Monday’s News & Notes
| Team | Yesterday | Today | Probable Pitchers |
| Syracuse | Won, 3-0; Lost, 5-0 |
@ Pawtucket, 6:15 p.m. |
Treinen (6-7, 3.64 @ AA in ’13) vs. C. Hernandez (3-9, 5.72 in ’13) |
| Harrisburg | Lost, 10-5 | @ New Britain, 6:35 p.m. |
Cole (4-2, 2.18 in ’13) vs. Gilmartin (3-9, 5.72 @ AAA in ’13) |
| Potomac | Won, 6-4 | OFF DAY | N/A |
| Hagerstown | Won, 6-2 | vs. Delmarva, 6:35 p.m. |
Johansen (0-2, 5.79 in ’13) vs. Urban (3-5, 3.32 @ SS-A in ’13) |
Syracuse 3 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 0 — GAME ONE
• Hill (W, 1-0) 6IP, 3H, 0R, 0BB, 5K
• Mattheus (SV, 1) 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 1K
• Peterson 2-3, 2B, 2RBI
• Rhymes 2-2, 2-2B
Two Syracuse pitchers combined for a three-hit shutout while a pair of veterans combined for four hits and three doubles in a 3-0 win over Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the opener. Taylor Hill tossed six innings, allowing all three RailRiders hits, no walks while fanning five for his 1st “W” of ’14. Ryan Mattheus shook off an error to the leadoff batter and set down the next three in order to preserve the shutout and earn the save. Brock Peterson went 2-for-3 with a two-run double while Will “Don’t Call Me Buster” Rhymes doubled twice in as many ABs to lead the Chiefs offense.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 5 Syracuse 0 — GAME TWO
• Tatusko 3IP, 0H, 0R, BB, 2K, HBP
• Roenicke (L, 0-1) 1IP, 4H, 4R, 4ER, BB, 0K
• Walters 2-3, 2B
• Peterson 1-3
The RailRiders broke a 0-0 tie with a four-run 5th as they returned the favor by shutting out the Chiefs, 5-0 in the nightcap. Starter Ryan Tatusko put two runners on base by a walk and a hit batsman in his three innings before the bullpen was called upon. The line between rest and rust was crossed as Josh Roenicke retired just three of nine batters faced in the aforementioned inning, giving up four hits and a walk to suffer the loss. Zach Walters singled and doubled while Brock Peterson singled to account for all three (3) Syracuse hits. Roster move: 1B-OF Tyler Moore recalled to Washington.
Bowie 10 Harrisburg 5
• Purke (L, 0-1) 3IP, 9H, 7R, 6ER, BB, 2K, 2WP
• Bates 3IP, 3H, R, ER, 0BB, 1K
• Nicol 3-4, 2B
• Martinson 2-4, 2B, BB, 2RBI
• Skole 0-2, 2R, 3BB
Bowie completed its four-game sweep with a 10-5 pounding of Harrisburg. Matt Purke pitched a scoreless inning in the 3rd as the BaySox rested after pummeling the southpaw for seven runs in the first two innings of his three-inning start. He gave up nine hits and walked one while striking out two in the loss. Five Sens had multiple hits, led by Sean Nicol’s 3-for-4 effort but failed to capitalize on seven walks drawn (three by Matt Skole) as Harrisburg left 12 runners on base. The Senators defensive woes also continued as they doubled their season error total to eight with four more miscues.
Potomac 6 Carolina 4
• Encarnacion 4IP, 2H, R, ER, 4BB, 2K, HBP
• Henke (W, 1-0) 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 1K
• S. Perez 2-4, R, 2B, RBI, SB
• Severino 1-2, R, BB, RBI, SF
Potomac rallied for three in the 8th and two in the 9th and held off a late Carolina charge for a 6-4 win and a split of the four-game series. Starter Pedro Encarnacion needed 84 pitches to get through four innings, as he walked four and hit a batter but minimized the damage with just one run on two hits while striking out two. Travis Henke got the win for pitching a 1-2-3 seventh while Robert Benincasa got the save, though he gave up a one-out double that came around to score on a wild pitch and a groundout. Stephen Perez was only P-Nat with multiple hits as Potomac maximized its limited offensive opportunities by scoring six times on just five hits and three walks.
Hagerstown 6 Rome 2
• Silvestre 5IP, 5H, 2R, 2ER, 2BB, 6K, BK
• Anderson (W, 1-0) 4IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• Manuel 2-3, RBI
• W. Rodriguez 2-4, R, 2B, RBI
• Ballou 2-5, R, 3B, 3K
Hagerstown took advantage of three Rome errors to score the game’s last six runs to take the game, 6-2 and the series, 3-1. The R-Braves scored twice in the first on four singles but Hector Silvestre shook it off to go five innings and only allowed one more and hit and two walks while striking out six. The win went Dixon Anderson, who pitched the final four innings in his first appearance since last June. Craig Manuel, Wilman Rodriguez, and Isaac Ballou each had two hits as the Suns scored six times despite going 1-for-12 with RISP.
I sure would love to see Purke do better than this. It seems a lot of folks are starting to give up on him, and maybe this could be a useful chip on his shoulder.
That comment totally validates your user name, well done.
Ok that made me laugh, good one ck.
In all seriousness. Purke was so so last year at high-A, got shelled in his first AA start. Concerning for sure. Lets give him a couple months, see what happens. If he’s still got an 8.00 ERA in June, maybe we’re starting the conversion to relief.
This isn’t the make or break it year (next year is really, when he burns his 4th option), so we can exert some patience here.
I’ve never been confident about Purke. And have said so a few times over the last couple of years. There was something about the type of injury he had that bothered me. Of course, I know very little about such things, and based my sentiment on a feeling. That was all. Hopefully, I am wrong. That would suit me just fine.
On another note, my excitement about the minor leagues this year was based primarily on the pitching at most levels (not AAA though). But said pitching has been disappointing so far, especially Giolito’s debut. There was also Schwartz, Mooneyham, Pena, Rivero. Throw in Strasburg at the major league level and there are a few underachievers .
On the other hand, there are the other major league starters, Pivetta, and Voth.. So there is that. And yes, I do realize the season has just started.
As you said … season has just started. Harrisburg pitching especially has looked weak, but hopefully will get bumps when Solis is ready, and with the ripple effect of Roark or Jordan moving down to AAA.