Wednesday’s News & Notes
| Team | Yesterday | Today | Probable Pitchers |
| Syracuse | Lost, 6-5; Won, 7-4 |
@ Toledo, 7:00 p.m. |
Jordan (1-2, 2.14) vs. Melville (2-5, 5.03) |
| Harrisburg | Lost, 5-4 | @ New Britain, 6:35 p.m. |
Voth (2-4, 3.47) vs. Flemer (1-2, 3.38) |
| Potomac | Lost, 14-10 | @ Carolina, 7:00 p.m. |
Lopez (3-2, 3.69) vs. Waszak (2-4, 2.96) |
| Hagerstown | Lost, 7-1 | @ Delmarva, 7:05 p.m. |
Reyes (2-3, 5.08) vs. Long (0-1, 4.50) |
Toledo 6 Syracuse 5 — GAME ONE
• McGregor 6IP, 5H, 4R, 4ER, 2BB, 3K, HR
• Grace (H, 1; L, 0-2) ⅓ IP, 1H, 2R, 2ER, BB, 0K
• Lisson 2-3, R, HR, 3RBI
• Mastroianni 2-4, 2R, 2B
A 5-4 lead was too small for the Chiefs ‘pen to hold as they gave up a pair in the bottom of the 7th to lose the opener, 6-5. Scott McGregor got his second straight no-decision with four runs allowed over six innings on five hits and two walks. The loss went to Matt Grace with an “assist” from Mitch Lively, who let in both inherited runners on a two-out, two-run walkoff double.
Toledo 6 Syracuse 5 — GAME TWO
• Billings 4IP, 6H, 4R, 4ER, BB, 3K
• Martin (W, 2-3) 2IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• Burriss 1-2, R, 2BB, CS
• Ramsey 2-4, R, 2B, 3RBI
• Minicozzi 2-4, 2B
Syracuse blew a 4-0 lead in the middle innings but answered Toledo’s four-run 4th with a three-run 5th and held on for a 7-4 win in the nightcap. Bruce Billings started and gave up all four Mud Hens runs on six hits and a walk over four innings. Rafael Martin pitched two scoreless innings for the win while Jose Valverde worked around an error in the 7th to earn the save. Mark Minicozzi and Caleb Ramsey both singled and doubled to lead Syracuse’s ten-hit parade.
New Britain 5 Harrisburg 4
• Bacus 6IP, 5H, 2R, 2ER, BB, 3K
• Ambriz (BS, 3; L, 1-3) 1IP, 2H, 2R, 2ER, BB, 0K, 3-0 IR-S
• D. Robinson 2-2, R, 2BB, RBI, 2SB
• Renda 2-5, RBI, CS
The Sens tailspin was extended to seven straight with yet another bullpen implosion as the Rock Cats got one in the 8th and two in the 9th for a 5-4 walkoff. Dakota Bacus turned in a quality start of two runs on five hits and a walk over six innings for his second no-decision in four AA starts. Hector Ambriz stranded three while getting the last out of the 8th but was dinged for two of his own in the 9th to suffer his third blown save and third loss. Derrick Robinson walked twice, singled twice, and stole two bases to lead the Harrisburg offense.
Carolina 14 Potomac 10
• Valdez 4IP, 6H, 4R, 2ER, 3BB, 5K
• Lee (BS, 1; L, 0-1) ⅓ IP, 4H, 5R, 3ER, BB, K, HR
• Bostick 3-5, R, 2B, RBI, SB
• Ballou 2-4, R, 2B, BB, RBI
• Mesa 2-4, R, BB, RBI
Both teams had seven-run innings, but the Mudcats’ TD in the 8th turned a 10-7 deficit into the winning score of 14-10 over the P-Nats. Phillips Valdez started and let in four runs (two earned) on six hits and three walks over four innings. Four relievers followed, but none of them could keep Carolina from scoring. Nick Lee retired just one of seven batters faced and was charged with a blown save and a loss. Spencer Kieboom was the beer man as the only batter not to hit safely (though he walked twice) as the Potomac offense compiled 12 hits and five walks, led by Christopher Bostick’s 3-for-5 night.
