METS (21-39)
1 Yeixon Ruiz 2B
2 Gavin Cecchini DH
3 Jorge Rivero RF
4 Tomas Nido C
5 Maikis De La Cruz CF
6 Anthony Chavez SS
7 Jeyckol De Leon 1B
8 Kevin Weijgertse 3B
9 Joe Tuschak LF
RHP Miller Diaz (4-1, 4.14)
BLUE JAYS (26-34)
1 DJ Davis CF
2 Jacob Anderson RF
3 Jorge Vega-Rosado SS
4 Seth Conner 1B
5 Eric ArceDH
6 Nico Taylor LF
7 Emilio Guerrero 3B
8 Christian Frias 2B
9 Hector Alvarez C
RHP Justin James (2-2, 5.57)
FIRST-PITCH TIME: 7:05 P.M.
BROADCAST
INFO: The only radio game of this series will be on Friday at 2:50. You can catch the game on WHIS 1440 AM and
BluefieldJays.com
WEATHER: 76 with sunny skies...a beautiful day for baseball
UMPIRES: PLATE: Chase Eade FIELD: Travis Godec
ABOUT LAST NIGHT...: The visitors made things interesting late, but Brandon Dorsett provided a sigh of relief at the end. The righty recorded a perfect five-out save to stem a Pulaski Mariners comeback and the Bluefield Blue Jays hung on to win 7-6 at Bowen Field on Wednesday. Emilio Guerrero knocked a two-run triple to give the Jays the lead for good and Eric Arce added a three-run homer. The Mariners struck first against Alberto Tirado in the top of the first when Gilmer Lampe led off the game with a walk, moved up on a stolen base and wild pitch, then scored on Dario Pizzano’s groundout. That would be all Pulaski would get off of the 17-year-old righty. Tirado (W, 1-0) earned his first Appy League win with five innings of two-hit ball. He faced only two over the minimum and set down 13 of 16 to finish his night. Bluefield jumped ahead in the second inning on Guerrero’s three-bagger that scored Arce and Nico Taylor. After knocking starter Blake Holovach (L, 1-5) out of the game in the fourth, they added another run on a Christian Frias RBI single. Arce broke It open to a 6-1 lead in the fifth with a long three-run blast off of Domingo Brazoban. Pulaski chipped away with three unearned runs over the next two frames against Julio Carmona. Seth Conner’s RBI single in the sixth inning gave the Jays an insurance run they would eventually need. Two walks issued by Shane Davis came around to score in the eighth on Reggie Lawson’s third hit of the game and a wild pitch. Dorsett (S, 3) came in from the bullpen and struck out both batters he faced to strand the tying run at second. Dorsett fired a 1-2-3 ninth inning, capping it by retiring the league’s leading hitter Pizzano on a flyout to left field. Bluefield took two out of three from the Mariners this week and won the season series 5-3.
VS. THE METS: The Mets have struggled mightily in 2012, but they lead the season series two games to one after winning a set in Kingsport June 28-30. Bluefield was held hitless by John Gant for five innings in the first game. The Jays rallied for three runs in the sixth to take the lead, but the Mets came back to win. The Jays evened the series with a 12-3 rout behind Dwight Smith Jr.’s first pro homer. Kingsport made six errors in the rubber game, but still won 13-9. The Blue Jays dominated the Mets in 2011, especially at Bowen Field. Bluefield won five of six meetings, including a three-game home sweep from July 15-17 by a combined score of 17-3. Two weeks later in Kingsport, the Jays won two out of three.
- TONIGHT’S PITCHING PROBABLES -
RHP JUSTIN JAMES: Righty reliever Justin James makes his fourth straight start tonight. The Ponte Vedra, Florida native pitched well in Danville on Friday, but he took the tough loss due to one rocky inning and no run support. His first two and last two innings were perfect, but the Braves scored three runs on four hits in the third inning as the Jays were shut out 3-0. He was signed as an undrafted free agent out of Ave Maria University in Florida, where he was a Second Team All-Sun Conference selection as a senior after striking out 86 in 90.1 innings.
RHP MILLER DIAZ: Venezuelan righty Miller Diaz starts for the Mets in the series opener. After six up-and-down relief outings to start the season (6.00 ERA), the 2009 international free agent signing has pitched well in four starts, allowing three earned runs in his first 17 and two-thirds innings in the rotation. His Saturday start in Elizabethton did not go as well. He allowed four runs on five hits in four and one-third innings, walking five and striking out three. He split time last season between the Gulf Coast League and Kingsport. His first two professional seasons were in the Venzuelan Summer League (2009) and the Dominican Summer League (2010).
