MARINERS (24-34)
1 Gilmer Lampe 1B
2 Franklin Diaz C
3 Dario Pizzano RF
4 Jordy Lara 3B
5 Jabari Henry CF
6 Tyler Marlette DH
7 Phillips Castillo LF
7 Phillips Castillo LF
8 Martin Peguero 2B
9 Bryan Brito SS
RHP Levi Dean (0-1, 7.32)
BLUE JAYS (24-33)
1 DJ Davis CF
2 Jorge Vega-Rosado SS
3 Christian Lopes 2B
4 Seth Conner 1B
5 Santiago Nessy C
6 Eric Arce DH
7 Nico Taylor LF
8 Jacob Anderson RF
9 Emilio Guerrero 3B
LHP Alonzo Gonzalez (3-3, 5.15 in Gulf Coast League)
FIRST-PITCH TIME: 7:05 P.M.
BROADCAST
INFO: The three games of this series will not be broadcast. The next radio game will be on Friday at 2:50 against the Kingsport Mets. You can catch the game on WHIS 1440 AM and BluefieldJays.com
WEATHER: 72 and partly cloudy
UMPIRES: PLATE: FIELD:
ABOUT LAST NIGHT...: At least the Bluefield Blue Jays wrapped up a disappointing weekend on a high note. Playing their third doubleheader in four games, the Jays lost game one to the Danville Braves 5-4 and were officially eliminated from playoff contention. They recovered to pull out a 3-2 win in the finale to avoid a five-game sweep at American Legion Post 325 Field on Sunday. Daniel Norris started the opener for Bluefield and allowed five runs, only three earned, in three and one-third innings. Danville jumped out to a 2-0 lead only three batters into the game after two soft singles and Josh Elander’s two-run triple. Norris (2-3) settled in to retire nine of the next 12, five on strikes, before the Braves scratched two runs in the fourth inning. With standout reliever Wil Browning called up to Vancouver, Brandon Kaye was called up from the Gulf Coast League to replace him and he had an impressive debut. Kaye finished the game with two and two-thirds scoreless innings as he allowed only two hits. Down 5-0, the Jays could not push anything across in the first four innings against starter Ernesto Silva, but they busted out with four runs in the fifth to make it a game. Jacob Anderson and Emilio Guerrero singled before D.J. Davis doubled in a run. Dickie Thon lifted a sacrifice fly and Christian Lopes followed with a two-run homer to cut the lead to 5-4. Silva (W, 4-1) was done after five innings and he handed the game to reliever Alex Wilson. Singles by Santiago Nessy and Nico Taylor put the tying and go-ahead runs on base in the sixth inning, but Anderson and Guerrero struck out to end the threat. Wilson (S, 2) pitched a perfect seventh to lock down a six-out save and eliminate the Jays from the playoff race. Bluefield won the East Division last year to make the postseason for the first time since 2002, but this season will not be a repeat. Bluefield salvaged the nightcap behind a combined two-hitter from Griffin Murphy and Les Williams. In his first start of the season, Murphy turned in four and one-third innings of one-hit ball. He struck out seven and only allowed an unearned run. The lefty has now tossed 25 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. The Jays plated two runs in the second against Rafael Briceno. Seth Conner and Nico Taylor singled and Matt Dean put the visitors on the board with a single to score Conner. With Dean at first and Taylor at third, the Jays pulled off a perfectly-executed delayed double steal. Dean broke for second and when catcher Troy Snitker threw down, Taylor darted in with a steal of home. A sacrifice fly from Conner in the third inning made it 3-0 against Briceno (L, 3-2), who struck out eight in four innings. After Murphy excelled on the hill, Les Williams (W, 2-1) picked up where he left off and finished the gem. Williams got through the fifth inning and worked a 1-2-3 sixth. Carlos Franco started the seventh with a bloop double that fell just inside the left field line. He moved up and scored on two groundouts to trim the Bluefield lead to one. Williams struck out Blake Brown to end it.
