Minor League Recap - 6/26

Games of 6/25

Dan McCutchen had a decent outing for the Scranton Yankees last night, but saw his record fall to 1-6 as the Columbus Clippers took a 5-1 decision. McCutchen allowed 3 earned runs in 6.2 innings pitched. He allowed 7 hits, walked 3, and struck out 4. Shelley Duncan's sacrifice fly brought home the only run and gave the Yankees a temporary 1-0 lead. Matt Carson had 3 hits, falling a home run shy of a cycle.

	June 25, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Columbus 0 0 0 1 1 1 2 0 0 5 11 0 Scranton/WB 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 2 Recap | Box | W: M. Bacsik (6-3, 4.40); L: D. McCutchen (1-6, 4.30) HR: None.

Eric Hacker and the Trenton Thunder bullpen were dynamite last night, shutting out the Erie SeaWolves 7-0. Hacker (2-1, 1.97) allowed 4 hits in 6.2 IP, walked 2, and struck out 5. Between Tampa and Trenton, he's 4-3, 1.91 in 15 starts, with just 64 hits allowed in 85 innings.

Colin Curtis (4 hits) and Jose Tabata (3 hits) enjoyed big nights at the plate, driving in 2 runs apiece. Austin Jackson has hit a bit of a skid, going 2 for his last 16.

	June 25, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Erie 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 Trenton 3 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 X 7 12 0 Recap | Box | W: E. Hacker (2-1, 1.97); L: B. Fritz (2-3, 5.63) HR: None.

The Tampa Yankees game with the Daytona Cubs was postponed due to rain.

It was a tough night for starter Wil Heredia and reliever Gabe Medina as the two allowed 6 runs in 8 innings pitched, in the Charleston RiverDogs 6-1 loss to the Columbus Catfish. Brad Suttle stopped the RiverDogs from being shutout in the 9th with his 5th home run of the year.

	June 25, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Columbus 0 0 0 2 0 3 0 1 0 6 8 0 Charleston 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 4 1 Recap | Box | W: J. Hall (2-1, 3.40); L: J. Heredia (2-2, 3.40) HR: COL: R. Fronk (8). CHA: B. Suttle (5).

The Staten Island Yankees dropped a 7-6 scoring fest to the Aberdeen IronBirds, who scored the game winner in the bottom of the 9th. The Baby Bombers had rallied back from a 6-0 deficit. Shortsop Addison Maruszak lead the offense with 3 hits and an RBI.

	June 25, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Staten Island 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 4 0 6 13 3 Aberdeen 2 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 7 11 3 Recap | Box W: F. Deza (1-0, 0.00); L: J. Gonell (1-1, 3.00) HR: ABE: J. Julius (2).

The Gulf Coast Yankees improved to 5-2 on the season with a 4-2 win over the GCL Phillies. Ryan Pope got the start as part of a rehab session, throwing 3 scoreless innings. Manny Banuelos threw 3 shutout innings of his own to earn his 2nd win.

	June 25, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E GCL Phillies 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 6 0 GCL Yankees 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 X 4 8 2 Recap | Box W: M. Banuelos (2-0, 0.00); L: R. Simon (1-1, 4.22); SV: D. Kapala (1) HR: None.

News and Notes

Chad Jennings reports that Al Aceves should be getting his first start for Scranton on Saturday against the Buffalo Bison. Scott Patterson has been placed on the DL due to some kind of bug he's been fighting.

The Binghamton Mets and Altoona Curve of the Eastern League had a huge brawl Tuesday night, with the two opposing managers going at it first. You can read about it here.

Charleston always has some interesting promotions. Last night was "Go Back to Ohio Night at The Joe". There's been a large influx of Ohioans moving to Charleston. We suppose it was done tongue in cheek, although... And in case you don't know, the RiverDogs park is "Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park" or "The Joe".

The Journal Gazette in Illinois has a story on Tampa outfielder Mitch Hilligoss, the former Big Ten Conference batting champion.

Share

Minor League Recap - 4/18

The Scranton Yankees and Jeff Marquez got pounded by the Charlotte Knights, 10-2. Marquez gave up 5 runs in 5.1 innings. Chris Britton tossed 1.1 scoreless innings and has not been scored upon in 2008 (8.1 IP). Brett Gardner had 2 hits and is batting .349.

The Trenton Thunder overcame a 3-0 deficit to beat the New Britain Rock Cats, 7-4. Matt Carson drove in 2 runs in a decisive 4-run 7th inning. Jose Tabata was 2-5 to raise his average to .268. Jason Jones improved to 3-0 with the win.

The Tampa Yankees pounded the Dunedin Blue Jays for the second straight game, this time by the score of 7-1, to take 2 of 3 in the series. It was a big night for Edwar Gonzalez- a home run, two doubles, and 3 RBI. Mitch Hilligoss also had 3 hits to help Al Aceves improve to 2-0. J.B. Cox threw a scoreless inning in relief.

The Savannah Sand Gnats snapped the Charleston River Dog's 9-game winning streak with a 6-4 victory. It was just the Dogs second loss in 14 games. 3rd Baseman Justin Snyder continued to swing a hot bat (.423) with 2 hits and RBI.

Share

Minor League Recap - 4/5

Scranton got great pitching for the 2nd straight night, beating the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, 2-1. Starter Steven White allowed 1 run on 3 hits over 6 innings and Chris Britton picked up the win as the Yankees scored the game winner on a wild pitch in the 8th. Jose Veras picked up the save with a scoreless 9th.

