Tonight - RHP B.J. LaMura (1-0, 1.20) vs. RHP Dellin Betances (0-1, 1.93) - 7:05
Saturday -RHP Joel Carreno (0-2, 7.02) vs. LHP Manny Banuelos (0-0, 1.42) - 7:05
Sunday - RHP Zach Stewart (1-1, 2.92) vs. LHP Shaeffer Hall (2-1, 2.92) - 1:05

Manchester, NH - The Trenton Thunder had a productive night at the plate, but a seven-run, nine-hit night offensively was not enough, as New Hampshire walked-off to an 8-7 win. Corban Joseph and Cody Johnson combined to collect six hits in ten at bats, as well as five RBI and three doubles.

For the second straight night, the Thunder would grab an early lead after Corban Joseph doubled home Austin Romine to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the second. After surrendering their lead in the bottom of the second, the Thunder quickly turned a 2-1 game into a 3-2 ballgame in the third inning when Austin Krum scored on an error by New Hampshire pitcher Rey Gonzalez error and Cody Johnson laced an RBI-single.

Speaking of Cody Johnson, the former Atlanta first round draft pick had an effective night at the plate for his new team and organization. After his third inning RBI, the Thunder designated hitter singled in the fifth and smacked a two-run double in the top of the sixth.

Scoring in every inning from the second through the sixth, the Thunder would take a 7-5 lead with them into the bottom of the sixth inning when left-handed reliever Wilkins Arias would make his season debut. Arias would walk the only three Fisher Cat hitters he would face, and Thunder Manager Tony Franklin would be forced to bring in lefty Kei Igawa. The former Yankee Major Leaguer would allow New Hampshire to tie the ballgame, allowing two runs via two free passes of his own.

The score would remain tied until the bottom of the ninth inning when Thunder switch-pitching phenom Pat Venditte came in to attempt to send the game into extras. Fisher Cat left fielder John Tolisano had other ideas, though, as his single off the wall in deep left field gave the Fisher Cats a walk-off, 8-7 win.

Every Thursday, Minor Matters will unveil its Top 10 opposing players for the 2011 season. Yes, the Thunder are clearly the most interesting topic on this blog, but wouldn't be nice to hear about the next Matt Wieters, Carlos Santana or Stephen Strasburg to come through the Eastern League. Yeah, I thought so too.

Bio: d'Arnaud, a former Phillies farmhand, is a catcher who was acquired by Toronto in the Roy Halladay trade. His brother, Chase, is a middle infielder in the Pirates' system, and was the MVP of the 2010 Eastern League All-Star Game.

2010: Dealing with an injured back for part of the year, d'Arnaud put together a .259/.315/.726 line with six homers and 38 RBIs and High-A Dunedin in 2010. He caught 30 percent of opposing basestealers, and permitted just two passed balls in 58 games.

What People Are Saying:

"Tons of doubles, some of which will likely turn into home runs, good defense, good receiving skills overall, and would have likely been the Phillies starting catcher in 3 years. The Blue Jays apparently really wanted him in the 2007 draft, but the Phillies picked him one spot ahead of Toronto. Looks like they got their man now." -- Phuture Phillies, 2009

"Showed promising power in batting .255 with 13 homers and 71 RBI, as well as 38 doubles for Single-A Lakewood this year, though he needs some work behind the plate after catching just 40 of 172 base-stealers while committing nine passed balls." -- New York Daily News

"As a hitter, he has a good idea of the strike zone with good bat control; he wraps his bat very slightly but gets to the ball quickly with good rotation for average to above-average future power. He's a few years off but has promise as an offensive catcher with good defensive skills, a more complete player than the Jays' other main catching prospect, J.P. Arencibia." -- Keith Law, ESPN

When You Can See Him: d'Arnaud may return to Dunedin to begin the year, but will probably move up to Double-A for part of 2011. The Fisher Cats come in to Waterfront Park from April 29-May 1, June 3-5, June 27-29 and August 29-Sept. 1.

TRENTON – Even after suffering a hard-luck loss to Dellin Betances and the Thunder on Wednesday in the opening game of the Eastern League Division Series, Kyle Drabek is adamant that his Fisher Cats are the cream of the crop.

