Eastern League Eastern Division Playoffs Game 3 Preview

GAME 3 (Best of 5 series)
Trenton leads series 2-0

Trenton Thunder (Manny Banuelos 0-1, 3.52)
vs. New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Scott Richmond 0-0, 2.70) @ 6:35pm

Preview - It's do-or-die time for the Fisher Cats tonight! The pitching has obviously not been an issue for either team. In 21 innings of play, the two staffs combine have only allowed 3 runs and 23 hits and have struck out an astonishing 54 batters. Unfortunately for New Hampshire, they have not plated any of those 3 runs and now find themselves with their backs against the wall. Manny Banuelos will look to shut the door on the Cats as he takes the mound for Trenton tonight. Much like Game 1 starter Dellin Betances, Banuelos has only had 3 AA starts after spending much of his fantastic season in Single A. Banuelos did face the Fisher Cats in his first AA appearance and the Cats bats showed up that night, popping 7 hits and plating 6. But Banuelos did not allow a run in either of his following two starts and is seemingly back on track. The Fisher Cats were the convenient recipient of Scott Richmond who was sent down to "rehab", in what was an obvious salvo to the Thunder starting Andy Pettitte yesterday. Earlier today the Cats benefited from another "timely" move when they announced that Edwin Encarnacion would start his rehab stint in New Hampshire tonight. So, the Cats can no longer complain about the "Pettitte factor", which was not a factor at all, seeing as Zach Stewart went toe-to-toe with him and then some! But the main core of the lineup is what is needed tonight. Darin Mastroianni has to set the plate from the top of that order, Hechavarria needs to chip in as well and in turn the slumping meat of the order (Eric Thames, Shawn Bowman and David Cooper) may snap out of it and put some wood to the Thunder sweep effort.

LINEUPS
New Hampshire Fisher Cats
CF - Darin Mastroianni
SS - Adeiny Heccavarria
LF - Eric Thames
3B - Edwin Encarnacion
DH- Shawn Bowman
1B - David Cooper
C - Jonathan Jaspe
RF - Adam Loewen
2B - Callix Crabbe

Trenton Thunder
CF - Austin Krum
3B - Justin Snyder
RF - Daniel Brewer
C - Austin Romine
1b - Marcos Vechionacci
DH - Rene Rivera
LF - Damon Sublett
SS - Luis Nunez
2B - Matthew Cusick

You can listen to all the Playoff action LIVE at:
MiLB Gameday Audio

Eastern League Eastern Division Playoffs Game 2 Preview

GAME 2 (Best of 5 series)
Trenton leads series 1-0

New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Zach Stewart 8-3, 3.63)
vs. Trenton Thunder (Andy Pettitte NR) @ 7:05pm

Preview - Last night Trenton pitchers combined for 13 strikeouts and did not allow an earned run in Game 1 and tonight they have Andy Pettitte on the hill in a rehab start. Seeing the potent New Hampshire offense unable to produce and being that Pettitte is one of the games greatest postseason pitchers of all time is all bad news for the Fisher Cats. The good news is, according to sources, Pettitte is slated to only throw about 4 innings or 60-65 pitches. So it's up the likes of Eric Thames, Shawn Bowman and Adam Calderone (a combined 0 for 12 with 6 Ks last night) to get swinging and produce like they did in the regular season. The other good news is that the Fisher Cats send Zach Stewart to the hill to counter Pettitte's big league pedigree. Stewart is only 1-1 over his last 10 starts, but he has notched a 2.25 ERA, allowing only 12 earned runs over 48 innings of work. He faced Trenton as recently as August 24th and tossed 5 innings where he only allowed 1 earned run on 2 hits. Stewart should be well rested as he was held to only 3 innings of work in each of his last two starts and there is no doubt that he has the ability to stifle the Trenton bats. If New Hampshire can just get over the fact that Pettitte is pitching, instead of looking at it as a disadvantage, then they can even things up here. First and foremost, they need to get the offense rolling and a few early hits off of a rusty major leaguer will certainly boost their confidence.

LINEUPS
New Hampshire Fisher Cats
CF - Darin Mastroianni
SS - Adeiny Heccavarria
DH - Eric Thames
3B- Shawn Bowman
1B - David Cooper
LF - Adam Calderone
C - Matt Liuzza
RF - Adam Loewen
2B - Jonathan Diaz

Trenton Thunder
CF - Austin Krum
3B - Justin Snyder
RF - Daniel Brewer
C - Austin Romine
1b - Marcos Vechionacci
DH - Rene Rivera
LF - Damon Sublett
SS - Luis Nunez
2B - Matthew Cusick

You can listen to all the Playoff action LIVE at:
MiLB Gameday Audio

Eastern League Eastern Division Playoffs Game 1 Preview

GAME 1 (Best of 5 series)

New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Kyle Drabek 14-9, 2.94)
vs. Trenton Thunder (Dellin Betances 0-0, 3.77) @ 7:05pm

Preview - Eastern League Pitcher of the Year Kyle Drabek will look to get the Fisher Cats started on the right foot in Round 1 of the playoffs, and they'll need it. With Andy Pettitte looming in Game 2, the Fisher Cats wants to secure one game on the road and with their ace on the hill, they have the advantage. Dellin Betances gets the nod after starting only 3 games for the Trenton Thunder. Betances did not pick up a decision in those starts, but struck out 20 batters in 14 1/3 innings, including 8 against New Hampshire back on August 24th. Betances did post an 8-1 record with a 1.77 ERA in Single A Tampa prior to joining the Thunder. Drabek finished the regular season with a rough 3 innings of work against Harrisburg on September 2nd. In that game Drabek 4 hits, 2 of them home runs, but his prior work and numbers tell the real story, including a 6-1 record over his last 10 starts with a 2.45 ERA. His last loss was on July 17th and he's hoping to keep it that way. David Cooper brings an 11 game hit-streak into the playoffs for the Cats.

