Blue Jays Minor League Baseball Blog

The Lugnuts dropped the 3 game series against the Clinton Lumber Kings 2 games to 1. The series was taken on Sunday by the Kings in a 2-1 loss for Lansing. The loss came in clutch fashion as the Nuts were in the lead all the way until the bottom of the 9th when Clinton put together 2 runs to take the game.
The offense really struggled to get going for the Lugnuts as they only recorded 3 hits in the game. The only RBI came off the bat of CF Darin Mastroianni who went 1-for-3 with a double and his 9th RBI of the season. He also stole his 5th base of the season. The lone run scored came from 3B Kevin Ahrens who hit 1-of-4 getting a double as well. If the Nuts could have just gotten a few more runners on the bases they might have had a chance to keep Clinton from stealing the game.
Nathan Starner took the mound for Lansing and gave an all-star performance. He worked 7 innings giving up just 4 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk and 7 K’s. He didn’t get the win because of the 9th inning comeback but dropped his ERA to 1.29. Alan Farina was charged with the 2 winning runs pitching just 1 and 1/3rd innings giving up just 1 hits, 3 strike outs but he walked 3 giving the Kings enough chances to come back. Ross Buckwalter was the pitcher who actually gave up the final runs but because the runners were on base when he entered the game they get charged to Farina. He did however receive a blown save in the loss, giving him 1 on the season.
Lansing is still in 1st place of the MID Eastern but are now in a tie with the West Michigan White Caps. They will try to gain some ground on Monday as they hit the road to face the Quad Cities River Badits who are currently 13-9 and in 3rd place of the MID Western.

Nathan Starner improved to 8-7 on the season with a solid start in the Lugnuts 8-1 win over Wisconsin.  He gave up one run on eight hits with nine strikeouts in six innings of work.

Jonathan Jaspe went one for two with a double, three RBIs and a run.  Scott Campbell went two for three with a walk and three runs.

The Lugnuts had a decent enough day at the plate, their pitchers just didn’t get it done on the mound.  Nathan Starner was hit for four runs in four innings in his start but it was Julio Pinto who took the loss.  He gave up three runs in his single inning of work.

Matthew Lane hit a two run homer in the 7-4 loss.  Brian Pettway went two for four with a double and a run.

Nathan Starner improved to 5-4 on the season with a nice start over the Dragons. He gave up two runs (one earned) on nine hits with three strikeouts.

Yuber Rodriguez went two for four with a two run homer. Chris Emanuele went three for four with a run.

The Lugnuts lost to the Loons 8-6 and two pitchers were hit particularly hard.  Nathan Starner gave up four runs in his four inning start and then Edward Rodriguez gave up four runs and he took the loss in two relief innings.

Yuber Rodriguez hit a big three run homer in the loss.  Chris Emanuele went one for five and he both scored and drove in a run.

The Lugnuts hammered the Chiefs 8-2 and Sean Shoffit led the way at the plate.  He went two for four with a triple, a homerun, four RBIs and two runs.  Yuber Rodriguez went two for four with a homerun and three runs scored.

Lost in all the offense was a nice start by Nathan Starner.  He improved to 4-4 and he gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits and three walks with eight strikeouts.

It’s hard to start on this one.  On the one hand, the pitching held Wisconsin to just one hit in the shutout.  On the other hand, the hitters racked up eleven runs on eleven hits.

Matthew Liuzza was very productive inthe 11-0 win. He went two for five with a double, a homerun and five RBIs.  Travis Snider also had a great game and he went three for four with a homerun, two RBIs and three runs.

On the pitching side, Nathan Starner threw five innings of no-hit ball.  He gave up two hits and he struck out eight and the win pushes his record to 3-4 on the season.

The Lugnuts couldn’t get the bats going in two losses against Cedar Rapids.  In the first game, they actually scored three runs but fell short 4-3.  Travis Snider went two for four with a double and an RBI while Julio Pinto took the loss when he gave up a run in the bottom of the seventh.

In game two, the Lugnuts were completely shutdown and held to two hits in a 4-0 loss.  Nathan Starner took the loss and he gave up four runs (three earned) on six hits and two walks with two strikeouts in four innings.

Beloit couldn’t touch Nathan Starner today as he held them to just three hits with seven strikeouts in seven innings.  Seth Overbey threw two innings of scoreless ball to complete the 4-0 shutout.

Brian Pettway was the hitting star.  He went two for three with a double, a homerun and two RBIs.  The homerun was his fourth of the season while Matthew Liuzza hit a solo shot for his first of the year.

Nathan Starner improved to 2-0 on the season with a nice start.  He gave up just two runs on eight hits and two walks with three strikeouts in six innings of work.

Scott Campbell singled, drew a walk and scored twice in the 5-4 win.  Jonathan Diaz had two hits and two runs and Yuber Rodriguez drove in two.

Lansing was on the short end of a 2-1 pitchers duel and their hitters managed just a single run on three hits.  The lone run came in the fifth inning when Travis Snider drove home Jonathan Diaz on a sac. fly.

A decent start by Nathan Starner went to waste.  He gave up two runs (one earned) on two hits and one walk with six strikeouts in five innings of work.