“Our team is still confident,” Drabek said Wednesday night. “We feel like we’re the best team in this league. It’s a big loss. You don’t want to lose the first game in a playoff series.”

Drabek held Trenton to one run on three hits and a pair of free passes, but it wasn’t enough against Betances, who, although it wasn’t particularly pretty at times, got the better of Toronto’s top prospect.

Drabek’s downfall in Game 1 was command. He went to 2-0 or worse on every hitter in the first inning, but was able to retire them all. He wasn’t as lucky in the fourth, when a four-pitch walk to Austin Krum led to the eventual game-winning score.

“I had trouble throwing strikes and a leadoff walk is never good,” he said, “then they put a few hits together and were able to get (the run) in.”

Because there are no off days in this series, Drabek is reduced to a spectator for the remainder. Still, he’s got no worries about his teammates’ ability to battle back and move on to the E.L. Championship Series, which would be played against either Harrisburg or Altoona.

“This is a great team and everyone gets along great. After games, you have your downtime and focus on (today),” Drabek said, before reminding himself that New Hampshire’s 17-6 regular-season record against the Thunder won’t play much of a role in the outcome of the series. “I don’t think us beating them a bunch in the regular season comes into this series. This is a playoff series, so every win is big.”

TRENTON – Thunder fans, you remember Brett Gardner, right? The guy who, parking himself in New York’s lineup, spent parts of the 2006 and 2007 seasons at Waterfront Park burning up the basepaths and driving opposing pitchers crazy?

Well, it appears he has a clone. Only this time, much to the dismay of Thunder fans, he’s playing for New Hampshire.

An inch shorter and slightly heavier, Mastroianni’s performance at the top of the Fisher Cats’ lineup has surpassed the totals Brett the Jet put up with Trenton a few summers ago.

Toronto’s 16th-round selection from the 2007 draft led the Eastern League in stolen bases (46), finished tied for the lead in hits (158) and came in second in on-base percentage (.390), runs scored (101) and walks (77). His .301 batting average was good for fifth in the circuit.

“He’s done a great job. He’s probably the best leadoff guy in this league,” New Hampshire manager Luis Rivera said last month, during the teams’ final regular-season showdown. “If he goes, we go. That’s how it is. He’s done a great job. He’s getting on base and he’s scoring a lot of runs.”

Moreover, just like most of his teammates, Mastroianni’s done a great deal of damage against the Thunder during the regular year. He’s hitting at a fantastic .318/.396/.798 clip, with five doubles, a triple and 11 RBIs thrown in. He’s also swiped five bases in six attempts, with the only failure coming on an overslide of third base.

“He’s always on base,” teammate Eric Thames says, restating what the statistics make plainly obvious. “It’s seems like every time you look up he’s on first base. He’ll steal second, steal third. He’s just a big part of this team.”

After his first full season in pro ball, spent with Low-A Lansing of the Midwest League, it would have been hard to predict this kind of success for Mastroianni. He hit just .228 with the Lugnuts, and as a result saw his playing time diminish over the second half of the season.

Tommy John surgery that offseason, plus a change in his approach at the plate, helped him get back on the path to becoming the offensive monster he’s been all season long.

“I just really focused on getting on top of the ball a little bit more and hitting line drives, really be shorter to the ball” Mastroianni explained. “Obviously I’ve still got things to work on. You’re never done, but it’s helped.”

The idea that Mastroianni could get even better should frighten the Thunder just a bit, because with the way he’s performed this, anything better could prove to a death blow for Trenton’s championship chances.

TRENTON – Hey, Andy Pettitte, top that.

Behind 5 1/3 innings of ferocious fireballs from Dellin Betances, the Thunder bucked the odds against the league’s Pitcher of the Year and took Game 1 of the Eastern League Division Series from the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, 2-0, in one of the more electric games in recent memory.

Betances, a native New Yorker with a massive cheering section whooping at nearly every pitch, held the league’s most explosive offense to just two hits and a walk before he yielded the stage in the sixth inning.

The Thunder’s starter said afterward that knowing it was Drabek opposing him gave him the extra juice he needed in the biggest game of his career.

