I am not sure if it was a game or batting practice but two Lancaster JetHawks hit three home runs in the 14-3 thumping of Inland Empire (BTW, I am not sure what qualifies it as an empire).  Jonathan Gaston went 4 for 5 with 5 RBI.  He hit a solo shot and two of the two run variety.  Brian Pellegrini went 3 for 5 with 4 RBI off of two solo shots and one of the two run variety.  I think saying the park is hitter friendly might be the understatement of the year.  JetHawk pitchers scattered 13 hits but gave up only 3 runs.

Yordany Ramirez is showing some promise.  He has always been fast and a great defender in center but the plate is where he has struggled.  He is hot there right now.  Ramirez went 3 for 3 last night in Round Rock’s 14-7 defeat. He hit a homer and a double and also made a nice catch in the outfield.  After starting the year 0-9, he is 8 for his last 10 with 3 doubles and a homer.

Round Rock pitchers continue to give out walks as an offensive stimulus package for the opposition.  Starter Jose Capellan issued 5 in 3 2/3 innings and reliever Tyler Lumsden added 3 more in the 3 innings he pitched.

Lexington has now gone 19 innings with out scoring a run.  They suffered their second straight shutout yesterday morning. Jordan Lyles took the loss, though he didn’t pitch badly.  He did throw alot of pitches.  He fanned 8 in 3 2/3 IP.  He also walked 2 and gave up 3 hits.  Brain Wabick relieved him and gave up 5 runs in 3 2/3 innings.

Yesterday, Lex was the only winner.  Today, they are the only loser.  Let’s start our recap by going to Round Rock where Felipe Paulino was solid in his second start of the year.  He started off with 4 no hit innings.  He ended with a line that reads: 7IP, 4 hits, 1 earned run, 2 walks and 6 strike outs.  That gives him 12 K’s in 12 innings on the year.  When he left the game, he looked like the hard luck loser being down 0-1.  But Round Rock came back with single runs in the 8th and 9th for a 2-1 victory.  Tommy Manzella had a double and Edwin Maysonette had the only mutli hit game of the night.

Corpus Christi put a 9-1 drumming on NW Arkansas.  Sergio Perez was solid though not over powering as he picked up his second win of the season.

“(The key was to) get ahead, and if they happen to get on, just make good pitches when it counts,” Perez said. “I think that’s what you’ve got to do. I threw some good sliders. I had them thinking fastball and threw something else. I think I did that well.”

Colin DeLome hit his third round tripper of the season and the Hooks added some good situational hitting to provide the offence.  The Hooks went 5 for 12 with runners in scoring position and scored 7 of the 9 runs with two outs.

Lancaster picked up their second win of the season.   Lancaster pitchers combined to strike out 18 batters.  Starter Shane Wolf struck out 9 in 5 innings, C. J. Lo fanned 7 in 3 innings and Bryan Hallberg fanned 2 in the 9th.  Lo got the win and Hallberg got the save. Brian Pellegrini hit his second home of the season and Chris Minaker went 4 for 4 at the plate.

Lexington took their first loss of the season.  They were shut out by the hottest pitcher in the Sally League.   Kannapolis starter Greg Infante fanned 11 Ashville batters in 6 innings in his last start on the way to a 3 pitcher combined no hitter.  The Legends only struck out twice against him and got three hits in his six innings last night but it wasn’t enough to get a runner across home.  Kyle Greenwalt took the loss in the 2-0 loss but he has no reason to hang his head.  Greenwalt pitched 5 innings giving up 1 run on 4 hits and didn’t walk a batter.

Lexington has a early morning game today that started just after 10:30 EST.

Yesterday in the minors was exciting even though only Lexington won.  Jordan Parraz’s first series against his former farm mates turned volatile in the 8th inning. Parraz while scoring the 6th run of the game for the visitors, collided with Hooks’ catcher Brian Esposito…. on a ground ball to short that forced a runner at first base.

“I guess for some reason, he thought I was trying to cover the plate, deke him or put a move on him,” Esposito said. “But I was clearly giving him the plate and didn’t even see it coming. I was looking down the first-base line toward the play and the next thing you know, I’m pulling myself off the ground. That’s the first time I’ve ever had that happen.”

When Parraz came up to bat in the 9th, Chris Salamida plunked his former teammate in Salem in the back.  That resulted in Salamida and Esposito being ejected from the game along with manager Luis Pujols.

“The problem I have about the ejection is that it was without warning,” Pujols said. “If the umpire knew that something could happen and you want to avoid people getting hurt, that’s what the warning is for.

