Pitching Matchup; Game of the Day 8/15/11

7:05pm
Pawtucket Red Sox (Brandon Duckworth 8-6, 3.94)
vs. Gwinnett Braves (Erik Cordier 4-8, 5.35)

Game of the Day – Red Sox vs. Braves – Now this was a toughy given all of the great options out there today, but I’m thinking even if any other local teams were playing that we’d still go with this one as things are getting hot and heavy in the I.L. North race. The PawSox (69-52) still maintain a ½ game lead over Lehigh Valley thanks to some well placed rain over the weekend that forced the IronPigs (69-53) to suspend two different games. Brandon Duckworth will look to follow up Matt Fox’s gem from yesterday and help the PawSox take 3 of 4 from Gwinnett. He has not factored into a decision in his last two starts after rattling off four straight wins. Tonight will be Duckworth’s 21st start of the year and first against the Braves. Gwinnett throw Erik Cordier at the PawSox bats, in hopes of splitting the four game set. In his last six starts he has a 2-3 record and has allowed 20 runs and 23 walks, but in the one game where he didn’t get a decision he allowed only one hit over six innings versus Norfolk, but also allowed 5 walks in the process. Since the All-Star break Cordier is 1-3 with a 7.53 ERA and he has a 17/19 strikeout-to-walk ratio…Pawtucket is 5-2 on their current road trip which wraps up tonight. They return to McCoy Stadium on Tuesday night to start a four game series against the Columbus Clippers (77-45) who own the best record in the International League. Pawtucket has 21 games remaining in the regular season, 12 of which will be played at McCoy.

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Pitching Matchups; Game of the Day 8/14/11

1:00pm
Erie Seawolves (Casey Crosby 7-5, 3.84)
vs. Portland Sea Dogs (Charlie Haeger 2-0, 3.71)

1:05pm
Lowell Spinners (Jason Garcia 3-2, 4.34)
vs. Jamestown Jammers (Jose Urena 4-5, 4.37)

Vermont Lake Monsters (Seth Frankoff 3-3, 3.40)
vs. Batavia Muckdogs (Corey Baker 3-1, 3.94)

1:35pm
Akron Aeros (Matt Packer 5-11, 4.61)
vs. New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Joel Carreno 7-9, 3.52)

2:05pm
Pawtucket Red Sox (Matt Fox 7-4, 4.55)
vs. Gwinnett Braves (Erik Cordier 4-8, 5.35)

4:05pm
New Britain Rock Cats (Andrew Albers 3-1, 4.24) GAME 1
vs. Bowie Baysox (Tim Bascom 8-2, 3.19)

New Britain Rock Cats (Matt Schuld 0-2, 8.18) GAME 2
vs. Bowie Baysox (N/A)

6:05pm
Connecticut Tigers (Luis Angel Sanz 5-3, 3.36)
vs. State College Spikes (Michael Jefferson 2-1, 4.71)

Game of the Day – Spinners vs. Jammers – They are eleven games under .500 with the third worst record in the New York-Penn League, yet the Lowell Spinners (22-33) the slighest glimmer of hope remains as they are only 6 games back in the Stedler Division with twenty to play. Sure it seems like a monumental task, but it’s something worth looking at in the ever-unstable Stedler, where things should come down to the final out of the regular season. The Jamestown Jammers (29-27) are in a similar situation in the Pinckney Division, although they are on the positive side of .500 and sit only 4 games back. The Spinners have 18-year-old Jason Garcia on the hill in their last game before the All Star break. Today will be the youngster’s tenth start of the season and he will be looking to get back on track after a couple of stinkers over his last three outings. Garcia fired a decent five innings against State College back on July 30th, but he sandwiched that performance with two stale outings where he lasted only 1 2/3 innings in both and allowed a total of 11 earned runs. Garcia’s last win came on July 19th against Vermont. He will be opposed by 19-year-old righty Jose Urena who gets his twelfth start of the season today. He is coming off of back-to-back losses against Tri-City and Connecticut. Urena’s 55 2/3 innings pitched is seventh most in the league and his 23 walks are tied for fifth most…Lowell is 3-9 for the month of August, Jamestown is 5-8…This is the only series that these two teams play against each other this year and today will be the rubber match after these two squads split the first two of the set…Jamestown catcher, and one of my favorite first names in all of baseball, Jobduan Morales is sixth in the league in batting average (.311), eighth in doubles (10), second in triples (5), tenth in runs (28) and eleventh in walks (24)…Spinners outfielder Seth Schwindenhammer has only 36 hits on the season, but 17 have been for extra bases. Also, “The Hammer” has advanced to Round Three of the Minors Moniker Madness tournament, so be sure to keep voting to move him on to the Quarterfinals…The Lowell Spinners will host the NYPL All-Star Game on Tuesday night at LeLachuer Park and select tickets are still available.

