DATE: May 17, 2012 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

 

Ramon Ortiz Blanks Mud Hens over 7.0 Innings in 4-1 SWB Win  

Right hander strikes out season high eight picking up first win in a Yankees uniform

  

Toledo, OH – Ramon Ortiz (WP, 1-3) picked up his first win for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (20-19) in the third game of the four game series against the Toledo Mud Hens by a 4-1 score.  In the process, the SWB Yankees became the 20^th different professional team that Ortiz has won a regular game for in his 17 year professional career.  The right hander struck out a season high eightToledo hitters allowing no runs in his 7.0 innings of work.

All of the Yankees offense off Toledo starter Adam Wilk (LP, 2-3) came in the top of the fourth inning and started with a hustle single by Colin Curtis.  Leading the inning off Curtis chopped a ball high in the air on the right side of the diamond and reached first before second baseman Justin Henry’s underhand toss from second base got to Ryan Strieby and the Yankees had a leadoff base hit.  Curtis stole second base and when Byran Holaday’s throw went into center field, moved to third.  Steve Pearce knocked in his 19^th run of the season with a single to left and the Yankees grabbed a 1-0 lead.  With Pearce at first base and still none down, Jack Cust drew a walk to bring Ronnier Mustelier to the plate.  Mustelier ripped a 2-0 Wilk pitch over the wall in left field for a three run shot and a 4-0 Yankees lead.

The Mud Hens did not put a runner on base until two out in the bottom of the fourth when Ortiz walked Ryan Strieby, who was stranded. Toledo’s first hit came in the bottom of the fifth inning on a one out single by Eric Patterson.  Ortiz struck out at least one batter in every inning he pitched in, with the exception of the first when he got three outs on two grounders and a pop up.  The right hander struck out the side in the sixth with Strieby becoming his eighth K of the night.  Ortiz lowered his ERA from 5.22 to 4.21 with his 7.0 scoreless innings.

The lone Toledo run came in the eighth inning after Ortiz had departed and SWB had gone to the bullpen.  The Mud Hens ended the shutout against reliever Chase Whitley on an RBI single to centerfield from Quintin Berry.  Manny Delcarman pitched around a pair of walks in the bottom of the ninth to earn his first save of the season.

The Yankees and Mud Hens wrap up the four game series at Fifth Third Field in Toledo Friday night with a 7:00 PM first pitch. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre sends left hander Manny Banuelos (0-2, 3.15) to the mound, whileToledocounters with lefty Fu-Te Ni (2-1, 2.18). First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 PM.

 

 

 

-SWB YANKEES-

SWB YANKEES @ TOLEDO MUD HENS GAME NOTES  – May 17th

5-17 Notes

TWO GAMES INTO A FOUR GAME SET…
The Yankees and Mud Hens play game three of a four game series at Fifth Third Field in Toledo on Thursday night.  The team have split the first two games of the series with The Mud Hens winning game one of the series on Tuesday night 8-2 with the Yankees taking the second game of the series with a 3-1 win on Wednesday afternoon.  D.J. Mitchell picked up the win for the Yankees on Wednesday allowing only an unearned run in his 7.0 innings of work to improve to 3-1 on the season.  With the 7.0 IP of no earned run baseball, Mitchell lowered his ERA from 3.41 to 2.75.

SHOOTING FOR 20…
This is included in today’s game notes but is certainly worth noting outside of that link.  It would be a remarkable feat for the right hander now in his 17th professional season…
With his first win for the Yankees, Ramon Ortiz will pick up a win for his 20^th different team in a professional career that dates back to 1996.  The right hander won his first game with the Arizona League Angels in 1996 and has won games for 11 different minor league teams, 7 Major League teams and one team inJapan.  Ortiz has only been shutout in the victory category in two of his professional stops: one start with the Sarasota Reds in 2005 and four starts with the Durham Bulls in 2010. For a complete list of teams Ortiz has victories with see page 2 of tonight’s notes.

NOT EXACTLY A CLINIC…
Okay, so this line gets overused by everyone, but the first two games of the series between the Yankees and Mud Hens have been something that “Defensive Drills Guru” Tom Emanski would cringe over.  A grand total of 12 errors (six from each team – three in each game) have been committed and have come from about every possible mannor of ways: bad throws, dropped pop ups and failure to catch the baseball.  Both Jeff Frazier of Toledo (both on throws) and Eduardo Nunez of the Yankees(one misplayed grounder, one missed catch) committed two errors in Wednesday’s game.  The combined six errors from the Mud Hens and Yankees on Wednesday took place in front of 8,458 in attendance, the majority of which were elementary and middle school students.  Hopefully the preformance won’t hinder the habits of Little Leaguer’s in the Toledo area this summer.

