Minor League Playoff Update - 9/10

Scranton and Trenton both began their championship series last night in their respective leagues. The International League showdown pits the Yankees and the Rays' top farm team, the Durham Bulls. The Yankees built a 6-2 lead behind Chase Wright's strong six innings and a potent offense against stud starter David Price, but the Scranton bullpen coughed up five runs in the seventh inning and suddenly the Bulls had a 7-6 lead.

The Yankees rallied in the ninth though, tying the game when Tim Battle doubled home pinch-runner Chris Basak from second base. Then it was Eric Duncan's turn to play hero, and he came through, lining a single to right to score Battle with the game winner. The victory gave Scranton a 1-0 lead in the Governor's Cup final. Kevin Czerwinski of mlb.com has more.

Trenton meanwhile got another big start from Eric Hacker in taking the Eastern League final opener, 3-1 over the Akron Aeros. Hacker allowed a run on three hits over six innings and is now 2-0, 1.54 in his two post-season starts. Chris Malec drove in two runs and Ramiro Pena enjoyed a 3-hit night. Jhonny Nunez recorded the final four outs for the save.

Staten Island has been eliminated in two games in their quest for the New York-Penn League title. The Jamestown Jammers jumped out to an 8-1 lead after just two innings in game one and held on for a 10-7 win. Mitch Abeita and Mike Lyon homered in a losing cause.

Game two showcased much better pitching on both sides, but the Baby Bombers came out on the wrong end of a 4-1 score. The Jammers again jumped out to a quick lead, with a three run first inning against Jon Albaladejo. Elih Villanueva dominated the Baby Bombers, limiting them to one unearned run and four hits over six innings, while striking out 10. Jeremy Bleich was a bright spot for S.I. though, throwing four scoreless innings in relief.

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Minor League Playoffs Under Way

It doesn't appear that the Yankees and Red Sox will be meeting in this year's post-season, not at the major league level anyway. But their Triple-A and Double-A are going at in the first round of the International and Eastern League playoffs.

The Scranton Yankees took a 1-0 advantage in the "Best of Five" series, with a 7-1 win against Pawtucket Red Sox knuckleballer, Charlie Zink. Chase Wright started for the Yankees, but was pulled after 4.2 innings that included five walks. Stephen Jackson picked up the win by recording four outs. He and three relievers combined to shut out the Pawsox over the final 4.1 innings.

Justin Christian broke a scoreless tie with a 2-run home run off of Zink in the fourth. Catcher Chris Stewart would take Zink deep in the sixth inning with a solo shot, and Ben Broussard added a solo shot against Marcus McBeth ("out damn spot?") in the ninth.

It was a big night for Christian, who in addition to his home run, added a double and a walk, and stole a base. Eric Duncan also had a big night with three hits and a run scored, and Melky Cabrera drove in a run as well.

Game 2 is Thursday with Ian Kennedy facing Devern Hansack.


The Trenton Thunder opened their Eastern League playoffs with a 2-1 win over the Portland SeaDogs. Eric Hacker, who opened the season at Single-A Tampa, picked up the win after allowing one run in 5.2 innings pitched. He scattered five hits and struck out six.

A SeaDogs error allowed the Thunder to take a quick 1-0 lead in the first, but Portland tied the game up in the second inning on a Josh Reddick RBI single. An Edwar Gonzalez RBI single put Trenton up for good in the fourth.

Hacker ran into trouble in the sixth and was pulled with two men aboard. But Mike Dunn, who except for Monday's appearance, had not pitched above the Single-A level, struck out Reddick to preserve the lead. After retiring the first two men in the seventh, Dunn gave way to Jhonny Nunez, who retired all seven men he faced, four by strikeout, to pick up the save.


In regular season action, the Staten Island Yankees edged the Aberdeen IronBirds, 9-8. The Baby Bombers lead the Brooklyn Cylones by three games in the New York-Penn League's MacNamara division with three games to play.

Hector Noesi, who won a pair of games for the GCL Yankees, picked up his first win of the short season schedule. David Adams drove in three runs, and Dan Brewer and Jaedyn Pruitt added two RBI each as SI built a 7-1 lead. The pen nearly blew the game, as Aberdeen cut the margin to 7-6. The Yankees added a pair of insurance runs and Pat Venditte picked up his 22nd save after allowing two unearned runs in the ninth.

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Minor League Recap - 6/24

Ian Kennedy made his first rehab start yesterday as part of a doubleheader between the Gulf Cost League Yankees and Tigers. IPK came out of the pen to toss 3 innings, allowing 1 run and striking out 7. The competition consisted of inferior hitting, but it's the right step forward. Kennedy actually picked up the victory in the Yankees 3-2 win. Chase Wright, also making his way back from the minor league DL, threw 3 scoreless innings, striking out 5, for the save.

The Tigers gained a split, scoring the winning run off of Ryan Flannery in the bottom of the 9t for a 2-1 final.

	June 21, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E GCL Tigers 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 6 1 GCL Yankees 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 X 3 3 1 Recap | Box W: I. Kennedy (1-0, 3.00); L: R. Zumaya (0-1, 1.29); SV: C. Wright (1) HR: None.

