Saturday’s News & Notes
| Team | Yesterday | Today | Probable Pitchers |
| Syracuse | Won, 5-2 | @ Indianapolis, 7:05 p.m. |
Rosenbaum (5-7, 3.99) vs. K. Johnson (9-4, 2.52) |
| Harrisburg | Won, 7-5 | @ Portland (Fenway), 12:00 p.m. |
Hill (2-3, 1.82) vs. Couch (7-3, 3.90) |
| Potomac | Won, 6-1 | @ Lynchburg, 7:05 p.m. |
Schwartz (7-4, 2.89) vs. Hinson (0-1, 1.38) |
| Hagerstown | Lost, 5-1 | vs. Delmarva, 7:05 p.m. |
Mooneyham (5-3, 2.97) vs. Hader (3-5, 2.55) |
| Auburn | Lost, 4-1 | @ State College, 7:05 p.m. |
Voth (0-0, 2.00) vs. Reyes (0-1, 2.45) |
| GCL Nationals | Lost, 5-4 | vs. GCL Mets, 10:00 a.m. |
TBD vs. TBD |
| DSL Nationals | Won, 10-3 | @ DSL Brewers, 10:30 a.m. |
Valerio (3-2, 1.39) vs. Torres (1-1, 2.96) |
Syracuse 5 Indianapolis 2
• Tatusko (W, 4-4) 6IP, 5H, 2R, 2ER, 4BB, 7K, HR
• Crotta (SV, 3) 1⅔ IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, K
• Walters 4-4, 2R, 3B, HR, 2RBI
• Moore 2-3, R, BB,
• Rhymes 2-4, RBI, CS
Zach Walters was a double shy of the cycle while Ryan Tatusko turned in a quality start as Syracuse defeated Indianapolis, 5-2. Walters went 4-for-4 with a triple and a HR, driving in two — his first four-hit game and the fourth time he’s come within one hit of the statistical feat. Tatusko gave up a two-run blast in the second but went six innings, with five hits, four walks and seven strikeouts as he evened up his record at 4-4. He got some help from the defense as the Chiefs turned three double plays, including a 9-2 DP when Corey Brown (who also hit his 15th HR) snagged a foul fly and gunned down the runner to end the 2nd inning.
Roster move: RHP Drew Storen optioned from Washington; C Sam Palace reassigned from Hagerstown.
Harrisburg 7 Portland 5
• Ray 5IP, 4H, 3R, 2ER, BB, K
• Perry (BS, 2; W, 1-3) 1⅔ IP, 1H, 0R, BB, 0K, 2-1 IR-S
• Souza 2-3, R, 2-2B (left due to hip injury)
• Goodwin 1-1, 2R, BB, HR, RBI
• Hood 2-4, 2B, 3B, 2RBI
The Senators blew a 5-3 lead in the bottom of 8th but got them back with two in the top of the 9th for a 7-5 win, their fourth straight. Starter Robbie Ray recovered from a six-run meltdown in his previous outing to turn in five innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on four hits and a walk. Ryan Perry got the dreaded blown-save win, though he came in after a double-error that put the tying run on third in the 8th and pitched a scoreless 9th. Steve Souza started in CF and doubled twice in three at-bats, but left due to a hip injury. His replacement, Brian Goodwin, walked and homered in the 9th. As a team, the Senators registered 12 hits but were just 3-for-16 with RISP.
Potomac 6 Lynchburg 1
• Solis (W, 1-0) 5IP, 4H, 0R, BB, 3K
• Holt (H, 3) 2⅓ IP, 0H, 0R, BB, K
• Dykstra 1-2, R, 2B, 3BB, SB
• Keyes 2-5, R, RBI, SB
The Nationals can score five times in the 9th and break open a 1-0 game. Well, Potomac anyway as the P-Nats did just that for a 6-1 win over the Hillcats. Sammy Solis got the win with five scoreless innings, allowing four hits and a walk. Greg Holt got the next seven outs for his third hold and his 8th scoreless outing in his last 10 appearances. Two-run doubles by Justin Miller and Caleb Ramsey highlighted the 9th as Potomac collected four of its seven hits in the final frame. Robert Benincasa, who got the last two outs on the 8th, notched his ninth save though he let up a run in the 9th on a triple and a single before retiring the final three batters.
Delmarva 5 Hagerstown 1
• P. Encarnacion (L, 7-7) 6IP, 6H, 3R, 0ER, 2BB, 6K
• Henke 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, K
• Renda 2-4, R, 2B, SB
• Piwinica-Worms 2-4, 2B, SB
The Shorebirds made the Suns pay for their mistakes, following both errors with triples to score three unearned runs in a 5-1 Delmarva win over Hagerstown. Pedro Encarnacion saw his won-loss record fall to 7-7 with those three runs allowed on six hits and two walks over six innings. The 22-y.o. struck out six. The offense notched nine hits, with Tony Renda, Will Piwinica-Worms and Craig Manuel each going 2-for-4, but left nine baserunners on.
State College 4 Auburn 1
• Williams (L, 0-5) 6IP, 8H, 4R, 4ER, 2BB, 4K
• Bafidis 2IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• Gunter 3-4, R
• W. Rodriguez 2-4, SB
Deion Williams pitched a career-high six innings, but the proverbial one bad inning did him in as State College spiked Auburn, 4-1. Williams gave up five of his eight hits in the four-run 3rd. He walked two and struck out four, finishing his outing with one hit over three scoreless innings. Cody Gunter led the nine-hit Doubledays offense with a 3-for-4 night, followed by Wilman Rodriguez’s 2-for-4 effort with a stolen base.