LINEUPS
New Hampshire Fisher Cats
CF - Darin Mastroianni
SS - Adeiny Heccavarria
DH - Eric Thames
3B- Shawn Bowman
1B - David Cooper
LF - Adam Calderone
RF- Adam Loewen
C - Matt Liuzza
2B - Jonathan Diaz

Trenton Thunder
CF - Austin Krum
3B - Justin Snyder
RF - Daniel Brewer
C - Austin Romine
1b - Marcos Vechionacci
DH - Rene Rivera
LF - Damon Sublett
SS - Luis Nunez
2B - Matthew Cusick

You can listen to all the Playoff action LIVE at:
MiLB Gameday Audio

Today's Pitching Probables 9/6/10

AAA
Syracuse Chiefs (Eric Arnesen 6-7, 3.94)
vs. Pawtucket Red Sox (Ramon Ramirez 4-5, 5.03) @ 1:05pm

AA
New Hampshire Fisher Cats (B.L. LaMura 5-6, 3.72)
Portland Sea Dogs (Alex Wilson 3-5, 6.63) @ 1:00pm

Trenton Thunder (Andrew Brackman 4-7, 3.21)
vs. New Britain Rock Cats (Tyler Robertson 4-12, 5.39) @ 1:35pm

You can listen to all games at:
MiLB Gameday Audio

Quick Hits

Yesterday was the last day of the regular season for our New York-Penn teams and today closes out the regular season for the rest. Once the season is done, we will run a recap for each individual team, but until then, let's take some cuts and look at how things panned out for the two teams in playoff contention.

- The Connecticut Tigers were in the driver's seat with two games to go. They had a 1/2 game lead over Tri-City, but lost Saturday night, putting them down 1/2 a game. Then came Sunday. The Tri-City Valley Cats lost, so all the Tigers had to do was win and they were in. They went up 1-0 in the first and Aberdeen answered with a 4 spot in the bottom of the second inning. The Tigers clawed back and tied things up at 4 by the fourth inning, which is where the score stayed until the 11th inning when the Tigers plated a run in top half of the inning. Then the IronBirds answered and tied things up at 5. So they played on until the Tigers put up 2 in the top of the 13th and looked to be in complete control. Unfortunately the IronBirds were not ready to roll over and play dead and they turned right around and ended the game with 3 runs in the bottom of the 13th, therefore ending Connecticut's playoff hopes. So New Hampshire is the only New England team to reach the post season.

- Speaking of New Hampshire, they have announced that their 1-2 combo of Kyle Drabek and Zach Stewart will start Games 1 & 2 respectively against the Trenton Thunder in round 1 of the Easter League playoffs starting Wednesday night. Trenton has not announced their starters yet, but rumors are floating around that New York Yankee legend Andy Pettite may pop in to make a rehab start for the Thunder. Considering his amazing post-season career, this could be a very bad thing for the Fisher Cats, especially after watching yesterday's game where they surrendered 11 walks to the Portland Sea Dogs. The Cats pitching staff was second in the Eastern League with 535 free passes on the season. This is obviously something they'll need to reign in if they hope to advance past the Thunder. We'll have a playoff preview and break it all down on Tuesday.

Field of Dreams Day

Here are some pics of Portland's Field of Dreams/Fan Appreciation Day Promo...(click on photo for larger view)

Iowa or Hadlock Field?

Sea Dogs radio announcer Mike Antonellis is the emcee for today's events

Jorge Padron (19), Jose Iglesias (10) & Juan Carlos Linares (17) take it all in

Manager Arnie Beyeler gets on the mic to thank the fans

Jason Rice reaches out to give a little love back

Some more fan appreciation

Kyle Weiland saying hello to the faithful

Tonight's Probable Pitchers 9/5/10

AAA
Syracuse Chiefs (Shairon Martis 8-7, 4.04)
vs. Pawtucket Red Sox (Fabio Castro 7-9, 4.96) @ 6:05pm

AA
New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Clint Everts 4-1, 5.58)
Portland Sea Dogs (Stephen Fife 7-6, 4.80) @ 1:00pm

Trenton Thunder (Cory Arbiso 5-4, 4.37)
vs. New Britain Rock Cats (Matthew Williams 1-3, 5.84) @ 1:35pm

A
Connecticut Tigers (Clemente Mendoza 6-5, 4.26)
vs. Aberdeen IronBirds (N/A) @ 2:35pm

Vermont Lake Monsters (Ryan Mattheus 1-0, 0.00)
vs. Staten Island Yankees (N/A) @ 4:00pm

Lowell Spinners (Madison Younginer 3-7, 4.79)
vs. Hudson Valley Renegades (N/A) @ 7:05pm

You can listen to all games at:
MiLB Gameday Audio

Tonight's Probable Pitchers 9/4/10

AAA
Pawtucket Red Sox (Rich Hill 3-0, 3.23)
vs. Scranton Wilkes-Barre (David Phelps 3-2, 3.32) @ 7:05pm