VS. THE MARINERS: The Blue Jays and Mariners opened the month of July with a rain-shortened two-game split at Bowen Field before the Jays took two of three in Pulaski. 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. From July 11-13, Bluefield visited Calfee Park and notched one of its two road series wins. The Jays won the opener 4-2 behind six shutout innings from Deivy Estrada. Pulaski handed the Jays another stunning defeat the following night, scoring two runs in the bottom of the tenth. It was Bluefield’s fourth loss in 12 days in a game that they were one strike away from winning. The Jays rocked the M’s in the rubber game 12-3. 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 -
RHP ALONZO GONZALEZ: Six-foot-five left-hander Alonzo Gonzalez makes his Appalachian League debut after being called up from the Gulf Coast League on Wednesday. Alonzo hails from Santa Monica and was chosen by Toronto in the 18th round of this June’s draft out of Glendale Community College. At 20 years old, he went 3-3 with a 5.15 ERA in 36.2 innings for the GCL Jays. He pitched on Tuesday, allowing three runs on eight hits in five innings against the GCL Phillies. He had won three starts in a row prior to that no decision, posting a 3.00 ERA..
RHP LEVI DEAN: Centralia, Washington native Levi Dean was drafted in the 23rd round by his hometown Mariners in June and will make his first start of 2012 after 13 relief outings. He struggled early in his first professional season with an ERA approaching 11 through his first nine appearances. August has been much better for the right-hander as he’s allowed three runs in four games (9 IP) with three scoreless appearances. He last pitched on Tuesday against Danville, when he tossed a scoreless ninth inning in an 8-7 loss. He faced the Jays on July 11, throwing two shutout innings of two-hit ball with three strikeouts.
THE END IS NEAR: With a loss in the doubleheader opener on Sunday, the Blue Jays were mathematically eliminated from the pennant race. They trail Danville by 10 games for second place and the final playoff spot in the East Division with nine games to play. Danville’s magic number to clinch a playoff spot over Princeton is down to four, and with three games in Princeton, the Braves can clinch by taking two games from the Rays. They’ve even drawn close to first-place Burlington, pulling to within two games of the Royals.
FIRST ROUNDER’S BIG DEBUT: The 2012 17th-overall draft pick, center fielder D.J. Davis, has had a scintillating debut with the Baby Jays. Davis was called up from the Gulf Coast League on Friday and went 7-for-18 (.389) with a double an RBI, three runs scored and two stolen bases. The Wiggins, MS native batted leadoff and played center field in all five games in the series at Danville. Davis was tied for the GCL lead in stolen bases (18) and was fifth in the circuit in runs scored (30) and strikeouts (54). D.J.’s father Wayne played for four seasons in the Blue Jays farm system, including 1988 for the Dunedin Blue Jays, where one of his coaches was current Bluefield manager Dennis Holmberg.
ABOUT LAST NIGHT...: At least the Bluefield Blue Jays wrapped up a disappointing weekend on a high note. Playing their third doubleheader in four games, the Jays lost game one to the Danville Braves 5-4 and were officially eliminated from playoff contention. They recovered to pull out a 3-2 win in the finale to avoid a five-game sweep at American Legion Post 325 Field on Sunday. Daniel Norris started the opener for Bluefield and allowed five runs, only three earned, in three and one-third innings. Danville jumped out to a 2-0 lead only three batters into the game after two soft singles and Josh Elander’s two-run triple. Norris (2-3) settled in to retire nine of the next 12, five on strikes, before the Braves scratched two runs in the fourth inning. With standout reliever Wil Browning called up to Vancouver, Brandon Kaye was called up from the Gulf Coast League to replace him and he had an impressive debut. Kaye finished the game with two and two-thirds scoreless innings as he allowed only two hits. Down 5-0, the Jays could not push anything across in the first four innings against starter Ernesto Silva, but they busted out with four runs in the fifth to make it a game. Jacob Anderson and Emilio Guerrero singled before D.J. Davis doubled in a run. Dickie Thon lifted a sacrifice fly and Christian Lopes followed with a two-run homer to cut the lead to 5-4. Silva (W, 4-1) was done after five innings and he handed the game to reliever Alex Wilson. Singles by Santiago Nessy and Nico Taylor put the tying and go-ahead runs on base in the sixth inning, but Anderson and Guerrero