Delmarva 7 Hagerstown 1
• Purke (L, 1-2) 4IP, 5H, 4R, 0ER, 3BB, 3K
• M. Sanchez 4IP, 4H, 3R, 3ER, 0BB, 5K, HR, BK
• Carey 2-4
• Marmolejos-Diaz 2-4
After getting a gift of the leadoff batter making the first out of the game at 3rd base with nobody out, Matt Purke gave it back with an error on a pickoff attempt and two walks in Delmarva’s four-run 1st as the Shorebirds beat the Suns, 7-1. Purke would recover to throw three scoreless and finish with four runs allowed on five hits and three walks. Mario Sanchez finished the game, letting in three on four hits over four innings. The Suns totaled ten hits, but six came with two out in the inning, including Matt Reistetter’s RBI single to break up the shutout in the 7th. RHP Austen Williams, RHP Drew Van Orden and 3B Grant DeBruin were named to the 2015 Sally League All-Star Game, to be held June 23rd in Asheville, NC.
Trea Turner Update
Turner singled, tripled, and drove in three while going 2-for-5 in San Antonio’s 8-4 win on Tuesday.
Can we keep the Turner update as a separate feature after the trade? On many days, it seems to provide the only positive news! It’s hard to get excited about a Valverde save and Martin lowering his ERA to 7.71 . . .
Looks like a strong slate tonight, though, with Jordan, Voth, and Lopez all starting.
I know I am a minority opinion, but at this point, I think we are going to see Turner in Syracuse. The guy is a run producer for an organization that cannot score and a major league team whose offense is dull as dust. Watch how excited we are going to be when Turner starts stealing bases like he is capable of.
With that said, I know I am also going to get static for this, but I think within a few weeks, we are going to have a Renda-Turner combination in Syracuse and Bostick-Difo in Harrisburg. Bostick is on fire and it’s time he matured to that next level, given his playing a second year in the Carolina. If Wooten keeps playing like he is, then he can move up as well, given his positional versatility, and DeBruin can go to the more appropriate A+ to play 1B while Ward hopefully keeps maturing at 3B.
The organization has to be looking beyond Ryan Zimmerman. His offensive decline is disturbing. The easy answer would have been for Severino to take off and force Wilson to 1B. Obviously Severino has cooled. But he is a streaky hitter and last year he finished very strong.
I would love to know, from those who know the game and are watching Harrisburg, how much of the late collapses by relievers reflect on Severino’s game management?
The issue with Zimmerman is his plantar fasciitis. He’s trying to play through it, but he would almost certainly benefit from a DL stint to stay off his foot.
I think Harrisburg’s bullpen woes have more to do with the bullpen and its arms than with Severino. When Paul Demny has become your most consistent reliever, the problem’s in the bullpen.
He also has some major issues with his shoulder and arthritis which is why his bat speed is down so much and the pitchers are pounding the outside. He can’t hit that pitch anymore.
Severino is 21 years old and one of the younger players in the Eastern League. There’s no need to rush him. He’ll contribute at the the major league level at some point. IMO, some of the streakiness can be attributed to a young player being challenged with an advanced assignment and struggling sometimes before making adjustments. Severino needs at least a full season at AA to develop, probably even longer.
It’s really nice to see Bostick doing well. Looking at his monthly splits, his April was very poor, but his May was good, and he’s been great in June, so he’s really rebounded from a slow start. It’s nice to see young players making improvements like that and battling their way out of a slump.
Gil Grissom. Totally agree in the double play combos
For Cuse and harrisburg.
That planter tightness is a bear to get through. I have
Known that .
Day 3 of draft today. Let’s see how brass adds
More bats for lower levels and infielders ( middle ).
Fair enough. Then just put him on the DL, because they need him healthy later. Give Moore three weeks to start at 1B. If he rakes, great. If he does not, then we have our answers once and for all about his future in the organization when it comes time to moving free agents to be for quality needs.
agreed Jeff – drafting position players is “The Way Up” 🙂
I know it’s only the second week of the season for the DSL Nats, but 6 figure signee third baseman Omar Meregildo, 6’1″ 185lb is intriguing. He has hit 6 doubles, a triple, and a home run in 8 games.
Nice 411, Melissa. Cue all man bris song
Interesting draft for Nats with a handful of lefties
Lead by UT Vol LEE, a switch hitting 1b from
Illinois and a lefty swinging SS from Washington
State where the recruiter there once scouted for Mariners
And might have been in Seattle when Rizzo’s
Dad was.
Now we await the chess game of name movement
And assignments
Allyn. Benincasa is on DL.
That draft was full of 6’5″ plus guys lead
By maryland terp stud kevin mooney.
Could one of them hopscotch to AA
This year ? A stretch …