AA
New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Randy Boone 5-9, 3.81)
Portland Sea Dogs (Jeremy Kehrt 2-11, 5.27) @ 6:00pm

Trenton Thunder (Adam Warren 4-2, 2.88)
vs. New Britain Rock Cats (Kane Holbrooks NR) @ 7:05pm

A
Vermont Lake Monsters (Tyler Jordan 2-2, 5.08) GAME 1
vs. Staten Island Yankees (N/A) @ 5:00pm

Vermont Lake Monsters (N/A) GAME 1
vs. Staten Island Yankees (N/A) @ 30 minutes after conclusion of GAME 1

Lowell Spinners (Chris Hernandez NR)
vs. Hudson Valley Renegades (N/A) @ 7:05pm

Connecticut Tigers (Brennan Smith 1-6, 3.34)
vs. Aberdeen IronBirds (Tyler Sexton 1-6, 6.64) @ 7:05pm

You can listen to all games at:
MiLB Gameday Audio

Game of the Day - Tigers vs. Aberdeen - After last night's exciting 7-6 victory, the Tigers moved into sole possession of first place, one half game ahead of the Tri-City ValleyCats. So with two games left to play, tonight could be the night for Connecticut to punch their ticket to the post season. A win, coupled with a ValleyCats loss, earns the Tigers a playoff spot in their first season in their Connecticut digs. The game lies in the hands of two pitchers with 1-6 records, so it's fair to expect some offense in this one. It's also fair to expect that it will be another close one after the Tigers have taken down the IronBirds by one run over the last four games. Despite a 1-5 record over his last 8 starts, the Tigers Brennan Smith has lasted 5+ innings in all of those outings. His only win on the season came back on August 25th against Vermont. Aberdeen's Tyler Sexton has also earned his only "W" on the year against Vermont, but his came back on July 16th. Since then he has gone 0-4 over 7 starts and has allowed 23 earned runs. If Connecticut can keep their one run win streak over Aberdeen in tact, then they'll be in the driver's seat for a little fall ball.

Hitting the Links

This Sunday the Portland Sea Dogs have their annual Field of Dreams/Fan Appreciation Day against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. The Dogs will don the 1926 unis of the Portland Eskimos, emerge from the outfield through a corn field and enter the stands to personally thanks all of the fans. Recently Portland Assistant General Manager Chris Cameron and Sales & Marketing Administrator Brian Murphy went on Fox 23'd Good Day Maine to discuss this great event. FOXMaine.com

Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal catches us up on the progress of Lowell starting pitcher Madison Younginer. This is a nice piece about the 19 year-old and how he went about making some in-game adjustments in a recently outing against Tri-City. ProJo.com

Kevin Gray puts a spotlight on Fisher Cats manager Luis Rivera in his weekly "On Baseball" segment in the Manchester Union Leader. The former Boston Red Sox infielder has done a remarkable job in his first year in New Hampshire. He is receiving great praise for the work he has done so far this season and much like the talented prospects he currently skippers, he could be making the jump to "The Show" in the very near future. Kevin Gray's On Baseball

When does a 39th pick in the draft pick get a $2.55 million dollar signing bonus? When that draft pick is Anthony Ranaudo and the team is the Boston Red Sox. The 6'7" righty out of LSU recently joined the Lowell Spinners after signing back on August 16th and even more recently sat down with Baseball Prospectus for a little Q&A. Baseball Prospectus

Final Shot - We'll be up in Portland this weekend covering the final weekend of the season, so if you can't make it to Sunday or Monday's games, keep an eye right here for constant updates. If you're at any of the games, feel free to hit us up on Twitter or via email.

Tonight's Probable Pitchers 9/3/10

AAA
Pawtucket Red Sox (Adam Mills 4-9, 5.06)
vs. Scranton Wilkes-Barre (D.J. Mitchell 1-0, 2.84) @ 7:05pm

AA
New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Zach Stewart 8-3, 3.71)
Portland Sea Dogs (Blake Maxwell 6-0, 2.32) @ 7:00pm

Trenton Thunder (Dellin Betances 0-0, 2.61)
vs. New Britain Rock Cats (Bruce Pugh 0-1, 10.12) @ 7:05pm

A
Vermont Lake Monsters (Bobby Hansen 3-2, 4.47)
vs. Staten Island Yankees (N/A) @ 7:00pm

Lowell Spinners (Hunter Cervenka 1-4, 3.63)
vs. Hudson Valley Renegades (Nate Garcia 3-1, 1.91) @ 7:05pm

Connecticut Tigers (Josue Carreno 5-6, 4.55)
vs. Aberdeen IronBirds (Tim Adleman 2-4, 3.57) @ 7:05pm

You can listen to all games at:
MiLB Gameday Audio

Game of the Day - Tigers @ Aberdeen - With Vermont shooting themselves in the foot over the last week and stumbling out of the playoff hunt, Connecticut becomes New England's only chance to make the post season in the New York-Penn League. They currently sit a half game back of Tri-City in the Stedler Division as they head to Aberdeen for the final three games of the regular season. The Tigers are 7-2 over their last 9 games and are fresh off of a sweep of the IronBirds in a three game set at home. Now they will look to do the same in Aberdeen, while hoping for a little help along the way from Brooklyn who are hosting Tri-City for three. Josue Carreno hits the hill for Connecticut in tonight's battle. Carreno is coming off of a hard fought victory over the Brooklyn Cyclones on August 29th when he tossed 5 innings, allowing 3 runs and 3 hits while striking out 5 batters. Aberdeen counters with Tim Adleman who is 1-2 over his last 5 starts. The last three games played by these two foes were all one-run victories by the Tigers and although they'll gladly accept the same results again, they'll certainly be looking to create a little more breathing room if possible.

