A Sun-filled Sunday in Trenton

I made my first 2015 visit to Trenton on Sunday. A perfect spring baseball day, temps in the low 60s. The promotion was built around Brett Gardner, a home-grown Yankee who spent part of the 2006 and 2007 seasons playing for the Thunder.
But the day belonged to the Yanks' top pitching prospect, Luis Severino.
The improvement from when I first saw him in August was dramatic. Last summer, he went all-out and retired the side in order in the top of the 1st inning. He did that again Sunday -- but, this time, he's got plenty more left in the tank for the next four innings.
Making his second start of the season, the 21 year old earned the victory tossing five innings, allowing just a run and three hits and striking out six. Another highlight was pitching out of a bases-loaded one out jam in the 2nd inning, getting the final two Portland batters on a pop up and strikeout.
Several other top prospects stood out in Trenton's 5 - 1 win. Below, 3rd baseman Eric Jagielo (whom I first saw two years ago playing for Staten Island) smacked a bases-loaded triple.
Taylor Dugas, Greg Bird and Gary Sanchez scored to put Trenton ahead to stay.
Dante Bichette, Jr. followed with booming double off the fence to score Jagielo.
Is this a classic minor league park outfield fence?? You bet it is.
Mason Williams -- who had four hits on the day -- capped the five-run inning with an RBI single to bring Bichette home.
But our star of the day was Severino, who carried a shutout until his final batter in the 5th, Portland's Jantzen White singled in a run -- before being thrown out trying to stretch his hit into a double for the last out.

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