“If (home plate umpire Myers) had any doubt, he could call me (over) and give the warning and stop the thing right there. Don’t let things happen and then run the manager, pitcher and catcher out. I don’t understand that.”

The outcome of the game was a 8-4 loss.  Brad James struggled in the first but garnered some measured praise from his manager.

“He was off in the first inning a little bit,” Pujols said. “He settled down after that. But I think he threw the ball better today than the last time I saw him pitch (against Class AAA Round Rock on April 7).

“But for his first outing of the year, I don’t worry too much about (the walks) right now.”

Colin Delome hit his second homer of the season to lead the offence.

Lou Palismano has headed back to extended spring training to rehab his injured shoulder.

Robert Bono brought back to back  0-4 win loss records into this season.  Two seasons of short season ball and not a single win.  That changed last night as Lexington beat Kannapolis 2-1 and Bono earned the win with 5 strong innings.

It feels good. But I’ve been doing it all along,” Bono said. “Just keep going out, throw the ball the same way. … Tonight, I was going right after it.”

The local paper reports that Bono “pitched like a crafty veteran over five shutout innings. Relying mostly on a sinking two-seam fastball and a curveball, he gave up five hits, no walks and struck out three.”

Brandon Barnes went 2 for 3 at the plate.  He like the Lexington team is having much different fortunes than a one year ago.  Last year, Barnes suffered through a 0-22 slump and was sent back down to extended spring training with a bingo batting average and striking out almost half the time.  At the same time, his team got out to a horrible start with the win loss record.  This year, through the first four games, the Legends are undefeated and Barnes is hitting .538 (7 out of 13) with 2 doubles, and zero strike outs.

It looks like Lancaster could use some help.  We predicted that the Lancaster team would be the weakest in the system and they are looking like it. Last night, they reached new lows by getting trounced 16-1 in their home opener.

The only highlights for the JetHawks is the C & C show.  Jason Castro had two doubles and is hitting .318 on the season.  Koby Clemens went 1 for 2 with two walks and is hitting .444 on the season.

Round Rock got it’s first look at Bud Norris.  Our reporter on the scene gave this report of his outing:

Spotty command
91ish FB
Pretty good breaking pitches

The Express got a three run homer from Marc Saccomanno to give them the lead after six innigns.  The lead didn’t last long as Omaha put up three in the 7th and three more in the 8th to send the Express to their 4th loss of the season 8-4.

Express pitchers are out of control.  They have walked 37 batters in 45 innings.

Let’s start the weekend trip around the farm in Lexington where the young arms have lived up to their hype through the first three games.  Jordan Lyles was solid but not spactacular in his Thurday start.  Friday’s game was rained out but Saturday had two outstanding pitching peformances from the Legends.

In game one, Ross Seaton gave up three hits and two walks while fanning two in five innings.  He gave up two runs but only one was earned; a home run that plated the unearned run as well.  Frederico Hernandez hit a three run home run and Brandon Barnes went 2 for 3 at the plate in the 6-3 win.

In game two, Brad Dydalewicz pitched 5 innings of no hit baseball in the Legends 13-2 victory.  He did walk four batters but picked off one of those baserunners.  Ebert Rosario, Brandon Barnes, & Albert Cartwright had 3 hits each and Russell Dixson and Kody Hinze both homered.

The Legends were off Sunday.  Robert Bono tries to continue the solid pitching tonight in the home opener.  Fans in Lexington can expect to see movement on the bases:

“I like movement. I like bodies moving,” (Lexington manager Tom) Lawless said before last week’s road trip. “If you get on base, we’re gonna be moving. We’re gonna steal. We’re gonna hit-and-run. We’re gonna take extra bases. We’re gonna put pressure on the defense.

“The more you do that, the reputation around the league knows that ‘if you bobble that ball, we’re gonna take the extra base.’ We’re gonna get thrown out — that comes with the territory. But we’re gonna be more successful trying to do it that way than waiting around trying to hit home runs. … I like the home run, but I don’t think you wait around for it. You create opportunities and then try to score the runs.”

Lancaster avoided the shut out Saturday night, scoring a run late in their 6-1 loss.  Sunday, they picked up their first win of the year through some power at the plate and working out of jams on the mound.  Brian Pellegrini & Jon Gaston hit home runs and Koby Clemens had a double and a triple to lead the JetHawks at the plate.  Christopher Hicks pitched 5 solid innings and Lo, Severino & Kelly all pitched their way out of jams for a 7-4 win.