Tonight's Probable Pitchers 9/2/10

AAA
Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Ty Taubenheim 2-3, 4.36)
vs. Pawtucket Red Sox (Kris Johnson 5-13, 5.08) @ 7:05pm

AA
Binghamton Mets (Eddie Kunz 7-7, 5.14)
vs. Portland Sea Dogs (Blake Maxwell 6-0, 2.32) @ 6:00pm

Harrisburg Senators (Aaron Thompson 4-13, 5.89)
vs. New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Kyle Drabek 14-9, 2.89) @ 6:35pm

New Britain Rock Cats (Mike McCardell 3-12, 5.32)
vs. Reading Phillies (Yohan Flande 9-8, 4.52) @ 7:05pm

A
Vermont Lake Monsters (A.J. Cole NR)
vs. Brooklyn Cyclones (N/A) @ 7:00pm

Tri-City ValleyCats (Carlos Quevedo 6-3, 3.29)
vs. Lowell Spinners (Miguel Celestino 2-1, 2.27) @ 7:05pm

Aberdeen IronBirds (Aaron Wirsch NR)
vs. Connecticut Tigers (Rayni Guichardo 3-5, 4.26) @ 7:05pm

You can listen to all games at:
MiLB Gameday Audio

Tonight's Probable Pitchers 9/1/10

AAA
Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Drew Carpenter 7-11, 4.16)
vs. Pawtucket Red Sox (Ramon Ramirez 4-4, 5.15) @ 7:05pm

AA
Harrisburg Senators (Tanner Roark 1-1, 2.63)
vs. New Hampshire Fisher Cats (B.J. LaMura 5-6, 3.98) @ 6:35pm

Binghamton Mets (Dylan Owen 4-4, 4.38)
vs. Portland Sea Dogs (Alex Wilson 3-4, 6.14) @ 7:05pm

New Britain Rock Cats (Tyler Robertson 3-12, 5.47)
vs. Reading Phillies (Drew Naylor 11-9, 4.90) @ 7:05pm

A
Vermont Lake Monsters (Matthew Grace 0-1, 10.80) GAME 1
vs. Brooklyn Cyclones (N/A) @ 7:00pm

Vermont Lake Monsters (N/A) GAME 2
vs. Brooklyn Cyclones (N/A) @ 30 minutes after completion of GAME 1

Tri-City ValleyCats (James Robinson 2-2, 3.19)
vs. Lowell Spinners (Tyler Wilson 3-3, 3.54) @ 7:05pm

Aberdeen IronBirds (Justin Moore 3-2, 2.57)
vs. Connecticut Tigers (Patrick Lawson 3-3, 2.87) @ 7:05pm

You can listen to all games at:
MiLB Gameday Audio

Game of the Day - Lehigh Valley @ PawSox - This was a questionable call here because I do not want to go down as the jinx on this one. Regardless, we're picking the IronPigs/PawSox bout as the GotD because Pawtucket is on the brink of a little history here. With a win tonight, the PawSox will tie a franchise record with 9 straight victories. Ramon Ramirez takes the hill for Pawtucket tonight looking for his third victory over his last four starts. His best outing of the season came against Lehigh Valley back on August 18th when he went 5 innings and allowed no runs, no walks and only one hit while collecting the "W". IronPigs starter Drew Carpenter enjoyed his best outing on the season against Pawtucket back on July 5th when he tossed 6 2/3 innings of 2 hit ball, allowing no runs and whiffing 8 batters. However, that was the last win that Carpenter has earned, going 0-5 over his last nine starts. It'll be a muggy night in Pawtucket, but the PawSox are certainly providing plenty of excitement for the fans in an otherwise stuffy season. Let's see if they can continue their trend.

Tonight's Probable Pitchers 8/31/10

AAA
Rochester Red Wings (David Bromber 1-3, 3.45)
vs. Pawtucket Red Sox (Fabio Castro 6-9, 4.84) @ 7:05pm

AA
Harrisburg Senators (Ryan Tatusko 2-1, 2.38)
vs. New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Clint Everts 4-1, 6.09) @ 6:35pm

Binghamton Mets (Eric Beaulac 0-1, 5.40)
vs. Portland Sea Dogs (Stephen Fife 6-6, 5.03) @ 7:05pm

New Britain Rock Cats (Steve Hirschfeld 0-0, 4.58)
vs. Reading Phillies (Michael Cisco 4-9, 4.54) @ 7:05pm

A
Vermont Lake Monsters - Completion of 8/21 suspended game
vs. Brooklyn Cyclones @ 6:00pm

Vermont Lake Monsters (Bobby Hansen 3-2, 4.17)
vs. Brooklyn Cyclones (N/A) @ 7:00pm

Tri-City ValleyCats (David Martinez 4-2, 2.78)
vs. Lowell Spinners (Madison Younginer 3-6, 4.74) @ 7:05pm

Aberdeen IronBirds (Bruno Sanchez 3-4, 4.80)
vs. Connecticut Tigers (Clemente Mendoza 6-5, 4.72) @ 7:05pm

You can listen to all games at:
MiLB Gameday Audio

Standings

Through games played on 8/30/10

Honors Abound

The honors for local players have been flying furiously lately and we got backed up by a week on these matters...Our apologies! Let's not waste any time here and get you caught up on all the accolades.

