Yankees daily prospect report: Bird homers twice
Yankees' INF Greg Bird on picture on pitcher day during spring training at George Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida. (Feb. 20, 2013) Credit: Newsday J. Conrad Williams, Jr.
An overview of the Yankees minor league affiliates on Wednesday:
TRIPLE-A – Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders
The skinny: The RailRiders were off.
DOUBLE-A – Trenton Thunder
The skinny: In a two-run hole, Trenton scored in the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth innings to go ahead and beat Altoona, 7-3.
The standouts:
Greg Bird, 1B: 4-for-4 with two home runs and a double
Jacob Lindgren, LHP: Allowed one hit in one scoreless inning, striking out three
James Pazos, LHP: Struck out one in a perfect ninth inning
NOTES: Bird started his Double-A career 0-for-8 with three strikeouts, but slammed a home run for his first hit with Trenton on Tuesday before his big day Wednesday…Lindgren and Pazos were both mentioned by Joe Girardi on Tuesday as being possibilities for the Yankees bullpen at some point this season. Lindgren, the Yankees’ top selection in June’s draft (second round), has advanced four levels this season and Wednesday was his debut in Double-A. In 14.1 innings, he’s allowed seven hits and four walks, striking out an eye-popping 33 hitters. Pazos has struck out 63 and walked 18 in 54 innings with Tampa and Trenton this season…Manny Banuelos allowed five hits, no walks and three runs (all earned) during 3.2 innings, striking out five. He gave up two home runs and threw 49 of his 79 pitches for strikes.
SINGLE-A ADVANCED – Tampa Yankees
The skinny: Tampa rallied for five runs in the final two innings, but lost Game 1 of a doubleheader to Brevard County, 6-5. Aaron Judge’s walk-off single scored Danny Oh to win Game 2, 3-2, in eight innings. Games are only seven innings during a minor league doubleheader, so eight innings in Game 2 was technically “extra” innings.
The standouts:
Cito Culver, SS: 1-for-3 with a home run in Game 1
SINGLE-A – Charleston RiverDogs
The skinny: Savannah won both games of a doubleheader against the RiverDogs, 2-0 and 5-3.
The standouts:
Mike Ford, 1B: 3-for-6 with a triple and a walk in Games 1 and 2
Brandon Thomas, CF: 2-for-2 with a walk in Game 2
SINGLE-A SHORT-SEASON – Staten Island Yankees
The skinny: Batavia scored three runs in the bottom of the first and never looked back during a 5-3 win over Staten Island.
The standouts:
Connor Spencer, 1B: 3-for-4 with two doubles
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