Yankees Minor League Baseball Blog

The Red Sox Yankees might not have had much luck against the Boston Red Sox but SWB got it done over Pawtucket last night with a pair of wins.  Game one went eleven innings and Mark Melancon was the star on the mound in the 3-2 win.  He gave up a hit and a walk in three shutout innings of relief and the win pushed his record to 4-0 on the season.  Juan Miranda went three for five with a walk and two RBIs.  Austin Jackson didn’t get a hit, but he walked three times and he scored and drove in a run.

Game two saw Kei Igawa get it done on the mound.  He improved to 7-3 and he gave up a run on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts in six innings.  Anthony Claggett pitched a shutout ninth to pick up save number four.  Austin Jackson went two for three with a solo home run in the 4-1 win. Shelley Duncan went two for two with two walks and an RBI.

Sergio Mitre fell to 2-1 on the season with a rough start in the SWB Yankees 4-3 loss.  He gave up four runs (three earned) on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.

Ramiro Pena finished the game two for four with a run.  Austin Jackson pitched in with two singles and one run.

The Yankees couldn’t get much going at the plate in a 6-2 loss to the Rochester Red Wings.  Austin Jackson belted a solo home run, drew a walk and scored twice while Juan Miranda singled, drew a walk and drove in one.

A solid start by Kei Igawa went to waste.  He gave up two runs on six hits and two walks with three strikeouts in six innings and the loss dropped him to 6-3.

Josh Towers improved to 2-4 on the season with a solid start in SWB’s 1-0 win over the Mud Hens.  He gave up just two hits and three walks with five strikeouts in six shutout innings.  Jonathan Albaladejo threw a shutout ninth and he picked up his first save of the season.

Austin Jackson went three for four with a double.  Chris Stewart went two for three with a double and he drove in the lone run for either side.

The SWB Yankees couldn’t get anything going at the plate and they lost to the Bats 3-0.  Austin Jackson and Shelley Duncan both doubled while Eric Duncan singled. Unfortunately, that was it. 

A pretty good start by George Kontos went to waste.  He gave up three runs (one earned) on five hits and two walks with five strikeouts in seven innings of work.

Josh Towers fell to 0-4 on the season with another rough start in the Yankees 7-5 loss to Louisville.  He gave up seven runs (six earned) on nine hits with two strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings.

Shelley Duncan had another nice game and he singled and drove in two runs.  Austin Jackson also pitched with a single and two RBIs.

John Rodriguez was one of several hitting stars in the Yankees 10-4 win over the Red Sox.  He finished two for five with a home run, three RBIs and two runs.  Shelly Duncan also pitched in with a home run, three RBIs and two runs whle Austin Jackson went four for five with a double, an RBI and a run.

Kei Igawa improved to 4-1 on the season.  He gave up three runs on six hits and two walks with five strikeouts in six innings. 

My son’s little league is back in full gear and I bought him a new Nokona glove to try out.  We’re still breaking it in but he’s already made a couple of nice plays in the field with it.  I also have a new toy of my own.  I picked up a new Demarini baseball bat for my softball league.  The bat gave me just enough extra pop to put one over the fence this past week.

It took them thirteen innings, but the Thunder piled on the runs in an 8-3 win over the B-Mets.  Austin Jackson had a nice day at the plate and he went three for seven with a double, two RBIs and a run.  Colin Curtis had just one hit in five at bats, but he walked twice, drove in a run and scored twice.

Jason Jones kept the Thunder in the game with a solid seven inning start.  He gave up two runs on six hits with a walk and one strikeout.  Eric Wordekemper improved to 1-1 with two shutout innings of relief.

Kevin Goldstein recently released his list of the top eleven Yankee prospects and there’s little surprise that Joba Chamberlain is at the top of the list.  The guy ascended all the way from High A Tampa all the way to the Yankee bullpen in what can only be called the fast track and I was happy to hear his future is in the rotation. 

Ian Kennedy pretty much followed Chamberlain through the minor league system and into the majors and he comes in at number two.  Like Chamberlain, he’s a major league ready starter and we should see him in the rotation in 2008.   This is assuming he’s still with the team because he appears to be one of the team’s big bargaining chips in a blockbuster trade.