One thing thing that we are definitely a week behind on is the International League Pitcher of the Week honors earned by Pawtucket's Ramon Ramirez. He took the honor for the week of August 16th-22nd when he went 2-0, worked 12 innings and allowed only 2 earned runs and 8 hits.

Sticking in the International League, Josh Reddick provided the PawSox with back-to-back weekly honors, taking the I.L. Player of the Week award for the week of August 23rd-29th. This is the second time that the Pawtucket outfielder has taken the award this season, winning back at the beginning of the month during the week of August 2nd-8th. Last week Reddick had a .500 average with 17 hits, 5 homers, 4 doubles and 12 RBI.

In the Eastern League another Red Sox prospect took Player of the Week honors as Portland's Ryan Lavarnway earned the distinction for the week of August 23rd-29th. The Sea Dogs catcher batted .421 with 4 home runs, 7 runs scored, 7 RBI and 9 walks on the week. Lavarnway reached base at least two times in the seven games played over the span.

Staying in the E.L., the league recently announced their annual, end-of-the-season All Star team. The Portland Sea Dogs were represented by Ray Chang who was selected in the Utility Player slot. New Britain Rock Cats Ben Revere was one of three local outfielders chosen for the team. He is flanked by Darin Mastroianni and Eric Thames of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, who are both helping to rewrite the franchise record books. Another Fisher Cat rounded out the local All Stars as Kyle Drabek was named to the squad as the best right-handed pitcher in the league. The All Stars are voted on by Eastern League managers, coaching staffs, sportswriters, radio and television broadcast personnel and other members of the media.

Kyle Drabek was showered with even more (well-deserved) adoration by the Eastern League when he was named Pitcher of the Year. With one start to go in the regular season, Drabek has compiled the most wins in the Eastern League with a 14-9 record. He is first in the league with 159 innings pitched, second in the league with a 2.89 ERA, second with 127 strikeouts and fourth with a 1.19 WHIP. Drabek has picked up 5 wins and a no decision over his last 6 outings in helping lead the Fisher Cats to a playoff berth. The highlight of the season came back on July 4th when Drabek tossed a no-hitter, which helped him earn E.L. Player of the Week honors. The 22 year old was the key piece of the Toronto Blue Jays off season trade of Roy Halladay and is the son of former Major League Cy Young Award Winner Doug Drabek.

The last award on our hit list takes us to Vermont where Lake Monsters catcher David Freitas picked up the Tom Racine Award as team MVP. The award is voted on by the fans who thought Freitas' efforts this year were worthy of the honor. Freitas put together a franchise record 21 game hit streak earlier in the season, he made the New York Penn-League All Star game and won the Home Run Derby. The California native is hitting .308 on the year with 4 home runs, 17 doubles, 38 RBI and 30 runs scored.

Congrats to all the players on their much deserved recognition. Six new awards were probably announced while I wrote this, so I'll go check things out and report back on any other local laurels that come about.

Tonight's Probable Pitchers 8/30/10

AAA
Rochester Red Wings (Matt Fox 6-8, 4.08)
vs. Pawtucket Red Sox (Rich Hill 2-0, 3.57) @ 7:05pm

AA
Harrisburg Senators (Brad Peacock 2-1, 3.72)
vs. New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Randy Boone 4-9, 3.65) @ 6:35pm

Binghamton Mets (Robert Carson 1-5, 8.26)
vs. Portland Sea Dogs (Jeremy Kehrt 2-11, 4.97) @ 7:05pm

New Britain Rock Cats (Matthew Williams 1-3, 6.53)
vs. Reading Phillies (Austin Hyatt 1-0, 4.60) @ 7:05pm

A
Vermont Lake Monsters (Chad Jenkins 2-6, 4.31)
vs. Aberdeen IronBirds (Justin Anderson 4-4, 5.92) @ 7:05pm

Staten Island Yankees (Dustin Hobbs NR)
vs. Lowell Spinners (Keith Couch 1-5, 4.74) @ 7:05pm

Brooklyn Cyclones (Jonathan Kountis 0-1, 6.55)
vs. Connecticut Tigers (Brennan Smith 1-5, 3.36) @ 7:05pm

You can listen to all games at:
MiLB Gameday Audio

Game of the Day - Lake Monsters @ Aberdeen - It's been a grueling stretch of road for the Vermont Lake Monsters as-of-late. They've gone 2-5 over their last 7 games with a postponement, a cancellation and a suspended game in between. During the slide they've allowed the Connecticut Tigers to pull into a tie for first place in the Stedler Division with 8 games left (plus the completion of that suspended game), all of them on the road. So it's put up or shut up time for the Lake Monsters tonight in Aberdeen. Chad Jenkins gets the ball for Vermont with hopes of earning his first victory since July 17th. His last two appearances have been out of the pen and he allowed only 1 hit and an earned run over 4 innings of work. Aberdeen counters with Justin Anderson who is coming off of his best start of the season on August 24th when he tossed 5 innings of 1 hit ball against the Staten Island Yankees. In his prior three starts, Anderson allowed a whopping 19 earned runs over 9 2/3 innings. Vermont can take the season series against the IronBirds with a win tonight, but more importantly they can provide some momentum leading into a hefty 4 game series against Brooklyn, the best team in the New York-Penn League.

