Wednesday’s News & Notes
Team | Yesterday | Today | Probable Pitchers |
Syracuse | Won, 4-3 | vs. Lehigh Valley, 5:00 p.m. |
TBD and Delcarmen (3-2, 2.78) vs. Smith (5-5, 4.32) and Neris (1-0, 3.70) |
Harrisburg | Lost, 2-0 | @ Richmond, 12:00 p.m. |
Dupra (1-2, 5.03) vs. Crick (4-3, 3.88) |
Potomac | Won, 10-1 | @ Myrtle Beach, 7:05 p.m. |
Schwartz (0-0, 3.24) vs. Wolff (7-3, 2.60) |
Hagerstown | Lost, 5-3 | vs. Lexington, 7:05 p.m. |
Reed (2-6, 6.04) vs. Pivetta (9-3, 3.57) |
Auburn | Lost, 10-4 | @ Williamsport, 7:05 p.m. |
Lopez (0-1, 2.00) vs. Whitehead (1-0, 1.54) |
GCL Nationals | Won, 6-0 | @ GCL Cardinals, 12:00 p.m. |
TBD vs. TBD |
DSL Nationals | Won, 8-2 | vs. DSL Red Sox, 10:30 a.m. |
Acevedo (2-0, 7.15) vs. Diaz (1-1, 2.65) |
Syracuse 4 Lehigh Valley 3 — GAME ONE
• Kroenke (W, 1-0) 5⅔ IP, 8H, 3R, 3ER, BB, K
• Madrigal (SV, 6) 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 0K
• Burriss 2-3, 2R, 3B
• Souza 2-2, R, 2B, RBI, SB
Steve Souza, Tyler Moore, and Zach Walters went back-to-back-to-back with RBI doubles in the Chiefs’ three-run 3rd as Syracuse rolled to its eighth straight win in the opener, 4-3. Zach Kroenke made the spot start and got his first AAA win since last August as he pitched into the 6th, allowing three runs on eight hits over five and 2/3rds innings with one walk and one whiff. Warner Madrigal set the side down in order in the 7th for his sixth save. Roster moves: LHP Aaron Laffey placed on 3-Day TIL; OF Destin Hood activated from 7-Day DL; IF Jose Lozada placed on 7-Day DL; UT Jeff Kobernus assigned for MLB rehab.
Syracuse vs. Lehigh Valley — PPD
There’s a certain irony when a doubleheader, which was created by a previous rainout, is partially rained out again. They’ll try to play two again today, though there’s more rain in the forecast.
Richmond 2 Harrisburg 0
• Brach (L, 1-2) 7IP, 9H, 2R, 2ER, BB, 5K
• Herron 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• Vettleson 2-3, SB
• Skole 1-2, BB
The Senators ran into buzzsaw as Flying Squirrels southpaw Jack Snodgrass tossed a five-hit shutout in a 2-0 win vs. Harrisburg. Starter Brett Brach took the loss despite scatting nine hits over seven innings for the two Richmond runs. He walked just one and struck out five. The Senators had but one serious threat in the game as Cutter Dykstra led off the 7th with infield single and advanced to second on a throwing error. Following a Matt Skole walk, the two baserunners were bunted over by Quincy Latimore. Dykstra was picked off third for the inning’s second out while Drew Vettleson struck out to end the inning.
Potomac 10 Lynchburg 1
• Voth (W, 1-0) 6IP, 2H, 0R, 2BB, 6K
• Runion 1IP, 0H, 0R, BB, 2K
• Harper 2-3, 2R, BB, HR, 4RBI
• Renda 2-3, 2R, BB,
• Piwnica-Worms 2-4, 2R, 2B, 2RBI
Bryce Harper singled, walked, homered, and drove in four in just five innings as the P-Nats completed a sweep of Salem with a 10-1 beatdown. Austin Voth tossed six scoreless innings and let up just two hits and two walks while fanning six to win his High-A debut.
The P-Nats scored in each of the first three innings, piling up 13 hits total with Harper, Tony Renda, Will Piwnica-Worms, Oscar Tejeda, and Wilson Ramos each having multiple hits.
Lexington 5 Hagerstown 3
• Silvestre (L, 3-5) 7IP, 6H, 4R, 4ER, 0BB, 6K, HR, HBP
• Thomas 2IP, 3H, R, ER, 0BB, 1K
• Difo 2-4
• Bautista 2-5, R, SB(36)
The Suns fell behind 4-0 and pulled to within one at 4-3 but couldn’t get the equalizer as they fell by a 5-3 count. Starter Hector Silvestre took the loss, giving up four runs and six hits over seven innings for the second straight start. Justin Thomas gave up a run in the 9th after a scoreless 8th. Leadoff man Rafael Bautista and No. 2 batter Wilmer Difo both singled twice while Carlos Lopez and James Yezzo both doubled to pace the Hagerstown offense.