	June 23, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E GCL Yankees 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 GCL Tigers 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 8 1 Recap | Box W: N. Cassavechia (1-0, 0.00); L: R. Flannery (0-1, 2.70) HR: None.

Kei Igawa went 6.2 innings in Scranton's 6-0 shut out of the Columbus Catfish. Dave Robertson continued to make a case for a promotion to the big league pen with 1.1 scoreless innings. New re-signed Chris Basak drove in 2 runs and J.D. Closser was 3-3.

	June 23, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Columbus 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 1 Scranton/WB 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 2 X 6 10 0 Recap | Box | W: K. Igawa (7-4, 3.47); L: M. Estrada (1-1, 5.25) HR: None.

Reegie Corona homered and drove in 2 runs to lead the Trenton Thunder over the Erie SeaWolves, 4-3. Kevin Whelan picked up the win after a solid start from Jason Jones (5 IP 1 ER), and Mark Melancon tossed 3 scoreless frames for the save.

	June 23, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Erie 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 10 2 Trenton 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 X 4 8 1 Recap | Box | W: K. Whelan (1-0, 4.50); L: J. Rainwater (5-3, 4.64); SV: M. Melancon (1) HR: TRE: R. Corona (1).

Zach McAllister was a tough luck loser when the Tampa Yankees dropped a 2-0 decision to the Daytona Cubs. McAllister surrendered a solo home run, but it was the only hit he allowed over 6 innings.

	June 23, 2008 Game 2
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Daytona 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 1 1 Tampa 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 Recap | Box | W: J. Ruhlman (4-5, 3.89); L: Z. McAllister (2-3, 2.79); SV: M. Avery (1) HR: DAY: B. Lalli (6).

The Charleston RiverDogs continue to fight the weather more than any other opponent. Last night's game was called after 2 innings with the RiverDogs leading 2-0 on a Brandon Laird home run. It was the fourth straight day that weather effected play.

The Staten Island Yankees dropped a 4-1 contest to the Aberdeen IronBirds. The Yankees struck first on Brian Baisley's 1st inning RBI single, but the IronBirds scored 3 runs in the 7th inning off of Andy Shive to win it. Luke Greinke, young brother of the Royals' Zach Grienke, made his professional debut for the Baby Bombers, allowing 1 unearned run in 2 innings. Brad Rulon turned in a steller performance as the first Yankee out of the pen, tossing 3 scoreless innings and striking out 5.

	June 23, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Staten Island 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 1 Aberdeen 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 X 4 6 1 Recap | Box W: R. Zagone (1-0, 0.00); L: A. Shive (0-2, 5.14); SV: F. Deza (2) HR: None.

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Minor League Recap - 5/17

The Scranton Yankees split a pair in a 7-inning doubleheader with the Lousiville Bats. Dan Giese and Kei Igawa gave the bullpen the night off with a pair of complete games. Giese was excellent, tossing a 3-hit complete game shutout and beating top pitching prospect Homer Bailey. Juan Miranda's 1st inning 2-run HR would be all the Yankees would need in a 4-0 win.

Igawa allowed 5 hits in the nightcap, but was hurt by 3 Scranton errors that lead to a pair of unearned runs. The Bats gained the split with a 4-2 win. Cody Ransom had 3 of the Yankees 6 hits. Eric Duncan appeared to be finally turning the corner, but a 5-36 slide has dropped his average back down to .234.

Chase Wright earned his 6th inning as the Trenton Thunder scored 4 runs in the 7th to pull out a 5-3 win over the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Austin Jackson drove in 4 runs including the game winning 3-run home run. Anthony Claggett pitched the final 2 innings to gain his 1st save.

The Tampa Yankees blew a 2-1 lead in the 9th, but pulled the game out in 11, 3-2, when Seth Fortenberry tripled and scored on a wild pitch. Fortenberry had also given the Yankees their temporary lead in the 9th with his 2nd home run of the year. Eric Hacker allowed 1 unearned run and 5 hits in 6 innings, and lowered his ERA to 0.75. Kevin Whelan struck out 3 in 2 scoreless innings of relief.

Charleston was out pitched by 1st place Asheville in a 3-1 Tourists win. Dellin Betances did his part for the RiverDogs though. The big right-hander threw 6 innings of no-hit ball, allowing 1 unearned run, while walking 3 and striking out 8. Carmen Angelini stroked 3 hits for the Dogs.

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Minor League Recap - 5/10

Scranton rallied for 5 runs over the 7th and 8th innings to beat the Indianapolis Indians 6-5. Jason Lane drove in 3 runs with a pair of doubles as the Yankees overcame a bad spot start by Heath Phillips.

The Trenton Thunder pounded the Akron Aeros 12-1 as Edwar Gonzalez lead a 15-hit attack with a 3-4 night. Chris Malec, Reegie Corona, and Ramiro Pena drove in 2 runs each as Chase Wright picked up the win.

The Tampa Yankees won their 9th straight, edging Brevard County 6-5. The Yankees blew a 5-0 lead to the Manatees before going back ahead for good with a run in the 4th inning. Edwin Nunez and Jose Gil had 3 hits each and Kevin Smith drove in 2 runs.