Today's Probable Pitchers 8/29/10

AAA
Pawtucket Red Sox (Adam Mills 3-9, 5.05)
vs. Rochester Red Wings (Kyle Gibson 0-0, 1.72) @ 1:05pm

AA
Bowie Baysox (Ryohei Tanaka 6-12, 6.03)
vs. New Britain Rock Cats (Deolis Guerra 2-10, 6.24) @ 1:35pm

Portland Sea Dogs (Kyle Weiland 5-8, 4.72)
vs. New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Zach Stewart 8-3, 3.73) @ 1:5pm

A
Brooklyn Cyclones (Angel Cuan 5-0, 1.91)
vs.Connecticut Tigers (Josue Carreno 4-6, 4.47) @ 1:05pm

Staten Island Yankees (N/A)
vs. Lowell Spinners (Hunter Cervenka 0-4, 3.81) @ 5:30pm

Vermont Lake Monsters (Taylor Jordan 2-2, 5.33)
vs. Aberdeen Ironbirds (Tyler Sexton 1-6, 7.20) @ 5:35pm

You can listen to all games at:
MiLB Gameday Audio

Game of the Day - PawSox @ Rochester - The PawSox are in the midst of a 5-game win streak, their second longest on the season. If they desire to tie their longest win streak of the season, they'll have to be on their game as they face a tough opponent in Kyle Gibson today. Gibson is a familiar face to the GotD from his time with New Britain this season. Since being called up to AAA Rochester earlier this month, he has made 3 starts, all no decisions, but has posted a 1.72 ERA in 15 2/3 innings of work. In 26 starts on the season, over three different levels of play, Gibson has posted an 11-6 record with a 2.96 ERA. The PawSox will put Adam Mills in charge of keeping the momentum and the win streak rolling. Mills started the win streak back on the 24th when he threw 6 solid innings, allowing no runs and only 5 hits in picking up the "W". He faced the Red Wings back on July 9th and got a no decision, but was roughed up for 5 runs and 9 hits over 5 innings. Pawtucket currently leads the season series 7-5, with one left to play in Rochester, followed by a two game series against each other in Pawtucket, starting tomorrow.

Tonight's Probable Pitchers 8/27/10

AAA
Pawtucket Red Sox (Ramon Ramirez 4-4, 5.20)
vs. Rochester Red Wings (Anthony Swarzak 5-10, 6.37) @ 7:05pm

AA
Bowie Baysox (Pedro Viola 3-3, 3.21)
vs. New Britain Rock Cats (Tyler Robertson 3-12, 5.56) @ 7:05pm

Portland Sea Dogs (Alex Wilson 3-4, 6.41)
vs. New Hampshire Fisher Cats (B.J. LaMura 5-5, 3.89) @ 7:05pm

A
Lowell Spinners (Tyler Wilson 2-3, 3.70)
vs. Staten Island Yankees (Richard Martinez 3-1, 2.35) @ 6:00pm

Connecticut Tigers (Patrick Lawson 2-3, 2.81)
vs. Vermont Lake Monsters (Aaron Barrett 0-3, 8.79) @ 7:05pm

You can listen to all games at:
MiLB Gameday Audio

Hitting the Links

Ryan Westmoreland will be in uniform before the end of the season! This is amazing news following his preseason surgery for a cavernous malformation on his brain stem. He will not be playing, but will get the opportunity to suit up and train with teammates. Westmoreland is scheduled to hit Lowell for three games and Greenville for the remainder of the year. Full Count

PawSox radio broadcast Steve Hyder catches up with third-year Pawtucket hitting coach Rich Sauvier. As only a coach can do, Sauvier finds the silver linings in an otherwise tough season. Hyde's Inside Pitch

The Manchester Union Leader's Kevin Gray talks Anthony Rizzo, the Portland Sea Dogs, Kyle Drabek and the New Hampshire Fisher Cats run at the record books. Kevin Gray's On Baseball

Felix Doubront started the season in Portland, made the jump to Pawtucket and now works out of the Boston Red Sox bullpen. Check out how he got there. WEEI.com

Tonight's Probable Pitchers 8/26/10

AAA
Pawtucket Red Sox (Fabio Castro 5-9, 5.11)
vs. Rochester Red Wings (David Bromberg 1-2, 3.23) @ 7:05pm

AA
Bowie Baysox (Steve Johnson 7-7, 5.23)
vs. New Britain Rock Cats (Steve Hirschfeld 0-0, 3.29) @ 7:05pm

Portland Sea Dogs (Stephen Fife 6-6, 5.12)
vs. New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Scott Richmond 0-0, 1.80) @ 7:05pm

A
Lowell Spinners (Keith Couch 1-4, 4.66) GAME 1
vs. Staten Island Yankees (Kramer Sneed 0-2, 6.50) @ 6:00pm

Lowell Spinners (Madison Younginer 3-5, 4.78) GAME 2
vs. Staten Island Yankees (Zachary Varce 2-5, 4.73) @ 30 minutes after conclusion of GAME 1

Connecticut Tigers (Clemente Mendoza 5-5, 4.74)
vs. Vermont Lake Monsters (Matt Grace NR) @ 7:05pm

