Mustelier, Mesa Homers Lead Thunder Past Portland

(PR) (Portland, ME) – Ronnier Mustelier and Melky Mesa clobbered home runs in the ninth inning to break open a tie game and give the Trenton Thunder a 6-3 win over the Portland Sea Dogs in the opener of a four-game series Monday night from chilly Hadlock Field. Mustelier’s two-run blast snapped a 3-3 tie, and Mesa’s solo shot provided an insurance run two batters later.

Dan Brewer led off the ninth against Eammon Portice (0-1) with a ground ball single to left field. Mustelier then squared to sacrifice on the first pitch of the next at-bat but pulled the bat back and took ball one. Then with Brewer in motion on an apparent hit-and-run on the 1-0 pitch, Mustelier hammered the ball over the replica “Green Monster” left field wall for his second home run of the season.

Mesa also drilled his home run over the replica “Monster,” his team-high-tying fifth of the season. Trenton hit 24 home runs in 23 games during the month of April.

Kelvin Perez worked around a leadoff double in the bottom of the ninth to end the 3 hour, 16 minute affair and earn his first-career Eastern League save. Francisco Rondon (1-0) retired the only batter he faced on a deep fly ball in the eighth to earn his first Eastern League win.

The Thunder previously led by one run three times in the game, only to see Portland come back each time and tie the game. Cody Johnson’s RBI single against Sea Dogs’ starter Billy Buckner started the scoring in the first, but Oscar Tejeda’s double tied the score at 1 in the fourth.

Luke Murton’s infield RBI hit in the fifth gave Trenton the lead at 2-1, but Kolbrin Vitek tied the game right back with an RBI single in the bottom of the inning. Mustelier hit an RBI fielder’s choice in the sixth to make it 3-2, but Vitek hit a solo home run against Ryan Pope in the eighth to again tie the score.

Murton went 3-for-4 with a walk to lead the Thunder offense. Mustelier went 2-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored, while Abraham Almonte, Johnson and Mesa each had a pair of Trenton’s 14 hits.

Game two of the series will be Tuesday night with first pitch slated for 6:00 pm from Hadlock Field. Trenton right-hander Craig Heyer (1-2) is expected to start for the Thunder against Sea Dogs’ righty Chris Balcom-Miller (1-2) in a re-match of a game at Waterfront Park on April 10. Radio coverage on 91.3 FM (WTSR) and streaming online begins at 5:45 pm

Mujica EL POY, Stoneburner Off DL, Pettitte Off Roster

(PR) (Trenton, NJ) The Eastern League announced Monday that Trenton Thunder INF Yadil Mujica has been named the league’s Player of The Week for the period of April 23-29. Additionally the Thunder, Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, announced today that RHP Graham Stoneburner has been activated from the DL. He will start Monday night’s game at Portland.

The 27-year old Mujica batted .625 (10-for-16) with one triple, six runs scored, two walks, a .667 on-base percentage and a .750 slugging percentage last week while appearing in five games for the Thunder and playing second base, third base and shortstop. Mujica had multiple hits and scored at least one run in all four games he started for the Thunder last week, including going 2-for-3 with two walks and three runs scored in a 4-3 win at New Hampshire on Saturday. He led off the top of the 11th inning of that game with a walk and came around to score the winning run on a double by Walter Ibarra.

The 6’1”, 170 lb. native of Matanzas, Cuba, led all Eastern League players in batting average (.625), hits (10) and OPS (1.417) last week. He also finished ranked among the weekly leaders in on-base percentage (.667-2nd), triples (1-tied 2nd), runs scored (6-tied 3rd) and slugging percentage (.750-5th). Yadil, who joined the Trenton Thunder on April 20th after being transferred from the Triple -A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, was signed by the New York Yankees as a non-drafted free agent on February 18, 2011.

Stoneburner replaces Andy Pettitte on the active roster, who was transferrred to the Short-Season A Staten Island roster in order to pitch in an extended spring training game Monday afternoon.

Thunder Walk-Off Losers In New Hampshire; Brewer Activated

(PR) (Manchester, NH) – Brad McElroy’s walkoff single capped a two-run ninth inning rally for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats who came back to defeat the Trenton Thunder, 4-3, in Manchester Sunday afternoon. McElroy’s bases-loaded hit past a drawn-in infield capped a comeback from 3-1 behind in the eighth inning and gave the Fisher Cats the series win.