FILLING UP THE PASS LIST…
The newest Yankee, left hander Justin Thomas, who joined Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on May 15th, the first day of the series in Toledo has taken up the majority of the SWB pass list over the three days fo the series thus far.  Thomas is a Toledo native and graduated from Clay High School in Oregon, Ohio, just across the Maumee River from Fifth Third Field and down town Toledo.  With plenty of friends and family still in the Toledo area, Thomas is personally responsible for about 2/3 of the Yankees pass list for the series thus far.

STARTING LINEUPS – May 17th

SWB YANKEES (19-19)
#7 Kevin Russo – 2B
#9 Colin Curtis* – CF
#12/25 Steve Pearce – 1B
#29 Jack Cust* – DH
#2 Ronnier Mustelier – LF
#8 Brandon Laird – 3B
#3 Francisco Cervelli – C
#17 Cole Garner – RF
#19 Ramiro Pena# – SS

#35 Ramon Ortiz – RHP

TOLEDO MUD HENS (22-18)
#12 Quintin Berry* – CF
#17 Justin Henry* – 3B
#34 Ryan Strieby – 1B
#44 Brad Eldred – DH
#5 Danny Worth – SS
#3 Eric Patterson* – LF
#6 Matt Young* – RF
#16 Audy Ciriaco – 3B
#2 Bryan Holaday – C

#22 Adam Wilk – LHP

Umpires: HP – Adam Hamari, 1B – Seth Buckminster, 2B – Manny Gonzalez, 3B – Toby Basner (CC)

Forecast from Weather.com: Sunny with temperatures falling into the low 50s. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph.

 

 

Date: May 16, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Gustavo Molina Delivers Key Hit in 3-1 Yankees Win  

D.J. Mitchell tosses seven of one run baseball to improve record to 3-1

Toledo, OH – In the game of baseball, it is always nice to get production from the bottom third of your lineup. Gustavo Molina gave Scranton/Wilkes-Barre just that when he roped a two RBI single, which proved to be the difference in a 3-1 victory over Toledo in a rare 10:35 AM first pitch at Fifth Third Field in Toledo.

The Mud Hens got on the board first in the bottom half of the second inning. Matt Young and Omir Santos led off the inning with back-to-back singles, setting up runners on the corners with nobody out in the inning. Santos broke for second on the tenth pitch of Jeff Frazier’s at bat. Santoswas caught stealing, however Young broke and scored from third giving Toledo the 1-0 advantage.

The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankee offense awoke in the top half of the sixth taking a 3-1 lead. Kevin Russo drew a leadoff walk and Steve Pearce was hit by a pitch giving the Yankees runners on first and second with nobody out. Cole Garner then struck out for the first out of the inning. Brandon Laird brought Russo home with an RBI single to left field. Later in the inning, Gustavo Molina roped a two-RBI single to left field bringing the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre advantage to 3-1.

Newcomer Justin Thomas made his first appearance out of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre bullpen, pitching just 1/3 of an inning allowing a double, a sacrifice bunt, and a walk. Manny Delcarmen then came in with runners on the corners and one out to try and get out of the jam. Justin Henry tried to steal second, but Molina had other plans as he threw out his second runner of the day. Delcarmen then got Ryan Strieby swinging and the inning was over and Brent Dlugach was stranded at third after a leadoff double.

D.J. Mitchell earned the win for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre improving to 3-1 on the season. The right-hander went seven innings allowing just four hits and an unearned run, while striking out six and walking just two. Kevin Whelan earned his International League best ninth save of the season. In one inning on the hill Whelan struck out all three hitters he faced.

Andy Oliver suffered the loss for Toledo, throwing 5.1 innings and allowing two runs, striking out nine and walking four.

With the win, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre snapped a three game losing skid improving to 19-19 on the season, while Toledo fell to 22-18. The Yankees and Mud Hens play game three of a four game series at Fifth Third Field in Toledo tomorrow. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre sends right-hander Ramon Ortiz to the bump, while Toledo counters with southpaw Adam Wilk. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 pm.

