Tremendous finish to tonight’s Fisher Cats game against New Britain. With two outs in the ninth, CF Todd Donovan used his blazing speed to track down a bomb to left-center and made a diving catch to rob Luke Hughes of two RBI and preserve a 5-4 win.
– It was the 400th win in franchise history. The Fishers (49-55) are now two games behind Trenton for the second playoff spot in the Northern Division.
– Brian Jeroloman notched his second career triple. He ripped a ball to right field that rattled around the NH bullpen.
– New Britain catcher Danny Lehman is the nephew of Dog: The Bounty Hunter, the show on A&E.
– Closer Danny Farquhar allowed a run for the first time in 10 appearances but still picked up his ninth save.
Luis Perez notched the first complete-game victory of his career, and Marty McLeary followed with another solo performance as the Fisher Cats swept New Britain in a doubleheader tonight.
– It was NH’s first doubleheader sweep at home since June 2006 when A.J. Burnett and Tree Thorpe beat the Sea Dogs.
– Perez yielded one unearned run on five hits, pitching the Fisher Cats to a 5-1 win before 4,213 fans. McLeary then tossed another complete game in a 5-0 triumph at Merchantsauto.com Stadium.
– McLeary has been refining a cutter with the help of NH pitching coach Tom Signore. He really credited the pitch and the help of “Siggy.”
– Scott Campbell went 4-for-6 on the night. Al Quintana snapped an 0-for-26 … Fisher Cats now 2.5 games out of a playoff spot. New Britain falls from sole possession of second place and into fourth in the Northern Division.
I’ve had lots of feedback from the Sunday piece on Jami and Nick Gorneault, who are winning a battle against Jami’s cancer (Stage 3 melanoma). Some extra quotes:
Jami on her attitude: “Honestly, for the most part, we’ve been super positive. There’s been a rough day here and there. We look at it more like a bump in the road, and it’s only going to make us stronger - and the people around us stronger.”
Nick on their time in Manchester: “The community has been great. We’ve really enjoyed our time here, and all the prayers really helped and have been answered.”
Nick on playing on Pan-Mass Challenge Night, a night the Fisher Cats honored those fighting against cancer: “It hit me, personally. I just know I see things a lot differently now. You don’t think these things can happen to younger people.”
Trenton had 13 hits tonight and beat the Fisher Cats, 9-4. Nineteen-year-old Trenton catcher Jesus Montero continued mashing the ball. He’s 7-for-14 in the series with three extra-base hits. Did I mention he’s 19?
– Had a heart-warming interview with Jami and Nick Gorneault today. Jami is in the process of beating cancer (skin cancer, melanoma stage 3) and doing well a month after surgery to remove 11 lymph nodes. She is a woman with remarkable strength. Feature story on the Gorneaults and their tumultuous summer in Sunday’s paper. Nick homered tonight and is batting .306 in July.
– Brad Emaus during batting practice challenged the lefties in his group, Adam Calderone and David Cooper, in a friendly competition. One point for a line drive, two points for a wall-ball, four points for a homer. The lefties won on Cooper’s homer.
– Blue Jays roving minor league coach Mike Bordick was hitting ground balls to his 9-year-old son this afternoon. What do you know? The kid has great hands and loves to work hard at the game.
– Toronto’s roving rehab instructor Rick Langford is in town to keep close tabs on Shaun Marcum and Casey Janssen. Langford, who pitched for Billy Martin, recorded 22 consecutive complete games for the Yankees.
– Red Sox newcomer Adam LaRoche is the son of former Fisher Cats pitching coach Dave LaRoche.
– OF Todd Donovan is recovering from a concussion suffered during Sunday’s home-plate collision. The Jays are keeping him on the bench for a while … INF Bryan Kervin has been activated.
RHP Celson Polanco, stricken with a blood clot in his throwing shoulder, was put on blood thinners and sent to St. Louis to meet with a specialist.
RHP Marty McLeary, who dealt with own blood clot issue (shoulder) in spring training, beat first-place Connecticut last night by pitching into the sixth.
How about LHP Marc Rzepczynski? The Fisher Jay notched his first big-league win by defeating the Red Sox yesterday. “Zep” went six innings, 1R, 4H, 4W, 4K.
Only The Franchise: Travis Snider homered for Triple-A Las Vegas on the same night his bobblehead was being given away in Manchester.
Fisher Cats reliever Celson Polanco experienced numbness in his right hand (and cold sensation) on Thursday night, and a trip to the hospital revealed a blood clot in his right shoulder. Images showed a clot measuring about 8 centimeters.
He was loosening up before the game and began to lose sensation in his throwing hand. He consulted with team trainer Voon Chong, who had trouble measuring Polanco’s blood pressure via the right arm. Big problem. The Fisher Cats contacted team doctor Pat Casey — a former point guard at Oyster River of Durham — and sent Polanco to the hospital.
The 24-year-old Dominican (1-2, 4.13 ERA) is likely done for the season. A medical staff will determine if he’s able to fly to St. Louis and meet with a specialist who operated on Fisher Cats righty Marty McLeary, who experienced similar problems with a shoulder blood clot in the spring.
A high school kid from New Jersey won the Eastern League Home Run Derby tonight, defeating Fisher Cats masher Brian Dopirak in the finals. From the Trenton Thunder:
“Mike Fassl, a rising senior at New Egypt High School in New Eygpt, NJ outslugged six EL All-Stars and another local HS star, Mark Zagunis, to win the derby held prior to the EL All-Star game on July 15. Fassl defeated New Dopriak in the Championship Round. He was presented with an authentic autographed Hank Aaron Bat thanks to Yankees-Steiner Collectibles and a $350 gift card to Dick’s Sporting Goods. ”
Hmm. Something is up. I saw a Facebook post that indicated the kid was using an aluminum bat. Still, not bad for a high school senior.
Chicago Cubs fans want Sam Fuld batting leadoff. The Durham native has been a spark since joining the Cubs from Triple-A, batting .375 in nine games. It will be interesting to see how much playing time he gets after the All-Star break. Right now, he’s stuck behind big-money starters Alfonso Soriano, Kosuke Fukudome and Milton Bradley, none of which are batting over .251.
Recently Fuld has been identified by fans while walking the streets of Chicago.
“It’s a little surreal. I guess it kind of makes you realize how big this game is, how much people of Chicago love the Cubs. iI’s a little overwhelming but a great feeling,” he said.
More on the 27-year-old Fuld in tomorrow’s print editions.
The Red Sox have sent shortstop Jed Lowrie to the Portland Sea Dogs for a rehab assignment, just in time for today’s game against the Fisher Cats. Lowrie will wear No. 10 in the 12:05 p.m. contest. Lowrie had left wrist surgery and was recently hobbled by a sore left knee after getting hit by a pitch.
The USA baseball national team plays the New England Collegiate Baseball League All-Stars on July 5 (2:45 p.m.) at Merchantsauto.com Stadium, followed by the Eastern League game between the Fisher Cats and Sea Dogs.
The USA Baseball National Team is comprised of the top non-draft-eligible college players in the United
States. Following its game against the NECBL All-Stars in Manchester, team USA will head to Japan for the 37th Annual USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Series, and they will conclude the summer scheduled with the World Baseball Challenge in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada.
The NECBL is one of the most talented and competitive summer collegiate baseball leagues in the
country. Founded in 1993, the 12-team league has clubs in all six New England states and recruits
players attending colleges from New England, the other 44 states and foreign countries.
