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The Quick Rundown…

Syracuse 8 Norfolk 4
• Meyers (W, 1-0) 5IP 5H 4R 4ER 1BB 5K
• Martin, J (H, 2) 1⅓ IP 1H 0R 0BB 1K
• Hulett 2-2, R, 2-2B, 2BB, 2RBI
• Flores 2-4, R, HR, 5RBI

Brad Meyers’ AAA debut was a bit pedestrian, but he had the fortune of throwing it on a night when the Chiefs offense wasn’t its usual self as Syracuse doubled up Norfolk 8-4, stopping the Syracuse four-game losing streak. Meyers gave up all four runs on five hits and a walk over five innings to get the win. The bullpen, led by J.D. Martin, tossed four scoreless innings and allowed just two hits. Tug Hulett and Jesus Flores powered the offense with four hits, two doubles, two walks, a grand slam by Flores, and seven RBI.

Harrisburg 3 Altoona 2
• Arnesen (ND) 5⅓ IP 2H 2R 2ER 1BB 6K 1HR
• Barthmaier 1⅓ IP 1H 0R 1BB 0K
• VanAllen 1⅓ IP 0H 0R 1BB 1K
• Mattheus (W, 2-0) 1IP 0H 0R 0BB 1K
• Pahuta 2-3, 2R, 2HR, 2RBI
• Norris 0-2, R, 2BB

The all-or-nothing nature of the Sens offense (two Tim Pahuta solo HRs, nine K’s) continued, but the losses stopped as the Altoona ‘pen and defense faltered in the 9th for anticlimactic walkoff. Derek Norris drew the leadoff walk, was sacrificed to second. After an intentional walk to Pahuta and unintentional walk to Jonathan Tucker, Jesus Valdez tapped to third but the Curve couldn’t execute the 5-4-3 DP, giving the Sens a 3-2 win. Starter Erik Arnesen went the first five and 1/3rd innings, giving up both runs on two hits (one home run) and a walk. Jimmy Barthmaier, Cory VanAllen and Ryan Mattheus combined for three and 2/3rds of scoreless relief. Josh Johnson was placed on the DL, retroactive to May 6, but a corresponding move has not yet been made

Winston-Salem 5 Potomac 3
• Clegg (ND) 5IP 6H 2R 2ER 1BB 3K
• Wort 1IP 0H 0R 1BB 1K
• Hood 2-4, R, 2B, SB, RBI
• Lozada 2-2, 2B, 3B, 2BB
• Ramirez 1-4, R, HR, RBI

Ian Gac’s two-run shot in the bottom of the 7th off Joe Testa capped a three-run rally and was the difference in a 5-3 win by Winston-Salem over Potomac. Starter Mitchell Clegg gave up two runs, but unlike last Tuesday afternoon got eight outs in between them, as he went the first five innings and allowed six hits and a walk. Destin Hood and Jose Lozada combined for four of the eight P-Nat hits and six of the 10 baserunners, seven of which were stranded as just Hood was able to drive in a runner from scoring position in 10 opportunities.

Delmarva 3 Hagerstown 2
• Ray (ND) 5IP 1H 0R 0BB 6K
• Eusebio (BS, 1; L, 0-1) 2⅔ IP 4H 3R 3ER 1BB 2K
• Harper 2-4, 2K
• Kelso 2-4
• Martinson 1-2, 2SH, SB
• Oduber 1-1, R, BB, 3SB

Robbie Ray’s Low-A debut was a brilliant one-hit, six-K, five-inning performance, but the ‘pen couldn’t hold the 1-0 lead as the Hagerstown Suns lost 3-2 to Delmarva. Bryce Harper’s first-inning infield single extended his hitting streak to 13 games, but the clutch hit eluded the Suns all game long as they went 0-for-8 with RISP and had two baserunners picked off, and went 4-for-6 on stolen-base attempts, with Randolph Oduber swiping three and taking the Sally League lead with 13. Two errors, two passed balls, and two wild pitches also put pressure on the Suns but all three runs were earned. Ray’s activation was listed on MiLB.com but the corresponding move was not, as 26 men are listed on the roster as this goes to virtual press

The Quick Rundown…

Durham 6 Syracuse 5 (11 inn.)
• Maya (ND) 6⅔ IP 5H 2R 2ER 1BB 7K
• Wilkie 2IP 2H 0R 0BB 0K
• Carr (BS, 3; L, 1-2) ⅔ IP 2H 2R 2ER 2BB 1K
• Whiting 2-6, R
• Hulett 2-5, R, 2B
• Brown 1-1, R, HR, 2RBI

After rallying for two to tie it in the 8th, and three to go ahead in the 11th, the Chiefs couldn’t stand the prosperity and gave up four runs in the of the 11th to lose 6-5. Adam Carr took the blown-save-loss, third and second respectively. Starter Yunesky Maya went the first six and 2/3rds, allowing two runs on five hits and a walk. Boomer Whiting and Tug Hulett each had two hits as the Chiefs had 10 for the night and left eight men on base.