-SWB YANKEES-

SWB YANKEES GAME NOTES  – MAY 16th

Game Notes May 16th at Toledo

EARLY WAKE UP CALL…
The Yankees and Mud Hens will strap it on early for a 10:30 AM start at Fifth Third Field in Toledo on Wednesday morning.  I had thought the Mud Hens after a 7:00 AM flight from Atlanta to Detroit on Tuesday would be the more sluggish team in the opening game of the series but it was the Yankees who looked a little off their game with an 8-2 loss in the opening game of the series.  It will still be interesting to see how the Mud Hens look this morning in a day game following a night game after a long day of travel and a Monday double header in Georgia.

EITHER WAY IT’S ABOUT .500…
The early morning start fot the Yankees statistically doesn’t mean much, or at least hasn’t so far this season in terms of day vs. night baseball.  The Yankee  are 7-6 in day games and 11-13 in night games.

O-H-I-O…
The Yankees play game two on day two of the team’s lone trip to Ohio.  Follwing the four game series in Toledo the Yankees will head to Columbus.  Based on the always unique IL schedule, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre will have all of its games against the Mud Hens and the Columbus Clippers completed for the season when the Mud Hens plays four against SWB in Rochester from May 28th-31st.

TWO NEW BULLPEN ARMS…
With the return of DJ Mitchell to the starting rotation since coming back from New York, Nelson Figueroa has been moved to the SWB Yankees bullpen.  Figueroa made his first SWB appearance out of the pen and made three starts with the Yankees before the move took place.  The Yankees have also added Toledo native and former Red Sox (both Boston and Pawtucket this season) lefthander Justin Thomas.  He was a waiver claim for the Yankees from Boston on May 12th.  Last season while pitching for Indianapolis in the IL, he led the league in appearances (63) and holds (12) while going 8-2.

STARTING LINEUPS

SWB Yankees (18-19)
#24 Eduardo Nunez – SS
#19 Ramiro Pena# – 2B
#7 Kevin Russo – LF
#25 Steve Pearce – DH
#17 Cole Garner – RF
#8 Brandon Laird – 1B
#2 Ronnier Mustelier – 3B
#55 Gustavo Molina – C
#9 Colin Curtis* – CF
#21 DJ Mitchell – RHP

Toledo Mud Hens (22-17)
#12 Quintin Berry* – CF
#2 Justin Henry* – 3B
#34 Ryan Strieby – DH
#44 Brad Eldred – 1B
#16 Audy Ciriaco – SS
#6 Matt Young – RF
#36 Omir Santos – C
#35 Jeff Frazier – LF
#33 Brent Dlugach – 2B
#27 Andy Oliver – LHP

Umpires: HP – Toby Basner (CC), 1B – Adam Hamari, 3B – Manny Gonzalez

Forecast from Weather.com: Decreasing clouds with temperatures rising towards the upper 60s. Winds N at 15 to 20 mph.

 

 DATE: May 15, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Yankees Drop Third Straight Game with 8-2 to Toledo  

Mud Hens Brad Eldred hits IL best 16^th homer off SWB starter Dellin Betances in SWB loss

  

Toledo, OH – Dellin Betances (LP, 2-3) matched his season high with seven strikeouts and also matched a season high with six walks but it was a two strike pitch to Brad Eldred in the third inning that was the turning point in the game. Eldred hit his league leading 16^th homer of the season on a two strike pitch with the Yankees leading 1-0, that drove home three runs giving Toledo (22-17) a lead it would never relinquish as the Mud Hens handed Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (18-19) its third straight loss in the opening game of a four game series by an 8-2 score.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre got on the scoreboard first picking up an unearned run off Toledo starter Thad Weber (WP, 3-1) thanks to some shaky Mud Hens defense.  After a lead off walk to Jack Cust and a Brandon Laird single to right with one down, Francisco Cervelli hit what looked to be an inning ending 6-4-3 double play that was kicked by shortstop Audy Ciriaco and loaded the bases.  With two down following a Cole Garner strikeout Ramiro Pena’s grounder to second could have ended the inning for a second time but after fielding the grounder at second base, Brent Dlugach over threw Ciriaco covering the bag and the Yankees picked up an unearned run as Cust scored for a 1-0 SWB lead.

Betances got through the first two innings with minimal damage before running into trouble in the third.  Justin Henry led off the inning with a single and moved to second base on the second walk of the game from Betances to Ryan Strieby.  With two on and none out, the IL’s leading home run hitter and RBI man Eldred came to the plate.  The Yankees lead disappeared when Eldred took a Betances pitch over the wall in left for a three run shot knocking in his IL best 43^rd, 44^th and 45^th RBI’s, giving Toledo a 3-1 lead.

