July Promos

The dog days of summer are upon us and if you are like me, you'd rather be at the ballpark than the beach...although this never stops the Mrs. from making sure I smear the SPF900 on. July brings us the recognition of our great nation's independence. It's a chance to be with family and friends and honor the brave men and woman who have given us the gift of freedom, allowing us to continue to enjoy the great game of baseball. Here are some of the best promos for the month of July so that you can plan your celebrations. You now have no excuses left to get on out and enjoy some great baseball action and with seven teams now in action in New England, the options are endless.

Connecticut Tigers
July 4th - Sunday Funday (It's the 4th of July, they list "Apple Pie and Baseball" with this promo, you can play catch on the Dodd Stadium field after AND kids get to run the bases...sounds like all the ingredients are in place for a perfect summer day)
July 14th - Wicked "Wild" Wednesday (You can buy a 4 pack of tickets to the game, get 4 hot dogs, 4 sodas and a program for only $40. Now that is Wicked "Wild" if you ask me. You can't get two lower bleacher seats ($28 a pop) at Fenway for that cost!)
July 21st - St. Patrick's Day in July (The description says "Enjoy green beer and Irish entertainment"...and baseball of course!)

Lowell Spinners

July 1st - Johnny Pesky Navy Bobblehead Giveaway (The first 1,000 fans through the gates at LeLaucheur will score a Johnny Pesky Bobblehead, in what I expect will be a Navy uniform, in honor of his service and the fact that it's also "Military Night"...screw the pole, thanks for your service to this country Mr. Pesky.)

July 9th - $1,000 Money Drop/New England Patriots Night (Two great, albeit insane, nights in ONE! After the game a helicopter is going to drop $1,000 on the field so fans can scramble to get some loot...this has disaster potential written all over it! Oh yeah, Steve Grogan will be there throwing passes to fans too. No word on if Grogan will be dashing for cash.)
July 17th - Celebrating 50 Years of Bubble Wrap (Be there as the World Record is broken for most people simultaneously popping Bubble Wrap. Again, no word on if Steve Grogan will be there to assist.)

New Britain Rock Cats

July 7th - Christmas in July (Well if you can have St. Patrick's Day in July, you can have Christmas too! If it were up to me I'd move every holiday to July, we'd all take the month off and enjoy America's pastime...and maybe exchange some gifts? I wear an XL, thanks.)

July 17th - Irish Heritage Night (Sure, it's not "St. Patrick's Day in July", but I'm going to guess that it'll be as close as you can get...look at it as a warmup to the Tigers promo on the 21st. It's also a hat giveaway day for adults, there is a pre-game youth baseball clinic and the usual Saturday block party.)

July 25th - Paint Your Own Bobblehead (Bobbleheads are a hot commodity at the park. Some, over time, can fetch a pretty penny were you to part with it. So imagine how much you could get when you Picasso your own! No word on who the Bobblehead will be, but with your paint job on it, it's sure to be a masterpiece...that you store in a box, in the back of your garage, buried under other boxes, for generations to come.)

New Hampshire Fisher Cats

July 2nd - Hat Giveaway (The first 2,000 fans through the gate will pickup a new Fisher Cats hat for their collection. Who couldn't use a new hat? I think everytime I get a brand new hat, I'm already looking at my next one...it's like a vacation or a car in that sense.)

July 20th - Dustin Pedroia Bobblehead (2,000 of these gems will be available at the gate despite Pedroia's DL status.)

July 27th - Poster Giveaway (This is one of the more inventory-heavy giveaways that I've seen all season, with 5,000 fans getting a free Fisher Cats poster. You can look back on it someday and relive the excitement of the Fisher Cats 2010 season...which will definitely be worthwhile the way they are playing.)

Pawtucket Red Sox

July 8th - PawSox Cap Night (Again, another FREE lid. Pedro DePacas never scored so many lids...and I'll take you to a game if you get that reference!)

July 22nd - PawSox Jersey Night (The first 5,000 fans into McCoy will get a free PawSox replica jersey.)

July 31st - Jacoby Ellsbury Bobblehead (Another town, another Red Sox DLer who is being immortalized as a bobblehead. Who knows, Jacoby could be playing with Pawtucket by this point...orrrrrr maybe not.)

Portland Sea Dogs

July 5th - Mini-Flag Giveaway (The first 1,000 fans will get a free Sea Dogs mini-flag to wave during the game and to fly freely at home afterwards.)

July 7th - Breaking B-Boy McCoy (So some dude who looks like a broke version of DJ Jazzy Jeff, goes around from team-to-team like a modern day Max Patkin and breakdances while serving as a batboy...this is that dude...get ready Portland!)

July 22nd - Adrian Gonzalez Bobblehead Night (Gonzalez put in a full year in Portland back in 2002 when they were still a Marlins affiliate. I guess they found a box of 1,000 leftover bobbleheads...or they're really trying to help Boston in wooing him to the region.)

Vermont Lake Monsters

July 17th - Bill Lee/Oil Can Boyd Appearance (Not sure if any ballpark can hold these two personalities in it at the same time, but historic Centennial Field is gonna give it a whirl. Two of the most eccentric pitchers in Red Sox history should make for a great time.)

July 23rd - Champ Bobblehead Giveaway (Snatch a bobblehead of one the more timeless regional mascots...but only if you're one of the first 750 fans at the park.)

July 29th - Hellfly Sunglasses Giveaway (The first 500 adults age 18 and over get one of the more pricey giveaways of the month...a $90 pair of shades. At that cost they have to look cool, and even if they don't you can just tell everyone you're wearing $90 sunglasses and at least sound cool.)

Firework Nights

Connecticut - 16th & 23rd

Lowell - 3rd

New Britain - 16th

New Hampshire - 1st, 3rd, 4th, 15th, 17th, 19th & 21st

Pawtucket - 1st, 2nd & 3rd

Portland - 5th

Vermont - NONE

And for the 860th straight month, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats offer the most Firework Nights! Have a great July everyone and please be sure to send us your stories, pics and comments at beyondfenway@gmail.com or on Twitter @TheC40.

Today's Pitching Matchups 6/30/10

AAA
Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees (Romulo Sanchez 4-6, 4.36)
vs. Pawtucket Red Sox (Felix Doubront 2-2, 2.08) @ 7:05pm

AA
Trenton Thunder (Andrew Brackman 0-1, 3.60)
vs. New Britain Rock Cats (Kyle Gibson 4-3, 4.21) @ 12:05pm

Harrisburg Senators (John Lannan 1-0, 1.29)
vs. Portland Sea Dogs (Kyle Weiland 3-4, 3.70) @ 7:00pm

Reading Phillies (J.C. Ramirez 1-1, 5.54)
vs. New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Zach Stewart 5-2, 4.36) @ 7:05pm

A
Lowell Spinners (Tyler Wilson 0-1, 4.00)
vs. Connecticut Tigers (Rayni Guichardo 1-0, 9.00) @ 7:05pm

Tri-City ValleyCats (Murillo Gouvea 0-1, 7.00)
vs. Vermont Lake Monsters (Matt Swynenberg 1-0, 0.90) @ 7:05pm

MiLB Gameday Audio

Game of the Night - Scranton vs. Pawtucket - Sox vs. Yankees with Feliz Doubront scheduled to take the hill for the PawSox, facing off against the robust Romulo Sanchez.

