Saturday’s News & Notes

Syracuse 8 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 3
• Peacock (W, 1-1) 5IP, 4H, 2R, 1ER, BB, 4K
• Severino (H, 4) 1IP, 1H, 0R, BB, 2K
• Solano 3-4, R, 3R HR, 4RBI
• J Valdez 2-4, R, 2B, BB

Brad Peacock was much improved in his second AAA start, an 8-3 win over the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees. Peacock hurt his own cause in the second when a throwing error on a pickoff attempt put a runner on third in front of a sacrifice fly. Syracuse answered back in the fifth on a three-run homer by Jhonotan Solano. Peacock was tagged for an RBI double in the fifth inning to make the score 3-2. He threw 79 pitches, 46 for strikes, and struck out four while only walking one. Syracuse scored a run in the sixth on a Brian Bixler single, a throwing error, and a Michael Aubrey groundout to make the score 4-2. Jeff Mandel allowed one run in the seventh when he gave up a single, made an error on a pickoff, and yielded an RBI single to Luis Nunez. Atahualpa Severino and Josh Wilkie then combined for three innings of scoreless relief. The Chiefs would go on to score three more in the eighth and one more in the ninth for a final score of 8-3. The Chiefs offense exploded for thirteen hits, and all starters except Chris Marrero had at least one base hit. With the win, the Chiefs improve to 44-54, seven games back of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for third and twelve games back of Lehigh Valley for first.

Richmond 3 Harrisburg 1 — GAME ONE
• O Perez (L, 2-2) 5IP, 6H, 3ER, 0BB, 2K, 2R HR
• McCoy 1IP, H, 0ER, 0BB, 0K
• Harper 1-3
• King 1-2, R, HR, RBI
Harrisburg’s bats melted away in the heat. Harrisburg managed just four hits, with a Stephen King solo shot in the sixth accounting for the sole run in a 3-1 loss in game one of the doubleheader. Ollie Perez gave up three runs in the first, highlighted by a two-run homer by Chris Dominguez.

Harrisburg 1 Richmond 0 — GAME TWO
• Barthmaier 4IP, 1H, 0R, 3BB, 4K
• Martin (W, 3-1) 2IP, 2H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• Lehman (S, 5) 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, K
• Harper 2-3
• Jo. Johnson 1-2, R, 2BB
Harrisburg’s one run was enough in Game 2, a 1-0 seven inning shutout of Richmond. Jimmy Barthmaier, Rafael Martin, and Pat Lehman combined to limit the Flying Squirrels to three hits. The Senators had only four hits, paced by Bryce Harper’s two singles. Harrisburg rallied for its run in the sixth on a Josh Johnson leadoff single followed by some small ball. Adam Fox bunted Johnson over to second in front of a ground out. Following an intentional walk to Tyler Moore, Bryce Harper singled to load the bases. Tim Pahuta walked to score Johnson and give Harrisburg a 1-0 lead that would stand. With the doubleheader split and Bowie’s win, Harrisburg’s record is now 57-42, just two games over Bowie for first place in the E.L. West.

Winston-Salem 10 Potomac 3
• Solis (L, 3-1) 4IP, 9H, 4R, 4ER, 2BB, 5K
• Wort 2IP, 1H, 0R, BB, 2K
• Kobernus 2-5, 2B
• Higley 1-3, R, HR, RBI

Sammy Solis’s bid for four wins in four starts was denied by Winston-Salem in a 10-3 defeat. The Dash got to Solis early, punctuating the southpaw with three runs on three doubles in the first inning alone. He would be done after four innings, with four runs given up on nine hits and two walks though he set down five on strikes. Mitchell Clegg threw in the fifth and sixth innings and Winston-Salem teed off for six runs on 10 hits. J.R. Higley homered for the first P-Nat run in the second. Francisco Soriano walked and took third on a Jeff Kobernus double in the 8th as Destin Hood and Brian Peacock pushed them both in with RBI groundouts. The loss drops Potomac into second place, one game behind Frederick with a 16-11 mark. UPDATE: Evan Bronson has been assigned to the Harrisburg Senators while Erik Davis has been assigned to the Potomac Nationals, with Bronson starting tonight’s game in Richmond. It remains to be seen if this is a permanent move or merely a one-day swap to save the Senator bullpen.

Hagerstown-Augusta — Cancelled
Violent thunderstorms cancelled Friday night’s game and have forced the start of the Saturday game to 3:05 p.m. from 7:05 p.m. due to damage to one of the light towers (click link to see pic).

Auburn 5 Williamsport 3
• Meza (W, 1-0) 5⅓ IP, 6H, 3R, 3ER, 0BB, 1K
• Hill (H, 1) 2⅔ IP, 0H, 0R, 0BBm 2K
• J Miller 3-4, R, 3B, RBI
• Mayo 1-3, R, HR, RBI

A four-run fourth inning overcame a 2-0 deficit as the Doubledays went on to a 5-3 victory, their third straight win. Auburn took full advantage of the walks issued during the rally, as Justin Miller (3-for-4) tripled in the first walk and scored on a throwing error while Connor Rowe doubled in the second walk for third run. Bryce Ortega singled to drive in Rowe for fourth run. Jeremy Mayo homered in the 8th for an insurance run. Christian Meza got the win while Greg Holt earned the save, the first for both respectively this season. The Doubledays remain in second place, one game behind Jamestown and Mahoning Valley at 19-16.
Recently signed OF Billy Burns, the Nats’ 32nd Rd. pick in the 2011 Draft, made his professional debut. He led off, played CF, and went 1-for-3

GCL Nationals — OFF DAY
The G-Nats look to resume their winning ways (currently a three-game streak) with four games in four days against the rest of the GCL East.

DSL Nationals 7 DSL Mets1 1
• Pineyro (W, 2-4) 6IP, 6H, 0R, BB, 2K
• Barrientos (H, 1) 1⅔ IP 0H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• J De Los Santos 2-4, R, 2B, 4RBI
• Rosario 2-5, 2B, 2RBI

The D-Nats tore open a 2-1 game with a five-run rally in the bottom of the eighth to put away the D-Mets1 by a 7-1 tally. Juan De Los Santos highlighted the rally with a two-run double, his third and fourth RBI in a 2-for-4 game and came home on Dionicio Rosario double, his second hit and second RBI in a 2-for-5 game. Ivan Pineyro got the win by scattering six hits over six scoreless innings with just a walk allowed and two strikeouts.
The win puts the D-Nats back to .500 at 23-23, five games behind and tied for fourth place in the B.C. South.