The Yankees starter issued six walks on the night for the fourth time in eight starts this season but did match his season high in strikeouts with seven for the second consecutive start.  Betances was lifted after 3.2 innings throwing 104 pitches with 50 going for strikes allowing the three earned runs on the Eldred homer.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre picked up its second and final run off Weber in the top of the fifth.  Eduardo Nunez picked up his first RBI since returning to SWB from the New York Yankees with a single to left that scored Garner from second base after he led the inning off with an infield single and moved to second on a Pena ground out.

The Yankees run in the top of the fifth cut the Mud Hens lead to 3-2 but the momentum from the run scoring inning didn’t last as the Mud Hens scored a pair, charged to SWB reliever Jason Bulger to extend the lead to 5-2.  Bulger who took over for Betances and got the final out of the fourth inning allowed a lead off walk and single to open the fifth inning and following a sacrifice bunt that moved runners to second and third, a second walk loaded the bases.  Exit Bulger and enter Juan Cedeno from the Yankees pen who surrendered a two RBI single to the first man he faced QuintinBerrygiving the Mud Hens a three run lead.

Toledo would add three more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, all against Cedeno with a RBI fielder’s choice from Dlugach, a sacrifice fly from Berry and on a throwing error from Francisco Cervelli.

The Yankees continue the four game series at Fifth Third Field inToledoagainst the Mud Hens Wednesday morning with a 10:30 AM first pitch. D.J. Mitchell (2-1, 3.41 ERA) gets the start for SWB while Toledo will counter with left hander Andy Oliver (3-1, 3.23 ERA).

-SWB YANKEES-

SWB Yankees Game Notes for May 15th | SWB Yankees (18-18) @ Toledo Mud Hens (21-17)

SWB Yankees Game Notes 5-15

STARTING LINEUPS  – May 15th (* – Left Hander | # Switch Hitter)

SWB YANKEES (18-18)

#24 EDUARDO NUNEZ – SS
#7 KEVIN RUSSO – LF
#12 STEVE PEARCE - 1B
#29 JACK CUST* – DH
#8 BRANDON LAIRD - 3B
#9 COLIN CURTIS* – CF
#3 FRANCISCO CERVELLI - C
#17 COLE GARNER – RF
#19 RAMIRO PENA# - 2B

#32 DELLIN BETANCES – RHP

TOLEDO MUDHENS (21-17)
#12 QUINTIN BERRY* – CF
#17 JUSTIN HENRY* – 3B
#34 RYAN STRIEBY – 1B
#44 BRAD ELDRED – DH
#3 ERIC PATTERSON* – LF
#16 AUDY CIRIACO – SS
#6 MATT YOUNG* – RF
#33 BRENT DLUGACH – RF
#2 BRYAN HOLADAY – C

#14 THAD WEBER – RHP

Umpires: HP – Manny Gonzalez, 1B – Toby Basner (CC), 3B – Adam Hamari

SCOUTING THE MUDHENS…
Pregame audio with the long time beat writer from the Toledo Blade John Wagner who covers the Mud Hens as well as the University of Toledo and Bowling Green Univerisity helps out the blog with a Mud Hens scouting report.

 

DATE: May 14, 2012 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Yankees Drop Series Finale with Durham 1-0

Bulls slugger Juan Miranda hits game winning homer against former team

 

 

Rochester, NY – Heading into the final game of the four game series against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre at Frontier Field, former Yankees and current Durham first baseman Juan Miranda was hitting .195 with no home runs in 28 games with the Bulls, Miranda, who slugged 47 homers for the SWB Yankees from 2008-2010, hit his first of the season for Durham accounting for all of the offense at Frontier Field on Monday night in a 1-0 shutout win for the Bulls.

Yankees starter Adam Warren (LP, 2-2) pitched a gem, but the lone run he allowed in theDurham seventh made him the losing pitcher.  His 7.0 innings was his longest start of the season and was just the second time in seven starts that Scranton/Wilkes-Barre did not win a game the right hander started. Warren allowed four hits and three walks while striking out a half dozen Durham hitters.