“I knew Drabek was going to come in, and he’s been pitching well all year,” he said. “He won Eastern League Pitcher of the Year, so I knew it was going to be a tough one. I just had to keep trying to put up zeroes and give my team a chance.”

Using well-spotted gas that topped out at 95 miles per hour, plus a spine-melting array of breaking and offspeed pitches, that’s exactly what he did.

As outstanding as his line was on its own, it was the extra notch he found time and time again that was truly impressive. Betances stranded five runners in scoring position, all with less than two outs.

“I just tried to make quality pitches,” he said. “I know I got myself in one of those myself, so I just tried to make some good pitches. Whatever Romine was calling I was going with, so it was good to have him behind me.”

As excellent as Betances was all night long, Kyle Drabek, the Fisher Cats’ ace and inarguably the league’s top hurler, was damn near his equal from his first pitch to his last.

The one problem he had early, however, was getting behind hitters. And although he was perfect through the first three frames, in the fourth inning his early misses wound up costing him.

Austin Krum drew a four-pitch walk to lead off the frame, and was pushed to second on Justin Snyder’s groundout. Krum followed with a steal of third before scoring on Dan Brewer’s line single over shortstop.

Snyder, who was 1-for-4 with a double, made play after play at third base behind Betances. His biggest moment came with runners on the corners in the ninth, when he turned Darin Mastroianni’s hot smash to third into a game-ending double play.

“I was just trying to field my position like I should,” Snyder said. “Some of those plays were a little tougher than I would like, they’re not routine ground balls or anything. It’s just getting out of jams and picking up Dellin. He got himself in and out of situations tonight. Coming in and beating them first game is pretty clutch.”

Not only was it clutch, but it bodes particularly well for the rest of the series. The Thunder have won the first game of their last six postseason series, and have taken the set in the last four.

History aside, what matters tonight is that they topped huge odds and took down Drabek, something they hadn’t done in their previous five tries, and gave themselves huge momentum for tonight, when Pettitte and Adam Warren will try put them in position for a sweep Friday in New Hampshire.

“The first game at home here against Drabek, and the manner in which we got it,” manager Tony Franklin said, “that’s outstanding,”

NOTES: Second baseman Corban Joseph, on the disabled list with a wrist problem, saw a doctor yesterday and wasn’t in the clubhouse before the game. … After being removed in the eighth inning, reliever J.B. Cox got into an argument with Franklin and chest-bumped the manager during the proceedings. … The 2,860 who came to the game last night represented a season-low. … When Josh Schmidt came in for the sixth inning, he did so to Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” which is Yankees closer Mariano Rivera’s entrance music.

A few hours before Dellin Betances and Kyle Drabek lock horns at Waterfront Park, here's a few questions to ponder. Take a minute to answer each. I'm curious to see what you, the fans, think.
Thanks.

Any way you slice it, the Eastern League Division Series is shaping up to be a dog fight.

On the Thunder’s side, you’ve got a 240-game winner, a switch-pitcher, a top-flight catching prospect and — more than likely — a third baseman with just 22 games of pro experience, none of which has come about Short Season ball.

On the other side, the Fisher Cats boast two ace-quality starters who have destroyed Trenton all season long, as well as a true middle-of-the-order threat and a dynamic, lightning fast leadoff man.

So, how will the series go? Let’s break it down.

Hitting: The Thunder have lost Brandon Laird, Justin Christian and, because of a banged up wrist, will lose Corban Joseph for the series.

That’s a starting second baseman, the league’s Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year, and a white-hot leadoff man with power, speed and major league experience.

One player still firmly in Trenton’s lineup, however, is Austin Romine, who has absolutely torched New Hampshire pitching.

The backstop has ripped the Fisher Cats for a .363 average, a .414 on-base percentage and more than 15 percent of the team’s RBIs.

New Hampshire is without Brian Jeroloman, its on-base machine of a catcher.

They still boast Eric Thames, who led the circuit in RBIs and hit five of his 27 home runs off of Thunder pitchers.

At the top, there’s Darin Mastroianni, an untouted player who’s having a breakout season. He’s a Brett Gardner clone out of the leadoff hole, and has swiped 46 bases in 56 tries.