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Pitching Matchups; Game of the Day 8/13/11

6:00pm
Erie Seawolves (Brooks Brown 2-7, 6.23)
vs. Portland Sea Dogs (Alex Wilson 9-4, 2.93)

6:35pm
New Britain Rock Cats (Bobby Lanigan 6-9, 4.82)
vs. Bowie Baysox (Mike Ballard 7-1, 3.24)

7:05pm
Pawtucket Red Sox (Kyle Weiland 8-7, 3.23)
vs. Gwinnett Braves (Todd Redmond 8-8, 2.91)

Akron Aeros (Austin Adams 9-8, 3.81)
vs. New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Yohan Pino 2-6, 4.67)

Vermont Lake Monsters (Brent Powers 2-2, 4.01)
vs. Batavia Muckdogs (Jonathan Cornelius 1-2, 2.85)

Connecticut Tigers (Thomas Collier 1-1, 3.00)
vs. State College Spikes (Ryan Hafner 2-3, 2.74)

Lowell Spinners (Madison Younginer 1-3, 4.57)
vs. Jamestown Jammers (Josh Hodges 5-1, 3.82)

Game of the Day – Rock Cats vs. Baysox - Things looked bleak for the Rock Cats (58-60) playoff hopes only one short week ago, but with Reading and Trenton slipping away, New Britain now finds themselves only one game back of the second playoff spot out of the Eastern Division. They can also play the spoiler role if they continue to take care of the Baysox (66-52) who sit only a ½ game back of Harrisburg in the Western Division. Needless to say, this whole playoff thing should come down to the final pitch of the season, yet tonight could go a long way in seeing who has what it takes to get there in the end. Bobby Lanigan will look to keep the Cats hunting in his 23rd start of the season. This will be his seventh road start over his last ten outings. Over his last three starts Lanigan has allowed 17 runs and 29 hits over 13 1/3 innings. Mike Ballard will be looking to help Bowie climb back to the top of the Western Division in his 12th start with the Baysox. This will be his sixth straight start at the friendly confines of Prince George’s Stadium and he has gone 3-1 in the prior five. Ballard struck out 10 New Hampshire Fisher Cats in his last outing and has 85 Ks in 77 2/3 innings with Bowie this year…These two teams have split the season series to date with five wins apiece and three games left to play. They wrap up the series with a doubleheader tomorrow…Bowie second baseman Greg Miclat is second in the E.L. with 48 stolen bases and has only been caught twice. Bowie leads the league with 146 stolen bases…New Britain pitchers have a team ERA of 4.94 and WHIP of 1.50, both the highest numbers in the league…Rock Cats shortstop Brian Dozier has hit safely in 11 straight games.

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Pitching Matchups; Game of the Day 8/12/11

7:00pm
Erie Seawolves (L.J. Gagnier 3-5, 5.35)
vs. Portland Sea Dogs (Miguel Gonzalez 0-3, 5.92)

7:05pm
Pawtucket Red Sox (Tony Pena Jr. 8-5, 3.63)
vs. Gwinnett Braves (Julio Teheran 12-2, 2.16)

Akron Aeros (Steven Wright 1-1, 4.09)
vs. New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Nestor Molina NR)

New Britain Rock Cats (N/A)
vs. Bowie Baysox (N/A)

Vermont Lake Monsters (Kurt Wunderlich 1-4, 7.20)
vs. Batavia Muckdogs (Hector Hernandez 0-1, 3.38)

