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The Bats’ offense went nuts on Thursday, and plenty of prominent farmees were responsible. Phil "Buttercup" Ervin cranked a pair of doubles as part of a 3 for 5, 3 ribbie night, both Tony "Owner, not a" Renda and Jesse "Pluribus Unum" Winker had 2 for 5, 2 R nights, and Seth Mejias-Brean returned from his temporary Billings assignment to go 4 for 4 (with a walk, to boot).
General Jackson Stephens wasn't at his best - he allowed 7 hits, 4 earned runs, and 3 walks in his 5.2 IP - but Alejandro Chacin and Kyle "Quarter Pounder" McMyne combined for 3.1 scoreless IP, an that was plenty good enough to top the Clippers.
Lisalverto "Already Has an Amazing Name" Bonilla will look to improve upon a rough first outing when he takes the mound on Friday against Columbus, with first pitch set for 6:35 PM ET.
The Blue Wahoos rode a 3-run 5th inning and a another bang-up outing from pitcher Luis "Big Crave" Castillo to shuck the Shuckers on Thursday. RBI doubles from Brian O'Grady - who finished 1 for 3 with a walk and 2 ribbies - and the red hot Alex "TOOT" Blandino plated runs in the deciding inning, backing the 7 innings of 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K ball thrown by the prize of the Dan Straily trade from this past offseason.
The rehabbing Devin "Mitchell is Batman" Mesoraco went 0 for 4, but more importantly got in 7 innings of squatting just a day after catching a full 9 inning game.
Keury "Numa Numa" Mella gets the nod on Friday against Biloxi, with first pitch set for 6:35 PM CT.
The Tortugas edged out a win in their 2017 home opener on Friday, scoring lone runs in both the 1st & 3rd innings and holding on for dear life from there. Jose "Can You See" Lopez got the win for his 5.1 innings of 1 run ball, Geoff "Witches" Broussard mimicked his big league brethren by going 5 outs for the save. Meanwhile, Daytona got a 2 for 3 night from Alfredo "re mi fa so" Rodriguez and a 1 for 4 night (with a ribbie) from Nick "No. 2" Senzel, while Daniel "So Good! So Good!" Sweet caroline'd a 2 for 4 night from the leadoff spot that featured both a double and a run scored.
Vlad "Fela" Gutierrez starts Friday night for the 'tugas against Fort Myers, with first pitch set for 7:05 PM ET.
The Dragons completed the organizational sweep by pruning the Loons on Thursday. Wennington "No Decisionington" Romero was rather meh in his start (3 ER in 4.1 IP), but the bullpen Lorenzen'd their way through a scoreless rest of the outing to lock down the win. TJ "Born" Friedl again paced the offense with a 2 for 4 night in the leadoff spot (that included a steal and a run scored), both Jose "Que Sera" Siri and Taylor Trammell backed him in the lineup with 2 hit nights of their own - Trammell's with a double, a ribbie, and a run scored - and a combination of bad Loon defense and some timely wild pitches led Dayton to 6 late runs to overcome the early 3 run hole and pick up the W.
Ryan "Nat King" Olson will toe the rubber for Dayton on Friday against Great Lakes, with first pitch set for 6:05 PM ET.