GCL Mets 5 GCL Nationals 4
• Giolito (L, 0-1) 2⅔ IP, 5H, 4R, 4ER, BB, 3K
• Silvestre 3⅓ IP, 1H, 0R, 2BB, 4K, 1-0 IR-S
• R. Encarnacion 3-4, R, 2B, OF assist at 2B
• Marmolejos-Diaz 1-4, 2B, BB, RBI
The G-Nats rallied for three in the 9th but left the tying run at second, losing to the G-Mets 5-4 and ending an eight-game win streak. Lucas Giolito made it out of the 1st, through the 2nd, but was lifted with two outs in the third. The Nats’ 2012 1st round pick gave up four runs on five hits and a walk while striking out three. Randy Encarnacion led the G-Nats attack with a double and two singles, but just one of the team’s eight hits came in 11 RISP chances as the team stranded 11 baserunners total.
DSL Nationals 10 DSL Brewers 3
• Morales 5IP, 4H, 2R, 2ER, 0BB, 5K, 2HR
• J. Ramirez (W, 1-1) 3IP, 3H, R, ER, BB, 2K
• Aguero 3-4, 3R, RBI, SB
• Florentino 3-5, 2R, 3B, RBI
• Serrata 2-4, 2RBI
The D-Nats broke open a 2-2 game with a three-spot in the 6th and four more in the 7th as they flattened the D-Brewers, 10-3. Jose Morales gave up two solo home runs and four hits total, walked none, and struck out five in his third start. The win went to reliever Jean Ramirez, who allowed a run over three innings on three hits and a walk. “Fred” Aguero continues to swing a hot bat, going 3-for-4 with three runs scored, an RBI, and a stolen base. The D-Nats took advantage of five errors to score 10 times on 11 hits and two walks.
Sept short call up list begins with
Walters , Brown, Marrerro , Roark.,,
Sept short call up list begins with
Walters , Brown, Marrerro , Roark.,,
Add in Storen, Caleb Clay who deserves a full look-see. Solano. I’d like to see Rahl but that will likely never happen.
Walters and Rahl are not on the 40 man. Don’t forget Espinosa if he and Storen are still in AAA.Moore likely to go before Marrerro. Also Kobernis gives you flexibility between infield and outfield.
Good to see Solis doing his thing in Potomac. The guy seems to be a winner — the PNats have won the game in all of his starts this year. Although I live in Maryland, his parents are friends of mine and I follow his career pretty closely. Since the start of his pro career including the AZ fall league, his team is 29-11 in games that he has started as a pro — a .729 winning percentage. His own won/loss record as a pro is 12-3 or .800. If starting pitchers are supposed to give the team a chance to win, then he does his job pretty damn well. His numbers aren’t off the charts but Lord knows we could use some more guys who help win games on the Nats. I hope to see him move up to Harrisburg this year.
Every time I check in on AAA, I want to get excited about someone, anyone ready to help Nats in hitting department. While Marrero/Moore have tantalized, we’ve seen them both struggle during call ups. I continue to check in and hope on both Brown and Walters and their flashes of power and what should be broad defensive skills either in OF (Brown) or IF (assuming Walters could be play solid 2B/3B and emergency SS back up).
For me, what kills my excitement for both Brown and Walters is their awful OBA – 305 and 286 for Walters. I can only imagine how frustrating it would be to see them struggle in this way with Nats. Although, even as I write this, I can’t help but be biased to testing out an unknown MLB quantity (Power #’s with Walters 25 HR’s YTD) over Chad Tracy’s solid professionalism but lacklustre results. Might not Walters be the the guy who can give Nats power bat off the bench during stretch run? Probably not, but it would be more enjoyable to watch than Chad Tracy and we’ll learn more about 2014 potential.
Walters is not on the 40 man roster. He also is leading the IL in errors. Brown has been up before with lackluster results. Moore is starting to hit again now that he is getting regular work. The problem with him is all his positions are filled LF, RF, 1B. He also isn’t good enough to be a true late inning defensive replacement. He also isn’t base running replacement. The leading hitters on the team are Rahl, Perez, and Kobernus. Rahl is 7th in the IL in hitting in spite of the Chiefs jerking him around.He has hit in every spot in the lineup most recently 8th in front of the pitcher or 7th. He is getting benched in favor of players on the 40 man who aren’t playing as well. Perez is 13th and plays almost every day and hits leadoff. Kobernus is hitting .308 the same as Rahl but with too few at bats to qualify. He is leading the team in stolen bases.
All of these players could be late inning replacements and can run the bases well. They all are plus runners. Perez and Kobernus have been up and found lacking. Rahl isn’t on the 40 man and at 29 yrs old seems to have been written off despite godd production. Of course Bernadina and Tracey haven’t produced much either!
Sensfan – thanks. Will track Rahl a bit more but the guy doesn’t take any walks so his BA is effectively his On Base Average – same thing with Perez. You are right, Kobernus is having a solid season – with plus 360 OBA and the SB’s.
Maybe Walters turns the corner as a hitter in the mold of M Morse. 25 HR’s for an IF is solid pop. Even if he has the same # of errors as HR’s.