His average and on-base percentages against the Thunder are even better than his already-gaudy totals from the regular season, when he put up a line of .301/.390/.788.

Pitching: As you can see from the matchups below, the Thunder will have Andy Pettitte on their side in Game 2. What’s more interesting, though, is that Adam Warren, arguably the staff’s ace since his promotion after the All-Star break.

This isn’t a new role for the right-hander, who, as a sophomore with the University of North Carolina, won Game 2 of the College World Series in relief of starter Rob Woodard, who got an early hook.

Personally, I like this move. It keeps Warren on regular rest and it probably gives the bullpen a full day off, which they’ll need with Dellin Betances and Manny Banuelos on strict pitch counts and unlikely to go deep in games.

If it goes to the if-necessary action, Andrew Brackman could be the key.

Although the Thunder’s most tenured starter’s record is just 5-7, he’s been great down the stretch as he adjusts to the more advanced hitters of Double-A.

Since August 11, the 6-foot-10 right-hander is 3-1 with a 0.82 in 33 innings, tied for best in the league with Altoona’s Rudy Owens.

His WHIP and batting average against of 0.97 are also among the circuit’s best. His opponent, B.J. LaMura has been nails against the Thunder (2-1, 1.89), but hasn’t been spectacular overall.

If Brackman’s trend of success continues, he could wind up being the Thunder’s ace in thehole.

Defense: If Joseph is gone for the series, the infield defense gets a little weaker. Not that Justin Snyder or Matt Cusick are butchers, but they’re not Joseph over there.

About the only spectacular defender the Thunder have is Krum, who can make just about any play in center.

On the other side, take a good look at shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria, who has all the tools to win multiple Gold Gloves by the time his career is over.

Overall: This one is going to be extremely close. If the Thunder can leave Trenton with a split, I like their chances a lot to take both road games.

Pick: Thunder in four

TRENTON — It’s not a stretch to call Eric Thames the best hitter in the Eastern League. In fact, stretching — yoga, to be exact — is exactly what put him in position to dominate in his second professional season.

After surgeries to his knee, quadriceps and hamstring, Thames came into 2010 with the simple goal of staying healthy.

To do that, Thames, along with teammate Callix Crabbe, started a regimen that includes Vinyasa and Yin yoga, which he says has paid real dividends.

“It keeps you loose, keeps you relaxed and calm. It’s a great thing,” Thames explained. “I’ve always known I needed to increase my flexibility, because a lot of my injuries have been because of tight muscles, so yoga was it.”

With the improved health has come a wellspring of production that put him back on the path to prospectdom.

New Hampshire’s cleanup man leads the Eastern League in RBIs, and ranks among the top ten in home runs, triples, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and, obviously, OPS.

The Thunder were not exempt for Thames’ wrath — not by a long shot.

Against Trenton the Pepperdine alum with the mile-wide smile has hit .319/.367/.884 with five home runs and 20 RBis in 91 at-bats.

Still, he doesn’t consider Trenton’s pitchers creampuffs by any stretch. In fact, he goes out of his way to tout their laurels.

“These guys always have lights-out pitching,” he says. “It seems like every time we face them they have a new prospect who throws flames.”

That’s what he’ll get in the first three games, when the Thunder send Dellin Betances, Adam Warren and Manny Banuelos — not to mention Andy Pettitte — to the hill.

Betances, Warren and Banuelos all can touch the mid-90s with their fastballs, and Pettitte’s credentials are beyond discussion.

Despite his quiet nature, Thames has been a team leader in New Hampshire’s clubhouse all season long, a role he relished as his team battled the Thunder for the top spot in the Eastern League East.

“I lead by example, or at least try to,” he said. “I learn from the veterans about how to play the game right. Don’t be a virus in the clubhouse, don’t be a virus in the dugout, just help the teammate.”

His roommate, leadoff man Darin Mastroianni, says he and Thames share a similar mind set to the way approach the game, which has led to success all season long.

“We have a similar mentality the way we play the game. We’re both very intense, which is good because we can help each other through calming down a little bit,” he said, before adding a little bit of the obvious.

“When you have a guy in the middle of the order who can leave the yard at any point, drive this many runs in and hit for average, it’s impressive. He’s a rare kind of player.”

