Tuesday’s News & Notes
| Team | Yesterday | Today | Probable Pitchers |
| Syracuse | Won, 6-5 | vs. Scranton/WB, 6:00 p.m. |
Mitch Atkins (0-1, 0.00) vs. Craig Heyer (0-0, 0.00) |
| Harrisburg | Lost, 6-3 | @ New Britain, 6:35 p.m. |
Rob Gilliam (0-1, 5.40) vs. Luke French (1-0, 0.00) |
| Potomac | OFF DAY | @ Myrtle Beach, 7:05 p.m. |
Matt Grace (12-7, 5.17 in ’11 @ A-) vs. Kyle Hendricks (2-2, 1.93 in ’11 @ SS-A) |
| Hagerstown | Won, 8-7 (11 inn.) |
vs. Lexington, 7:05 p.m. |
Wirkin Estevez (0-1, 13.50) vs. Carlos Quevedo (0-0, 6.75) |
Syracuse 6 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 5
• Duke (W, 1-0) 6IP, 4H, R, ER, BB, 4K, HR
• Wilkie (H, 1) ⅔ IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, K, 2-0 IR-S
• Rivero 2-4
• Brown 1-3, 2R, 3B, 2BB, E, OF assist
• Moore 1-3, R, HR, 3RBI, SF
Tyler Moore drove in three runs, including a two-run blast in the second, as the Chiefs built a 6-0 lead early and held on for a 6-5 win. Corey Brown drew two walks and tripled, while Carlos Rivero singled twice to lead the nine-hit attack. Zach Duke gave up just one run on a homer, and four hits total over six innings to earn the win. Three of the four Syracuse errors came in the Yankees’ three-run 7th inning, including one on CF Bryce Harper after colliding with Xavier Paul in RF, a ball that was Paul’s. Harper got some measure of redemption by throwing out Scranton backstop trying for two after driving in a run (who got on base by doubling over Harper’s head) in the 9th inning. Ryan Perry was credited with the save, but the reliever of the night was Josh Wilkie, who stranded two runners with one out in the 8th for his first hold of the season.
New Britain 6 Harrisburg 3
• Ballard (L, 0-1) 4⅔ IP, 10H, 6R, 6ER, BB, 2K, HR
• Pucetas 2⅓ IP, 3H, 0R, 0BB, K
• Johnson 3-4, R, HR, RBI
• Kobernus 2-5, 2B — five-game hit streak (.409)
A three-run shot with two out in the 3rd capped a four-run rally as the Rock Cats cruised to 6-3 win over Harrisburg. The Senators were a respectable 4-for-11 with RISP, stranding eight runners, but the turning point came in the 5th when they loaded the bases with three straight singles with nobody out and only came away with one run as New Britain got a comebacker to the mound for one out and double play after Tim Pahuta singled in the lone run. Mike Ballard took the loss with all six Rock Cats runs allowed on 10 hits and a walk. The loss snapped a three-game win streak for Harrisburg, but Jeff Kobernus’s first-inning double extended his hit streak to five games.
Potomac — OFF DAY
For whatever reason, the Potomac Nationals and slow starts seem to be synonymous. It’s 0-3 so far in ’12, 2-6 in both ’10 and ’11 and 2-4 in ’09. In years past, it’s been cold and rainy, but with temps in the 60s and sunshine expected for the long-range forecast, the weather (e.g. cold or rain) can’t be blamed… Anthony Rendon has not been officially placed on the DL just yet, as multiple online reports are stating that team officials are waiting for the swelling to subside in order to further evaluate the extent of the ligament damage. Thus far, the only “known” is that the ankle is not fractured.
Hagerstown 8 Lexington 7 (11 inn.)
• McKenzie 4IP, 5H, 3R, 3ER, 3BB, 5K
• Simko 2IP, 0H, 0R, BB, 3K, 1-0 IR-S
• Skole 2-5, R, HR, 4RBI (GS)
• Ramsey 1-2, RBI
• Goodwin 1-2
A Matt Skole grand slam gave the Suns an early 4-1 lead, but a bullpen meltdown sent the game into extras, where Caleb Ramsey stroked a two-out walkoff single to give the Suns an 8-7 win in 11 innings. Two errors (including one my Michael Morse, who also failed to throw out the first Lexington run in the first on a flyout to medium left field) sandwiched around a single, double, and another single fueled the Lexington rally that tied the game at 7-7 in the 7th. Todd Simko put out the fire with a grounder and two strikeouts. Morse and Rick Ankiel were 4-for-7 combined with Ankiel connecting on a two-run homer and drawing two walks. Brian Goodwin left the game in the second inning after beating out an infield hit to the first baseman. Officially, it’s a leg injury, but unofficially it appeared to be the usual turned ankle that comes with hitting the bag awkwardly. Like Rendon, no word yet on the extent of (or timetable for the return from) the injury. UPDATE: Byron Kerr is reporting that it’s an upper leg injury, not the ankle or knee. I was was watching the game via MiLB.tv when the injury occurred but was unable to see what Kerr describes due to the stationary nature of the video (i.e. he limped out of camera range).
ok Luke, I understand the desire to not succumb to the massive hype machine, but are Rivera’s two singles with no RBI more worthy of mention than Harper’s 1-3 with an RBI?
Rivero was the only batter to have multiple hits. I generally only name two batters unless a lot of runs were scored, so a two-hit night will get a player into the N&N more often than not.
Harper’s looking like a AA player from what I can see … he needs to step it up … that’s his big advantage over other players the ability to rapidly learn and adapt with coaching.
Regarding Rendon, a friend of mine who is a nurse has always told me when it comes to an ankle injury pray for a break they heal, but ligament damage stays with you forever. hoping that it is a mild sprain.
My wrist is the worst for me. I still feel it 20+ years later, despite all kinds of rehab. I sprained my ankle, but it I imagine it wasn’t as bad as Rendon. I couldn’t put weight on it at first, but was able to stand and watch my team after a few minutes. That recovered well. I have heard the same as markfd though. I just hope he and Goodwin get back soon.
Meyer better be walking softly. He’s the last of the big four left:)
Purke and Turnbull are still in there as well.
Rendon, Meyer, Goodwin, and Purke, are the big four. Three of them are hurt/can’t play. It’s Final Destination 5: Nats 2011 draft.
I suppose they could be keeping a Purke injury under wraps …
My ankel will still hurt from time to time from when I did something to it about 6-7 years ago. Never had an official doctor look at it as the line was to long at the hospital and I could limp around on it enough.
Unfortunately these injuries show how premature it is to hand jobs to rookies. Playing baseball for 140 games in the minors and 162 in the bigs reveals all kinds of issues. The need for a track record is paramount before evaluating new players. Rendon especially seems to be injury prone.
Exactly. They don’t play six days a week for five months in college and starters have to pitch twice a week instead of once.
Hopefully, he’ll recover as Jeff Kobernus did from his injuries and not end up like Nick Johnson.
The Nats have better sports medicine professionals at their beck and call than did Rendon’s college team. That and a good personal trainer might be enough. We’ll have to wait and see.
Any news on Cutter Dykstra? Also I heard Purks shoulder is hurt again. (from a player source) Shame on Nats throwing that much money on a kid with a shoulder issue.
Assigned to XST last Thursday, essentially swapping places with Hendry Jimenez.