Reading 13 Harrisburg 6
• Tatusko (L, 1-3) 3IP 9H 5R 4ER 1BB 3K 2HR
• Barthmaier 1IP 5H 5R 5ER 1BB 1K
• Pena 1⅔ IP 0H 0R 0BB 0K
• Gilbert 4-5, 2B, 2HR, 3RBI
• Valdez 2-4, R, 2B, 2RBI
• Rahl 2-5, R

If you haven’t seen it yet, here’s what I wrote about Last Night In Harrisburg

Kinston 3 Potomac 0
• Selik (L, 0-1) 6IP 4H 3R 2ER 4BB 3K 2HR
• Perez 2-3, 2SB
• Souza 1-2, BB, SB

Cameron Selik went the distance, but the P-Nats bats were silenced by Drew Pomeranz as Kinston prevailed, 3-0.

Kinston 5 Potomac 0
• Bronson (L, 1-1) 4⅔ IP 5H 1R 1ER 2BB 0K
• Weaver ⅔ IP 1H 4R 4ER 2BB 0K 0HR
• Testa ⅔ IP 1H 0R 1BB 0K 3-2 IR-S
• Kobernus 2-4
• Mayo 2-3, 2B

A four-run sixth by the Kinston Indians put any hope of tying up a 1-0 game to rest as the Potomac Nationals were shut out again, 5-0. Jeff Kobernus and Jeremy Mayo each had two hits to pace the offense, which left on nine and went 1-for-11 with RISP. Evan Bronson took the loss, allowing one run on five hits and two walks over four and 2/3rds innings.

Lexington 8 Hagerstown 6
• Cole (L, 0-1) 3⅔ IP 5H 2R 2ER 2BB 3K 1HR
• McCatty 1IP 5H 5R 3BB 2K
• Swynenberg 2⅓ IP 2H 0R 0BB 1K
• Freitas 2-3, R, BB, SB
• Kelso 2-5, R
• Harper 2-5

A.J. Cole’s Low-A debut was a loss, stopping Hagerstown’s 10-game win streak with an 8-6 loss to Lexington. Cole went three and 2/3rds innings and allowed two runs on five hits and two walks. Shane McCatty took the brunt of the Lexington offense, allowing the Legends’ five-run fifth inning. Bryce Harper extended his hitting streak to 11 with a 2-for-5 night, while David Frietas and Randolph Oduber also collected two hits in the loss.

The Quick Rundown…

Durham 4 Syracuse 3
• Milone (ND) 7IP 4H 1R 1ER 1BB 11K
• Carr (BS, 2) 1IP 2H 2R 2ER 1BB 0K 1HR
• Wilkie (L, 0-1) ⅓ IP 2H 1R 1ER 1BB 0K
• Solano 2-4, R, 2B
• McConnell 2-4, 2B, RBI

Tom Milone’s bounceback from his worst outing of the season was spoiled by a similar effort by the Chiefs bullpen as the Durham Bulls rallied from a 3-1 deficit for a 4-3 walkoff in. Milone struck out 11 over seven innings, allowing just a run on four hits and a walk. Adam Carr gave up the tying runs in the eighth with a double and a home run while Josh Wilie took the loss with a walk, a sacrifice, an infield single, and another single.

Harrisburg 8 Bowie 6
• Martis (ND) 5IP 7H 3R 2ER 3BB 5K 1HR
• Barthmaier (BS, 1) 2IP 3H 3R 3ER 0BB 0K 1HR
• Mattheus (W, 1-0) 1⅓ IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K
• Moore 3-4, 2R, 2B, 3B, 4RBI
• Gilbert 1-3, 2R, HR, RBI, OF assist at 1B

A one-out triple by Tyler Moore drove in Steve Lombardozzi to break a 6-6 tie, and a wild pitch gave the Sens some insurance as Harrisburg outlasted Bowie 8-6. The RBI was the fourth of the afternoon for Moore, who singled, and doubled previously as Harrisburg somehow scored eight runs on nine hits. Shairon Martis’s third start was better than his second, but still mediocre with three runs allowed on seven hits and three walks to go with five strikeouts. Ryan Mattheus struck out out two of the four straight batters he retired to get the win in relief.