APPY LEAGUE HONOR: Bluefield right-hander Jeremy Gabryszwski was named to the 2012 Appalachian League All-Star Team, which was voted on by opposing managers, executive and media and announced today. The honor is more impressive considering there are only three pitchers on the squad. The 19-year-old was the league’s choice for right-handed starter and Princeton’s Blake Snell was the team’s lefty starter. Jeremy is 3-0 with a 2.35 ERA in 11 games (nine starts). He’s only allowed 44 hits in 46 innings of work. ”Gabby” is two innings short of the league qualifier, but his 2.35 ERA would rank second in the league and is fourth among Appy Leaguers with at least 45 IP. The Crosby, Texas native has the second-lowest WHIP (1.04) despite striking out only 4.3 batters per nine innings (second-lowest among 40 IP pitchers). That success is due to his ability to pound the strike zone, as he’s only walked four batters in 46 innings (0.78 BB/9). That includes a streak from July 14 to August 12 in which he went 24.2 innings without issuing a free pass.
THE TERMINATOR: Seth Conner had another productive night in the Jays’ win on Wednesday. He reached in four out of five plate appearances (nine of ten over last two games). Conner raised his average to .317, the seventh-highest among Appy Leaguers with at least 140 plate appearances. He ranks third with a .429 on base percentage and his .882 OPS is sixth. Conner needs 22 plate appearances in the final six games to reach the league qualifier.
MOVE ON UP: Three Bluefield Blue Jays were promoted to the Short Season-A Vancouver Canadians on Tuesday. Catcher Santiago Nessy was one of the top backstops in the Appy League, slugging .456 and leading the Jays with eight homers. With a homer every 20 plate appearances, he had the fifth-highest HR rate. He got it done on the other side as well, throwing out 33.3 percent of would-be base stealers. Second baseman Christian Lopes came into the season rated as the 29th-best prospect in the Toronto system and he backed it up in Bluefield. He homered in his first professional at bat on Opening Day and now ranks second in triples (five), third in doubles (16) and fourth in extra base hits (25). They both made their Vancouver debut last night. Nessy caught and batted seventh and he slugged a two-run homer in his first at bat. Lopes played second base and went 2-for-4 out of the ninth spot of the order. The fourth-rated prospect on the Jays’ farm, Daniel Norris, struggled to the tune of a 7.97 ERA, but he struck out 38 in 35 innings of work and posted a Fielding Independent Pitching of 3.80. The four-run difference between his ERA and FIP is the second-highest in the league and his Batting Average on Balls In Play is .367 (third-highest in the league), signifying some bad luck. The trio should helpe energize the Canadians in their push for a second straight Northwest League crown.
ABOUT LAST NIGHT...: The visitors made things interesting late, but Brandon Dorsett provided a sigh of relief at the end. The righty recorded a perfect five-out save to stem a Pulaski Mariners comeback and the Bluefield Blue Jays hung on to win 7-6 at Bowen Field on Wednesday. Emilio Guerrero knocked a two-run triple to give the Jays the lead for good and Eric Arce added a three-run homer. The Mariners struck first against Alberto Tirado in the top of the first when Gilmer Lampe led off the game with a walk, moved up on a stolen base and wild pitch, then scored on Dario Pizzano’s groundout. That would be all Pulaski would get off of the 17-year-old righty. Tirado (W, 1-0) earned his first Appy League win with five innings of two-hit ball. He faced only two over the minimum and set down 13 of 16 to finish his night. Bluefield jumped ahead in the second inning on Guerrero’s three-bagger that scored Arce and Nico Taylor. After knocking starter Blake Holovach (L, 1-5) out of the game in the fourth, they added another run on a Christian Frias RBI single. Arce broke It open to a 6-1 lead in the fifth with a long three-run blast off of Domingo Brazoban. Pulaski chipped away with three unearned runs over the next two frames against Julio Carmona. Seth Conner’s RBI single in the sixth inning gave the Jays an insurance run they would eventually need. Two walks issued by Shane Davis came around to score in the eighth on Reggie Lawson’s third hit of the game and a wild pitch. Dorsett (S, 3) came in from the bullpen and struck out both batters he faced to strand the tying run at second. Dorsett fired a 1-2-3 ninth inning, capping it by retiring the league’s leading hitter Pizzano on a flyout to left field. Bluefield took two out of three from the Mariners this week and won the season series 5-3.
