Games 2 and 3 - Blue Jays at White Sox

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The game last night was "rained" out when a busted irrigation valve caused the dirt by first base to get really mushy. Well it's much better today and we are set for a doubleheader of two seven-inning games starting at 6:00.

BLUE JAYS (1-0)

GAME ONE

1 Dickie Joe Thon SS

2 Christian Lopes 2B

3 Santiago Nessy C
4 Art Charles 1B
5 Jacob Anderson RF

6 Carlos Ramirez CF
7 Matt Dean 3B

8 Jason Leblebijian DH

9 Nico Taylor LF

RHP Kevin Comer (Pro Debut)
LHP Deivy Estrada (3-5, 5.50 in 2011 w/GCL Jays and Bluefield) will piggyback out of the pen

GAME TWO

 1 Alex Azor LF

2 Jason Leblebijian SS

3 Jacob Anderson RF
4 Art Charles 1B
5 Carlos Ramirez CF

6 Eric Arce DH
7 Chris Peters 3B

8 Christian Frias 2B

9 Hector Alvarez C

RHP Tom Robson (Pro Debut) will start the second game

WHITE SOX (0-1)

GAME ONE

1 Joey DeMichele 2B

2 Joe DePinto 3B
3 Keon Barnum 1B

4 Cory Farris RF

5 Nick Basto SS

6 Jose Barraza C

7 Zachary Stoner DH

8 Juan Ramirez CF

9 Kale Kiser LF

LHP Jefferson Olacio (1-5, 5.35 in 15 G for low-A Kannapolis)

GAME TWO

1 Jake Brown SS

2 Eric Grabe 2B
3 Courtney Hawkins CF

4 Andy Williams 1B

5 Keon Barnum DH

6 Jeremy Dowdy C

7 Corey Thompson 3B

8 Juan Ramirez CF

9 Dustin Hayes LF

LHP Jose Bautista will start the second game.

FIRST-PITCH TIME: 6:00 P.M.

BROADCAST INFO: Listen live right here for Blue Jays pregame at 5:45

WEATHER: Is this Bristol or the surface of the sun?

UMPIRES: Andy Glenn PLATE Jordan Albarado FIELD (They'll switch places for game two)

ABOUT LAST NIGHT...: There was an odd postponement last night in Bristol. A problem with the irrigation system under the playing surface at Boyce Cox Field caused the game to be pushed back to a twinbill tonight. The Jays only played one doubleheader in 2011, a July 26 twinbill at home against rival Princeton. They split to keep the season set even at 4-4 before Bluefield won three straight to reclaim the Mercer Cup. If they take both games today, Bluefield will earn their first sweep at Bristol since August 25-27, 2006.

ABOUT OPENING NIGHT: The Blue Jays had everything going in Tuesday night’s opener. Joe Musgrove and Daniel Norris both turned in four spectacular innings on the mound and the offense rapped out 12 hits as Bluefield beat Bristol 7-2. Musgrove started and retired the first nine batters of the game before allowing a run on two singles and a double-play grounder in the fourth inning. Norris piggybacked on Musgrove’s start and made his pro debut in the fifth. With many family and friends in attendance from his nearby hometown of Johnson City, TN, the lefty set down all 12 batters he faced, striking out five to record the victory in relief. At the plate, Bluefield jumped on White Sox starter Jake Cose quickly. Alex Azor led off the game with a single and Christian Lopes followed with a two-run homer in his first pro at bat. The Baby Birds expanded the lead to 6-0 in the third on a Chris Peters bases-loaded walk and Dickie Thon’s three-run double. Altogether, The Jays got hits from eight of their nine starters, including two-hit games from Santiago Nessy, Carlos Ramirez and Art Charles, who knocked a double and a triple.

VS. THE WHITE SOX: These inter-division rivals split the six-game season series in 2011 with the home team winning two out of three in both sets. The Baby Birds hosted Bristol from June 27-29 and won two of three. It was a series of comebacks, some unfulfilled. Bluefield nearly blew a 10-0 lead in the opener, but hung on to win 10-6. The middle game saw an 8-0 Jays comeback fall short 8-7. Art Charles made an error in the ninth inning of the rubber game that put Bristol ahead, but in the bottom of the ninth, he launched a walk-off three-run homer to win it 9-7. The two clubs played in Tennessee rom July 12-14. Bluefield won the first game 3-2, but the White Sox bounced back to win 9-6 and 5-4. Bluefield played the White Sox in the 2002 Appy League Championship Series, with Bristol beating the then-Baltimore affiliate two games to one.