Kinston 3 Potomac 1
• Demny (L, 0-2) 6IP 4H 2R 2ER 4BB 3K
• Lehman 1IP 1H 0R 0BB 0K
• Bloxom 1-4, R, 2B
• Dykstra 1-4, RBI

Potomac’s offensive woes continued with a 3-1 loss on Thursday night. The P-Nats managed just three hits and drew four walks but were able to score a run to break up the scoreless inning streak at 17 with a run in the seventh. Starter Paul Demny went six innings, giving up two runs on four hits and four walks. Marcos Frias gave up the third run in relief on a double, a sacrifice hit and a sacrifice fly, with two walks sprinkled in.

Hagerstown 8 Lexington 2
• Hansen (W, 3-1) 5IP 8H 2R 2ER 1BB 3K
• Brown (H, 3) 2IP 1H 0R 0BB 2K
• Kelso 3-5, 3R, 2B
• Freitas 3-4, 2R, HR, 5RBI
• Harper 1-3, 2R, HR, BB, 2RBI

David Freitas’s grand slam in the bottom of the seventh was the highlight of the night as the Hagerstown Suns gave the Lexington Legends a reality check (ok, that was a stretch) at 8-2. Bryce Harper also homered, a two-run shot in the third. Freitas and Blake Kelso paced the 11-hit onslaught with three hits apiece. Starter Bobby Hansen went the first five innings, allowing two runs on eight hits and a walk for his third win of the year.

The Quick Rundown…

Syracuse 3 Rochester 2
• Martin (ND) 5⅓ IP 5H 2R 0ER 1BB 1K
• Balester (W, 1-0) 2IP 1H 0R 0ER 1BB 3K
• Bernadina 1-3, 2BB, CS
• Marrero 1-4, BB, RBI

While the Red Wings were able to take a 2-0 lead into the 8th, courtesy of a two-spot on the board in the sixth, the Chiefs fought back scoring one run in the 8th and a pair of runs in the 9th inning. Chris McConnell’s RBI bases-loaded single won the game in walkoff fashion by a score of 3-2. After J.D. Martin allowed six earned runs in his last start, he improved dramatically last night, allowing two runs, both unearned, on five hits and a walk over five and a 1/3 innings. Josh Wilkie and Collin Balester pitched in relief, collectively pitching three and 2/3 innings, allowing no runs on four hits and a walk while striking out five. With three errors committed by Rochester and one by the Chiefs, all five runs of the game were unearned.

Harrisburg 2 Bowie 0
• Tatusko 6⅔ IP 2H 0R 3BB 9K
• VanAllen (H, 2) 1IP 1H 0ER 1BB 2K
• Mattheus (S, 3) 1⅓ IP 1H 0R 0BB 4K
• Tucker 1-3, R, HR, RBI
• Lombardozzi 2-4, 2B
• Valdez 1-4, R, HR

Solo home runs by Jesus Valdez in the fourth and Jonathan Tucker in the fifth, gave the Harrisburg a 2-0 lead and three Sens pitchers combined to keep it that way to defeat Bowie. While Ryan Tatusko allowed four runs in his last start, he kept Bowie off the board, pitching six and 2/3rd scoreless innings, allowing only two hits, three walks and striking out nine. Ryan Mattheus also pitched a great game, earning his third save while pitching one and a 1/3rd innings, allowing only one hit and striking out four. Steve Lombardozzi had another stellar game, going 2-for-4 at the plate and hitting his 6th double of the season. He has now raised his season to .306.

Potomac 3 Myrtle Beach 2
• Rosenbaum (ND) 7IP 3H 0R 3BB 4K
• Wort (H, 1) 1IP 0H 0R 1BB 2K
• Olbrychowski (BS, 2) ⅔ IP 2H 2R 2ER 0K 1HR
• Kobernus 1-4, BB, 2SB
• Hood 1-3, BB, RBI

See Sue’s take in the long-awaited return of Last Night In Woodbridge

Hagerstown 5 Rome 0
• McKenzie (W, 2-3) 7IP 4H 0R 1BB 2K
• Eusebio 1IP 0H 0R 0BB 0K
• Harper 3-3, R, 2B, 2BB
• Freitas 3-4, R, 2RBI
• Kelso 2-4, 2R, BB, SB, CS

Bounceback outings was the theme of the night for the starters and Chris McKenzie, who had given up 18 runs in his last three starts over just six innings, was no exception. He threw seven scoreless innings, allowing just four hits and one walk while striking out two. The Suns would provide him plenty of support with five runs and eleven hits, nine of which were collected by Bryce Harper, David Freitas and Blake Kelso. Wilson Eusebio and Matt Swynenberg each threw a scoreless inning to complete the shutout, which was the sixth thrown by Suns pitchers this season.