Farmers Only - Cerda-fied greatness for the Dayton Dragons

Durham Bulls 10, Louisville Bats 2 (AAA)

Donovan “Down by the River” Solano went 3 for 3 with a double in what maaaaay be his final tune up on rehab, and Stuart “Won a Giant Teddy Bear at the” Fairchild socked a 2-run homer, but that was just about all you’d ever want to remember from this outing by the Bats. Justin Nicolino was shelled for 7 ER in 4.1 IP as the starter, and that was that.

Biloxi Shuckers 11, Chattanooga Lookouts 4 (AA)

The world was an oyster for the Shuckers on Thursday, most of which came against Lookouts starter Carson “People Who Spy Shouldn’t Be Called ‘Spys,’ They Should Be Called” Spiers, who was tagged for 6 ER in his 5.2 IP on the bump. Matt McLain had the evening off, and would have needed to sock a half-dozen dingers to matter. TJ “i” Hopkins kept right on mashing with a homer of his own, however, as did Francisco Urbaez as part of a 2-hit, 2-walk day from the leadoff spot.

Dayton Dragons 10, Cedar Rapids Kernels 7 (High-A)

Allan Cerda drove in 5 on the back of a pair of moonshot homers, and he also added a walk as Cedar Rapids increasingly got scared of putting a ball anywhere near where he could destroy it. Elly “Three Feet High and Rising” De La Cruz kept right on adding to his legend with another ho-hum 2 for 4 night that included a walk, double, ribbie, and pair of runs scored. Matheu “Batheu” Nelson had a 3-hit night, Jose Torres was on-base a trio of times (and swiped a trio of bags), while an incredible opportunity was missed when Austin Hendrick got the night off - Brent Headrick got the start for Cedar Rapids, and the chance to see some Hendrick/Headrick face-offs was missed.

On a slightly related note, I hopped on The Riverfront podcast last evening and was asked about favorite position player prospects the Reds have in their system right now, and went on to get all googly-eyed about Cerda before even seeing the results of this game. That’s fun to roll around and gloat in. Check out the pod, if you’re into that kind of thing.

Lakeland Flying Tigers 6, Daytona Tortugas 5 (Class A)

Lakeland Flying Tigers 4, Daytona Tortugas 3, (F/7) (Class A)

The Tugas fell by a lone run in their makeup game from earlier in the week, and then promptly fell in a 7-inning follow-up as Lakeland swept the day. Jack “Jolly” Rogers swashbuckled a homer in Game 1 as part of a 2-hit, 2-ribbie day, while Tyler Callihan had a 2-hit game of his own. Chase “STP” Petty got the start in the second game and pitched quite well (5 IP, 2 H, ER, 2 BB, 4 K), but the Flying Tigers got hot against reliever Dennis “Shipguy” Boatman and that was that. Steven “Ley Lady” Leyton gets a mention for his 2-hit, 2-ribbie outing that included a triple, too.