You can listen to all games at:
MiLB Gameday Audio

Game of the Day - Tigers vs. Lake Monsters - After last night's win the Tigers crawled to within 2 games of the first place Lake Monsters, so that makes this one GotD worthy to-be-sure...But wait, there's more. Last night's victory by Connecticut also evened up the season series at 4 games apiece with 2 games left to play against each other. Even more intriguing is the middle-man, in this case the Tri-City ValleyCats, who sit only 1/2 game out of first place and who may just crash the whole party for both New England teams. For the Lake Monsters, pitcher Matt Grace makes his Lake Monster debut after making 8 appearances with the Gulf Coast Nats and 33 relief appearances for UCLA during this past college season. Grace was drafted in the 8th round by Washington and went 1-1 in the Gulf Coast League. Connecticut counters with their ace Clemente Mendoza who is in search of his 4th straight victory from the bump. Clemente got a no-decision against Vermont back on July 22nd when he tossed 4 1/3 innings, allowing 5 earned runs and 7 hits. Can Vermont put some distance between themselves and the Tigers while closing out their home schedule on a high note or will Connecticut steal the show and set the table for a three team run to the top over the last 11/12 games of the year?

Tonight's Probable Pitchers 8/25/10

AAA
Pawtucket Red Sox (Rich Hill 2-0, 3.82)
vs. Buffalo Bisons (Raul Valdez 1-1, 2.11) @ 7:05pm

AA
New Britain Rock Cats (Bobby Lanigan 2-3, 5.50)
vs. Binghamton Mets (Robert Carson 1-4, 7.43) @ 5:35pm

Portland Sea Dogs (Jeremy Kehrt 2-10, 4.80)
vs. Harrisburg Senators (Brad Peacock 1-1, 4.63) @ 7:00pm

New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Randy Boone 4-8, 3.83)
vs. Trenton Thunder (Adam Warren 4-2, 3.29) @ 7:05pm

A
Lowell Spinners (Keith Couch 1-4, 4.66)
vs. Staten Island Yankees (Kramer Sneed 0-2, 6.50) @ 7:00pm

Connecticut Tigers (Brennan Smith 0-5, 3.67)
vs. Vermont Lake Monsters (Matthew Grace NR) @ 7:05pm

You can listen to all games at:
MiLB Gameday Audio




Game of the Day - Fisher Cats @ Trenton - It's worked the past two days, so we're closing out the New Hampshire/Trenton series with a third straight GotD. Since the Fisher Cats took down the Thunder in the first two, they have now pulled within 1 1/2 games of first place in the Eastern Divison. A win tonight would provide them with tons of momentum heading down the stretch, where they hope to get in the driver's seat for home field advantage in round 1 of the playoffs. Randy Boone hits the hill with a chance to help New Hampshire sweep. Boone has 2 wins and a no decision over his last three starts and is coming off of a complete game 2 hitter over the New Britain Rock Cats. He lost to Trenton back on July 29th, allowing 9 hits and 3 earned runs in 7 2/3 innings of work. Unlike the last two nights, the Thunder are will not be throwing a pitcher in his AA debut. Adam Warren gets the nod and he has a 4-2 record in 7 starts with Trenton this season. He is also the reigning Eastern League Pitcher of the Week, due to his 15 strikeout performance against the Bowie Baysox on August 18th. Warren lost to New Hampshire in his only start against the Cats back on August 1st. After tonight, New Hampshire will stand either 2 1/2 games back or a 1/2 game back of Trenton and with only 12 games left to play it'd be a lot more interesting if they things got a little tighter in the divison race.

Tonight's Probable Pitchers 8/24/10

AAA
Pawtucket Red Sox (Adam Mills 2-9, 5.31)
vs. Buffalo Bisons (Mike Antonini 1-1, 4.50) @ 7:05pm

AA
New Britain Rock Cats (Chris Province 6-5, 4.89) GAME 1
vs. Binghamton Mets (Mark Cohoon 3-3, 5.47) @ 5:35pm

New Britain Rock Cats (Deolis Guerra 2-9, 6.20) GAME 2
vs. Binghamton Mets (Jenrry Mejia 1-0, 1.77) @ 30 minutes after conclusion of GAME 1

Portland Sea Dogs (Kyle Weiland 5-7, 4.61)
vs. Harrisburg Senators (Tom Milone 10-5, 2.87) @ 7:00pm

New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Zach Stewart 8-3, 3.81)
vs. Trenton Thunder (Dellis Betances NR) @ 7:05pm

A
Connecticut Tigers (Josue Carreno 4-6, 4.21)
vs. Tri-City ValleyCats (Bobby Doran 4-4, 4.24) @ 7:00pm

Vermont Lake Monsters (Billy Ott 0-1, 6.00)
vs. Lowell Spinners (Keith Couch 1-4, 4.66) @ 7:05pm

You can listen to all games at:
MiLB Gameday Audio

Game of the Day - Fisher Cats @ Trenton - We're going back to Trenton for the GotD until it somehow becomes less intriguing. Last night Kyle Drabek helped the Fisher Cats move within 2 1/2 games of first place and as noted yesterday in this very spot, today is the most important game of the season...and the pitching matchup up is damn near the same setup as yesterday's game. The Fisher Cats are throwing Zach Stewart, one of their two aces, at the first place Thunder. Stewart hasn't notched a victory since July 18th, picking up 1 loss and 4 no-decisions over his last five games. Stewart pitched well against the Thunder back on June 25th when he picked up the "W" and struck out 7 batters over 6 1/3 innings. Trenton is throwing Dellin Betances who is making his AA debut tonight after being promoted from Single-A Tampa. In 14 starts with the Tampa Yankees, Betances had an 8-1 record, 1.77 ERA and 88 strikeouts in 71 innings pitched. Much like last night's starter Manny Banuelos, Betances is a top pitching prospect in the Yankees organization. The Fisher Cats are hoping that they can welcome him to AA in the same manner they did Banuelos on Monday.