TOP PROSPECTS: There are an astounding nine Bluefield Blue Jays listed on Baseball America’s Top 30 Blue Jays rankings. The complete list of Bluefielders is as follows: LHP Daniel Norris (4th), 3B Matt Dean (11th), OF Dwight Smith Jr. (16th), RHP Kevin Comer (17th), RHP Joe Musgrove (20th), OF Jacob Anderson (21st), SS Dickie Joe Thon (27th), 2B Christian Lopes (29th) and RHP Roberto Osuna (30th).

ALL IN THE FAMILY: There are four Blue Jays with family ties to the major leagues. SS Dickie Joe Thon’s father Dickie played 15 years at short, mostly for the Astros. OF Dwight Smith Jr. is the son of the former Cubs outfielder, who finished second to teammate Jerome Walton in the 1989 NL Rookie of the Year voting and later won a championship with the Braves in 1995. RHP Brandon Dorsett’s father Brian spent parts of eight seasons catching in the bigs for six teams. RHP Roberto Osuna’s uncle Antonio relieved for 11 years in the majors, mostly with the Dodgers.

TONIGHT's STARTING PITCHERS

RHP KEVIN COMER: Baseball America’s 17th-ranked Blue Jays prospect gets the ball to start tonight’s opener. Kevin was a supplemental first-round pick (57th overall) in 2011 after Miguel Olivo signed with Seattle. After the Shamong, NJ native pitched his Seneca HS team to the Group 3 state championship, the Blue Jays bought Comer out of his commitment to Vanderbilt with a $1.65 million signing bonus. Baseball America says the right-hander has “a clean arm action and delivery, and he gets good angle to his pitches.” The publication adds that he has a “live fastball that generally sits around (91-93).” He also throws a curve that “some scouts think will be a plus pitch in time.”

LHP DEIVY ESTRADA: A native of Valencia, Venezuela, this lefty makes his first appearance of the season in his return to Bluefield by piggybacking on Comer’s start. He potsed a 2.25 ERA in the GCL, but he had an ERA of 6.94 in Bluefield upon his promotion. He did contirbute the clinching victory in the Mercer Cup in 2011, turning in five shutout innings on August 10. He allowed only four hits, striking out six without walking a man. He took a tough loss in the final game of the Appy League Championship Series when he gave up one earned run in five innings, but was charged with the defeat. He spent the 2010 season in the GCL and was in the DSL in 2009 when he K’d more than one batter per inning (48 in 44 IP).


RHP TOM ROBSON:  Seven days shy of his 19th birthday, Canadian righty Tom Robson will start the nightcap. The native of Delta, British Columbia was chosen in the fourth round of last year’s draft. In 2011 he was ranked by Baseball America as the 72nd-best high-school prospect during his senior year at Delta Secondary School.

 
LHP JEFFERSON OLACIO: The 18-year old southpaw makes his first start for Bristol after beginning the season with low-A Kannapolis. Hailing from Santo Domingo in the Domincan Republic, Olacio posted a 1.61 ERA in the bullpen for the Intimidators while striking out 24 in 22.1 innings. But since moving into the rotation in late May, he was rocked in five starts (11.05 ERA). A towering presence on the mound at six-foot-seven, Jefferson debuted in the Dominican Summer League in 2011, going 3-5 with a 5.50 ERA in 11 starts. So far in his pro career, he’s had a lot of trouble finding the plate as he’s averaged 7.7 walks per nine innings. Still, Baseball America has him ranked 15th among White Sox prospects.


LHP JOSE BAUTISTA (a different Jose Bautista): This southpaw has gone 3-5 with a 2.96 ERA in 30 games (19 starts) over three seasons in the Dominican Summer League. Like Olacio, Jose is from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. Last year for the DSL White Sox, he went 0-3 with a 3.14 in 12 games (11 starts), striking out 59 in 51.2 innings.

Pregame Audio: Tuesday night's winner Daniel Norris



Game Notes below:

Bluefield Blue Jays Game Notes 6-21

After trying it in the opener, I've decided to scrap the live updating on this site during the game. Instead, the frequent mid-game updates will be on the team Twitter account right here at @BluefieldJays