With a little more than a month remaining in the season, the Thunder and the Fisher Cats have done little to settle the race for the top spot in the EL East. As it stands, Trenton has a one-game lead over New Hampshire but is at a considerable disadvantage insofar as the schedule is concerned. Here, take a look for yourself. Below is a breakdown of each team's remaining 27 games, and their opponents' winning percentage.

TRENTON
Altoona (3) - .579
Harrisburg (3) - .530
Bowie (3) - .553
Portland (3) - .478
New Hampshire (3) - .583
Harrisburg (4) - .530
Akron (4) - .513
New Britain (4) - .296

Overall, 20 of 27 games are against teams with winning records.

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Richmond (3) - .491
Altoona (3) - .579
Binghamton (3) - .478
New Britain (3) - .296
Trenton (3) - .591
Portland (4) - .478
Harrisburg (4) -.530
Portland (4) - .478

Overall, 10 of 27 games are against teams with winning records.

Of course, there's the small matter of the players who will play in those games, and I believe the Cats have the advantage in that category, too. Let's start off by looking at their rotations.

Beginning Tuesday, the Thunder's starting five looks like this:

1. Cory Arbiso
2. Hector Noesi
3. Andrew Brackman
4. Adam Warren
5. D.J. Mitchell

From a sheer prospect-value standpoint, that's a pretty stacked rotation. From a performance standpoint, however, the story is completely different. The guys who should be the team's Big Three -- Brackman, Noesi and Warren -- have been positively dreadful lately.

Since 26, that trio has posted a 2-5 record, and both of the wins came against New Britain, which is already eliminated from playoff contention and is threatening to post the worst record in league history.

Worse still, the Thunder just lost their best starter, Lance Pendleton, to Triple-A. Good for Pendleton, who posted 111 Double-A strikeouts and a .215 batting average against (4th in the EL), but decidedly bad for his former team.

His replacement (for now) is Arbiso, who has performed well as a starter of late. That said, with a quintet of youngsters at Tampa beating on Double-A's door, I sincerely doubt he'll be in the rotation for the rest of the season.

On the flip side, here's what New Hampshire will throw at its opponents*:

1. Shawn Hill
2. Randy Boone
3. Reider Gonzalez
4. B.J. LaMura
5. Kyle Drabek

*Zach Stewart will probably be in there somewhere, but he was placed on the Temporarily Inactive List yesterday, for a period of time unbeknownst to me.

Even though he's No. 5 on the above list, there's no debating that Drabek is the team's ace, or that he has absolutely no business in Double-A. Over his last 10 starts, the 22-year-old Texan has racked up a 5-4 record, a 2.52 ERA, a 0.92 WHIP and has held hitters to a mind-blowing .181 average against.

If he and Stewart are in the New Hampshire's starting rotation for the playoffs, and the only thing that would prevent it is a promotion, the Thunder could be in for a quick exit. Witness, if you will, how the Cats' twin aces have performed against the team with the league's best record.

Drabek: 19 IP, 12, H, 4 R, 4 ER, 7 BB, 10 SO
Stewart: 22.1 IP, 20 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 6 BB, 22 SO
Total: 41. 1 IP, 32 H, 13 R, 13 ER, 13 BB, 32 SO

RESULTS

Friday: New Hampshire 4, Trenton 3, 10 innings
Saturday: New Hampshire 4, Trenton 1
Sunday: New Hampshire 14, Trenton 12

What went wrong: Pretty much everything. The bullpen blew three saves and accrued four of the Thunder's six losses on the seven-game homestand. After scoring four runs over the first 19 innings of the series, they scored a dozen in the third game ... and still lost. ... The team was 8-for-34 with runners in scoring position. Over the first and second contests they were 2-for-14. ... Thunder catchers went just 1-for-6 against Fisher Cat base stealers.

What went right: Of course, they did manage to put up 12 runs in the series finale. And they did it without Austin Romine, who is on an 11-game hitting streak, in the lineup. Edwar Gonzalez went 2-for-5 with a double and a triple. Marcos Vechionacci had a home run. ... The Thunder also swiped nine bases in the series.