The Trenton Thunder were postponed due to inclement weather and will play a doubleheader with the Binghamton Mets today.

The Tampa Yankees won their first game by rallying for 2 runs in the bottom of the 9th to defeat the Lakeland Flying Tigers, 5-4. Mitch Hilligoss singled for the winner. Mark Melancon left off of Thurday's lineup card, made his season debut a successful one by tossing 1.2 scoreless innings.

The Charleston River Dogs were also rained out and will play two with the Rome Braves today.

Share

Hilligoss Stopped at 38

Charleston River Dog's Mitch Hilligoss finally met his match on Sunday, his 38-game hitting streak stopping in the process. After drawing a 1st inning walk against the Savannah Sand Gnats (yes they really did name the team that), Hilligoss went 0-4 for the rest of the afternoon.

He hit one back to pitcher Matt Durkin in the 3rd, bounced out to short in the 5th, flied to left in the 7th, and grounded out to 2nd in his final at-bat in the 9th.

Share

Another Night, Another Hit

Hilligoss to 38

It took until the 7th inning, but Mitch Hilligoss added another game to his hitting streak. The River Dogs' lead off man doubled to extend his consecutive streak to 38 games.

Share

Hilligoss Streaks to 37

Charleston River Dog's Mitch Hilligoss didn't wait until his last at-bat to extend his hitting streak to 37 games tonight. Hilligoss lead off the bottom 1st with his 1st HR of the season.

The streak matches the one Joey Cora had back in 1989 for Las Vegas (PCL). Hilligoss' was one of 4 hits he had through the 8th tonight. His season average is now .335.

Share

Hilligoss Streak on the Line

Mitch Hilligoss has been unsuccessful thus far in trying to extend his 35 game hitting streak. The Charlotte River Dog's outfielder is 0-3 with a walk. A hit would break the all-time South Atlantic League record that he currently shares with former Yankees' minor leaguer Scott Seabol.

We'll post back here after his next at-bat.


9:40 pm Update

Hilligoss Extends Streak
It'll look like a line drive in the paper, but Mitch Hilligoss opened himself up to criticism by bunting for a base hit in the 7th inning tonight. There's an unwritten, albeit very silly, rule in baseball that you don't bunt to break up a no-hitter. It's less talked about with hitting streaks, but it may pick up steam after tonight.

The bunt single extended Hilligoss' streak to 36 consecutive games, the new all-time record for the South Atlantic League.

Update 5/31 10:50 am

Hilligoss and his manager respond to questions about bunting.

"(Charleston manager Torre) Tyson mentioned it to me in the dugout, but I didn't think (bunting) was a good idea at the time," Hilligoss admitted.

"But when I got up there and saw the third baseman playing back, I thought about it again," he added. "I looked at the third baseman and Tyson gave me a shrug so I thought, 'Why not.' He threw an outside fastball and once I got it down I knew I had it beat."

"They were shifting towards the left-field line," added Tyson. "I told him the bunt was there."

Share

Where Have You Gone Joe DiMaggio

While the major league Yankees continue to flop, there are a number of minor leaguers in the Yankees' system that are having outstanding seasons. One of those players is Charleston River Dog's Mitch Hilligoss.

Hilligoss tied the Atlantic League record by hitting in his 35th consecutive game. He didn't accomplish the feat until his final at-bat. The 2-run double pulled him even with another former Yankees prospect Scott Seabol, who hit in 35 games for the 1999 Greensboro Bats.

Hilligoss' streak is the 3rd longest in the last 20 years of minor league baseball. Only Joey Cora (37) and Brent Gates (36) have hit in more consecutive games. Just as any major leaguer, Hilligoss will also be chasing Joe DiMaggio. The Yankee Clipper set the minor league record by hitting in 61 straight games in 1933.

Longest Streaks in Minor League History

61 - Joe DiMaggio (1933)
55 - Roman Mejias (1954)
49 - Jack Ness (1915)

Share

Rockets and Duds

While Roger Clemens was donning a Scranton Yankees uniform and dominating the Triple-A competition, the Yankees were pulling another no-show in Toronto. Joe Torre held a 1 hour meeting prior to the game to try to infuse some life into his listless team. They responded by getting 5 hits off a guy (Dustin McGown) with a 7+ ERA and the Jay's bullpen.

Matt DeSalvo made what will probably be his last start in pinstripes this season, maybe ever, after another poor performance. Whatever caused his control problems last season, seems to have returned with a vengance.

Of course no game would be complete without the bullpen putting the game out of reach. This time it was Ron Villone's turn, with a little help from Mike Myers.

The Yankees offense consisted of a Hideki Matsui 2-run HR in the 8th. The loss moved the Yankees into the basement alongside the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Pathetic.

~~~

Clemens meantime was having a much better time than he did at Trenton last week. He threw 89 pitches, 57 for strikes in 6 dominant innings against the Toledo Mud Hens. The only real question remaining is whether Clemens makes his 1st Yankees start against the Red Sox or White Sox.

~~~

The Yankees may not be hitting, but prospect Mitch Hilligoss is continuing to streak his way through the South Atlantic League. With a 3-6 performance in Charleston's game on Memorial Day, Hilligoss extended his hitting streak to 34 games.

Share