Some good injury news: OF Estevan Florial had his cast removed Wednesday and is 7-10 days away from resuming baseball activities, Aaron Boone told Brendan Kuty. Florial broke his right wrist crashing into the wall in Spring Training. If all goes well (I know, I know), it sounds like he could return to game action in mid-to-late May. Fingers crossed.
The Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders were rained out. The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on June 3rd. LHP Gio Gonzalez, who will reportedly use his opt-out clause tomorrow, was scheduled to start tonight. Guess he won’t get to make one last Triple-A after all.
Double-A Trenton Thunder (13-10 win over Portland)
- 2B Hoy Jun Park: 1-6, 1 R, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 1 K
- SS Kyle Holder: 1-4, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K
- LF Ben Ruta: 4-6, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI — now hitting .420/.500/.600 through 13 games … he played 36 games here last season, which ain’t a ton, so I think it’ll be a few weeks before the Yankees move him up to Scranton … he turns 25 in June and was a 30th round pick, but at some point the bat forces a promotion and forces the team to see what he can do at the highest level
- 1B Brandon Wagner: 2-5, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 E (fielding)
- CF Rashad Crawford: 1-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K
- C Jorge Saez: 3-3, 2 R, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 2 BB, 1 E (catcher interference) — had been 3-for-16 (.188) on the season prior to this game
- RHP Garrett Whitlock: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 2 WP, 9/2 GB/FB — 57 of 87 pitches were strikes (66%) … 16/3 K/BB in 18 innings
High-A Tampa Tarpons (8-4 win over Clearwater)
- SS Diego Castillo: 3-4, 4 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB — went into this game 6-for-51 (.118) on the season with no more than one hit in any game, so he finally had a big day
- 2B Oswaldo Cabrera: 1-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K
- DH Dermis Garcia: 3-5, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 2B, 1 K — 9-for-24 (.375) with three doubles and three homers in the last six games
- RF Isiah Gilliam: 1-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K
- C Jason Lopez: 0-4, 2 K, 1 E (fielding)
- RHP Miguel Yajure: 6 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 1 HR, 6/4 GB/FB — 53 of 92 pitches were strikes (58%) … 10/9 K/BB in 21 innings for one of my not top 30 prospects
Low-A Charleston RiverDogs (5-4 loss to Augusta in ten innings, walk-off style)
- RF Brandon Lockridge: 0-4, 2 K
- 2B Kyle Gray: 0-3, 1 RBI, BB, 2 K
- CF Josh Stowers: 3-4, 1 R, 1 BB — 8-for-17 (.471) with two doubles in his last four games
- C Josh Breaux: 1-5, 2 K
- LF Canaan Smith: 1-3, 1 BB, 1 SB — threw a runner out at the plate … he’s been on base ten times in his last six games
- RHP Luis Gil: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K, 1 WP, 4/2 GB/FB — 48 of 81 pitches were strikes (59%) … 18/8 K/BB in 12.1 innings
- RHP Rodney Hutchison: 4 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 1 HB, 6/1 GB/FB — 40 of 69 pitches were strikes (58%) … 18 runs and a 8/11 K/BB in 10.1 innings for last year’s sixth rounder
The Short Season Staten Island Yankees, Rookie Pulaski Yankees, and two Rookie Gulf Coast League Yankees teams begin play in June.