PITCHING MATCHUPS

Tuesday: RHP David Phelps (2-0, 0.77) vs. RHP Zach Stewart (1-1, 7.71) -- 7:05 p.m.
Wednesday: Lance Pendleton (1-2, 4.05) vs. RHP Bobby Bell (2-1, 7.31) -- 7:05 p.m.
Thursday: DJ Mitchell (2-1, 3.07) vs. LHP Luis Perez (2-1, 1.52) -- 10:35 a.m.

WHO'S HOT - THUNDER

Brandon Laird and Austin Romine just came off of a terrific series against Portland. Combined, the Thunder's Nos. 3 and 4 hitters went 10-for-29 with five doubles, two home runs, eight RBIs and five walks. ... As you can see by his numbers, David Phelps has also been hot of late. He's allowed just seven hits in 11 2/3 innings and has permitted just one walk so far. ... David Adams has cooled off, going just 2-for-12 with two walks against Portland. ... In a strange twist, the Thunder won't see any of the starters they saw against New Hampshire last week.

WHO'S HOT - FISHER CATS

Brian Jeroloman leads the team with a .348 average, a .444 on-base percentage and a slugging percentage of .543. He also boasts six doubles, tied for second in the Eastern League. ... Eric Thames leads the team in hits, with 19 in 61 at-bats. That's good for a .311 average. ... Thames and Adam Calderone are tied for the team lead with two home runs apiece. ... The Thunder won't face him, but Kyle Drabek has struck out an EL-leading 20 hitters. ... Luis Perez, whom the Thunder will face, is fifth in the league in ERA, with a 1.52 mark.

Monday: Fisher Cats 5, Thunder 4
Tuesday: Fisher Cats 2, Thunder 1
Wednesday: Thunder 13, Fisher Cats 3

Key to the Series: Oh, those bases on balls. If not for Jeremy Bleich's six walks in Game 2, then maybe we're talking about a Thunder series win. After all, Bleich allowed just three hits in 5 1/3 innings. Overall, Bleich has walked 11 men in 17 2/3 innings but has held the opposition to a .164 average against. If he can limit those walks, he'll be truly dominant.

Honorable mention: David Adams, who right now is as hot as bacon grease. Including an 0-for-4 in Game 1, went 5-for-11 with a double, a grand slam and four walks. His season line moves to .388/.455/1.087. Thing is, if he keeps hitting like this, where is he going to go? Scranton has two middle infielders who are on the 40-man.

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Ryan Pope gave up five runs in the second inning, putting the Thunder in a hole from which they would never recover during a 5-4 loss yesterday to the New Hampshire Fisher Cats last night at Merchantsauto.com Stadium.
After a scoreless first inning, Pope, who’d performed ably in his first two starts, hit a rough patch.
Eric Thames and Adam Calderone opened with a single and double, producing the opening tally. Two outs later, catcher Brian Jeroloman doubled home Calderone with the second run.
The next man, Darin Mastroianni, singled, and Callix Crabbe connected on a three-run home run that completed the damage.
The Thunder’s offense did all it could, but in the end came up a run short.
In the fourth, catcher Austin Romine — who was 3-for-5 on the evening — singled and stole second before being driven in on Reid Gorecki’s single.
The Thunder got two more in the fifth, when designated hitter Damon Sublett’s double to right brought home Romine and Laird.
In the sixth, with starter Kyle Drabek out of the game, the Thunder tacked on one more against Bubbie Buzachero when Romine’s single brought home Austin Krum from second.
From there, New Hampshire relievers Trystan Magnuson and Daniel Farquhar silenced Trenton’s bats and sealed the home side’s series-opening victory.
Jeremy Bleich matches up against Zach Stewart tonight in the second game of the series. Game time is 6:35 p.m.

Tonight: Ryan Pope (0-0, 1.80) vs. Kyle Drabek (1-1, 5.06)
Tomorrow: Jeremy Bleich (1-0, 1.46) vs. Zach Stewart (1-1, 7.71)
Wednesday: David Phelps (1-0, 1.59) vs. Marty McLeary (0-1, 18.90)

WHO'S HOT:

Thunder: Bleich has looked very much like he's put his terrible 2009 behind him. Five walks in 12 1/3 innings, however, means command may still be something to work on. The six hits in the same time frame have counteracted the walks, though, and kept his WHIP at an excellent 0.89. ... David Adams' average has dropped to .368, but that figure -- and his .979 OPS -- is still good for the team lead. ... Damon Sublett has four hits this year, but two are homers. ... Brandon Laird hit his first home run yesterday, perhaps a sign that he's heating up.