struck out to end the threat. Wilson (S, 2) pitched a perfect seventh to lock down a six-out save and eliminate the Jays from the playoff race. Bluefield won the East Division last year to make the postseason for the first time since 2002, but this season will not be a repeat. Bluefield salvaged the nightcap behind a combined two-hitter from Griffin Murphy and Les Williams. In his first start of the season, Murphy turned in four and one-third innings of one-hit ball. He struck out seven and only allowed an unearned run. The lefty has now tossed 25 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. The Jays plated two runs in the second against Rafael Briceno. Seth Conner and Nico Taylor singled and Matt Dean put the visitors on the board with a single to score Conner. With Dean at first and Taylor at third, the Jays pulled off a perfectly-executed delayed double steal. Dean broke for second and when catcher Troy Snitker threw down, Taylor darted in with a steal of home. A sacrifice fly from Conner in the third inning made it 3-0 against Briceno (L, 3-2), who struck out eight in four innings. After Murphy excelled on the hill, Les Williams (W, 2-1) picked up where he left off and finished the gem. Williams got through the fifth inning and worked a 1-2-3 sixth. Carlos Franco started the seventh with a bloop double that fell just inside the left field line. He moved up and scored on two groundouts to trim the Bluefield lead to one. Williams struck out Blake Brown to end it.
VS. THE MARINERS: The Blue Jays and Mariners opened the month of July with a rain-shortened two-game split at Bowen Field before the Jays took two of three in Pulaski. 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. From July 11-13, Bluefield visited Calfee Park and notched one of its two road series wins. The Jays won the opener 4-2 behind six shutout innings from Deivy Estrada. Pulaski handed the Jays another stunning defeat the following night, scoring two runs in the bottom of the tenth. It was Bluefield’s fourth loss in 12 days in a game that they were one strike away from winning. The Jays rocked the M’s in the rubber game 12-3. 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 -
RHP ALONZO GONZALEZ: Six-foot-five left-hander Alonzo Gonzalez makes his Appalachian League debut after being called up from the Gulf Coast League on Wednesday. Alonzo hails from Santa Monica and was chosen by Toronto in the 18th round of this June’s draft out of Glendale Community College. At 20 years old, he went 3-3 with a 5.15 ERA in 36.2 innings for the GCL Jays. He pitched on Tuesday, allowing three runs on eight hits in five innings against the GCL Phillies. He had won three starts in a row prior to that no decision, posting a 3.00 ERA..
RHP LEVI DEAN: Centralia, Washington native Levi Dean was drafted in the 23rd round by his hometown Mariners in June and will make his first start of 2012 after 13 relief outings. He struggled early in his first professional season with an ERA approaching 11 through his first nine appearances. August has been much better for the right-hander as he’s allowed three runs in four games (9 IP) with three scoreless appearances. He last pitched on Tuesday against Danville, when he tossed a scoreless ninth inning in an 8-7 loss. He faced the Jays on July 11, throwing two shutout innings of two-hit ball with three strikeouts.
THE END IS NEAR: With a loss in the doubleheader opener on Sunday, the Blue Jays were mathematically eliminated from the pennant race. They trail Danville by 10 games for second place and the final playoff spot in the East Division with nine games to play. Danville’s magic number to clinch a playoff spot over Princeton is down to four, and with three games in Princeton, the Braves can clinch by taking two games from the Rays. They’ve even drawn close to first-place Burlington, pulling to within two games of the Royals.
FIRST ROUNDER’S BIG DEBUT: The 2012 17th-overall draft pick, center fielder D.J. Davis, has had a scintillating debut with the Baby Jays. Davis was called up from the Gulf Coast League on Friday and went 7-for-18 (.389) with a double an RBI, three runs scored and two stolen bases. The Wiggins, MS native batted leadoff and played center field in all five games in the series at Danville. Davis was tied for the GCL lead in stolen bases (18) and was fifth in the circuit in runs scored (30) and strikeouts (54). D.J.’s father Wayne played for four seasons in the Blue Jays farm system, including 1988 for the Dunedin Blue Jays, where one of his coaches was current Bluefield manager Dennis Holmberg.
Bluefield Blue Jays Game Notes 8-20
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