, Carlos Ramirez and Jose Fernandez all followed with an inning each, keeping the Great Lakes Loons off the scoreboard and allowing just two more hits among them.
Four Lugnuts each contributed a pair of hits with Richard Urena (2/5, R), Jason Leblebijian (2/4, 2B, RBI, R), Ryan McBroom (2/3, 2 R, 2 RBI, SF), and D.J. Davis (2/4, 2B, 2 R, RBI) getting in on the fun. Chris Carlson scored twice after getting a hit and taking a walk while Michael De La Cruz and Gunnar Heidt each drove in a run and hit a double. D.J. Davis didn’t have the best day in the field, making two errors after moving back over to center field with Anthony Alford getting the day off.
Player of the Game: Conner Greene, Ryan McBroom and Jason Leblebijian
Vancouver Canadians 1, Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 2
Lane Thomas, a highly touted prospect drafted in 2014, launched his first home run as a Vancouver Canadian, going 2/4 for the Vancouver Canadians and accounting for the club’s only run in a 2-1 loss. Jonathon Wandling allowed two runs (including a solo home run) on six hits and two walks over four innings with three strikeouts, making his first start of the year. Sean Ratcliffe was outstanding with the Pickering, Ontario native throwing three perfect innings, striking out two batters. Another Canadian, Andrew Case, finished off the game with a scoreless eighth.
Player of the Game: Lane Thomas
DSL Blue Jays
Scheduled Off Day
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