Local Stars Will Get Chance to Shine

The 2010 Eastern League All Star rosters were announced yesterday and the Eastern Division contains 12 players from the three New England based teams. The New Hampshire Fisher Cats lead the way with a franchise record 6 selections, while Portland and New Britain will both send three representatives to the affair. Let's take a look at who our local stars are:

New Britain Rock Cats

P Kyle Gibson - 4-3, 4.21 ERA, 38 Ks
P Deolis Guerra - 1-3, 3.20 ERA, 36 Ks

OF Ben Revere - .307 BA, 20 RBI, 26 R, 24 SB

New Hampshire Fisher Cats

P Kyle Drabek - 7-8, 3.49 ERA, 77 Ks

P Trystan Magnuson - 2-0, 2.30 ERA, 36 Ks

C Brian Jeroloman - .289 BA, 6 HR, 27 RBI, 30 R

INF Shawn Bowman - .298 BA, 12 HR, 38 RBI, 44 R

OF Darin Mastroiani - .300 BA, 31 RBI, 56 R, 30 SB

OF Eric Thames - .270 BA, 12 HR, 54 RBI, 46 R, 6 SB

Portland Sea Dogs

P Stephen Fife - 4-2, 4.30 ERA, 51 Ks

INF Ray Chang - .301 BA, 30 RBI, 28 R, 20 2B

INF Nate Spears - .259 BA, 29 RBI, 49 R, 7 SB

Congratulations to these great young players, and to all of the Eastern League All Star selections. Also of note, New Britain Rock Cats manager Jeff Smith and his coaching staff will lead the Eastern Division that evening. The game is set to take place on Wednesday, July 14th at Metro Bank Park in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

The full Eastern League All Star rosters can be located here.

Tonight's Pitching Matchups 6/29/10

AAA
Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees (Tim Redding 2-3, 3.89)
vs. Pawtucket Red Sox (Adam Mills 1-6, 4.25) @ 7:05pm

AA
Trenton Thunder (Hector Noesi 4-1, 2.20)
vs. New Britain Rock Cats (Tyler Robertson 0-7, 5.16) @ 5:05pm

Harrisburg Senators (Tom Milone 5-3, 3.14)
vs. Portland Sea Dogs (Stephen Fife 4-1, 3.84) @ 7:00pm

Reading Phillies (Vance Worley 5-4, 3.66)
vs. New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Kyle Drabek 7-7, 3.26) @ 7:05pm

A
Lowell Spinners (Madison Younginer 1-1, 6.48)
vs. Connecticut Tigers (Luis Sanz 2-0, 0.90) @ 7:05pm

Tri-City ValleyCats (Bobby Doran 0-1, 2.70)
vs. Vermont Lake Monsters (Chad Jenkins 0-1, 4.32) @ 7:05pm

MiLB Gameday Audio

Tonight's Pitching Matchups 6/28/10

AAA
Pawtucket Red Sox (Ramon A. Ramirez 1-2, 5.48)
vs. Syracuse Chiefs (Jason Jones 0-2, 6.75) @ 7:00pm

AA
Trenton Thunder (D.J. Mitchell 5-3, 4.91)
vs. New Britain Rock Cats (Carlos Gutierrez 3-5, 4.65) @ 6:35pm

Portland Sea Dogs (Jeremy Kehrt 1-3, 3.45)
vs. Harrisburg Senators (Aaron Thompson 3-9, 6.10) @ 7:00pm

Reading Phillies (Ty Taubenheim 2-1, 5.87)
vs. New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Ronald Uviedo 2-0, 4.20) @ 7:05pm

A
Lowell Spinners (Roman Mendez 1-1, 4.50)
vs. Connecticut Tigers (Clemente Mendoza 0-1, 3.85) @ 7:05pm

Tri-City ValleyCats (Carlos Quevedo 0-0, 1.74)
vs. Vermont Lake Monsters (Taylor Jordan 0-0, 1.86) @ 7:05pm

Tweaking Things

Since we are an ongoing project here at Beyond Fenway, we will probably be tweaking things continously to keep it fresh and to make things easier for all involved. We want to get back to more posts of substance for the readers and in doing so we will be switching things around a bit.

The normal daily recaps of the previous night's games are being cut down, but in it's place we will post scores on the right hand side of the page, so that we don't lose track of that aspect of things. We may tweak that box a bit as well...see if it's better with or without links to recaps from local newspapers and so forth. We will do out best to continue with the daily pitching matchups, because that doesn't take forever like the recaps do.

As mentioned, we do want to create more substance here for you as well, so we are playing around with some ideas such as weekly recaps, players of the week, game of the day, links and so on. As always, we welcome your ideas, stories, pictures from games and any comments you may have. Feel free to email us at beyondfenway@gmail.com and in the meantime we'll do our best to keep things fresh and interesting for you.

Tonight's Pitching Matchups 6/25/10

AAA
Pawtucket Red Sox (Felix Doubront 2-1, 1.08)
vs. Syracuse Chiefs (Matt Chico 2-3, 3.76) @ 7:00pm

AA
Portland Sea Dogs (Kyle Weiland 3-4, 3.81)
vs. New Britain Rock Cats (Deolis Guerra 1-3, 2.88) @ 6:35pm

New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Zach Stewart 4-2, 4.50)
vs. Trenton Thunder (Andrew Brackman NR) @ 7:05pm

A
Vermont Lake Monsters (Matt Swynenberg 1-0, 0.00)
vs. Tri-City ValleyCats (Murillo Gouvea 0-1, 9.00) @ 7:00pm

Connecticut Tigers (Rayni Guichardo 1-0, 1.29)
vs. Lowell Spinners (Tyler Wilson 0-1, 0.00) @ 7:05pm

Yesterday's Results 6/24/10

Lars Anderson tries to beat the throw at the plate. (Photo by Jessica Kovalcin)

AAA
PawSox 1 Scranton Wilkes-Barre 5
W: Tid Redding (2-3)
L: Adam Mills (1-6)
S: Zach Segovia (3)
HR: SWB - Reegie Corona (5)
NOTES ... Pawtucket OF Alex Hassan went 0 for 3, with an RBI on a sac fly, in his first plate action since being called up from Single-A Salem ... Only three players (Lars Anderson 2 hits, Bubba Bell 2 and Gil Velazquez 3) combined for the Paw Sox 7 hits on the evening ... Yankees 2B Reegie Corona went 2 for 4 with a home run, 2RBI and 2 runs scored, he went 7 for 15 in the series ... Pawtucket moves on to face Syracuse for four games starting tonight at 7:00pm ...
"Pawtucket Red Sox manager Torey Lovullo knew he could not be too disappointed when his team left northeastern Pennsylvania Thursday night following a four-game series against three-time defending I.L. Northern Division champion Scranton/Wilkes-Barre." Full recap

AA
Sea Dogs 4 Altoona 7
W: Jared Hughes (10-3)
L: Mitchell Herold (1-2)
S: Tony Wilson (2)
HR: POR - Ray Chang (4) ; ALT - Shelby Ford (3)
NOTES ... The Sea Dogs were swept in a series for the second time this season ... Altoona 2B Josh Harrison went 3 for 4 with a single, double, triple and 3 RBI, extending his hit streak to 10 games ... Ray Chang's home run was the first home run Altoona's Jared Hughes has allowed in 69.2 innings ... Portland hits New Britain for a three game set against the Rock Cats starting tonight at 6:35 pm ...

"The Altoona Curve gave up three runs in the first inning, then bounced back to beat the Portland Sea Dogs 7-4 Thursday and complete a three-game series sweep at Blair County Ballpark." Full recap

Rock Cats 1 Binghamton 5

W: Eric Niesen (3-3)

L: Mike McCardell (0-8)

HR: NB - Joe Benson (9); BIN - Brahiam Maldonado (3)

NOTES ... New Britain OF Joe Benson has 5 home runs in his last 10 games ... Rock Cats starter Mike McCardell dropped to 0-8 on the season, he had only 13 loses in three prior seasons heading into 2010 ... Rock Cats OF Ben Revere went 1 for 4 in his first game played in nine days ...