Charleston's (25-10) lead in the South Atlantic League was cut to a half-game after the 2nd place Asheville Tourists (25-11) won 9-3 for the second time in three nights. Zach McAllister was roughed up for 8 earned runs in just 3 innings to drop his record to 4-2. Taylor Holiday hit his first home run of the year for the RiverDogs.

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Trenton Lacks Thunder

The Trenton Thunder's opening night on the road was a dull affair as they were blanked by the Binghamton Mets, 2-0. Chase Wright gave the visitors a solid 6 2-3 innings, but the Thunder managed just 2 singles (Jose Tabata, who also stole a base, and Matt Carson).

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Finding Mr. Wright

or Fill in the cliche of your choice ________________________________

No matter how you put it, Chase Wright did the Yankees a tremendous solid last night. Sh*t, now I sound like Stuart Scott. The kid went out and threw 5 innings - not so great, but not so bad, and the Yankees offensive exploded against Jake Westbrook for 8 runs in two innings, and went on to a 10-3 win.

Wright worked through some early innings jitters, and picked up the victory after allowing 3 runs, including a Travis Hafner HR, in his 5 inning stint. After walking the first two batters of the game, Wright retired the next 3 hitters, with a run coming home on a ground out by Victor Martinez.

The Yankees quickly got that run back plus another in their half of the 1st, and then rocked Westbrook in the 2nd. Doug Mientkiewicz hit his first home run since June of last season to increase the lead to 3-1. Johnny Damon doubled and came home on a Bobby Abreu single, and then Alex Rodriguez crushed a Westbrook offering on to the netting in front of the retired numbers in left field. A-Rod's major league best 8th home run made it a 6-1 game. And the Yankees weren't done yet. After a Jason Giambi single, Jorge Posada hit his 200th career HR into the right-center field bleachers. Indians manager Eric Wedge finally sent Westbrook (0-2) to the showers and Wright had all the cushion he needed.

Pitching in front of his parents, siblings, and friends, the 24-yr old, who had only pitched 2 games above single 'A', gave the fans, and himself, a night to remember.

~~~

A-Rod also had an RBI single in the 1st and now has a major league high 21 RBI for April. The record is 29.

The Yankees clicked on all cylinders last night, in a good recovery from Sunday's tough loss to Oakland. Brian Bruney, Mike Myers, and Chris Britton combined for 4 shutout, hitless innings after Wright departed.

Hafner's home run was his 1st in Yankee Stadium.

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Yankees vs. Indians Preview (4/17)

Finding Mr. Wright. Or hopefully not too Mr. Wrong anyway.

Chase Wright makes the big jump from Double-A to the majors tonight. Can you imagine pitching in front of the Trenton Thunder fans one week and 40-50,000 fans in Yankee Stadium the next?

Wright is getting this chance because of his magnificent two starts for the Thunder. He hadn't allowed a run in 14 innings and struck out 19. This came on the heels of a great 2006 season at Tampa where he was 12-3, 1.88.

He'll be nervous as all hell tonight, but neither he nor the Yankees have anything to lose...except the game of course.

Jake Westbrook (0-1, 7.36) goes for the Indians tonight. Once upon a time, Westbrook was a Yankee, appearing in 3 games back in 2000. That June he was dealt along with Zach Day and Ricky Ledee to the Tribe for David Justice.

Westbrook had come to the Yankees the previous year for Hideki Irabu. Ted Lilly and Christian Parker were later added to the deal by the Expos. Westbrook has had a pretty good career in Cleveland, averaging about 15 wins the past 3 seasons. This will be his 1st start since signing a 3-year, $33 million extension over the weekend.

Derek Jeter (.348), Hideki Matsui (.500), Jorge Posada (.333), and Jason Giambi (.346) have all smacked Westbrook around pretty well. Hell, even Doug Mientkiewicz is hitting .200 off of him.

~~~

Chien-Ming Wang is expected to pitch for Tampa on Thursday, and if all goes as planned, be activated from the DL the following Tuesday.

Jeff Karstens threw 4 innings for Tampa yesterday and may be activated for the Red Sox series this weekend. The Sox will be starting Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, and Dice-K in the 3 game set. Hate that team.

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Down on the Farm

Phil Hughes may be getting all the attention, but there's another Yankees pitcher looking like he's got the right stuff. Make that the Wright stuff. Chase Wright put up outstanding numbers at Tampa last season and it's continued at Double-A Trenton this year.

Wright has yet to allow a run in his 2 starts covering 14 innings. He's allowed just 4 hits (just 1 in his 7 inning start vs. Harrisburg last night), has walked 1 batter, and struck out 19. The 24-yr old left-hander is the #19 ranked Yankees prospect according to Baseball America. With the way he's been pitching and the injuries at the major league level, Wright could be headed to Triple-A Scranton before you know it.





Chase Wright blows aways a Harrisburg Senators hitter



Speaking of Phil Hughes, he's facing off against the Richmond Braves tonight in Richmond. Thus far he's allowed 2 runs on 4 hits, with a walk and no K's in 4 IP. The Braves lead 2-0.

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