Austin Jackson is the highest rated position player and he comes in at number three.  Jackson is probably a year away but he could be the heir apparant to Johnny Damon out in centerfield.  He followed up a solid 2007 season with a solid stint in the Hawaiian Winter Baseball League.  He’ll probably play in Trenton to start the 2008 season but him ending things with a cup of coffee with the Yankees.

Jose Tabata and Alan Horne round out the top five.  2007 first round draft pick, Andrew Brackman, is listed as the eighth best prospect and he’ll miss all of 2008 after he had Tommy John surgery in August.  One of the top guys last year, Humberto Sanchez, fell all the way to eleventh with his injury concerns.

The Thunder kicked off the Eastern League championship series with a win 5-3 over Akron.  Tyler Clippard held Akron in check through the first five innings and then Steven Jackson took over for three frames to pick up the win.  He gave up one run on two hits with three strikeouts.

Austin Jackson played a part in most of Trenton’s runs.  He went two for four with three RBIs and a run.  Gabriel Lopez went two for three with two runs.

Kevin Whelan gave up the losing run for the Thunder in the top of the thirteenth inning as they settled for a split in their first two games of the playoffs.  It’s too bad because a solid start by Alan Horne went to waste.  He gave up two runs on three hits and four walks with six strikeouts in seven innings.

Austin Jackson went two for six with an RBI.  Reegie Corona went one for three with two walks and a run.

Austin Jackson had a big day at the plate in Tampa’s 8-2 win over Lakeland.  He went two for five with a double, a triple, three RBIs and a run.  Jared Greenwood went three for three with a walk, two RBIs and a run.

Anthony Claggett improved to 9-8.  He gave up two runs (one earned) on six hits and two walks with five strikeouts in six innings.

Austin Jackson was the hitting star in Tampa’s 4-3, ten inning win over Lakeland.  He went four for five with two RBIs.  He drive in the game winner in the bottom of the tenth though.  That went to Kevin Russo, who drove home Robbie Minor on a sac. fly.

Eric Wordekemper picked up the win despite giving up two unearned runs that tied the game up.  He did strike out two in two innings of relief.

In the top of the ninth inning, Christopher Malec belted a solo homer to tie it and then Austin Jackson scored on Andres Perez’s sac. fly for the winning run.  Edwar Gonzalez had a team hit three hits and he scored a run.

David Robinson picked up the win with two innings of shutout relief.  He gave up a hit and struck out two and the win pushed his record to 3-1.

Brett Smith has been kind of anamoly this season.  He put together a decent season for Trenton but he got sent down when some of the higher end prospects moved up.  Since his demotion, he’s been pummelled and he fell to 0-4 with another rough start in Tampa’s 9-5 loss to Fort Myers.  He gave up eight runs on eleven hits and two walks with three strikeouts in four innings.

Andres Perez went two for four with a triple and two RBIs.  Austin Jackson continued to rake and he went two for three with a walk and three runs.

George Kontos fell to 4-5 on the season with a rough start in Tampa’s 5-2 loss to Fort Myers.  He gave up five runs (all in the first inning) on ten hits with five strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings.

Marcos Vechionacci wen two for three with a double and a run.  Austin Jackson continued his hot hitting and he singled twice and scored.

Elvys Quezada fell to 3-3 on the season in a rough start in Tampa’s 11-6 loss to Brevard County.  He was knocked around for six runs on seven hits and three walks with four strikeouts in just 2 2/3 innings.

Austin Jackson went two for five with a homerun and two RBIs.  Kevin Russo went two for four with a triple, an RBI and a run.

Tampa and Clearwater made up their rain out from the day before and it was Tampa that came out on top in both games.  Marcos Vechionacci belted a grand slam in the 7-4 win to account for most of the Yankees offense while Elvys Quezada picked up the win with a nice start. He improved to 3-2 and he gave up three runs (just one earned) on four hits and a walk with seven strikeouts in five innings.

In the second game, Joshua Schmidt improved to 5-0 despite giving up the tying run in the sixth inning.  To his credit, both runs he gave up were unearned.  Austin Jackson went one for two with a run in the 3-2 win.

George Kontos improved to 3-4 on the season with a nice start in Tampa’s 3-1 win over Sarasota.  He gave up one run on seven hits and two walks with eight strikeouts in six innings of work.