"Brahiam Maldonado delivered a grand slam in the seventh inning to break a 1-1 deadlock, sending Binghamton to a 5-1 victory over New Britain Thursday night..." Full recap

Fisher Cats 5 Harrisburg 4
W: Trystan Magnuson (2-0)
L: Rafael Martin (2-1)
S: Tim Collins (5)
HR: HAR - Michael Martinez (6)
NOTES ... New Hampshire DH Manny Mayorson went 3 for 5 and has 7 multi-hit games over his last 9 games ... Eric Thames went 5 for 13 in the series with 4 RBI and 3 runs scored ... The Fisher Cats continue their road trip in Trenton tonight at 7:05 pm ...
"Darin Mastroianni’s sacrifice fly in the top of the 11th inning scored Jonathan Diaz with the winning run as the Fisher Cats edged the Harrisburg Senators 5-4 on Thursday night..." Full recap

A
Tigers 13 Spinners 1
W: Luis Sanz (2-0)
L: Madison Younginer (1-1)
HR: CON - Alexander Nunez (1)
NOTES ... Lowell SS Jose Garcia had 2 errors last night, giving him 6 errors in 7 games this season ... Spinners OF Brandon Jacobs is 5 for his last 10 with 3 doubles ... Tigers OF Jeff Rowland went 1 for 4 with 3 runs scored and has hit safely in all seven games this year ...
"After an impressive professional debut in Vermont last week, Madison Younginer didn't have his best stuff in his second start." Full recap

Lake Monsters 2 Tri-City 5
W: Chris Blazek (1-0)
L: Chad Jenkins (0-1)
S: Michael Ness (1)
NOTES ... The ValleyCats pitching staff has an ERA of 1.81 over 64.2 innings this season ... Vermont SS Stephen King picked up his 3rd error in 5 games ...
"Renzo Tello drilled a three-run homer and former University of Vermont pitcher Chris Blazek picked up the victory in relief as the Tri-City ValleyCats beat Vermont 5-2 in a New York-Penn League game Thursday to snap the Lake Monsters’ four-game winning streak." Full recap

Hitting the Links (The "I'm a Moron Edition")

So yesterday I posted a link to what I told you was the blog of Portland Sea Dogs announcer Mike Antonellis, when in fact it was the blog of San Diego Padres 2B, and Peabody, Massachusetts native, Matt Antonelli. My bad...you'll get this from time-to-time with me, so be weary! Regardless, we're going to link to Matt Antonelli again, because I owe him the hype and because it's a good place to get first hand posts and videos from a real player. The Official Blog of Matt Antonelli

Now that we have made it clear that all it takes is one letter to confuse me, here is where I was trying to link you to yesterday...Mike AntonelliS, the voice of the Portland Sea Dogs. Inside the Clubhouse with Mike Antonellis

Shane Bufano Photography is a freelance photography company located in Vermont and specializing in sporting events and portraits. Want proof? Well here are some phenomenal pictures from Vermont Lake Monsters games played this season on June 18th (versus Lowell) and June 22nd (versus Connecticut). Shane Bufano Photography

Ken Lipshez has been covering the New Britain Rock Cats since 1997 and it shows. His posts are concise and poignant. He doesn't post a ton, but when he puts something up it is well thought out and it makes up for all lost time. This is exactly how a blog writer should write, and quite frankly I'm jealous. Lip Service

Time is running out for you to vote for your favorite local MiLBers to make their respective All-Star Games:
International League Voting - voting ends tomorrow, June 25th
Eastern League Voting - voting ends Sunday, June 27th

Today's Pitching Matchups 6/24/10

AAA
Pawtucket Red Sox (Adam Mills 1-5, 4.01)
vs. Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees (Tim Redding 1-3, 4.50) @ 7:05pm

AA
Portland Sea Dogs (Stephen Fife 4-1, 3.86)
vs. Altoona Curve (Jared Hughes 9-3, 3.70) @ 12:00pm

New Britain Rock Cats (Mike McCardell 0-7, 5.16)
Binghamton Mets (Eric Niesen 2-3, 2.94) @ 6:35pm

New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Bobby Bell 3-2, 6.55)
vs. Harrisburg Senators (Tom Milone 5-3, 3.24) @ 7:05pm

A
Vermont Lake Monsters (Chad Jenkins 0-0, 0.00)
Tri-City ValleyCats (Bobby Doran 0-1, 0.00) @ 7:00pm

Connecticut Tigers (Luis Sanz 1-0, 0.00)
vs. Lowell Spinners (Madison Younginer 1-0, 0.00) @ 7:05pm

MiLB Gameday Audio

Last Night's Results 6/23/10

Lars Anderson got three hits, including a solo homer and an RBI double. (Photo by Louriann Mardo-Zayat)

Paw Sox 7 Scranton Wilkes-Barre 6
W: T.J. Large (3-0)
L: Kei Igawa (2-2)
S: Fernando Cabrera (10)
HR: PAW - Lars Anderson (5), Gustavo Molina (3); SWB - Rene Rivera (2)
NOTES ... PawSox 1B Lars Anderson went 3 for 4 with a single, double, home run, 2 runs scored and 2 RBI, the home run was his first since June 5th ... Over his last 10 games Pawtucket reliever Robert Manuel has thrown 14.2 innings and is 2-1 with 4 saves, allowing only 9 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 11 and posting a 0.00 ERA ...

"Lars Anderson and the Pawtucket Red Sox were long overdue entering Wednesday night’s game against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees." Full recap


AA

Rock Cats 10 Binghamton 2

W: Carlos Gutierrez (3-5)

L: Chris Schwinden (2-5)

NOTES ... Binghamton OF Sean Ratliff has hit safely in all 8 games since his call up from Single-A St. Lucie ... Rock Cats 1B Chris Parmalee has hit safely in 6 straight and is batting .435 over that span ... New Britain 2B Steve Singleton was caught stealing a base last night, on the season he has only one successful steal on five attempts ...

"A day removed from handing New Britain a 13-3 drubbing, the B-Mets received a dose of their own medicine with a 10-2 rout at the hands of the Rock Cats Wednesday night..." Full recap

Sea Dogs 1 Altoona 8

W: Bryan Morris (4-2)

L: Jeremy Kehrt (1-3)

HR: ALT - Miles Durham (4), Hector Gimenez (11)

NOTES ... With the win, the Altoona Curve upped their record to 47-24, the best record in all of Minor League Baseball ... The Sea Dogs have only mustered 4 runs over their last three games, all loses ... Sea Dogs C Luis Exposito was walked 3 times in the game, doubling his walk total for the the last 10 games ... Chase d'Arnaud was the only Curve starter without a hit ... Altoona C Hector Gimenez hit his 11th homer in his 47th game of the season, his prior home run high was in 2005 when he hit 12 in 121 games ...
" The Altoona Curve took command early Wednesday night and went on to an 8-1 victory against the Portland Sea Dogs at Blair County Ballpark." Full recap

A

Lowell starter Roman Mendez worked 5.2 innings for his first win on the season.

