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Tuesday’s News & Notes

Team Yesterday Today Probable Pitchers
Syracuse Postponed @ Toledo,
5:30 p.m.		 McGregor (3-4, 3.19) and
Jordan (1-2, 2.14) vs.
Belfiore (2-7, 6.59) and
Hankins (1-1, 7.00)
Harrisburg Lost, 6-4 @ New Britain,
6:35 p.m.		 Bacus (1-1, 5.00) vs.
Marshall (0-1, 4.50)
Potomac Won, 5-1 @ Carolina,
7:00 p.m.		 Valdez (0-1, 5.29) vs.
Hil (1-8, 6.16)
Hagerstown OFF DAY @ Delmarva,
7:05 p.m.		 TBD vs. Means (4-2, 4.20)


Toledo vs. Syracuse — PPD
Rain washed out the first of three between Toledo and Syracuse. They’ll make it up with a doubleheader tonight.
Roster moves: LHP Rich Hill placed on the 7-day DL, RHP Mitch Lively activated from the 3-Day TIL.

New Britain 6 Harrisburg 4
• Bleier (L, 3-2) 6IP, 6H, 5R, 4ER, 0BB, 4K, 2HR, HBP
• Runion 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 1K
• Severino 3-4, 2R, HR, 2RBI
• A. Sanchez 2-4, R, 2B

A brief 1-0 lead was erased with a three-run 3rd as the Sens could never catch up and lost their sixth straight, 6-4. Starter Richard Bleier took the loss, allowing five runs (four earned) on six hits (two home runs) over six innings. He walked none and struck out four. Sam Runion breezed through the 7th on nine pitches but Abel De Los Santos gave up the sixth and final run in the 8th. Pedro Severino went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI, but the Harrisburg offense struggled in the clutch, going 2-for-15 with RISP and stranding 10 baserunners.

Potomac 5 Carolina 1
• Simms (W, 3-4) 7IP, 2H, R, ER, 0BB, 4K, HR
• M. Rodriguez 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 0K
• S. Perez 3-5, 2RBI
• Miller 2-4, 2R, 2B, BB
• Wooten 2-5, R, HR, RBI

John Simms threw a season-best seven innings while the bats woke up late to turn a 2-1 nailbiter into a 5-1 P-Nats win. Simms gave up the lone Mudcat run on a 5th inning solo shot and two hits total while striking out four and issuing no walks. Stephen Perez’s two-run single, his third of the night, highlighted a three-run 8th that put the game away. John Wooten, Brandon Miller, and Narciso Mesa also notched multiple hits as the Potomac offense tallied 13 hits total on the night.

Hagerstown — OFF DAY
Hagerstown’s seven-game, eight-day roadtrip resumes with three against Delmarva. The tragic number is now down to seven with 13 games remaining in the first half.

Trea Turner Update
Monday was an off day for San Antonio.

10 Commments

  1. So, when does Trea Turner officially join the Nats organization?

    Also, yesterday, there were many posts about how bleak the organization’s prospects look based in part on the poor records of each team in the organization and tepid performances by some of the higher ranked MILB players. Would not put much stock in the records of the minor league teams and don’t think things are as bleak as things may look now:

    – First, the Nats have had so many injuries on the MLB club that that players that would’ve been playing in AAA (MAT, Taylor Jordan, Taylor Hill, AJ Cole, Matt Grace) or even AA (Difo, Solis, Joe Ross) that those teams have been playing shorthanded all season. For example over the last few weeks, almost every AAA starter has either been brought up, or even brought to DC and not brought up or simply held out of games, just in case the MLB club needs the pitcher that the AAA pitching staff has been a total mess.

    – Second, the Nats chose to hold out their best two starting pitchers (Giolito and Lopez) in the minor league system until the middle of May. So, Potomac played short-handed until mid-May. Also, Giolito and, to lesser extent, Lopez are a step behind others that have been playing non-stop since the Spring. They will improve as the season continues.

    – Third, one of the best position players in the organization, Trea Turner, has been playing for San Diego’s system over the past 2 and half months. That end’s soon, maybe today.

    We shall see how things shake out over the next 3 months, but I think the picture of the quality of the Nats prospects will get clearer and better in short order, and while not a particularly significant metric, I think the records of each minor league team will improve over the rest of the season.

    1. I think Turner signed on June 14 last year – so technically, so could be eligible to be the Nats’ property from this Saturday coming?

    2. I honestly don’t care about the teams records. The only thing that matters is the prospects and their records. Won lost records at MILB are about as important as Won Lost records in Spring Training.

      1. Well, maybe not that much. I agree that development should take precedence, but at a certain point, learning how to win and what it takes to win shouldn’t be ignored or discounted. It’s not unlike how guys need to adjust to the grind of playing every day vs. just weekends or summers.

    3. “First, the Nats have had so many injuries on the MLB club that that players that would’ve been playing in AAA (MAT, Taylor Jordan, Taylor Hill, AJ Cole, Matt Grace) or even AA (Difo, Solis, Joe Ross) that those teams have been playing shorthanded all season. For example over the last few weeks, almost every AAA starter has either been brought up, or even brought to DC and not brought up or simply held out of games, just in case the MLB club needs the pitcher that the AAA pitching staff has been a total mess.”

      I think that’s the central issue with the Nats’ farm team records at the moment. The system is shuffling people up and down between levels on (what feels like) a fairly consistent basis, and I think that’s having a number of effects, from playing shorthanded to inhibiting team momentum and cohesion. I heard a stat recently that in Harrisburg, they only had twelve or thirteen of their Opening Day starters still on the roster. That’s an incredible amount of turnover and shuffle in two months.

    1. Just an explanation/reminder… if you post something with more than two links, it’s automatically held by my comment software. But please keep passing these along, though. It’s especially appreciated now that my site time is limited.

  3. I don’t think anyone on this board is commenting on the won loss records. It’s the production on the field that is impossible to overlook, and the reliance on retreads who are not producing either, especially in the bullpen. Ambriz with another collapse, while Nick Lee is at Potomac.

    Turner is accelerating the pace with which Desmond could be traded. So is Desmond.

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