Thursday’s News & Notes
| Team | Yesterday | Today | Probable Pitchers |
| Syracuse | OFF DAY | vs. Pawtucket, 7:00 p.m. |
Tatusko (1-5, 2.31) vs. Barnes (1-1, 2.89) |
| Harrisburg | Won, 9-0 | @ Trenton, 7:05 p.m. |
Cole (4-2, 2.25) vs. Ruth (0-0, 3.86) |
| Potomac | Won, 3-2; Lost, 3-2 | vs. Lynchburg, 7:05 p.m. |
Pena (3-1, 4.81) vs. Sims (4-3, 4.07) |
| Hagerstown | OFF DAY | vs. Asheville, 7:05 p.m. |
Silvestre (1-0, 1.19) vs. Senzatela (4-1, 4.32) |
Syracuse — OFF DAY
After their lone scheduled day off in May, the Chiefs continue an eight-game homestand with four against the PawSox. The Chiefs are currently in last place in the I.L. North, but trail the first-place Bison by just a game and a half.
Roster moves: RHP Blake Treinen recalled to Washington, RHP Ryan Mattheus optioned from Washington.
Harrisburg 9 Trenton 0
• Espino (W, 1-2) 6IP, 1H, 0R, BB, 3K, 2HBP
• Holland 2IP, 1H, 0R, BB, 2K
• Tylor 3-5, 3R, HR, RBI, 2SB
• Martinson 2-4, 2HR, 2RBI
• Skole 2-4, R, BB, RBI
Three Harrisburg pitchers combined on a three-hit shutout in a 9-0 win over Trenton to break a three-game losing streak. Paolo Espino (6IP), Neil Holland (2IP), and Tyler Herron (1IP), each gave up a hit and combined for two walks and five strikeouts for Espino’s first win of 2014. Jason Martinson (2-for-4) went deep twice and Michael Taylor (3-for-5) once while Matt Skole reached base three times with two singles and a walk, one of seven the Thunder pitchers issued as the Senators scored nine times on just eight hits.
Potomac 3 Lynchburg 2 — GAME ONE
• Solis (W, 1-0) 5⅓ IP, 7H, R, ER, BB, 4K
• Benincasa (SV, 8) 1⅔ IP, 2H, R, ER, BB, K, 2-0 IR-S
• Renda 2-3, R, SB
• Tejeda 2-3, R, 2-2B, RBI
Sammy Solis continued his rehab tour Last Night In Woodbridge.
Lynchburg 3 Potomac 2 — GAME TWO
• Dickson (L, 1-3) 6IP, 5H, 3R, 3ER, 2BB, 6K
• Mendez 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• Piwnica-Worms 2-3, 2B, RBI
• Perez 1-2, BB, SB
Both teams got to the starters in the second game, with Lynchburg putting up three in the top half and Potomac answering with two in the bottom half. Neither team would score again as the Hillcats returned the favor with a 3-2 win of their own to split the doubleheader. Ian Dickson went six innings, giving up five hits and two walks while striking out six but took the loss. Will Piwnica-Worms was the sole P-Nat to notch multiple hits with a 2-for-3 night, though Stephen Perez also reached base twice with a walk and a single.
Roster moves: LHP Sammy Solis transferred from Hagerstown, LHP Matthew Spann reassigned to Harrisburg to make room on roster (two will likely swap places on Sens roster by Saturday).
Hagerstown — OFF DAY
Hagerstown returns home for four games against Asheville after losing its first full series of the season, 3-1 to Lexington. Like the P-Nats, the Suns are in the midst of a long sequence (31 days) where they’re home for just one series against one team. Despite the hiccup, Hagerstown still holds a commanding nine-game lead over second-place Delmarva and Greensboro.
Hmm… With Silvestre slated to throw today, my monkey math tells me that is a second skipped start for Giolito in a row. (Of course, I’m about as good at math as Eury is at taking walks. Now, to be fair, he’s on a career pace this year, so maybe my math is, as well?)
Anyway, much ado about nothing, or is there something else a foot?
Well, healthy pitchers don’t miss back-to-back starts.
Our man in back lots minor league fields or perhaps on the end of the phone with Scialbba or Harris? Byron Kerr provides the answer … maybe?
http://www.masnsports.com/byron-kerr/2014/05/team-source-top-prospect-giolito-skipping-starts-to-have-innings-managed-not-because-of-injury.html
Which begs the question: Why have none of the other major TJers skipped starts in their comeback from TJ? Strasburg? None. Zimmermann? None. Jordan? None.
Yup. Makes you wonder.
At the risk of putting undo weight on the stat line, Taylor really seems to be having a nice year, as does Souza. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Taylor showing up in some of the national prospect blogs. Skole’s complete loss of power has to be concerning. Is there any feedback from people watching him?
Michael Taylor is the best position-player prospect in the Nats’ system. Barring injury, he will be in the majors by the 2nd half of the 2015 season. By all accounts, his glove/arm are above-MLB average. He is an extra-base hit machine (57 EXBH in 2013), and is a threat on the bases (51 SBs next year). Strikeouts will always be his one chink in the armor, but he will be the Nats starting CF for awhile starting in 2016 at the latest.
I think you mean Taylor not Tylor? I thought they had a new player for a moment there …