Tigers 1 Spinners 6

W: Roman Mendez (1-0)

L: Clemente Mendoza (0-1)

NOTES ... Lowell OF Brandon Jacobs went 3 for 4 with 2 doubles, 2 RBI and 2 runs scored ... Spinners SS Jose Garcia went 2 for 5 last night and has hit safely in 4 of the 6 games this season, all are multi-hit efforts ... Lowell 2B Joantoni Garcia is 0 for his last 10 at-bats ... Tigers OF Londell Taylor went o for 3 and is now 1 for 16 on the season with a .063 batting average ...
"He could have gone to Auburn and perhaps become a two-sport star as legendary as a former Tiger with the same initials: B.J." Full recap

Lake Monsters 2 Tri-City 1

W: Wilson Eusebio (1-0)

L: Brenden Stines (0-1)

NOTES ... Vermont SS Blake Kelso stole his 2nd base of the season ... The pitchers combined for 21 strikeouts on the night (Lake Monsters 10, Tri-City 11) ... Tri-City 1B Tyler Burnett was caught stealing and is 0 for 2 on attempts this season ... Vermont is now 5-1 on the season and has a two game advantage over second place Lowell ...
"Pinch hitter Justin Miller's RBI single in the top of the 11th inning gave the Vermont Lake Monsters their fourth straight win with a 2-1 victory over the Tri-City ValleyCats" Full recap

Earlier Today

ADAM LOEWEN DRIVES IN SIX RUNS WITH HOMER AND TRIPLE IN FISHER CATS 9-4 WIN AT HARRISBURG

New Hampshire 9 Harrisburg 4
W: Ronald Uviedo (2-2)
L: Yunior Novoa (0-5)
HR: NH - Adan Loewen (9); HAR - Chris Marrero (11), Marvin Lowrance (5)
NOTES ... New Hampshire relief pitcher Time Collins pitched a scoreless 9th inning with 2 Ks, over his last 8 appearances he has given up no runs in 10 full innings of work, only allowing 2 hits and striking out 18 batters ... Harrisburg pitching allowed 8 walks ... Senators 1B Chris Marrero's home run extended his hitting streak to 10 straight games ... Eric Thames collect his 49th and 50th RBI of the season, putting him 4th in the Eastern League, 1 RBI behind Portland C Luis Exposito ... Fisher Cats starter Ronald Uviedo threw 6 innings, his longest outing on the season ...
"Adam Loewen tripled in three runs in the top of the first inning and added a three-run homer in the second inning as the New Hampshire Fisher Cats blasted Harrisburg 9-4 on Wednesday afternoon at Metro Bank Park." Full recap

Tonight's Pitching Matchups 6/23/10

AAA
Pawtucket Red Sox (Ramon A. Ramirez 1-2, 5.50)
vs. Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees (Dustin Moseley 4-4, 3.72) @ 7:05pm

AA
New Britain Rock Cats (Carlos Gutierrez 2-5, 4.90)
Binghamton Mets (Jenrry Mejia NR) @ 6:35pm

Portland Sea Dogs (Jeremy Kehrt 1-2, 2.08)
vs. Altoona Curve (Bryan Morris 3-2, 4.22) @ 7:00pm

A
Vermont Lake Monsters (Taylor Jordan 0-0, 1.93)
Tri-City ValleyCats (Carlos Queveda 0-0, 4.15) @ 7:00pm

Connecticut Tigers (Clemente Mendoza 0-0, 4.50)
vs. Lowell Spinners (Ramon Mendez 0-1, 9.00) @ 7:05pm


MiLB Gameday Audio

My apologies as I missed the New Hampshire Fisher Cats game which started at noon today. The Fisher Cats beat the Harrisburg Senators 9-4 and a recap will be coming shortly. New Hampshire and Harrisburg face off in the rubber match of their three game set tomorrow night at 7:00pm.

Hitting the Links

It's another perfect Summer day in New England, so why not hit the links again?!

Our Southwest correspondent (TheB40) sent us this great eBay item up for bid. I'm sure many of you have already read something about it or maybe even bid on it. Get your piece of history...now at a low, low price! Five days left to bid! eBay

Here is a great piece from Daniel Barbarisi about Red Sox top rated prospect Ryan Westmoreland and his recovery. Providence Journal

The voice of the Portland Sea Dogs, Mike Antonelli, keeps us updated on the happenings in Portland and provides great insight from his personal perspective from the booth. Sure, the name of the blog may need work, but he leaves no doubt as to where you are! The Official Blog of Matt Antonelli

This guy has been keeping tabs on the Minor League scene in Norwich, Connecticut since 2005 and despite the Defenders packing up for Richmond, he hasn't missed a beat, jumping right on the Connecticut Tigers bandwagon and taking the reigns. Greg's Connecticut Tigers Blog

And lastly, don't forget about voting for your favorite local MiLBers to make their respective All-Star Games...time is running out:
International League Voting
Eastern League Voting

You can send your links to beyondfenway@gmail.com

Last Night's Results 6/22/10

Robert Coello strikes out 10 on his way to his first win. (Photo by Jessica Kovalcin)

AAA
Paw Sox 3 Scranton Wilkes-Barre 1
W: Robert Coello (1-0)
L: Zach McAllister (5-5)
S: Fernando Cabrera (9)
HR: PAW - Bubba Bell (4); SWB - Jorge Vazquez (2)
NOTES ... In his first ever start in AAA PawSox pitcher Robert Coello went 5.2 innings allowing 1 run on 4 hits and a walk, while striking out 10 batters ... New York Yankees top prospect, Scranton C Jesus Montero, is mired in an 0 for 16 slump ... After breaking an 0 for 28 slump on Saturday, Pawtucket 1B Lars Anderson is hitless in his last eight at-bats and is 1 for 34 over his last ten games ...
"The Pawtucket Red Sox adjusted their rotation Tuesday and found a spot for Robert Coello to make his first Triple-A start." Full recap

AA

Rock Cats 3 Binghamton 13

W: Eddie Kunz (5-4)

L: Tyler Robertson (0-7)

HR: BIN - Sean Ratliff 2 (3)

NOTES ... Binghamton OF Sean Ratliff is batting .323 with 3 home runs and 8 RBIs in the seven games he has played in since being called up from A St. Lucie ... New Britain starter Tyler Robertson failed to notch his first win of the season, this was his 13th start ... Rock Cats 1B Eric Lis has a hit and an RBI in his last three games ...

"Sean Ratliff clobbered a pair of homers off New Britain left-hander Tyler Robertson and drove in five runs to propel Binghamton past the Rock Cats 13-3..." Full recap

Fisher Cats 3 Harrisburg 4

W: Aaron Thompson (3-9)

L: Kyle Drabek (7-7)
S: Zech Zinicola (7)
HR: NH - Shawn Bowman (12); HAR - Chris Marrero (10)
NOTES ... Fisher Cats 3B went 2 for 4 extending his hitting streak to 11 games, during which he has 5 multi-hit games, 4 home runs, 13 RBI and a batting average of .326 ... New Hampshire OF Darin Mastroianni has a five game hit streak and has reached base safely in his last ten games ... Fisher Cats OF Eric Thames picked up his 48th RBI on the year, he is 5th overall in the Eastern League ...
"Eric Thames drove in Darin Mastroianni with a single in the top of the sixth inning and Shawn Bowman followed with a two-run homer to put the Fisher Cats in front, but Harrisburg rallied for a 4-3 win over New Hampshire in the opener of a three-game series Tuesday night." Full recap

Sea Dogs 1 Altoona 2

W: Dustin Molleken (3-3)

L: Eammon Portice (3-5)

S: Danny Moskos (17)

HR: POR - Luis Exposito (5); ALT - Chase d'Arnaud (1)

NOTES ... Altoona closer Danny Moskos picked up his 17th save, tops in the Eastern League ... Altoona SS Chase d'Arnaud connected for his first AA home run and extended his hitting streak to 10 games ... Sea Dogs C Luis Exposito has hit home runs in back-to-back games and is 6 for his last 11 with 5 RBIs ...
"The Altoona Curve broke a tie with a run in the bottom of the eighth inning Tuesday night and held on for a 2-1 victory against the Portland Sea Dogs at Blair County Stadium." Full recap

A

Tri-City 2 Spinners 3

W: Armando Zerpa (1-0)

L: Michael Ness (0-1)

