Sorry, our ISP crapped out last night.  With the extra time, the story on one game became very detailed.

---

Lehigh Valley won as Francisco Morales earned a win in his first Triple-A  appearance.  Reading blew a 5-run lead and lost.  Jersey Shore lost again.  At 11-22, they have a .333 winning percentage.  And, Clearwater split a doubleheader. They had a blow-out win and a 2-hit loss.  The Threshers are scheduled off tonight (local HS using the field for graduation).  So, only three games tonight.

---

Clearwater (20-14) split with the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, winning 10-5 and losing 2-0.

Game One: The Threshers won a sloppy rout of the Mussels.  Free passes, sloppy defensive plays, and questionable scorer’s decisions led to 4 of the Mussels’ 5 runs.

Eiberson Castellano (2.00) got the start and immediately found himself in trouble.  He deflected a comebacker by the Mussel’s leadoff hitter to second baseman Lee Hao Yu and had a runner on first base.  The next batter topped a pitch and sent a dribbler that died before third baseman Kendall Simmons could make a play and had two runners on base .  Castellano responded with a strikeout, a pop up ((this sequence included a passed ball or wild pitch), and an inning-ending strikeout.

Castellano’s second inning included trouble of his own creation when he nailed the second batter with a pitch with one out.  This batter returned the slight by stealing second and scoring on a two-out single to center.  Castellano recorded two more strikeouts in the inning.

More trouble of his own making in the third inning when Castellano issued a one-out walk.  A steal and a wild pitch moved the runner to third.  He walked home on a double to left.  After a strikeout, Castellano was removed from the game.

Castellano had thrown 63 pitches (42 strikes, %) in 2.2 innings.  He gave up 2 runs on 4 hits, a walk, and a hit batter.  He struck out five.  He also allowed 3 stolen bases.  The two runners who scored reached on a walk and a hit by pitch.

Fernando Lozano (2-0, 5.02) stranded an inherited runner in the third inning when he struck out the first batter he faced.  He had the Threshers’ only traditional 1-2-3 inning with 2 groundouts and an infield pop up in the fourth.

Then the baseball gods allowed a rookie-level game to break out.  The Mussels’ leadoff batter who already had an infield single and a stolen base hit a ball sharply to Erick Brito at short who took his time on the throw (you know, an extra look at the ball, an extra one or two crow hops) and saw the batter beat his strong throw.  Then the runner stole second.  A ground out to short allowed the runner to take third.  A walk brought the tying run to the plate.  A steal of second put two runners in scoring position with one out and removed the chance for an inning-ending double play.

Then it really got weird.  The next batter hit a ball sharply to Simmons who threw home when the runner broke on contact.  He was dead to rights and of course, got himself into a rundown.  Smart reaction as I’ve yet to see a rundown done correctly at this level.  Anyway, the action and scoring goes 5-2-6-1 with Lozano applying the tag.  Somehow the ball got loose and rolled to the backstop.  The runner on second had already taken third, but the batter had stopped after rounding first and only took second on the uncharged error when the ball came loose.

Not weird enough?  With two out, two runners in scoring position, and the tying run at the plate, Lozano induces an inning-ending pop up in front of home plate.  I mean almost directly in front, on the dirt, maybe a foot up the third baseline.  Well, the catcher Anthony Quirion, loses the ball immediately in the overhead sun.  He is clearly in distress as Lozano and first baseman Micah Yonamine close in.  Somebody calls out “I got it”, Quirion peels off out of the way, Yonamine stops, and Lozano short-arms the catch.  The result was an RBI, infield single to the first baseman (?), and runners on the corners.  One of the dumbest unwritten rules of baseball and scorer’s decisions is that a ball that isn’t touched isn’t scored an error.  Anyway, a fly ball to center ended the inning and preserved a 5-3 lead for the Threshers.

Lozano was finished.  he pitched 2.1 innings, stranded an inherited runner, gave up a run on 2 hits and a walk, and struck out one.  He allowed 2 stolen bases.

Okay, about the stolen bases.  None of the plays at the bases were close.  The runners got running starts as the pitchers hardly looked over.  Oh, a couple pickoffs were attempted, but on the steals, you could have inserted your favorite strong throwing catcher into the situation and he would not have gotten any of these robbers.

So, Konnor Ash (2.45) entered the game to pitch the final two innings.  He started with an infield single to Simmons who took his time on the throw ala Brito and saw the batter beat his strong throw.  Ash was fortunate that when he induced a foul pop up to Quirion that the runner thought to take advantage of the catcher’s back being to the field and his face being almost in the netting.  Quirion wheeled and threw the runner out at second, Lee making the tag.  Ash ended the sixth with a strikeout.

The Threshers had padded their lead in the bottom of the sixth, so a leadoff walk and HR didn’t matter much in the scoring although the scoring on GameDay is incomplete.  It doesn’t show the final out.  The rest of the inning went like this.  Strikeout, strikeout, first base coach ejected, hitting coach ejected, F8.

Ash’s line was two innings pitched, 2 runs on 2 hits and a walk, and 3 strikeouts.

The Threshers’ at bats were a little more normal.  They scored one run in the first inning when Yhoswar Garcia doubled with one out and scored on Lee Hao Yu’s RBI single.  They broke a tie in the second with a run on Quirion’s solo HR (3) with two out.  They broke another tie in the third with 3 runs.  After Lee worked a one-out walk and Jadiel Sanchez singled to put runners on the corners, Simmons drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI single.  With two out and the bases loaded following Quirion getting hit by a pitch, Micah Yonamine stroked a two-run single to pad the lead.