Bulls starter Alex Cobb, who got knocked around in his last start against Syracuse allowing seven runs (six earned) in 1.2 innings pitched, was in and out of trouble all night on Monday and had Yankees on base against him in each of his 5.0 innings on the mound with the exception of the third when he got SWB down in order.  His toughest spot on the night came in the second inning when the Yankees put runners at first and third with none down.  Ronnier Mustelier led off the inning with a single and stole second base.  Brandon Laird followed with a single to left, moving Mustelier to third with none down.  Cobb stiffened up, striking out Francisco Cervelli and Cole Garner and then retired Ramiro Pena on a ground ball to first to end the threat.

The Yankees mounted another threat against Cobb in the fourth, this time with two outs in the inning. After back-to-back strikeouts to start the inning by Jack Cust and Mustelier, Laird drew a two out walk and moved to second on a Cervelli’s line drive single to right. Cobb uncorked a wild pitch moving the runners to second and third before striking out Garner to end the inning.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre loaded the bases with two outs in the fifth against Cobb, in his final inning of the night, on a pair of walks and an error by Bulls third baseman Matt Mangini.  Mustelier ended the inning with a ground out to shortstop and Cobb spit the hook once again.  The Yankees left nine men on base in Cobb’s 5.0 innings of work.

The Yankees left 13 runners on base on the night, their second highest total of the season and went 1-7 on the night with runners in scoring position.  The 1-0 loss marks the fifth time in 2012 that Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has been shutout and is the ninth straight game the Yankees have had a game decided by two runs or less. Over that span, SWB is 4-5.

A pair of former Yankees farm hands picked up the win and save for the Bulls in the series finale.  Jhonny Nunez (WP, 1-1) picked up the win in relief, with Dane DeLaRosa (SV, 5) earning the save.

The Yankees open up an eight game road trip with a four game series at Fifth Third Field inToledo against the Mud Hens with a 6:30 PM first pitch. Dellin Betances (2-2, 5.20 ERA) gets the start in the opening game of the series for SWB while Toledo will counter with right hander Thad Weber (2-1, 2.33 ERA).

-SWB YANKEES-

GAME NOTES  – May 14th SWB Yankees vs. Durham Bulls

SWB Yankees Game Notes 5-14

WRAPPING IT UP…
I don’t know that this is completely the case but the Yankees will put the wraps on what has to be the longest “home stand” in franchise history (if not the entire run of SWB Baseball – certainly the longest the SWB Yankees have had).  18 games in 19 days covering three different cities (Allentown, PA, Rochester and Batavia, NY) and three different venues (Coca-Cola Park, Frontier Field and Dwyer Stadium).  The Yankees can record a winning record on the current stretch (right now 9-8 through 17 games) with a win in the series finale with the Durham Bulls.

PACK A BAG (MAYBE MORE THAN ONE)…
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre will begin a stretch of road games perhaps unmatched since the 1989 Red Barons played essentially the first month of their inagural season on the road as construction work finished up at then Lackawanna County Stadium.  The Yankees will depart Rochester on Monday night following the game with Durham and will play four games at Toledo (May 15-18) four at Columbus (May 19-22) and then spend the off day (May 23) in Buffalo.  The Yankees will get four “home” games at Coca-Cola Field in Buffalo (May 24-27) but for the sake of argument we won’t count those since we’ll be staying in a hotel.  All told between May 15th and June 8th the Yankees will be in Rochester for a total of four days: May 28th – 31st against the Toledo Mud Hens.  The first eight days of June the Yankees will play six games in four days at Norfolk (June 1-4) and then will have a return matchup against the Bulls in Durham (June 5-8).

WELCOME BACK…
Cody Eppley is back with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after getting optioned from New York back to the SWB roster.  Eppley was recalled for the second time this season by New York on May 4th and pitched in one game with the “big club” in his most recent stint with New York.  Eppley pitched at Kansas City on May 5th tossing 0.1 innings allowing 1H and 2ER.  For the season with New York Eppley has appeared in five games and is 0-0 with a 5.76 ERA.

SCOUTING THE MUD HENS…
The Yankees next opponent is the Toledo Mud Hens.  SWB drives through the night to arrive in the “Glass City”opening up a four game series at Fifth Third Field beginning on Monday night.  Despite the 372 mile trip the Yankees will undertake, it still is not as bad Toledo’s trip back to their home park.  The Mud Hens play a double header in Lawrenceville, Georgia on Monday night and will fly out of Atlanta just about the same time that SWB will be pulling into town.