NOTES ... Lowell pitching combined for 10 strikeouts ... Spinners SS Jose Garcia has hit safely in 3 of the 5 games this season, all are multi-hit efforts ... After an 0 for 15 start to the season Spinners 3B David Renfroe broke out with singles in the 2nd and 4th innings ...
"Jose Garcia isn't the type of hitter who gets shortchanged during his trips to the batter's box." Full recap

Tigers 2 Lake Monsters 6

W: Mark Herrera (1-0)

L: Lance Baxter (0-1)

NOTES ... The pitchers combined for 25 strikeouts on the night (Tigers 13, Lake Monsters 12) ... Tigers Matthew Mansilla went 3 for 4, he has hit safely in all 3 games played this year ... Lake Monsters 1B Ronnie Labrie stole 2 bases after not stealing any in 66 games played in 2009 ...
"The Vermont Lake Monsters completed a 4-1 homestand to start the 2010 season with a 6-2 New York-Penn League victory over the Connecticut Tigers..." Full recap

Tonight's Pitching Matchups 6/22/10

AAA
Pawtucket Red Sox (Robert Coelle 0-0, 0.00)
vs. Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees (Zach McAllister 5-4, 4.56) @ 7:05pm

AA
New Britain Rock Cats (Tyler Robertson 0-6, 4.80)
Binghamton Mets (Josh Stinson 4-1, 2.66) @ 6:35pm

Portland Sea Dogs (Alex Wilson 0-1, 21.00)
vs. Altoona Curve (Rudy Owens 6-3, 2.93) @ 7:00pm

New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Kyle Drabek 7-6, 3.11)
vs. Harrisburg Senators (Chuck James 3-0, 1.45) @ 7:00pm

A
Tri-City ValleyCats (Jake Buchanan NR)
vs. Lowell Spinners (Hunter Cervenka NR) @ 7:05pm

Connecticut Tigers (Lance Baxter NR)
vs. Vermont Lake Monsters (Bobby Hansen 1-0, 0.00) @ 7:05pm


MiLB Gameday Audio

Hitting the Links

Here are some links that we urge you to check out today:

My brother's and I always had issues pronouncing the last name of Garth and Dane Iorg when we were young. I think we thought the "I" was a lower-case "L"...regardless, here is a great Q&A with Garth's son Cale, who is holding down the SS spot for the Erie Seawolves of the Eastern League - Bus Leagues Baseball

Here is a site that you should hit every day...just go ahead and bookmark it once you get there. Even if you don't, we'll link to it often as these folks do yeoman's work to keep us updated on the best-of-the-best prospects in Minor League Baseball each and every night. Top Prospect Alert

Jen S. does an amazing job of staying on top of all things PawSox. This is a blog from someone who has immense knowledge of the Pawtucket Red Sox past and present. This blog is smart, funny and informative with the occasional dash of (my favorite) Baby Chris Carter. Baseball Heavy: The Champion PawSox Blog

Make sure that your favorite New Britain Rock Cats, New Hampshire Fisher Cats and/or Portland Sea Dogs make the Eastern League All-Star team!

And of course, don't forget about adding your favorite Pawtucket Red Sox to the International League All-Star roster. Voting ends June 25th!

This is only our first run of "Hitting the Links", but we hope to make it at least a weekly thing. We wanted to make sure that we noticed a few of the fine folks who have supported us right off of the bat, so please check out these fine folks and their sites and play around and make them part of your daily rotation, you will not be dissapointed.

In the meantime, if you have any good blogs that you think should be featured here, please shoot us a line at beyondfenway@gmail.com and we'll check them all out. Also be sure to follow us on Twitter @TheC40.

Last Night's Results 6/21/10

Fabio Castro loses control of the ball and the game in the 9th inning

Paw Sox 3 Scranton Wilkes-Barre 4
W: Jonathan Albaladejo (2-1)
L: Fabio Castro (3-5)
NOTES ... Pawtucket starter Michael Bowden struck out 7 batters, tying his season-high ... Scranton closer Jonathan Albaladejo's first blown save of the season came after 23 straight save conversions ... Paw Sox 1B Ryan Shealy went 2 for 4 with 2 doubles, an RBI and a run scored, he has hit safely in all 5 games since being signed and is batting .471 ... Paw Sox OF Bubba Bell has reached base safely in his last eight games ...
"The Pawtucket Red Sox became the first team this season to ruin a save opportunity for Jonathan Albaladejo. The PawSox even took away one of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees right-hander’s shots at a win before falling, 4-3, on a wild pitch by reliever Fabio Castro in the bottom of the ninth." Full recap

Tri-City 5 Spinners 0
W: David Martinez (1-0)
L: Randy Consuegra (0-1)
NOTES ... Lowell starting pitcher Randy Consuegra faced five batters, walking the first four and beaning the fifth in the helmet before being pulled with no outs in the first inning ... Spinners reliever Keith Couch was solid out of the pen, tossing 5 innings of one hit ball, allowing no walks and striking out 3 batters ... Lowell 3B Kolbrin Vitek went 3 for 3 and accounted for three of the teams four hits on the night ... The attendance for Lowell's home opener was 5,194, their 382nd consecutive sellout ...
"The Tri-City ValleyCats scored three runs on four walks, four wild pitches and a scary hit batsman in a wild first inning as the Lowell Spinners fell 5-0 in the home opener in front of 5,194 fans..." Full recap

Tigers 3 Lake Monsters 5
W: Graham Hicks (1-0)
L: Josue Carreno (0-1)

S: Colin Bates (1)

HR: CON - Matthew Mansilla (2)
NOTES ... The Lake Monsters committed 3 errors, giving them 6 total in their first four games ... Vermont starter Graham Hicks struck out 8 batters through five innings ... Tigers OF Matthew Mansilla has hit a home run in both games he has played in ...
"Strong pitching and a five-run fourth inning gave the Vermont Lake Monsters a 5-3 victory over the Connecticut Tigers in New York-Penn League action Monday night at Centennial Field." Full recap

Tonight's Probable Pitching Matchups 6/21/10

A
Connecticut Tigers (Josue Carreno NR)
vs. Vermont Lake Monsters (Graham Hicks NR) @ 7:05pm

Tri-City ValleyCats (Thomas Shirley NR)
vs. Lowell Spinners (Randy Consuegra NR) @ 7:05pm

AAA
Pawtucket Red Sox (Michael Bowden 2-3, 4.39)
vs. Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees (Ivan Nova 5-2, 3.42) @ 7:05pm

MiLB Gameday Audio

Yesterday's Results 6/20/10

AAA
Columbus vs. Paw Sox GAME SUSPENDED (will resume July 23rd)

AA

The clutch hitting by Galvis started two nights ago, as it was his triple in the ninth inning, which gave the R-Phils a 9-8 win over New Britain in game one. Sunday's homer gave the R-Phils their second series sweep of 2010. (Ralph Trout)

Rock Cats 4 Reading 7
W: John Ennis (2-0)
L: Tony Davis (0-1)
S: Michael Schwimmer (7)
HR: NB - Joe Benson (6), Chris Parmalee (4); REA - Matt Rizzotti (9), Freddy Galvis (1)
NOTES ... Reading OF Domonic Brown has hit safely in his last ten games ... New Britain's Joe Benson is batting .385 over his last 10 games, with 4 home runs and 8 RBIs ... Rock Cats 1B Chris Parmalee has five multi-hit games over his last ten played ... New Britain is 2-8 over their last ten games, they will play a three game set in Binghamton starting Tuesday night ...
"Freddy Galvis is known for his defensive abilities - and as of late, his game-winning hits." Full recap

