Whitesell goes 5-for-5

Photo: Harrisburg Senators

Harrisburg Senators (Nationals) 1B Josh Whitesell went 5-for-5 at the plate, including slamming two doubles and a home run, driving in 5 runs and scoring 3 times, as the Senators beat the Erie SeaWolves (Tigers) 16-3 Saturday night.

The Senators amassed 23 hits in the attack.

Roger Bernadina, Juan Melo, and Seth Bynum all had three hits in the game. The Senators had three or more hits in five innings.

The offensive juggernaut started in the second inning when Whitesell had his two-run home run. They scored four in the second, three more in the fourth, two in the seventh and then five in the eighth.

In the eighth inning, Tony Blanco capped the evening off with a grand slam, his second hit of the night.

More: Harrisburg Senators, MinorLeagueBaseball.com

The Senators and SeaWolves play in the Eastern League (Double-A).

Snow Day for the Midwest League

Every game scheduled ... all seven games involving all 14 teams ... Wednesday night in the Midwest League (Class A) was called on account of cold or cold-related weather issues.

The game between the Peoria Chiefs (Cubs) and the Swing of the Quad Cities (Cardinals) was delayed because of "heavy overnight rains and predicted cold temperatures."

The game between the visiting Burlington Bees (Royals) and the Cedar Rapids Kernels (Angels) was wiped out on account of snow.

The game between the Clinton LumberKings (Rangers) and the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Mariners) was postponed on Wednesday because of snow, and finally cancelled on Thursday for the same reason.

The Great Lakes Loons (Dodgers) at the Fort Wayne Wizards (Padres) was called on account of rain, and was part of a Thursday double-header.

The Lansing Lugnuts (Blue Jays) had to postpone their game with the visiting West Michigan Whitecaps (Tigers) when the snows hit.

The Dayton Dragons (Reds) game at the South Bend Silver Hawks (Diamondbacks) was snowed out Wednesday ... and the scheduled Thursday doubleheader makeup was also scratched.

The Kane County Cougars (Athletics) couldn't host the Beloit Snappers (Twins) Wednesday ... or Thursday ... because of the snow.

Abreu 5-for-5, Bigbie 4-for-5 in 51s win

Las Vegas 51s (Dodgers) 2B Tony Abreu was perfect at the plate last night, helping lead the visitors to a 10-2 blowout of the Colorado Springs Sky Sox (Rockies). Almost as perfect was CF Larry Bigbie, who was 4-for-5.

Abreu and Bigbie each scored three runs, although LF Delwyn Young led the team in RBIs, thanks to his 3-run homer in the 7th inning.

"Every year, I struggle at the beginning of the season. It seems like this is a good year and I'm going to continue to work hard," Abreu said through teammate and translator Luis Gonzalez. "Today was a good day. I'm going to keep trying with two singles and three singles a day. I'm seeing the ball pretty good."

Abreu clubbed a solo homer in the fifth inning to go with four singles. Bigbie was a home run shy of the cycle, collecting two singles, a double and a triple. Both players scored three times.

More: Las Vegas 51s

Las Vegas and Colorado Springs play in the Pacific Coast League (Triple A).

Lester blanks Catfish in rehab start

Photo: Billy Crowe / MLB.com

Boston Red Sox P Jon Lester pitched 4 shutout innings for the Greenville Drive (South Atlantic League, Class A) Tuesday, in his second rehab start.

Lester retired the first eight batters he faced, striking out five in a 3-0 victory over the Columbus Catfish.

This was Lester's second rehab start for the Drive as he attempts to return to Boston's rotation after an offseason of cancer treatments.

In his first start in Charleston on Thursday, Lester shut out the New York Yankees' affiliate, the Charleston RiverDogs, on two hits over four innings.

More: Boston Globe, MinorLeagueBaseball.com, Columbus Catfish

Lester is scheduled to make two more starts for Greenville before the next Red Sox evaluation.

Two four-homer games

Two games in the minors on Sunday featured four home runs.

In Louisville, Kentucky, Bats (Reds) 1B Joey Votto, 3B Aaron Herr, and CF Dewayne Wise all hit home runs, as did Toledo Mud Hens (Tigers) CF Timo Perez. The Bats bats came alive in the 3rd inning of the International League (Triple A) contest.

The Louisville Bats used a 10-run third inning, highlighted by a Joey Votto grand slam and home runs by Aaron Herr and Dewayne Wise, in a 13-3 rout over the Toledo Mud Hens on Sunday. RHP Homer Bailey picked up the win in his first Triple-A start.

More: Louisville Bats, Toledo Mud Hens

In Adelanto, California, home of the High Desert Mavericks (Mariners), the home team and the visting Inland Empire 66ers (Dodgers) each hit a pair of homers.

For the 66ers, Blake DeWitt and Lucas May each hit homers for the second game in a row, while the Mavs' Jesus Guzman and Adam Moore also hit round-trippers.

Lucas May homered, tripled and doubled for Inland Empire, which scored four times in the 11th inning and beat host High Desert, 15-11, on Sunday.

In a game that featured four home runs and five hit batters, May came up huge with his go-ahead two-run triple. He doubled in the third and hit his third home run of the season in the fourth.

Gabriel Gutierrez doubled home Jamie Hoffman with the final insurance run. Hoffman went 3-for-5 with four RBI and Blake Dewitt drove in three for the 66ers.

More: MinorLeagueBaseball.com, High Desert Mavericks, Inland Empire 66ers

The Mavericks and 66ers play in the California League (Class A Advanced).

Iowa, Round Rock pitchers combine for one-hitters

The good news for the Iowa Cubs was that pitchers Ryan O'Malley and Cory Bailey allowed the Round Rock Express (Astros) just one hit. The bad news was that Express pitchers Chad Reineke, Philip Barzilla, and Jose Rodriguez held the Cubs to a single hit, too. The worse news was that the Express scored on a wild pitch, while the Cubs never got a runner past first base. The Pacific Coast League (Triple A) game ended with Round Rock 1-0 winners over Iowa.

Reineke and Iowa starter Ryan O’ Malley each worked no-hitters into the fifth inning. Round Rock picked up its first and only hit when Barry Wesson drew a two-out walk in the fifth and Danny Ardoin followed up with a double.

Corey Bailey, who replaced O’Malley after the double, threw a wild pitch, allowing Wesson to score the game’s only run. Reineke worked 4 1/3 innings without allowing a walk or a hit before Scott Moore singled to right-center with one away in the fifth.

More: Round Rock Express, Iowa Cubs

The double one-hitter occurred in game two of a doubleheader.

13 Innings In Stockton

The longest game in the Minors on Saturday was a 13-inning affair in Stockton, California. And it was a disappointing game for the home team.

Anthony Contreras drove home Emmanuel Burriss with a two-out single in the top of the 13th inning to send the San Jose Giants to a thrilling 8-7 victory over the Stockton Ports Saturday evening at Banner Island Ballpark. The Giants and Ports battled for three hours and 58 minutes with San Jose notching their third consecutive win to open the season. Ryan Paul worked the final two innings on the mound for the Giants, including a perfect bottom of the 13th, to seal the victory.

More: San Jose Giants

The San Jose Giants and Stockton Ports (Athletics) play in the California League (Class A Advanced).