Williamsport 10 Auburn 4
• Torres (L, 1-1) 4+ IP, 6H, 5R, 2ER, BB, 6K, 2HR
• Feliz 2⅓ IP, 5H, 5R,5ER, 2BB, K, HR
• Sanchez 1⅔ IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 0K
• Read 2-3, 2R
• Carey 2-4, R
Williamsport scored in five straight innings, including a four-run 5th that broke open a 4-3 game as they sent Auburn to a 10-4 loss. Luis Torres was torched for five runs on six hits, including two homers, the second of which chased him from the game with no outs in the 5th. He walked one and struck out six over four-plus innings. Raudy Read and Daley Carey were the only two Doubledays to notch multiple hits as they were held to seven total with the top four batters going 0-for-18 with one walk and one RBI on the night.
Roster move: John Feliz promoted from the GCL Nationals.
GCL Nationals 6 GCL Cardinals 0
• Bourque 2IP, 1H, 0R, BB, 2K
• Bach (W, 1-0) 2IP, 0H, 0R, BB, K
• Lora 4-5, R, 2RBI
• Serrata 2-3, 2R, 2B
• Ortiz 2-5, R, RBI, OF assist at 2B
A four-run 3rd broke a 0-0 tie as the G-Nats went on to shut out the G-Cards, 6-0. James Bourque started and went two innings, giving up one hit and one walk while striking out two. Connor Bach got the win as the first reliever out of the ‘pen, throwing two innings with one hit and and one walk. Maximo Valerio earned a hold with three innings of one-hit ball, with no walks and two K’s. Offensively, Edwin Lora led the 11-hit attack with a 4-for-5 game, scoring once and driving in two, .
DSL Nationals 8 DSL Red Sox 2
• Baez 5IP, 3H, R, ER, BB, 6K
• Archibald (W, 1-0) 1IP, 1H, 0R, BB, 0K
• Cespedes (SV, 4) 2IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 3K
• Franco 2-4, 2R, HR, 3RBI
• G. Ramirez 2-4, R, RBI, CS
• Agustin 1-3, R, BB, SB(10)
The D-Nats scored eight unanswered runs — five in the 7th, three in the 8th — as they pulled into a tie for second place with an 8-3 win against the D-Red Sox. Joan Baez continues to deal, lowering his ERA to 1.50 with five innings of one-run ball with three hits and one walk allowed and six set down on strikes. 16-y.o. Anderson Franco connected for his first professional home run, a two-run shot in the 8th as he went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBI total to lead the D-Nats offense.
Now that Kobernus is nearing full health, would he get any consideration for being called up to replace Danny Espinosa? Seems like the Nats are going to keep Zimmerman in the outfield and Rendon at 3rd. Espinosa is only hitting .224 and is striking out at a tremendous rate. What was Kobernus like defensively as a 2nd baseman?
Espinosa is also the backup SS, I doubt he’ll be demoted
Not as good as Espinosa, which is hardly a surprise because Espinosa was (could still be) a shortstop. But he’s more than adequate and unlike some other callup candidates, he can play multiple positions without such a huge defensive dropoff. The question is whether the Nats can bear to put a veteran on waivers.
I have no to say it’s truly remarkable to watch some of our players totally transform themselves this year. Our bash brothers trio of Souza, Moore and Walters is inarguably the best heart of the order on any minor league team right now.
Souza, who wasn’t even considered a prospect by many two seasons ago, is now underway to having the best offensive season in the minors, continuing on his excellent ’13 season. Walters has elevated his average, while his power has exploded. But the most impressive transformation has been Tyler Moore. The guy was a lock for a .270 average and low walk-high strikeout rates. But since 2012 he’s gradually become a much more nuanced players, walking more and more, where he’s now walking just as much as he’s striking out, without sacrificing his power. It’s been great to watch. The management in the minors has done an excellent job making these very flawed players into a much more complete package. Here’s to hoping they can continue their transformations in DC.
I am sure that teams looking to re-tool before the A-S break would be very interested in the Nats farm talent (Moore, Walters, Souza, Hill, Treinen, Kobernus, Taylor, Cole among others). The Nats system is stocked with players could contribute immediately (and save payroll) on a bunch of other MLB teams. Not sure what the Nats needs are before the trade deadline, but there are not many, if any, other teams that can offer the MLB ready players that the Nats can.