Erie 13 Fisher Cats 6
W: Duane Below (3-6)
L: B.J. LaMura (1-1)
S: Zach Simons (3)
HR: ERIE - Michael Bertram (7), Ron Bourquin (2), Audy Ciriaco (6), Andy Dirks (9)
NOTES ... New Hampshire 3B Shawn Bowman went 1 for 4, extending his hitting streak to 10 games ... Fisher Cats Of Manny Mayorson went 3 for 5 on the day and 7 for 14 in the series ... The Erie Seawolves have 74 total home runs on the season, the most by any team in the Eastern League ...
"Manny Mayorson went 3-for-5 with an RBI single to cap a 7-for-14 series, and Adam Loewen drove in two runs with his team-leading 19th double, but the Erie SeaWolves belted four home runs and produced two separate five-run innings to outslug the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, 13-6, on Sunday afternoon at Merchantsauto.com Stadium." Full recap

Akron 3 Sea Dogs 2
W: Scott Barnes (3-6)
L: Ryne Miller (2-5)
S: Bryce Stowell (6)
HR: AKR - Jerad Head 2 (4)
NOTES ... Akron 2B Jason Kipnis went 2 for 5 and has hit safely in all eight games since being called up from Kinston, he is now batting .355 in AA ... Portland split the season series, 3-3, with Akron ... Portland starter Kyle Weiland struck out seven batters through 5 innings pitched, his highest K total on the year ...
"Justin Head smacked two home runs as the Akron Aeros defeated the Portland Sea Dogs 3-2 Sunday afternoon at Hadlock Field in front of 6,300 fans. Akron (34-35) avoids the sweep." Full recap

Kyle Weiland was dealing through 5 innings Sunday in Portland (photo by Jeff Schools)

A
Spinners 1 Lake Monsters 3
W: Matt Swynenberg (1-0)
L: Tyler Wilson (0-1)

S: Dustin Crane (1)
HR: LOW - Sean Killeen (2)
NOTES ... Lowell 1B Sean Killeen has hit home runs in back-to-back games ...Lake Monsters starter Matt Swynenberg threw 5 innings of 1-hit ball, striking out 3 and allowing no walks ... Vermont DH Stephen King went 2 for 4 in his first start of the season ... Vermont plays a two game set at home versus the Connecticut Tigers, starting tonight at 7:05pm ... Lowell opens the gates to LeLacheur Park tonight against the Tri-City ValleyCats ...

"Matt Swynenberg allowed just one hit over five scoreless innings, while David Freitas and Jason Martinson each had RBI singles as the Vermont Lake Monsters defeated the Lowell Spinners 3-1 in New York-Penn League action Sunday afternoon at historic Centennial Field." Full recap

Tigers 5 Tri-City 3
W: Rayni Guichardo (1-0)
L: Murillo Gouvea (0-1)
HR: CON - Matthew Mansilla (1)
NOTES ... Tigers 3B Matt Perry went 2 for 3 with a walk and a run scored in his season debut ... Connecticut OF Matthew Mansilla went 2 for 5 with a home run, 2 RBI and a run scored in his first action of the season ... The Tigers stranded 9 runners on base ... Connecticut travels to Vermont for two games, followed by Lowell for three games before their home opener on Saturday the 26th ...
"Rayni Guichardo tossed seven innings and allowed one run on four hits and LF Matt Mansilla hit a two-run home run in the first inning to help the Connecticut Tigers beat the Tri-City ValleyCats 5-3 before 3,880 fans at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium on Sunday night." Full recap

Today's Probable Pitching Matchups 6/20/10

A
Lowell Spinners (Tyler Wilson NR)
vs. Vermont Lake Monsters (Matt Swyenberg NR) @ 1:05pm

Connecticut Tigers (Rayni Guichardo NR)
vs. Tri-City ValleyCats (Murilo Gouvea NR) @ 5:00pm

AA
Akron Aeros (Scott Barnes 2-5, 6.16)
vs. Portland Sea Dogs (Kyle Weiland 3-3, 4.00) @ 1:00pm

New Britain Rock Cats (Deolis Guerra 1-3, 3.07)
vs. Reading Phillies (Yohan Flande 4-5, 4.35) @ 1:05pm

Erie Seawolves (Duane Below 2-6, 3.93)
vs. New Hampshire Fisher Cats (B.J. LaMura 1-0, 2.70) @ 1:35pm

AAA
Columbus Clippers (Carlos Carasco 5-3, 4.22)
vs. Pawtucket Red Sox (Kris Johnson 3-5, 4.77) @ 1:05pm

MiLB Gameday Audio

Last Night's Results 6/19/10

Ryan Shealy comes up big at home for the PawSox. (Louriann Mardo-Zayat)

AAA
Columbus 6 Paw Sox 7
W: Chad Poronto (3-5)
L: Jeremy Sowers (1-4)
S: Fernando Cabrera (8)
HR: COL - Michael Brantley (2), Wes Hodges (6)
NOTES ... The six runs scored by the Paw Sox in the eighth inning was their second highest output in one inning this season (they had an 8 run 6th inning back on May 9th against Charlotte) ... Pawtucket's Fernando Cabrera notched his first save since May 30th ... Columbus reliever Jess Todd blew his first save opportunity of the season, he was 4 for 4 on save chances heading into the game ...
"Just when it looked like these Pawtucket Red Sox would roll over and give up at the plate, as they have so many nights this week, their offense roared to life and delivered the biggest comeback win of the season, an inspiring 7-6 victory over Columbus on Saturday night." Full recap

AA
Rock Cats 5 Reading 9
W: J.C. Ramirez (1-0)
L: Mike McCardell (0-7)

S: Bramlett (1)
HR: NB - Juan Portes (4), Eric Lis (6); REA - Matt Rizzotti (8), Domonic Brown (13)
NOTES ... Reading OF Domonic Brown has hit safely in his last nine games and has homers in his last two ... New Britain starter Mike McCardell has failed to notch a victory in his 13 starts this season ... Rock Cats reliever Loek Van Mil threw two more innings of scoreless ball, running his streak to 7 innings without allowing an opponent to cross the plate ...
"Matt Rizzotti launched his third home run in as many days, Domonic Brown added a monster two-run blast in the sixth inning, and the Reading Phillies beat the New Britain Rock Cats 9-5..." Full recap

Erie 8 Fisher Cats 2
W: Andy Oliver (6-4)
L: Zach Stewart (4-2)
HR: ERIE - Audy Ciriaco (5)
NOTES ... New Hampshire 3B Shawn Bowman went 1 for 4, extending his hitting streak to 9 games ... Fisher Cats Of Manny Mayorson went 2 for 4, he has four multi-hit games over his last five played and has raised his average to .302 on the year ... New Hampshire starter Zach Stewart stuck out 7 batters, his highest total this season ...
"Danny Perales went 2-for-2 with a walk and a run scored, and Shawn Bowman’s RBI single extended his hitting streak to a season-high nine games, but a standing-room-only crowd of 7,617 saw Audy Ciriaco homer and drive in four runs as the Erie SeaWolves defeated the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, 8-2, on Saturday night..." Full recap

Akron 5 Sea Dogs 11
W: Stephen Fife (4-1)
L: Alex White (2-3)
HR: AKR - Carlos Rivero (2); POR - Yamaico Navarro 2 (6), Luis Exposito (4)
NOTES ... Akron 2B Jason Kipnis has hit safely in all seven games since being called up from Kinston and is batting .346 in AA ... Sea Dogs starter Stephen Fife went 7 innings in the victory, his longest outing of the season ... Portland reliever Santo Luis tossed 2 scoreless innings out of the pen, he is up to 10.2 straight scoreless innings out of the pen ...
"Yamaico Navarro blasted two home runs to propel the Portland Sea Dogs (36-31) to an 11-5 victory over the Akron Aeros (33-35) Saturday night at Hadlock Field in front of 6,238 fans." Full recap

Danny Perales puts up a 2-for-2 night in a loss to Erie

A
Spinners 6 Lake Monsters 2
W: Madison Younginer (1-0)
L: Shane McCatty (0-1)
HR: LOW - Sean Killeen (1)
NOTES ... Lowell SS Jose Garcia followed up his 2 for 4 opening night with a 4 for 5 effort at the plate ...Vermont DH Stephen King went 2 for 4 in his first start of the season ... Vermont pitching combined for 11 strikeouts on the night ... Spinners OF Felix Sanchez went 3 for 5 with an RBI and 2 runs scored ...