Mastro Hits the Books Again

Despite a dismal, steady rain falling all day long, the Fisher Cats and Rock Cats gutted it out for nine inning in Manchester yesterday. I like when they simply play out the frames even though the rain is coming down. There was never a time when it was coming down hard enough to delay the game, which they didn't need since this one kicked around the three hour mark.

One player that I was keeping an eye on was Darin Mastroianni, in hopes that we would see some history made. His next stolen base would set the franchise mark for most in a season. I was sure that if he got on base that he was going for it in an effort to get it done in front of the home crowd.

He doubled in his 1st at bat and there was no steal attempt made of third. He walked in the 5th but Jonathan Diaz was in front of him, so it wasn't happening this time. He reached on a fielders choice in the 6th and the time was right as he stood at first with no traffic in front of him. Mastroianni got a great lead and a decent enough jump on his way to second base, but he was gunned down on a perfect throw from New Britain catcher Jeff Howell.

With the rain still beating down on the field, I figured there was no way they'd send him again if he got on. And he did get on again with a single in the bottom of the 8th. Just like that, Mastroianni made history...but not by way of stolen base. The single was Darin's 143rd hit on the season, tying the franchise mark set in 2004 by Dominic Rich. So I did get to see some history go down!

The folks in Trenton will probably get to see Mastroianni set both the stolen base and hits records at some point over these next three games. As we've noted many times over the past few weeks, he and fellow outfielder Eric Thames are lighting a flame to the team record book this season and it's been fun keeping an eye on it all. We will certainly keep you updated on their runs at history.

I got some nice pics of Mastroianni's last at bat which I will post up below with some of the other, better pics of the day that I was capable of capturing (click on the individual photos for a larger, clearer view).

At the knees for a strike

Bearing down on history

Hit #143 on the year

#10 Evan Bigley

#27 Estarlin De Los Santos

Fisher Cats Clint Everts (top); Rock Cats Tony Davis (middle); Fisher Cats Alan Farina (bottom)

Cates to Parmelee for the out

Fisher Cats win

Tonight's Probable Pitchers 8/23/10

AAA
Pawtucket Red Sox (Kris Johnson 4-12, 5.43)
vs. Buffalo Bisons (Dillon Gee 12-7, 4.84) @ 7:05pm

AA
New Britain Rock Cats (Chris Province 6-5, 4.89)
vs. Binghamton Mets (Mark Cohoon 3-3, 5.47) @ 6:35pm

Portland Sea Dogs (Blake Maxwell 4-0, 1.69)
vs. Harrisburg Senators (Aaron Thompson 4-12, 5.74) @ 7:00pm

New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Kyle Drabek 13-9, 3.12)
vs. Trenton Thunder (Manny Banuelos NR) @ 7:05pm

A
Connecticut Tigers (Josue Carreno 4-6, 4.21)
vs. Tri-City ValleyCats () @ 7:00pm

Vermont Lake Monsters (Taylor Jordan 2-2, 5.84)
vs. Lowell Spinners (Hunter Cervenka 0-4, 4.02) @ 7:05pm

You can listen to all games at:
MiLB Gameday Audio

Game of the Day - Fisher Cats @ Trenton - Everyone always talks about how your next game is the most important game of the season. For the New Hampshire Fisher Cats this holds true tonight and with a victory, tomorrow night and with another, the next night. Sitting 3 1/2 back of Trenton in the Eastern Division, the Cats have their last regular season shot at their 1st place foes and hope to bridge the gap towards earning home field in the first round of the playoffs. They've lined up their guns as they pushed back Kyle Drabek's Sunday start to Monday. This allowed Drabek to miss the constant rains in Manchester, while also allowing New Hampshire to put forth their best arms against the Thunder. Trenton counters with Manny Banuelos, who is making his AA debut after earning a 2.19 ERA in 12 starts with the Gulf Coast and Tampa Yankees. Banuelos has also struck out 68 batters over 49 1/3 innings and is a big-time pitching prospect for the New York Yankees. So despite it only being his first AA start, the Fisher Cats are sure to have their hands full with the 19-year old pitcher. Drabek is seeking his 5th straight win on the mound and the extra day's rest could help him accomplish just that. It's a first round playoff preview tonight in Trenton, with the possible right's to home field advantage on the line.

Warming up in Manchester

It's a dreary, drizzle-filled day so far at MerchantsAuto.com Stadium where the New Britain Rock Cats face off against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats in their last cat fight of the year. This is a rubber match of a three game set where it is "Country Western Day" at the all ballpark...where they have both kinds of music, Country & Western.


As I type there is a huge line dance session going on along the foul territory and stretching all the way from first to third base. I will not be pulling out my camera for this one.


However I did catch some earlier warmup action on the field...

Rock Cats pitcher Cole Devries

Deolis Guerra

7-footer Loek VanMil

Fisher Cats pitcher B.J. LaMura

Zach Stewart

Keeping things dry until game time