Game 20 (Take Two): Bluefield Blue Jays at Pulaski Mariners

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BLUE JAYS (7-12)

1 Dwight Smith Jr. CF

2 Dickie Joe Thon SS

3 Santiago Nessy C

4 Art Charles 1B

5 Christian Lopes 2B

6 Eric Arce LF

7 Matt Dean 3B

8 Nico Taylor RF

9 Jacob Anderson DH

LHP Deivy Estrada (1-1, 5.79)

MARINERS (10-10)

1 Brock Hebert SS

2 Martin Peguero 2B

3 Jordy Lara 1B

4 Reggie Lawson RF

5 Tyler Marlette C

6 Phillips Castillo DH
7 Gilmer Lampe LF

8 Richard Palase CF

9 Bryan Brito 3B

RHP Charles Kaalekahi (1-0, 2.57)

FIRST-PITCH TIME: 7:00 P.M.

BROADCAST INFO: Listen live right here for Blue Jays pregame at 6:50. The games are also carried on local radio on WKEZ 1240 AM The Rooster Classic Country

WEATHER: Overcast and 72 degrees with a chance of rain.

UMPIRES: PLATE Morgan Day  FIELD Travis Godec

ABOUT LAST NIGHT...: The Jays and Royals were just starting the finale of their three-game series in Burlington on Monday night when the rumble of thunder and a bolt of lightning sent players and umpires scurrying off the field. The game was delayed as a massive storm hit Burlington Athletic Stadium. The contest was eventually suspended in the bottom of the first inning with Bluefield ahead 1-0. Since it is the last game between the two clubs in North Carolina, the game will be picked up right where it left off when the Royals visit Bowen Field on August 10. At the conclusion of the completed game, they’ll play the regularly scheduled game to begin the three-game set. The Jays struck quickly in the suspended game against lefty starter Patrick Conroy. Chris Peters knocked a one-out single, Art Charles drew a two-out walk and Christian Lopes drove in Peters with a double to put the visitors on the board. The Royals threatened against Daniel Norris before the storm hit. Terrance Gore singled, stole second and moved to third on Humberto Arteaga’s single. So Bubba Starling is set to bat with runners at the corners and no outs in the bottom of the first inning trailing 1-0 when the game resumes next month.

VS. THE MARINERS: The Blue Jays and Mariners opened the month of July with a rain-shortened two-game split at Bowen Field. The Mariners were down to their final strike in the July 1 contest trailing 3-2, but Brock Hebert and Martin Peguero stroked RBI singles off Colby Broussard to give the M’s the shocking win. The Jays responded the next night with a thrilling 2-1 victory. Jorge Vega-Rosado and Seth Conner had RBI singles, but it was the stellar pitching of Jeremy Gabryszwski (4 IP, 0 R, 3 H), Roberto Osuna (3 IP, 1 R, 3 H) and Julio Carmona (six-out save) that won the day. The July 3 rubber game was rained out and will be made up as part of a doubleheader when the M’s come back to Bowen Field on August 20. Bluefield won the 2011 season series against the Mariners 6-3, including wins in the final four head-to-head contests. Pulaski won two of three at home from July 21-23, taking the rubber game on Bryan Brito’s walk-off single in the tenth. From August 12-14, the Jays evened the season set by winning another road series. The final three games were at Bowen Field from August 19-21, with the Jays taking all of them by a combined score of 27-11.

- TONIGHT’S PITCHING PROBABLES - 

LHP DEIVY ESTRADA:  A native of Valencia, Venezuela, lefty Deivy Estrada is coming off a solid outing at home against Danville on Thursday. He held the hot-hitting Braves to one earned run on five hits in five innings. He left in a tie game and the Braves rallied against the bullpen to win 8-6. Estrada potsed a 2.25 ERA in the GCL in 2011, but he had an ERA of 6.94 in Bluefield upon his promotion. He did contribute the clinching victory in the Mercer Cup last year, 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 CHARLES KAALEKAHI: Right-hander Charles Kaalekahi makes his fifth start of 2012 for the Mariners. He’s begun the season well, pitching to a 2.57 ERA and at one point running up a streak of 14 innings without allowing an earned run. He last pitched on Thursday against Princeton. He gave up three runs on six hits in six innings to take a no decision in an eventual Pulaski walk-off win. Drafted in the 15th round in 2010 out of Campbell High School in his native Ewa Beach, Hawaii, the 20-year-old spent the last two seasons in the Arizona League, totaling 74 innings and a 5.23 ERA.

DÉJÀ VU: Sunday’s loss was the second night in a row and the third in eight days that the Jays lost a game in which they had the lead with two outs and two strikes in the ninth. The Jays were also a strike away from a win on Sunday at home against Pulaski before the Mariners rallied off Colby Broussard to win in shocking fashion.

MONSTER COMEBACK: Catcher Santiago Nessy homered again on Sunday. It was his second straight game with a homer and his third in four games since coming off the disabled list on July 4th. In four contests after missing ten games with a hamstring injury, he’s 5-for-16 (.313) with a run batted in in each game (seven total).

EIGHT IS ENOUGH: Right fielder Nico Taylor went 0-for-4 with three groundouts and a flyout on Sunday, snapping his eight-game hitting streak. It was the Jays’ longest hitting streak of the season so far, one game longer than that of Carlos Ramirez, who was called up to Short Season-A Vancouver and replaced by Taylor as the regular right fielder. Taylor had been on an 11-for-25 tear (.444) prior to last night’s 0-fer.

ONE-DAY ALL-STAR BREAK: Tuesday was an off day throughout the minor leagues as the MLB All-Star Game in Kansas City took center stage. For the second straight year, Toronto’s Jose Bautista started in right field and batted cleanup for the American League in the All-Star Game. Last night, the N.L. thumped the Junior Circuit 8-0 to win the Midsummer Classic for the third consecutive season. Bautista struck out swinging against Matt Cain to end the first inning and in the fourth he drew a walk against Stephen Strasburg. After playing the first five innings in right field, Bautista was replaced by Mark Trumbo of the Angels.

NIGHTLY ART CHARLES ON BASE STREAK UPDATE: Art Charles walked and hit what would have been the game-winning double last night, extending his on-base streak to 19 games, spanning every Blue Jays game this season. He’s the only Appy Leaguer to reach in every game so far in 2012. Art’s on-base streak dating back to last season is up to 27. The day before he began that streak on August 23, 2011, he had just had a 15-gamer snapped, so the Bakersfield native has reached in 42 of his last 43 games. His .444 on base percentage is the third-best in the league, in part because his 21 walks also lead the loop. He’s tied for fifth in the league in home runs with four.

Bluefield Blue Jays Game Notes 7-11

Check out the @BluefieldJays Twitter page for mid-game updates