Fisher Cats: Brad Emaus is hitting .375 (9-for-24) with a team-high eight RBIs. He also sports an otherworldly .500 on-base percentage. ... Catcher Brian Jeroloman is hitting .321/.387/.936. ... David Cooper and Jonathan Diaz each have three doubles. ... The Thunder should be thankful they are not facing Luis Perez, who is 2-0 with an ERA of 0.47. ... Daniel Farquhar has three saves.

Notes: McLeary has racked up that 18.90 ERA without giving up a home run. ... New Hampshire's roster features Adam Loewen, the former Orioles pitcher who is trying to make it back to the majors as an outfielder. ... Drabek faced the Thunder once last season with Reading. He went five innings, gave up two runs and got the win. ... The following Thunder have faced McLeary: Austin Krum (1-for-2, BB, 3B, RBI), Marcos Vechionacci (0-for-2, BB), Justin Snyder (0-for-2).

After leaving the Waterfront Park at around 2:00, I wrote my game story and sidebar, got in the car and headed toward the Pennsylvania Turnpike to watch Phillippe Aumont and the Reading Phillies take on Kyle Drabek and the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

I got lots of pics and video before the game, which I will post when I get chance. For now, I'll just treat this like a standard live blog. That said, here are your lineups:

Fisher Cats
CF - Mastroianni
LF - Calderone
1B - Cooper
3B - Emaus
DH - Thames
RF - Loewen
SS - Diaz
C - Jeroloman
2B -Sanchez

R-Phils
CF - Gillies
SS - Galvis
RF - Brown
DH - Bozied
1B - Mahar
3B - Pinckney
2B - Dorta
LF - Spidale
C - Nelson

First inning: Aumont gives up back-to-back singles to Darin Mastroianni and Adam Calderone. Mastroianni stole a base in the middle and scored on Calderone's hit. Brad Emaus gave a ball a ride that was caught at the wall in left field. All in all, Aumont looked a little shaky.
Fisher Cats 1, R-Phils 0

In the bottom half, Tyson Gillies, who can absolutely fly, tripled off of Drabek.
Freddy Galvis promptly drove him home with a single.
Fisher Cats 1, R-Phils 1

Second inning: This is not turning out to be the pitchers' duel one would have hoped for. Aumont gave up another run in the second, this one coming courtesy of three straight hits from Adam Loewen, Jonathan Diaz and Brian Jeroloman.

Drabek gives the lead right back though, on a sacrifice fly to center from Michael Spidale.
Fisher Cats 2, R-Phils 2

Third inning: Now this is more like it. Aumont fanned two men in the top of the inning. The pitch was so nasty on David Cooper that, after the ump rang him up, he complained a little too loudly and got ejected.

In the bottom half, Drabek dispatched of Tyson Gillies on three pitches, then got Freddy Galvis and Domonic Brown to pop to shortstop.

Fourth inning: Aumont appears to be settling in. He got Thames, Loewen and Diaz quickly on a fly to center and groundouts to second and short.

Drabek gave up a two-out bomb to Brandon Pinckney, but coaxed a flyout from Melvin Dorta to end the inning.
Fisher Cats 3, R-Phils 2

Fifth inning: Phew! That was a long one. Aumont caught a case of wildness and allowed the tying run to score on a wild pitch after getting two quick outs.

Drabek retired the Phillies 1-2-3 in the bottom half.
Fisher Cats 3, R-Phils 3

Sixth inning: Aumont got the first two outs, then lost the strike zone and was replaced by Matt German, who fanned the only man he faced.

Drabek, however, lost it. He gave up a long sacrifice fly to Kevin Mahar and then allowed a three-run double to Michael Spidale.
R-Phils 7, Fisher Cats 3

Both pitchers are out now, so I'm going to focus on uploading video. Thanks for playing along.