Trailing the Thunder 3-2, Mike McDade led off the ninth for New Hampshire by walking against Ryan Flannery (0-1), who then induced a ground ball to second off the bat of Brad Glenn. Unfortunately for Trenton, second-baseman Kevin Mahoney bobbled the ball for an error leaving two runners on base with no outs.

The next batter John Tolisano attempted to sacrifice, but his bunt was perfectly placed down the third base line and catcher Jose Gil’s throw to first was late and the bases were loaded. A.J. Jimenez then lined a clean single to right scoring pinch-runner Koby Clemens with the tying run and setting the stage for McElroy’s game-winner one batter later.

The ninth-inning rally wasted a terrific start by Trenton’s Brett Marshall, who retired the first ten batters he faced and lasted a career-long 7.2 innings. He carried a 3-1 lead into the eighth before allowing a leadoff home run to Jimenez. Marshall fanned six and did not walk a batter.

Trenton scored three runs against New Hampshire starter Chad Jenkins, two in the third on three hits including an RBI single by Cody Johnson. Abraham Almonte added the Thunder’s final run with a fifth-inning solo homer, his third of the season and second off of Jenkins.

Clint Everts (1-0) threw three scoreless innings in relief of Jenkins to earn the win, while Jimenez drove in two of New Hampshire’s four runs. Yadil Mujica collected three hits for the Thunder and is now 8-for-11 in his last three starts.

Trenton next heads to Portland for a four-game series against the Red Sox affiliate Sea Dogs. Game one will be Monday night with first pitch slated for 6:-5 pm. Trenton right-hander Graham Stoneburner (0-0) is expected to be activated from the disabled list before the game and start for the Thunder against Sea Dogs’ righty Billy Buckner (0-2). Radio coverage on 91.3 FM (WTSR) and streaming online begins at 5:45 pm.

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(Trenton, NJ) The Trenton Thunder, Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, announced today that OF Dan Brewer has been activated from the DL. He will play left field Sunday at New Hampshire and bat second in the order. There is no corresponding roster move Sunday, as the team will have the full compliment of 25 players for the game at New Hampshire.

Portland Start For Pettitte Scrapped

Got a text from Chad Jennings yesterday. Hope you didn’t book your hotels in Portland…looks like the Yankees organization figured out Portland is in Maine. They’ve decided, via my buddy Chad, to send Andy Pettitte to Florida instead, citing cold weather in Portland.

Pettitte will instead pitch for High-A Tampa in Dunedin. The possibility of him returning to Trenton on May 5 still remains very, very real, however.

Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 at gmail.com

Ibarra The Hero In Extras

(PR) (Manchester, NH) – Walter Ibarra’s RBI double in the 11th inning capped a comeback from 3-0 behind and propelled the Trenton Thunder past the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, 4-3, in Manchester Saturday afternoon. Ibarra drove in a pair to lead the offense, while five Thunder pitchers held the Fisher Cats scoreless for the final nine innings of the game.

Yadil Mujica walked to start the top of the 11th against reliever Matt Daly (1-2) and advanced to second on Abraham Almonte’s sacrifice bunt. Ibarra then blooped his game-winning double just inside the left-field foul line to score Mujica. Ryan Flannery worked around a leadoff single in the bottom of the inning, inducing a game-ending double play grounder from Brad Glenn for his second save of the season.

New Hampshire led 3-0 after getting second-inning home runs from Mark Sobolewski (solo) and Koby Clemens (two-run) against Trenton starter Cory Arbiso. Arbiso then settled down and pitched scoreless frames in the third, fourth and fifth.

Ibarra got the Thunder on the board in the fifth with a two-out triple against Fisher Cats’ starter Casey Lawrence. In the sixth Kevin Mahoney’s RBI fielder’s choice cut the deficit to 3-2.

Trenton tied the game in the seventh against reliever Fernando Hernandez, a former Thunder hurler, as Mujica walked, moved to third on an Almonte single and scored on a wild pitch.

Preston Claiborne threw 2.1 scoreless innings to keep the game tied, and Kelvin Perez (1-0) retired all seven hitters he faced to earn his first victory of the season. Melky Mesa went 2-for-2 with three walks, while Mujica reached four times on two walks and two hits.

The finale of the three-game series will be Sunday afternoon with first pitch slated for 1:35 pm. Trenton right-hander Brett Marshall (3-1) is expected to pitch for Trenton against Fisher Cats righty Chad Jenkins (2-2). Radio coverage on 91.3 FM (WTSR) and streaming online begins at 1:20 pm.