Mud Hens slugger Brad Eldred leads the IL with 15 homers and 42 RBIS and has hit in 27 of his 29 games with Toledo in 2012 including 20 straight to open the season.  The Mud Hens lineup also features Justin Henry, who heading into action on Monday is second behind the Yankees Steve Pearce in the IL with a .352 average.  Henry has played all over the diamond for the Mud Hens starting 12 games at third base, 10 in the outfield and eight games at second base.  Adam Wilk leads the Mud Hens starting pitchers with a 1.90 ERA and is expected to get the start against the Yankees in the third game of the four game series. Chris Bootcheck is tied for third in the IL with a Mud Hens best seven saves.

NOW ON THE MIC…
Colin Curtis is tonight’s guest on the SWB Yankees pregame report.  The plan was to grab the Yankees outfielder Sunday, following his game winning double on Saturday night.  Curtis however was getting put through the paces with his daily workout by Yankees strength and conditioning coach Lee Tressel.  So 24 hours later he we are….

STARTING LINEUPS – May 14th (*Left handed | #Switch hitter)

DURHAM BULLS (14-24)
#32 Kyle Hudson* – LF
#23 Jesus Feliciano* – CF
#33 Matt Mangini – 3B
#36 Henry Wrigley – DH
#46 Juan Miranda* – 1B
#34 Jeff Salazar – LF
#3 Cole Figueroa* – 2B
#7 Shawn O’Malley# – SS
#4 Craig Albernaz – C

#17 Alex Cobb – RHP

SWB YANKEES (18-17)
#24 Eduardo Nunez – SS
#7 Kevin Russo – LF
#25 Steve Pearce – 1B
#29 Jack Cust* – DH
#2 Ronnier Mustelier – RF
#8 Brandon Laird – 3B
#3 Francisco Cervelli – C
#17 Cole Garner – CF
#19 Ramiro Pena – 2B

#28 Adam Warren –RHP

Umpires: HP – Kelvin Bultron, 1B – Sean Barber, 3B – Mark Lollo

DATE: May 12, 2012 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Durham Spoils Excellent Effort from Banuelos with 3-1Win

Yankees lefthander tosses 6.0 innings allowing unearned run with season high 7K’s 

 

Rochester, NY – Manny Banuelos had his longest outing of the season against the Durham Bulls on Sunday. He went six innings with seven strikeouts and no walks. He gave up only one run but it was unearned. Banuelos has to feel good about making it past the fifth inning and being very efficient while doing so. The prized prospect threw 89 pitches, while 61 of them were balls, he still didn’t walk anyone.

Bulls starting pitcher, Chris Archer, went into his matchup against Banuelos with an ERA of 5.50 going into the game. His performance on Sunday definitely lowered that. Archer matched Banuelos’s great performance pitch for pitch going an identical six innings with only one run given up and unearned.

In the top of the third inning Durham took advantage of Yankees Ramiro Pena’s failed dive attempt at a grounder up the middle hit by Kyle Hudson. The two-out single hit the end of Pena’s glove and went into the outfield.  The following batter, shortstop Shawn O’Malley, grounded to right moving Hudson to second. Third baseman Matt Mangini then singled to left fielder Ronnier Mustelier who bobbled the ball and received an error after Hudson scored.

The Yankees got going in the bottom of the fourth when Steve Pearce hit a deep fly ball that bounced over the right field fence for a ground-rule double. After Jack Cust Struck-out, Mustelier hit a weak single down the third baseline that Mangini picked up and held on to because Mustelier already had made it to first. Brandon Laird, then, struck out swinging while Mustelier attempted to steal second. Durham Bulls catcher Craig Albernaz attempted to throw him out but threw the ball clearly over O’Malley’s outstretched arm. Albernaz’s throwing error brought Steve Pearce in to score from third.

Once Banuelos was taken out of the game, Durham took advantage of the relief pitchers the Yankees brought in. Durham scored a run in back-to-back innings in the seventh and eighth off Chase Whitley and Adam Miller to take the lead, 3-1.

The Yankees had only three hits to go along with the lone run scored by Pearce. Banuelos has had the same theme in all of his starts this season. In five starts Banuelos has only 4 runs of support in his 20 innings pitched.

The Yankees and Bulls play the final game of their four game series at Frontier Field on Monday night with a 7:05 PM first pitch. Right hander Adam Warren (2-1, 5.34 ERA) is expected to start for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees while Durham will use right hander Alex Cobb (1-4, 4.71 ERA).

 

-SWB YANKEES-