Today in the Minors: A Night of Impressive Debuts
By: Bryan Sheehan
Even after top players Jarred Cosart and Jon Singleton were traded to Houston, the Clearwater Threshers had no problem crushing the Tampa Yankees 10-3. During the course of this absolute rout, 7 of the 9 Threshers' starters had RBIs, 2B Cesar Hernandez and catcher Sebastian Valle, who both went 1-4, being the only two not to contribute an RBI. Included in this great show of offense was a back-to-back-to-back homerun display by RF Brandon Tripp (1), Cyle Hankerd (1) and 3B Travis Mattair (6). This was Hankerd's debut for Clearwater, and the 26-year-old went 2-4 and scored twice.
"It feels awesome to be back," said Hankerd, "I've been working hard to get picked up by a team and I'm blessed to be here." PhightingOn.com Class A+ Player of the Month Darin Ruf also contributed three RBIs and a homerun, bringing him to a season total of 67 RBIs.
Hankerd was not the only one making his Clearwater debut last night, though. Starting pitcher David Buchanan, who had spent the first part of the season with Lakewood before being called up to fill the hole left by Jarred Cosart, threw six innings and allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits on the way to his first win at the Class A+ level. Buchanan, who was named the Topps South Atlantic League Player of the Month for May and a SAL all-star with the BlueClaws in June, was 11-5 and had a 3.38 ERA with Lakewood before his call-up.
Buchanan's replacement in Lakewood, Austin Wright, pitched six innings and gave up a run on a homerun to pick up his first win with the club. The Blueclaws won the game 6-2, with RBIs coming from PhightingOn.com Class A Player of the Month Cameron Rupp (29,30), Zach Collier (24), Domingo Santana (31) and Carlos Alonso (4). PhightingOn.com Class A Pitcher of the Month Colby Shreve pitched two scoreless innings in relief.
In Reading, the R-Phillies won 8-4 thanks to a pinch-hit grand slam by SS Steve Singleton (4) in his Reading debut. This was Singleton's fourth homerun of the season in the Eastern League, as he started the year off with New Britain. Singleton was called up from Lakewood after 3B Carlos Rivero and SS Freddy Galvis were promoted to Lehigh Valley. Tyler Brummett (3-5) picked up the win after a six-inning, 4 run (3 earned) start.
In Their AAA debuts, Rivero and Galvis both went 1-4, as the IronPigs lost 3-2 to Scranton. Former MLBer Drew Carpenter (5-1 in Lehigh), lost his first game for the 'Pigs this season, giving up one run in two innings of relief.