Edwar Gonzalez went two for five with a double, an RBI and a run.  Austin Jackson singled, doubled, drew a walk, drove in a run and scored.

Austin Jackson continued his impressive season with another three hit game in Tampa’s 7-4 loss to Clearwater.  He went three for four with a triple and a run and the nice game improved his batting average to .371 on the season.

David Robertson picked up the win and he improved to 1-1 on the season. He gave up just two hits and a walk with one strikeout in two shutout innings of relief.

Tampa was held to just a single run on six hits in their 7-1 loss to Clearwater.  Francisco Cervalli had the only extra base hit of the game with a double and Austin Jackson went one for three and he scored the only run of the game for Tampa.

Mike Martinez took the loss and he fell to 2-3 on the season.  He gave up three runs on six hits and two walks with one strikeout in four innings of work.

Tampa swept Lakeland in their twin billing and the first game made the headlines with a seven inning no-hit shutout by Daniel McCutchen and Jose Veras.  McCutchen picked up the win and he threw five of those seven innings.  He gave up five walks and he struck out two and the win pushed his record to 11-2 on the season.  Tim Battle had a nice day at the plate and he went two for three with a triple and a run.

The second game was closer but the Yankees still pulled it out.  Austin Jackson belted a two run homer to lead the offense and Anthony Clagget picked up the win and he improved to 3-8.  He gave up three runs (two earned) on seven hits and three walks with five strikeouts in five innings of work. 

Jose Tabata doubled home Austin Jackson in the top of the tenth inning as Tampa edged St. Lucie 3-2.  Edwar Gonzalez provided the rest of the Yankees offense in the third inning on a two run single.

Joshua Schmidt improved to 4-0 with 1 2/3 innings of shutout relief.  Kevin Whelan continued to make progress after his demotion with a nice start.  He gave up one run on three hits and two walks with seven strikeouts in five innings.

Tampa couldn’t score a single run despite matching Clearwater with nine hits in a 5-0 loss.  Austin Jackson was probably the hitting star and he went two for four with a double and a walk.

Anthony Claggett took the loss and he fell to 1-7 on the season.  He gave up five runs on seven hits and one walk with two strikeouts in four innings of work.

Wilkin Arias improved to 4-1 on the season with a1 1 1/3 innings of shutout relief in Tampa’s 3-2 win over Vero Beach.  He gave up one hit and he struck out one in the win.  Phil Coke had a pretty good start and he gave up two runs on five hits with two strikeouts in six innings.

Austin Jackson was the hitting star in the win.  He went three for five with a double, a run and an RBI.

Bryan Villanola improved to 3-4 on the season with four shutout innings or relief in Tampa’s 8-0 win over Vero Beach.  He gave up two hits and a walk with three strikeouts.

Austin Jackson had the big hit of the game. He belted a three run homer in the fifth inning.  Russell Raley went one for three with two RBIs and a run.

Tampa’s bats were pretty quiet in their 4-2 loss to Daytona.  Austin Jackson was the only Tampa hitter with two hits and he had one of the team’s two doubles.

Anthony Claggett dropped to 1-6 with the loss.  He gave up three runs on six hits and one walk with three strikeouts in five innings.

Jose Tabata singled home Reegie Corona in the top of the eleventh inning as Tampa got just enough to beat Daytona 7-6 in eleven innings.  Austin Jackson helped out a ton with a great day at the plate.  He went three for five with a walk and three runs.

Joshua Schmidt picked up the win with 3 1/3 innings of shutout relief.  He gave up a hit and he struck out four.

The pitching went out the window in the RiverDogs 12-11 loss to Rome.  Edgar Soto was roughed up for seven runs in his start and Garrett Patterson gave up three runs (one earned) on two hits and two walks in 2/3 innings as he took the loss.

Mitchell Hilligoss had three singles and he scored three times in the loss.  Seth Fortenberry went two for six with three runs and an RBI while Austin Jackson doubled, drove in two and scored two runs.

Seth Fortenberry drove in three runs but it wasn’t enough in the RiverDogs 6-5 loss to Asheville.  Austin Jackson also had a nice game.  He doubled twice and he scored two runs.

Grant Duff had a mediocre start but it was actually reliever David Robertson that took the loss.  He gave up one unearned run in his two innings of work. it’s just that one run turned out to be the game winner.