Manchester, NH - Justin Dillon , Vinny Nittoli and Dany Jimenez combined for a three-hit shutout as the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Toronto Blue Jays Double-A affiliate) blanked the Akron RubberDucks (Cleveland Indians) 7-0 on Tuesday night at Delta Dental Stadium.Kevin Smith went 3-for-4 with a home run, a double and four
Manchester, NH - Justin Dillon , Vinny Nittoli and Dany Jimenez combined for a three-hit shutout as the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Toronto Blue Jays Double-A affiliate) blanked the Akron RubberDucks (Cleveland Indians) 7-0 on Tuesday night at Delta Dental Stadium.
Kevin Smith went 3-for-4 with a home run, a double and four RBIs to lead the Fisher Cats offense. Josh Palacios singled three times for New Hampshire.
Dillon (W, 4-2) held the RubberDucks hitless until the sixth, when Oscar Gonzalez beat out a chopper to lead off the inning. Nolan Jones would also single to the shortstop, but Dillon retired Trenton Brooks to end his outing after six two-hit shutout innings with one walk and two strikeouts.
Nittoli retired all six batters he faced out of the bullpen and Jimenez worked a perfect ninth.
A run-scoring error led to the first run of the game for the Fisher Cats (19-27) in the second inning. Riley Adams singled and scored when Brock Lundquist reached on a fielding error at shortstop for a 1-0 lead.
New Hampshire opened the lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning. Nash Knight and Josh Palacios singled to put two men aboard, and Smith drilled his 17th home run of the season, a 411-foot line shot over the center field fence.
Palacios singled in another run in the seventh and Smith added an RBI double down the third base line to extend the lead to 6-0. Lundquist doubled and Forrest Wall singled him in to account for the final run in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Adam Scott (L, 4-2) allowed four runs (three earned) in five innings and took the loss for Akron (17-28).
The Fisher Cats and RubberDucks meet again on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. RHP Joey Murray takes the hill for New Hampshire (0-1, 5.14 ERA). In a wild twist, your 'Cats will celebrate...cats! On the eve of International Cat Day, we'll pay homage to the furry little (and not so little) creatures that are preferred over dogs for 41% of Americans. For tickets and information, visit nhfishercats.com.