Corpus Christi got a solo home run from Jhon Florentino to start Saturday nights game.  It turned out to be the only run in a 1-0 Hooks victory. Casey Hudspeth went six innings giving up just two hits and three walks while striking out

The Hooks' Jhon Florentino connects on his first home run of the year in the first inning against Tulsa. Photo: Steve Nurenberg

three to earn the win.  Paul Estrada closed out the ninth for the save.

Sunday, the game went to the 10th with the Hooks coming out on the losing end of a 6-5 decision.  The Hooks blew a 5-1 lead after 5 innings.

“It’s tough,” Hooks manager Luis Pujols said. “It’s tough anytime you lose.”

Drew Locke hit a 3 run homer for the Hooks in the game.  The Hooks also faced former Astros farm hand Jordan Parraz who went O-4 for NW Arkansas.

Round Rock pitchers have walked 29 batters in the first four games of the season.  The free passes have led to losses as the Express lost both Saturday and Sunday.  Their offences hasn’t been too much to write home about either.  JimR gives some first hand oberservations in the TZ.

The season got off to a good start on opening night with three of the four full season farm teams getting wins.  Day two saw three losses and a rain out.  Let’s look closer at what each affiliate has done in the first two days.

Round Rock:

Thursday night, Felipe Paulino threw 93 pitches in 5 innings but shut out the I-Cubs.  He allowed three hits, three walks and a hit batter, while fanning six. He was supported by four home runs as the offense exploded for 10 runs in the 10-4 opening night victory.  Reggie Abercrombie and Marc Saccamanno both hit 3 run homers.  I-Cubs reliever and former Notre Dame reciever got hit so hard he have must wished he was wearing a helmet and pads.  J. R. Towles welcomed him with a solo shot to lead off the 6th and Brian Bogusevic tacked on a two run dinger before the inning was over.  The only starter not to get a hit was Chris Johnson who still contributed with a sacrifice fly to account for the only run not coming on a home run.

Family and fans: Jake Coolbaugh, 5, looks at a painting of his late father, Mike Coolbaugh, during a ceremony to retire his jersey at the Dell Diamond on Friday. Widow Mandy Coolbaugh, middle, speaks about Mike's love of the stadium, the game and the city of Round Rock. (Jay Janner/AMERICAN-STATESMAN)

Friday, the Express retired the uniform of Mike Coolbaugh in an emotional ceremony. The events of the evening put the game in perspective.

The Express lost the game 4-2. Starter Jose Capellan gave up 5 runs in 5 innings.  Chris Johnson was hit by a pitch and was replaced by a pinch runner.  The express batters struck out 11 times, lead by Reggie Abercrombie’s three K’s.

Corpus Christi:

Brian Esposito is showing some unexpected power.  After hitting the walk off homer in the exhibition win over the Astros, he slugged a three run shot that gave the Hooks an insurmountable lead over the Tulsa Drillers en route to the 9-3 victory. Colin Delome also added his first AA homer. Sergio Perez got the opening day win by pitching five solid innings giving up one run.

Friday, the Hooks starter Polin Trinidad gave up two home runs to a guy who hadn’t hit on since last May 1oth and the offense was shut down by a pitcher who hadn’t started a game in almost two years in a 4-2 loss.

Lancaster:

Thursday, the JetHawks stranded 11 base runners in their 9-3 loss.  Shane Wolf gave up six hits which included two doubles, a triple and two homers.  He left the game in the 5th  with the score 4-2. He was relieved by Jason Dominguez, who allowed an inherited base runner to score and then allowed three more runs to score before getting a single out. The 8-2 hole proved too much to climb out as the JetHawks lost 9-3.

Friday, Jose Duran got them back in the hole in a hurry as he surrendered seven runs in just two innings.  After five innings, the score was 9-0, then the JetHawks started fighting back.  They scored single runs in the 6th and 7th before plating 4 in the 8th.  They scored one more in the 9th but weren’t able to get closer than the 9-7 final.  Some good news for the JetHawks included the first HR of the season for Jason Castro and two solid innings of relief for C. J. Lo.

Lexington:

Thursday, Lexington got great production from the bottom of the line up.  Hitting 8th, Ebert Rosario went 3 for 4 with a double, a triple and two RBI.  Ninth place hitter, Albert Cartwright went 2 for 4. Jordan Lyles won his first start as a Legend giving up two runs in five innings.  The final was 5-4 Legends.

Friday, the Legends were rained out.