"Madison Younginer's first start in a Lowell Spinners uniform was a memorable one, as the 20-year old right-hander tossed five one-hit innings, while Sean Killeen smacked his first professional homerun in a 6-2 Lowell triumph over the Vermont Lake Monsters Saturday night." Full recap

Tigers 7 Tri-City 3
W: Luis Sanz (1-0)
L: Bobby Doran (0-1)
HR: TC - Oscar Figueroa (1); CON - PJ Polk (1)
NOTES ... All 9 Connecticut batters picked up at least one hit in the game ... Tri-City pitchers struck out 11 Tiger batters on the evening ...
"The Connecticut Tigers got a two-run single from 1B James Robbins in the third inning and the first professional home run from LF PJ Polk in the fifth inning to earn a 7-3 win over the Tri-City ValleyCats before 4,419 fans at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium on Saturday night." Full recap

Tonight's Pitching Matchups 6/19/10

A
Lowell Spinners (Madison Younginer NR)
vs. Vermont Lake Monsters (Chad Jenkins NR) @ 6:05pm

Connecticut Tigers (Luis Sanz NR)
vs. Tri-City ValleyCats (Bobby Doran) @ 7:00pm

AA
Akron Aeros (Alex White 2-2, 1.47)
vs. Portland Sea Dogs (Stephen Fife 3-1, 3.70) @ 6:00pm

New Britain Rock Cats (Mike McCardell 0-6, 4.50)
vs. Reading Phillies (J.C. Ramirez NR) @ 6:35pm

Erie Seawolves (Andy Oliver 5-4, 3.82)
vs. New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Zach Stewart 4-1, 4.50) @ 7:05pm

AAA
Columbus Clippers (Aaron Laffey 0-1, 4.91)
vs. Pawtucket Red Sox (Adam Mills 1-5, 3.57) @ 7:05pm

MiLB Gameday Audio

Last Night's Results 6/18/10

Ramon Ramirez got the start for the PawSox last night. (Photo by Louriann Mardo-Zayat)

AAA
Columbus 2 Paw Sox 1
W: Josh Tomlin (6-2)
L: Ramon Ramirez (1-2)
S: Vinnie Pestano (2)
HR: COL - Jared Goedert (4)
NOTES ... Columbus 3B Jared Goedert has hit 3 home runs over his last 4 games ... Pawtucket IF Tug Hulett went o for 3 and dropped his average to .174, the lowest in the International League ... Columbus closer Vinnie Pestano has not allowed a run since May 31st, spanning 7 innings ... Pawtucket 1B Lars Anderson is 0 for his last 32 at-bats and it batting .057 over his last 10 games ...
"Ramon Ramirez (1-2) made one mistake in his second start of the season Friday night, but it was the difference in a 2-1 Pawtucket Red Sox loss." Full recap

AA
Rock Cats 8 Reading 9
W: Michael Schwimmer (5-3)
L: Matthew Williams (1-3)
HR: NB - Danny Lehmann (1), Joe Benson (7); REA - Tagg Bozied (12), Matthew Rizzotti (7)
NOTES ... New Britain OF Joe Benson has hit safely in 8 straight games and has gone 13 for 29 at the plate with 3 home runs over that span ... Reading OF Domonic Brown has also hit safely in his last eight games ...
"Freddy Galvis had just one hit on Friday evening - it turned out to be the most important one of the evening." Full recap

Erie 4 Fisher Cats 7
W: Adrian Martin (4-1)
L: Ramon Garcia (0-4)
S: Tim Collins (4)
HR: ERIE - Ben Johnson (1), Deik Scram (5), Ron Bourquin (1); NH - David Cooper 2 (10)
NOTES ... For the second straight evening, Adrian Martin notched the victory and Tim Collins the save for New Hampshire ... Fisher Cats OF Darin Mastroianni stole two bases, giving him 25 swipes on the season, having only being caught 3 times ... New Hampshire 3B Shawn Bowman went 1 for 3, extending his hitting streak to 8 games ... Erie OF Deik Scram hit his 2nd home run in an many days ...
"David Cooper went 3-for-4 with a pair of home runs, Adrian Martin earned a win for the second straight game, and Tim Collins notched his second save in as many nights as the New Hampshire Fisher Cats downed the Erie SeaWolves, 7-4, on Friday night at Merchantsauto.com Stadium to reclaim sole possession of first place in the Eastern League’s Eastern Division." Full recap

Akron 7 Sea Dogs 8
W: Bryce Cox (1-4)
L: Omar Aguilar (1-2)
HR: AKR - Jason Kipnis (2)
NOTES ... Akron 2B Jason Kipnis has hit safely in all six games since being called up from Kinston ... Both starting pitchers were unable to make it through 4 full innings of work ... Sea Dogs reliever Eammon Portice threw 3.1 innings allowing only 1 hit, no runs and striking out 5 batters; he has not allowed a run in his last three appearances ...
"Ray Chang's two out RBI single scoring Che-Hsuan Lin from first base gave the Portland Sea Dogs an 8-7 walk-off win over the Akron Aeros Friday night at Hadlock Field in front of 5,616 fans." Full recap

Ray Chang's RBI Single in the 10th inning gave the Sea Dogs a 8-7 walk-off win. (Photo by DVM Sports)

A
Spinners 9 Lake Monsters 4
W: Bobby Hansen (1-0)
L: Roman Mendez (0-1)
HR: VER - Wade Moore (1)
NOTES ... Last night's home opener in Vermont drew a crowd of 2,438 ... Vermont is 6-11 all-time in season openers and have won their last four home openers ... This was the fifth time that Vermont and Lowell started the season against each other and the first time that Vermont has won ...
" The Vermont Lake Monsters scored six times in the bottom of the third inning and went on to defeat the Lowell Spinners 9-4 in the 2010 New York-Penn League opener for both teams at historic Centennial Field on Friday night." Full recap

Tigers 3 Tri-City 4
W: Michael Torrealba (1-0)
L: Travis Blankenship (0-1)
HR: TC - Michael Kvasnicka (1)
NOTES ... The season opener in Tri-City drew a crowd of 5,370 ... Four Connecticut relievers combined for 4.2 innings of scoreless work ... Tigers pitchers struck out 15 Tri-City batters ...
"Oscar Figueroa hit an RBI double to score Ben Orloff (0-0) from second base to give the Tri-City ValleyCats a 4-3 "walk-off" win over the Connecticut Tigers..." Full recap

Tonight's Pitching Matchups 6/18/10

New Britain Rock Cats (Carlos Gutierrez 2-5, 4.67)
vs. Reading Phillies (J.A. Happ 0-0, 15.43) @ 7:05pm

Akron Aeros (Nick Hagadone 1-0, 4.26)
vs. Portland Sea Dogs (Casey Kelly 1-3, 4.28) @ 7:05pm

Erie Seawolves (Ramon Garcia 0-3, 3.76)
vs. New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Bobby Bell 2-2, 3.20) @ 7:05pm

Columbus Clippers (Josh Tomlin 5-2, 2.95)
vs. Pawtucket Red Sox (Ramon A. Ramirez 1-1, 5.67) @ 7:05pm

MiLB Gameday Audio

A Day in Manch at "The Merch"

Northeast Delta Dental President/CEO Tom Raffio unveals the 2011 All Star logo

So last night the media was summoned to Merchantsauto.com Stadium for what the New Hampshire Fisher Cats were billing as a "major announcement" press conference. Sure enough they delivered the goods in announcing that they would once again host the Eastern League All Star Game on July 13, 2011. A remarkable feat in-and-of itself, seeing as they just hosted this very event back in 2008. That goes to show you what kind of organization we are dealing with here.