Just got off the phone with the Yankees Player Development Complex in Tampa, and was told that they probably won't be ready to release the final roster until Thursday. Of course, Media Day is tomorrow, so we should probably have a pretty darn good idea of what that roster is going to look like based on which players are in attendance.

Still, some EL clubs have released their rosters, and there are some pretty darn nice names to anticipate seeing this season.

We'll start with Erie, which plays Trenton on Opening Day, April 8.

The Seawolves announced their rotation will be:
LHP Jon Kibler

RHP L.J. Gagnier
LHP Duane Below
RHP Thad Weber
LHP Andy Oliver

Three lefties in one rotation is pretty rare, and pretty nasty.

As for position players, Erie features returnee Cale Iorg, outfielders Deik Scram and Wilkin Ramirez. Amazingly, 17 of the SeaWolves' 24 players spent time in Double-A last season.

PORTLAND: The Sea Dogs' roster is stocked, period. Confirmed players include super-prospects Casey Kelly, Jose Iglesias, Lars Anderson, Luis Exposito and Ryan Kalish. For those counting, that's one pitcher, two infielders, a catcher and an outfielder. So, yeah, Portland manager Arnie Beyeler has a few names to play with.

Felix Doubront, Ryne Miller, Stephen Fife and Kyle Weiland join Kelly in the starting rotation.

Che-Hsuan Lin, the 2008 Futures Game MVP, will also roam with Kalish in the Sea Dogs outfield.

READING: With the R-Phils now in the Thunder's division (the EL East), there should be some concern over how flush with talent they are. Their roster includes two of the three players acquired in the Cliff Lee trade -Phillippe Aumont and Tyson Gillies - outfield stud Domonic Brown, as well as 20-year-old shortstop Freddy Galvis.

Yohan Flande (and his wonderfully childish hair), Drew Naylor, Mike Cisco and Vance Worley finish the rotation.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: The biggest surprise, to me at least, is that Kyle Drabek is back in Double-A. This is especially shocking when you consider he made it to Triple-A last season with the Phillies. Maybe they just want to keep him away from Las Vegas.

Robert Bell, Zach Stewart (the Jays' top prospect before the Halladay trade), Luis Perez and Marty McLeary join Drabek in the starting five.

Also joining the Fisher Cats are slugging first baseman David Cooper, center fielder Darin Mastroianni, second baseman Brad Emaus and pitcher-turned-outfielder Adam Loewen. For what it's worth, I think Loewen's story is just as interesting as Pat Venditte's.

RICHMOND: The team formerly known as the Defenders boasts a cadre of position players, especially on the infield, in its inaugural season. Shortstop Brandon Crawford, second baseman Nick Noonan and third baseman Conor Gillaspie - their ninth, eleventh and seventeenth best prospects, according to Baseball America - will ply their trade with the Flying Squirrels (I love that name) in 2010.

Their outfield is even better, with Thomas Neal (No. 4 according to BA), Roger Kieschnick (No. 7) and Darren Ford (No. 13, and a Vineland native) slated to start.

Even though they don't have nearly the pitching of a year ago, the Flying Squirrels could make some noise in 2010.

Oh, I would be remiss if I didn't report that Richmond has Tony Pena Jr, son of the Yankees bench coach, on its roster.

HARRISBURG: Let's see, who are some big names you might like to see with the Senators this season. Well, there's Drew Storen, the closer and son of former XM host Mark Patrick. There's also Danny Espinosa, a slick fielding shortstop, as well as slugging first baseman Chris Marrero.

Oh, yeah, Stephen Strasburg, he's probably worth seeing. He'll make his first home start on April 16 against New Britain. His first overall start is April 11 at Blair County Ballpark in Altoona. Those might be your best chances to see him if you're a Thunder fan. I can't imagine he'll still be in Double-A when the Senators come calling on July 1.

ALTOONA: Although the final roster doesn't appear to be released yet, Jim Lane reports that prospects Tim Alderson and Gorkys Hernandez will start with the Curve. He also adds that Tony Sanchez, expected to start in Double-A, will begin with High-A West Virginia. Disappointing for sure, but don't be surprised to see him on June 15, when Altoona come to Waterfront Park for a three-game set.