Trenton Strands Ten In 2-1 Loss

(PR) (Manchester, NH) – The Trenton Thunder threatened all night but couldn’t come through with the big hit, leaving ten men on base in a 2-1 loss to the New Hampshire Fisher Cats in Manchester to open a three-game series. The Fisher Cats held the Thunder to only three hits, but also issued eight walks and two hit batsmen and still managed to hold on for the win.

Ryan Tepera (2-1) worked five innings for New Hampshire and allowed a run on two hits, five walks and four strikeouts. Matt Daly and Clint Everts kept the lead through the eighth, and Ronald Uviedo pitching around a leadoff walk in the ninth to earn his fifth save. He induced a game-ending double play groundball from Walter Ibarra with a runner on first.

The Fisher Cats scored in the second and third innings against Trenton starter Shaeffer Hall (2-3) on RBI hits from Justin Jackson and John Tolisano. Hall worked six innings and took the hard-luck loss, allowing seven hits and two runs while striking out three.

Ibarra, Ronnier Mustelier and Abraham Almonte were the only Thunder batters to collect hits. Tolisano doubled three times and walked to pace New Hampshire’s eight-hit attack.

Game two of the series will be Saturday afternoon with first pitch slated for 1:35 pm. Trenton right-hander Cory Arbiso (0-0, 1.42) is expected to pitch for Trenton against Fisher Cats righty Casey Lawrence (0-1). Radio coverage on 91.3 FM (WTSR) and streaming online begins at 1:20 pm.

Pettitte Pitching In Portland For Thunder On Monday

According to reports out of New York, Andy Pettitte will remain with the Thunder and pitch for Trenton at Hadlock Field in Portland on Monday.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi said Pettitte will get up to 95 pitches in the outing.  That still leaves open the possibility that the five-time World Series Champion will make another start at Waterfront Park on May 5, although that won’t be known until after Monday’s start at the very earliest.

Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com

Thunder Wake Up To A Loss

(PR) (Trenton, NJ) – The Erie SeaWolves sent 11 batters to the plate and scored seven times in the first inning en route to a 9-2 victory over Trenton Thursday afternoon before 5,378 fans on Education Day at Waterfront Park. With the win, Erie took the three-game series 2 games to 1.
After being handed a 7-0 lead before taking to the mound, SeaWolves starter Jared Wesson (2-1) pitched seven dominant innings, allowing one run (earned) on four hits while striking out eight.

Erie took a 2-0 advantage on a bases loaded walk to Jordan Lennerton and a fielder’s choice by Bryan Pounds against Trenton starter Craig Heyer (1-2). Then with two outs in the first Tony Plagman lined a two-run double to right to double the lead. After Brent Wyatt walked, Jamie Johnson hit an RBI double plating Plagman with the fifth run.

With runners on second and third, Niuman Romero batted for the second time in the inning and singled in both Wyatt and Johnson to make it 7-0. The 11th batter of the inning Brandon Douglas next singled, but Romero was thrown out at the plate by right-fielder Abraham Almonte while trying to score the eighth run of the frame.

Heyer then settled down and did not allow a run over his final four innings. He was charged with seven runs on eight hits in five innings pitched. Francisco Rondon pitched two scoreless innings in relief, but Michael Dubee allowed two runs on five hits in his two frames.

Almonte doubled home Yadil Mujica in the bottom of the third to plate the Thunder’s lone run of the contest. Mujica collected three of Trenton’s six hits on the afternoon. Neil Medchill homered in the ninth for his first hit with the Thunder.

Erie collected 14 hits for the second consecutive game. Romero led the attack by going 4-for-6 with three RBI and two runs scored. Pounds went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI.

The Thunder take to the road for the next seven games beginning with a three-game series at New Hampshire beginning Friday night. First pitch is slated for 6:35 pm, with left-hander Shaeffer Hall (2-2) is expected to pitch for Trenton against Fisher Cats righty Ryan Tepera (1-1). Radio coverage on 91.3 FM (WTSR) and streaming online begins at 6:20 pm.

VIDEO LINKS: Pettitte, Cashman Press Conferences

You can watch the Andy Pettitte press conference here

The Brian Cashman press conference can be viewed here and here

All Andy, All The Time

VIDEO —

Pettitte vs. Brantley http://youtu.be/8VrN6m_ZwG8,
Pounds (K) http://youtu.be/hdmDvYTD9ec,
Murrian http://youtu.be/u2HixI5l6P4
Rockett: http://youtu.be/074r50nM4Mg

PHOTOS —

Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com