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Best Games of 2012: Joey Bats Bashes
New Hampshire Fisher Cats
10/12/2012 11:06 AM ET
 (NH Fisher Cats)
Thursday, August 23- New Hampshire 9, New Britain 6:
While it was certainly great to see rehabbing Red Sox players Jacoby Ellsbury, Carl Crawford, and Ryan Sweeney play for Portland over the Fourth of July holiday series, getting a chance to see the two-time reigning home run champ in person was a lot better.
 
Jose Bautista, who clubbed 54 and 43 home runs in 2010-11, respectively, not to mention 27 before landing on the disabled list this past season, played in his one and only rehab game with the Fisher Cats on August 23.  He gave the 5,385 fans at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium quite a show.
 
The Fisher Cats entered the fourth inning trailing 4-0, but after Brad Glenn and Ryan Schimpf singled, Gabe Jacobo walked to load the bases with one out. Brian Jeroloman singled to left to bring home one run, but the bases remained loaded for Bautista. They didn't stay loaded for long, as after a prodigious swing and a miss on the first pitch, Bautista hit the next one to the base of the hotel in left-center field for a grand slam and 5-4 Fisher Cats lead.
 
Before Bautista could leave a his lasting impression on Fisher Cats fans, the regular Fisher Cats followed Bautista's lead in the fifth inning.  With one out, Glenn, Ryan Goins, and Schimpf launched back-to-back-to-back home runs for just the second time in team history, pushing the lead to 8-6.  That historical moment, however, was stuck in the shadow of Bautista, who came up in the eighth inning and hit a missile that may or may not have dented the Samuel Adams Bar and Grill, putting a cap on his two-homer, 5-RBI game, and a 9-6 Fisher Cats win.  
 
Bautista's night was only part of the story.  Joining his Blue Jays teammate was Adam Lind, the 2006 Eastern League MVP, who began what turned out to be a three-game rehab assignment.  He finished his first night 1-4 before picking up three hits on Friday night followed by a home run on Saturday.
 
Lastly, for a bit of trivia, Bautista became the third Blue Jay to hit a grand slam during a rehab game in New Hampshire.  Lyle Overbay was the first to do it on July 7, 2007.  John Buck followed suit with a pair of homers and six RBI in a 15-5 win over Binghamton on August 17, 2010.

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.
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