As I made the drive up to Manchester, I pondered what kind of "major announcement" lay ahead. It was a miserable drive with the traffic and the weather, which seemed to threaten any possibility of a game being played that night. When I arrived at the stadium there was a buzz in the press box as others were also wondering what the big word could be. Was a big name prospect coming to town or being called up? Could a major ex-player be joining the ranks of the front office? Everyone had their guesses, but I assure you that since it had only been three years since the Fisher Cats hosted the All Star Game, that no one expected that to be the reason why were gathered.

General Manager Rick Brenner kicked off the press conference, introducing all of the major guests in attendance including team owner Art Solomon, Eastern League President Joe McEacharn, Northeast Delta Dental President/CEO Tom Raffio, Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas and HR Concepts CEO/President Peter H. Jennings.

Raffio made the official announcement at the podium, unvealing the logo for the upcoming game. Northeast Delta Dental will once again serve as the primary sponsor of the All Star Game and Raffio enthusiastically stated, "We're thrilled that the All-Star Game will return to New Hampshire, and the large audience it draws will benefit Greater Manchester."

Team owner Art Solomon added that "It is an honor to be the destination for this prestigious event featuring the very best prospects in the Eastern League. It is a testament to the fine performance put on by the city, the front office and the fans in 2008 that the league has bestowed this honor upon us once again, and we look forward to creating more memories for everyone involved next July."

Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas added that Veterans Park downtown will once again play host to the block party that is held the night before the game. This free event will be hosted by HR Concepts and will include access to all of the players, as well as entertainment and games. Gatsas went on to add that, "We are proud that our fine city is the site for the 2011 Northeast Delta Dental Eastern League All-Star Game."

Tickets to the All Star Game are set to go on sale in August and we will surely keep you informed of that, and any other pertinent info, as we know it.

Fisher Cats GM Rick Brenner introduces Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas

After the big announcement, there was a game to be had. The previous storm clouds had rolled out of the region, the skies were clear and it was a perfect night for baseball. 5,437 fans were on hand to watch the Fisher Cats face off against the Akron Aeros for the final time this season. After a few slow innings to start the game, things heated up when the Fisher Cats plated runs in the bottom of the 3rd and 4th innings to take a 2-0 lead.

The lead was short-lived as Damaso Espino hit a two run homer, his second of the season, in the top half of the fifth inning to tie the game. Espino's home run was a lined shot that just cleared the wall in left field and landed in the "Den". Jason Kipnis doubled for the Aeros with one out and Lonnie Chisenhall (ranked as the 2nd best prospect in the Cleveland Indians organization) followed that up with a two run homer of his own, over the right field wall. Chisenhall's 6th home run of the season was a "no-doubter" as right field Adam Loewen took two steps back before realizing it was a worthless cause.

The Cats got back at it in the bottom of the 6th, thanks in large part to Aeros reliever Shane Lindsay, who hit a batter and walked 3 more, allowing the game to be tied at 4-4. Lindsay was consistantly gassing the ball in the high 90s, but seemed to lack the control to go along with it. Yet the Aeros made up for things in the very next half inning when they plated two more runs on a couple of singles and some throwing errors by New Hampshire.

With the game winding down, the wind seemed to be deflated from the Fisher Cats sails after they went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the seventh. But they had not yet begun to fight as a 5-run bottom of the 8th showed the faithful fans why it's best to stick around until the end. The inning was capped by a Manny Mayorson two run single with the bases loaded to tie the game and a Shawn Bowman monster three run blast that landed on top of the Sam Adams Bar and Grill in left field.

Tim Collins came on to shut the door in the 9th inning and quickly allowed back-to-back singles to start things. However, he beared down and struck out the next three batters to put the finishing touches on a great night all-around in Manchester.

Once again, Beyond Fenway had a fantastic time in Manchester and the Fisher Cats are always gracious hosts to everyone who walks through their gates. The usual cast of characters in their press box certainly makes things more fun (if that could be possible) at a ball game. I also met Brian from Bus Leagues Baseball, a great guy from a great blog (of where I stole "The Merch" from!), whom we will be linking to quite often from now on, please check them out when you have a chance.

A day like this shows why the game of baseball is always worth it and the New Hampshire Fisher Cats are a class-act orginization that I can't promote enough, so please get out there and support them...I know I will be doing so this Sunday when I take my dad and my father-in-law to their first game at Merchantsauto.com Stadium for what is sure to be another perfect day for baseball.

Last Night's Results 6/17/10

Harrisburg 3 Rock Cats 6
W: Chris Province (2-1)
L: Cole Kimball (1-1)
HR: HAR - Tim Pahuta (4)
NOTES ... Chris Province worked 3 flawless innings of relief for the win, striking out 5 Harrisburg batters along the way ... Harrisburg's Chris Marrero had multiple hits in all four games and went 9 for 20 in the series ... New Britain is 6 and 9 against Harrisburg this season, with three games still to be played ...
"The Rock Cats roared back in the bottom of the eighth to score four runs and Chris Province came out of the bullpen to fire three perfect innings in relief to down Harrisburg, 6-3 on Thursday night." Full recap

Columbus 0 Paw Sox 1
W: Robert Manuel (4-1)
L: Justin Germano(2-2)
NOTES ... Pawtucket OF Josh Reddick is 11 for 18 over his last six games ... In his last 10 appearances, PawSox reliever Robert Manuel has thrown 14.2 innings, allowing 0 earned runs, only 3 walks and he has stuck out 12 batters along the way ... Pawtucket 1B Lars Anderson is 0 for his last 28 at-bats and it batting .086 over his last 10 games ...
"Dusty Brown hadn't put the ball in play as he stepped up to the plate in the eleventh inning. The Pawtucket Red Sox' catcher struck out in his first four plate appearances, but all was forgotten at McCoy Stadium Thursday night after his game-winning single in the eleventh inning." Full recap

Akron 6 Fisher Cats 9
W: Adrian Martin (3-1)
L: Connor Graham (2-3)
S: Tim Collins (3)
HR: AKR - Damaso Espino(2), Lonnie Chisenall (6); NH - Shawn Bowman (11)
NOTES ... Fisher Cats 3B Shawn Bowman extended his hitting streak to 7 games ... Akron pitchers walked 10 New Hampshire batters and hit 1 ... New Hampshire reliever Tim Collins has not allowed a run in his last 6 appearances ..
"Shawn Bowman’s three-run homer gave the Fisher Cats a 9-6 win Thursday night, capping a day of excitement at Merchantsauto.com Stadium." Full recap

Erie 5 Sea Dogs 1
W: Brooks Brown (4-4)
L: Jeremy Kehrt (1-2)
HR: ERIE - Deik Scram (4)
NOTES ... Erie starter Brooks Brown threw 113 pitches for the first complete game of his professional career ... OF Deik Scram hit his first home run with Erie since April 23rd ... Sea Dogs SS Yamaico Navarro has hit safely in 5 straight games ...
"By the time players make it to Double-A, it doesn't matter where they came from. All they know is they are getting close to the majors." Full recap

Dusty Brown gets a walk-off single to beat the Clippers. (Photo by Ken Babbitt)