Connecticut Tigers (Matt Crouse 2-1, 3.86)
vs. State College Spikes (Matt Benedict 2-3, 5.44)

Lowell Spinners (Luis Diaz 3-2, 3.35)
vs. Jamestown Jammers (Matthew Neil 1-3, 3.66)

Game of the Day – Red Sox vs. Braves – The PawSox finally sit alone atop the I.L. North, but will be faced with a tough test as they head to Gwinnett County, Georgia to face off against the Braves for four games. Gwinnett (65-53) are in the thick of the playoff race, sitting only two games back of Durham in the South and a half game back of Lehigh Valley in the Wild Card. This series has the potential to showcase a future playoff series and both teams start the set with some solid pitching. Tony Pena Jr. has been “under-the-radar” solid this year for the PawSox in both relief and starting roles. Tonight he gets his tenth start of the season on the heels of one his best outings. Last Saturday Pena stifled the Buffalo bats, scattering 6 hits over 7 innings and allowed only one earned run. Pena picked up a loss in a relief appearance against the Braves back on May 10th, but he only allowed 1 earned run in 2 1/3 innings. The Braves counter with Julio Teheran, who should breeze to the I.L. Pitcher of the Year honors at this point. This will be his 21st start with Gwinnett in ’11 as he attempts to rebound from only his second loss of the season in his last outing (and first since May). He didn’t factor in the decision when he tossed 7 2/3 against the PawSox back on May 12th in a game that was decided in 15 innings. Teheran currently leads the I.L. in wins (12) and ERA (2.16), and is second in WHIP (1.11) and eighth in strikeouts (104)…The Braves took 3 of 4 against the PawSox at McCoy in May…Gwinnett’s Stefan Gartrell (24) and Mauro Gomez (19) rank second and fifth in the I.L. in home runs…Lars Anderson has hit safely in seven straight games.

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Pitching Matchups 8/11/11

12:00pm
Akron Aeros (T.J. McFarland 8-6, 3.86)
vs. Portland Sea Dogs (Chris Balcom-Miller 2-5, 4.82)

7:05pm
Erie Seawolves (Drew Smyly 2-0, 0.00)
vs. New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Chad Jenkins 4-4, 4.17)

Altoona Curve (Kyle McPherson 6-3, 2.84)
vs. New Britain Rock Cats (Blake Martin 1-4, 5.40)

Jamestown Jammers (Daniel Oliver 1-1, 4.02)
vs. Connecticut Tigers (Brennan Smith 1-3, 2.38)

Vermont Lake Monsters (Drew Granier 0-1, 1.80)
vs. Auburn Doubledays (Manny Rodriguez 2-2, 4.15

Lowell Spinners (Tyler Wilson 2-3, 3.62)
vs. Hudson Valley Renegades (N/A)

7:15pm
Pawtucket Red Sox (Tony Pena 8-5, 3.63)
vs. Charlotte Knights (Doug Davis 1-2, 2.63)

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Pitching Matchups; Game of the Day 8/10/11

12:05pm
Erie Seawolves (Jay Voss 7-5, 3.59)
vs. New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Dustin McGowan NR)

4:35pm
Altoona Curve (Jeff Locke 6-8, 4.22) GAME 1
vs. New Britain Rock Cats (David Bromberg 1-1, 3.86)

Altoona Curve (Michael Colla 4-8, 3.81) GAME 2
vs. New Britain Rock Cats (Blake Martin 1-4, 5.40)

5:05pm
Jamestown Jammers (Jose Urena 4-4, 3.66) GAME 1
vs. Connecticut Tigers (Wilsen Palacios 2-3, 4.81)

Jamestown Jammers (Helpi Reyes 0-4, 3.69) GAME 2
vs. Connecticut Tigers (N/A)

6:05pm
Vermont Lake Monsters (J.C. Menna 2-4, 5.09) GAME 1
vs. Auburn Doubledays (Christian Meza 1-1, 7.71)

Vermont Lake Monsters (Tyler Vail 1-3, 2.96) GAME 2
vs. Auburn Doubledays (Wirkin Estevez 3-3, 4.19)