VS. THE METS: The Mets have struggled mightily in 2012, but they lead the season series two games to one after winning a set in Kingsport June 28-30. Bluefield was held hitless by John Gant for five innings in the first game. The Jays rallied for three runs in the sixth to take the lead, but the Mets came back to win. The Jays evened the series with a 12-3 rout behind Dwight Smith Jr.’s first pro homer. Kingsport made six errors in the rubber game, but still won 13-9. The Blue Jays dominated the Mets in 2011, especially at Bowen Field. Bluefield won five of six meetings, including a three-game home sweep from July 15-17 by a combined score of 17-3. Two weeks later in Kingsport, the Jays won two out of three.
- TONIGHT’S PITCHING PROBABLES -
RHP JUSTIN JAMES: Righty reliever Justin James makes his fourth straight start tonight. The Ponte Vedra, Florida native pitched well in Danville on Friday, but he took the tough loss due to one rocky inning and no run support. His first two and last two innings were perfect, but the Braves scored three runs on four hits in the third inning as the Jays were shut out 3-0. He was signed as an undrafted free agent out of Ave Maria University in Florida, where he was a Second Team All-Sun Conference selection as a senior after striking out 86 in 90.1 innings.
RHP MILLER DIAZ: Venezuelan righty Miller Diaz starts for the Mets in the series opener. After six up-and-down relief outings to start the season (6.00 ERA), the 2009 international free agent signing has pitched well in four starts, allowing three earned runs in his first 17 and two-thirds innings in the rotation. His Saturday start in Elizabethton did not go as well. He allowed four runs on five hits in four and one-third innings, walking five and striking out three. He split time last season between the Gulf Coast League and Kingsport. His first two professional seasons were in the Venzuelan Summer League (2009) and the Dominican Summer League (2010).
APPY LEAGUE HONOR: Bluefield right-hander Jeremy Gabryszwski was named to the 2012 Appalachian League All-Star Team, which was voted on by opposing managers, executive and media and announced today. The honor is more impressive considering there are only three pitchers on the squad. The 19-year-old was the league’s choice for right-handed starter and Princeton’s Blake Snell was the team’s lefty starter. Jeremy is 3-0 with a 2.35 ERA in 11 games (nine starts). He’s only allowed 44 hits in 46 innings of work. ”Gabby” is two innings short of the league qualifier, but his 2.35 ERA would rank second in the league and is fourth among Appy Leaguers with at least 45 IP. The Crosby, Texas native has the second-lowest WHIP (1.04) despite striking out only 4.3 batters per nine innings (second-lowest among 40 IP pitchers). That success is due to his ability to pound the strike zone, as he’s only walked four batters in 46 innings (0.78 BB/9). That includes a streak from July 14 to August 12 in which he went 24.2 innings without issuing a free pass.
THE TERMINATOR: Seth Conner had another productive night in the Jays’ win on Wednesday. He reached in four out of five plate appearances (nine of ten over last two games). Conner raised his average to .317, the seventh-highest among Appy Leaguers with at least 140 plate appearances. He ranks third with a .429 on base percentage and his .882 OPS is sixth. Conner needs 22 plate appearances in the final six games to reach the league qualifier.
MOVE ON UP: Three Bluefield Blue Jays were promoted to the Short Season-A Vancouver Canadians on Tuesday. Catcher Santiago Nessy was one of the top backstops in the Appy League, slugging .456 and leading the Jays with eight homers. With a homer every 20 plate appearances, he had the fifth-highest HR rate. He got it done on the other side as well, throwing out 33.3 percent of would-be base stealers. Second baseman Christian Lopes came into the season rated as the 29th-best prospect in the Toronto system and he backed it up in Bluefield. He homered in his first professional at bat on Opening Day and now ranks second in triples (five), third in doubles (16) and fourth in extra base hits (25). They both made their Vancouver debut last night. Nessy caught and batted seventh and he slugged a two-run homer in his first at bat. Lopes played second base and went 2-for-4 out of the ninth spot of the order. The fourth-rated prospect on the Jays’ farm, Daniel Norris, struggled to the tune of a 7.97 ERA, but he struck out 38 in 35 innings of work and posted a Fielding Independent Pitching of 3.80. The four-run difference between his ERA and FIP is the second-highest in the league and his Batting Average on Balls In Play is .367 (third-highest in the league), signifying some bad luck. The trio should helpe energize the Canadians in their push for a second straight Northwest League crown.
Bluefield Blue Jays Game Notes 8-23
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