Friday’s News and Notes
Harrisburg and Potomac win to keep in the playoff hunt
The Quick Rundown…
| Team | Yesterday’s Result | Today’s Game | Pitching Matchup |
| Syracuse Chiefs | Lost, 4-2 | vs. Buffalo, 5:00 p.m. (doubleheader) |
TBD and TBD vs. Taubenheim (2-2, 3.86) and Savery (1-11, 4.85) |
| Harrisburg Senators | Won, 4-3 | vs. Trenton, 7:00 p.m. | Aaron Thompson (4-13, 6.15) vs. Manuel Banuelos (0-1, 9.53) |
| Potomac Nationals | Won, 11-4 | @ Frederick, 6:00 p.m. | Danny Rosenbaum (2-2, 2.43) vs. Oliver Drake (5-6, 4.46) |
| Hagerstown Suns | Won, 10-7 | vs. Delmarva, 7:05 p.m. | TBD vs. TBD |
| Vermont Lake Monsters | Lost, 8-2 | @ Aberdeen, 7:05 p.m. | TBD vs. Adleman (2-3, 3.12) |
| GCL Nationals | Won, 3-1 vs. GCL Mets |
@ GCL Astros, 12:00 p.m. | TBD vs. TBD |
Syracuse Chiefs L, 4-2 vs. Buffalo
Starting Pitcher: Maya (L, 0-1) 4⅔ IP 2H 1R 0ER 3BB 6K
Pitching Star: Balester 3IP 4H 1R 1ER 0BB 6K
Hitting Star: Botts 3-4, R
Notes: Yunesky Maya’s first AAA start was a loss, as the Syracuse Chiefs were held down for eight innings before rallying for two in the ninth in a 4-2 loss. Maya gave up just an unearned run over 4⅔ on two hits and three walks while striking out six. Jason Botts led the hitters with a 3-for-4 night. The loss eliminated Syracuse from the division title while still trailing the wild-card race by five games.
Harrisburg Senators W, 4-3 vs. Trenton
Starting Pitcher: Roark (ND) 6⅓ IP 8H 3R 3ER 2BB 7K 2HR
Pitching Star: Kimball (SV, 10) 1IP 1H 0R 1BB 2K
Hitting Star #1: Lowrance 1-4, R, HR, RBI
Hitting Star #2: Solano 2-3, R, HR, RBI
Notes: The big fly was the difference as the Harrisburg Senators won their fourth straight by a 4-3 count over the Trenton Thunder. Jhonatan Solano went deep in the seventh to tie the game a 3-3 and Marvin Lowrance matched the feat in the eighth to earn hitting star honors. Starting pitcher Tanner Roark went 6⅓ innings and allowed all three Thunder runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out seven. Hassan Pena got the win in relief with a scoreless eighth and Cole Kimball got the save with a scoreless ninth. The win kept pace with wild-card challengers Bowie and Akron.
Potomac Nationals W, 11-4 @ Frederick
Starting Pitcher: Alaniz 6IP 9H 3R 3ER 1BB 6K
Pitching Star: Wort 1IP 0H 0R 2BB 1K
Hitting Star #1: Rhinehart 2-5, 2B, 2RBI
Hitting Star #2: Jacobsen 2-6, R, 2RBI
Hitting Star #3: Moore 1-4, R, HR, 3RBI
Notes: Tyler Moore broke the franchise record for HRs with #29 as the Potomac Nationals pounded the Frederick Keys to the tune of 11-4. Starter Adrian Alaniz went six innings and gave up three runs on nine hits and one walk. Bill Rhinehart and Robby Jacobsen both drove in two runs to pace the 13-hit attack. The win kept pace with Wilmington, who also won last night in Lynchburg.
Hagerstown Suns W, 10-7 vs. Delmarva
Starting Pitcher: Bronson (W, 4-2) 6IP 12H 6R 6ER 0BB 0K 0HR
Pitching Star: Morrison (SV, 1) 3IP 2H 1R 0ER 1BB 5K
Hitting Star #1: Nieto 3-4, R
Hitting Star #2: Cuevas 2-4, 2R, HR, 2RBI
Hitting Star #3: Perez 2-4, 2R, SB, RBI
Notes: Down 4-0 and 6-5, the Suns rallied for five and four runs to overpower the Shorebirds for a 10-7 win. Starting pitcher Evan Bronson got the win despite giving up six runs on 12 hits over six innings. Adrian Nieto led the hit parade with a 3-for-4 night. Despite the win, Hagerstown was eliminated from the playoffs.
Vermont Lake Monsters L, 8-2 vs. Connecticut
Starting Thrower: Barrett (L, 0-4) 2⅔ IP 5H 4R 4ER 5BB 1K 1HR
Pitching Star: None
Hitting Star: Martinson 0-1, 3BB
Notes: Vermont stumbled to its third straight loss and seventh in the past 10 games by a count of 8-2, falling into a tie for first place. Aaron Barrett began the night with an ERA of 8.79 so his line of four runs on five hits over 2⅔ innings was hardly a surprise. The two teams combined for 21 walks, indicating either poor pitching or poor umpiring, but most likely a lot of both. Blake Kelso collected the team’s sole hit during the team’s two-run aberration in the sixth.
GCL Nationals W, 3-1 @ GCL Astros
Starting Pitcher: Gregory Baez (W, 1-2) 5IP 6H 1R 1ER 1BB 4K
Pitching Star: Manuel Rivera (H, 1) 3IP 0H 0R 2BB 4K
Hitting Star #1: Estarlin Martinez 2-4, R, 2B, RBI
Hitting Star #2: Roberto Perez 2-4, R, 2B
Notes: With suddenly strong pitching, the GCL Nationals beat the GCL Astros 3-1 for their third straight win. Starting pitcher Gregory Baez went the first five innings, allowing the lone run on six hits and one walk. He also struck out four. Estarlin Martinez and Roberto Perez both went 2-for-4 to pace the G-Nat offense. The win assured a fourth-place finish in the GCL East division.
I see that Oduber caught a promotion to HAG; ’bout time. On the other hand, it’s looking more & more like Solis, Cole & Ray aren’t going to get any work in before the FIL starts up.
I’ve always wondered how you pick your pitching star. What makes me ask today is why balestar was the star over Maya. Their lines are nearly identical. Only Maya pitched more innings, gave up less hits, no earned runs; though he walked more batters.
Pitching star is *usually* the best reliever on the night. When a starter goes more than seven and lets up two runs or fewer, then I’m inclined to make him both. The idea being that the starter — good or bad — will always get recognition, but the relievers may not. Getting the save isn’t a given to get the nod, either. This means more at the lower levels like the GCL and the NY-Penn League where it’s rare for a starter to go more than 5 until well into the season.
Agree on Oduber.
Sue, I know you’re skeptical, buy Tyler Moore’s numbers can’t be taken lightly.
July OPS 1.111
August 1.229
Usually these numbers mean a small sample size or you’re watching Little League but he’s played almost every game in both months. I know time will tell but this seems more than a hot streak. hope he can keep it up through the playoffs.
I’m no longer skeptical, but let’s just I’m mighty glad Marrero has been swinging a hot bat lately.