After all the shenanigans in the top of the fifth, the Threshers put the game away with 5 runs in their half of the inning.  Simmons reached on an error by the shortstop.  Simmons took second on the play and the scorer, who hadn’t been able to charge the Threshers with a single error in the game found it necessary to assign two errors to the SS one on a bobble and one for the throw.  Plausible, but come on, the Threshers missed a pop up in front of home plate!  Anyway, Quirion was hit by a pitch again and Yonamine walked to load the bases with one out.  Erick Brito came through with a two-run single and Garcia launched an RBI, ground-rule double to left-center.

And then, the Mussels’ pitcher wild pitched both runners home.  He nailed the umpire in the air and the ball ricocheted to the netting behind the plate.  The catcher casually retrieved the ball and the pitcher walked in but stayed on the infield grass.  No one bothered to cover home plate as not only did Brito score, but Garcia who was running at full speed from the get-go, also scored without a play at the plate.

At this point, my friend Steve said that this should really piss off the Mussels and I responded that this was likely the prelude to a shutout in the second game.  Well, no more batters were hit, but there was a shutout.

Garcia (.221) went 2-4 with 2 runs scored, a double, RBI and a stolen base (24).  Yonamine (.200) went 2-2 with a run scored, walk, and 2 RBI.  Brito (.241) went 2-3 with a run scored and 2 RBI.  Lee was picked off first base.

---

Game Two: This was a makeup game from the Threshers’ road trip to Fort Myers, so the Mussels batted as the home team.

Gabriel Cotto (3.96) pitched well.  He went five innings and held the Mussels to 2 runs on 3 hits and a walk while striking out eight.  His only two mistakes were an errant pickoff throw that didn’t matter and a 2-run HR that did matter.  Tommy McCollum (2.35) tossed one inning walking one and striking out one.

Cotto also did better holding runners.  The steal happy Mussels were thrown out by Arturo  De Freitas on the two occasions they attempted to pilfer a base.

My prediction of a shutout came true when the Threshers could manage just 2 hits and a walk and only had one at bat with a RISP.

---

Lehigh Valley (21-17) beat the Rochester Red Wings, 3-1.

Cristopher Sanchez (3.00) pitched four no-hit, scoreless inning allowing one walk and striking out four.  Francisco Morales (1-0, 0.00) pitched two scoreless innings allowing a hit, walking two, hitting a batter, and striking out two.  Jonathan Hennigan (3.32) pitched one inning and gave up a run on 2 hits and a walk.  Nick Duron (2.51) pitched one scoreless inning allowing one hit and a walk.  Mark Appel (2.08) earned his second save pitching a scoreless inning allowing one hit and a walk.

The IronPigs scored three runs in the third inning on a 3-run HR (13) by Darick Hall.  Nick Maton had 2 of the team’s 7 hits going 2-4 with a double.  John Andreoli went 1-1 with a run scored, 3 walks, and 2 stolen bases.

---

Reading (16-19) lost to the Somerset Patriots, 7-6.

The Fightin’ Phils provided an early lead that the pitchers couldn’t maintain.  Bubby Rossman (4.34) pitched two shutout innings allowing a walk and striking out two.  Jack Perkins (8.88) was the main culprit.  He pitched three innings and gave up 5 runs on 8 hits and a walk.  Matt Seelinger (1.31) blew the save allowing a game-tying solo HR in two innings.  And, Ofreidy Gomez (1-1, 1.50) took the loss in his one inning, loading the bases with a single, walk, and hit batter before allowing the winning run to score.

The Phils scored four runs in the first inning on an RBI single by Aldrem Corredor and a 3-run double by Jack Conley.  They added a run in the third on an RBI single by Vito Friscia.  And, later added a run on a solo HR (6) by Logan O’Hoppe.  O’Hoppe had 2 of the team’s 7 hits going 2-4 with 2 runs scored, a HR, and an RBI.

---

Jersey Shore (11-22) lost to the Wilmington Blue Rocks, 6-2.

Griff McGarry (0-2, 6.91) threw 72 pitches (37 strikes, 51.4%) in three-plus innings, he loaded the bases in the fourth with nobody out.  He was touched for 6 runs on 4 hits and 4 walks and struck out five.  Ethan Lindow relieved and stranded two of the three inherited runners.  He pitched two innings allowed no other runs, one hit, one hit batter, and struck out four.  Andrew Baker (5.73) pitched one clean inning and struck out two.  Aidan Anderson (0.00) pitched two innings allowing one hit.

The BlueClaws scored first in the second inning on an RBI single by Karl Ellison.  They scored a run in the fourth on another RBI single by Ellison.  The BlueClaws collected 5 hits.  Ellison went 2-4 with 2 RBI.

---

The Affiliate Scoreboard

---

Rosters and Stuff

• organization’s rosters (5/18/2022)
• organization’s injury list (5/18/2022)
• organization’s Rule 5 eligibility (5/18/2022) (includes player info, assignments, …)

---

Transactions

5/18/2022 – Lehigh Valley activated RHP Aaron Barrett
5/18/2022 – Threshers transferred RHP Micah Ottenbreit from the 7- to the 60-day IL
5/18/2022 – SS Albert Jerez assigned to FCL Phillies from Clearwater
5/18/2022 – OF Leandro Pineda assigned to Clearwater from FCL Phillies
5/17/2022 – Phillies activated RHP Zach Eflin from the 10-day IL