7:00pm
Akron Aeros (Paolo Espino 5-0, 2.61)
vs. Portland Sea Dogs (Brock Huntzinger 5-9, 6.63)

7:05pm
Lowell Spinners (Jason Garcia 3-2, 4.34)
vs. Hudson Valley Renegades (N/A)

7:15pm
Pawtucket Red Sox (Brandon Duckworth 8-6, 3.76)
vs. Charlotte Knights (Dylan Axelrod 3-1, 2.41)

Game of the Day - Aeros vs. Sea Dogs - The rain has been wreaking havoc lately, leading to numerous postponements and of course the eventual doubleheader makeups. Today is our busiest schedule of the season, with three doubleheaders hoping to be played, yet we're sticking with the one game being played out in Akron as the Portland Sea Dogs continue their fight to not be the worst team in the Eastern League...and maybe play a bit of the spoiler role along the way. The Sea Dogs (49-66) are a game and half up on last place Binghamton (48-68) in the Eastern Division, while Akron (60-56) is in fourth place and 5 games back in the Western Division. Brock Huntzinger goes for the Dogs tonight in his twenty-first start of the season. He hasn't notched a victory since June 6th and in the five starts since his last win, he has only one quality start which came in his outing last Thursday in Bowie. In that game, Huntzinger went 6 innings and allowed only 2 earned runs and 3 hits and struck out nine batters. He will be opposed by Paolo Espino who has yet to notch a loss with the Aeros this season. This will only be his fifth start for Akron, but he has appeared out of the pen an additional seventeen times. One of those times was against Portland back on June 18th when Espino shut down the Dogs over 5 innings for the win...The Sea Dogs are 3-1 against Akron this season with two game left to play in the season series...Akron pitchers have allowed a league-low 63 home runs on the season, Portland pitching has allowed 100, the second most.

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Pitching Matchups; Game of the Day 8/9/11

12:15pm
Pawtucket Red Sox (Matt Fox 6-4, 4.73)
vs. Charlotte Knights (N/A)
The completion of Monday’s suspended game will be played prior to the regularly scheduled game. The PawSox lead in that game 2-1 going into the 3rd inning.

7:00pm
Akron Aeros (Matt Packer 5-10, 4.38)
vs. Portland Sea Dogs (Charlie Haeger 1-0, 4.50)

7:05pm
Erie Seawolves (Casey Crosby 6-5, 4.08)
vs. New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Joel Carreno 7-8, 3.48)

Altoona Curve (Jeff Locke 6-8, 4.22)
vs. New Britain Rock Cats (David Bromberg 1-1, 3.86)

Vermont Lake Monsters (J.C. Menna 2-4, 5.09)
vs. Auburn Doubledays (Christian Meza 1-1. 7.71)

Jamestown Jammers (Jose Urena 4-4, 3.66)
vs. Connecticut Tigers (Wilsen Palacios 2-3, 4.81)

Lowell Spinners (Luis Diaz 3-2, 3.35)
vs. Hudson Valley Renegades (N/A)

Game of the Day – Vermont vs. Auburn – Two first place teams lock up for three games at Centennial Field when the Lake Monsters welcome Pinckney Division leaders Auburn to town. The Doubledays (30-21) are currently hemmed up with Mahoning Valley atop their division, with both teams sporting identical records. The Lake Monsters (25-25) are trying to keep their heads above .500, but thankfully they have a cushion of 3 games over Connecticut in the Stedler. Expect ample runs to be scored tonight as both teams throw starters with ERAs north of 5 to the hill. The Doubledays have Christian Meza going in his seventh start of the season. Meza has allowed 22 earned runs in 25 2/3 innings. Tonight’s start will be Meza’s first on the road this year. Lake Monsters’ starter J.C. Menna started the season 2-0 but has since dropped four games over his last six starts and hasn’t won since June 30th. Menna has walked 17 batters over his last 20 2/3 innings. This series should be a nice test for the Lake Monsters who want to prove their playoff mettle despite their mediocre record…Vermont SS Chih Fang Pan and C Nick Rickles both currently have seven game hit streaks going…Auburn has scored 284 runs and their team OPS is .746, both tops in the NYPL.

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