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Thursday’s News & Notes

Team Yesterday Today Probable Pitchers
Syracuse Won, 9-5 vs. Lehigh Valley,
7:05 p.m.		 Bleier (3-1, 2.78) vs.
Biddle (2-2, 4.88)
Harrisburg Lost, 8-4 @ Reading,
7:05 p.m.		 Simms (1-1, 4.91) vs.
Pivetta (0-3, 7.56)
Potomac Won, 8-2 vs. Winston-Salem,
12:05 p.m.		 Dickson (1-2, 4.24) vs.
Heidenreich (12-2, 2.67)
Hagerstown Lost, 3-2 @ Augusta,
7:05 p.m.		 Amlung (2-1, 3.73) vs.
M. Reyes (7-4, 2.28)
Auburn Lost, 2-0 @ Tri-City,
7:00 p.m.		 J. Rodriguez (2-5, 5.36) vs.
Thornton (4-0, 3.32)


Syracuse 9 Lehigh Valley 5
• Espino (W, 5-5) 5IP, 9H, 5R, 5ER, BB, 2K, HR
• Walters (H, 2) 3IP, 4H, 0R, 0BB, 4K
• Burriss 2-5, R, 2B, 2RBI
• Martinson 1-3, 2B, 2BB, 2RBI
• Butler 2-4, 2R, 2B, 2RBI

Syracuse continues to roll as a five-run 4th powered them past Lehigh Valley, 9-5. Paolo Espino started and got the Jack Morris win with five runs allowed over five innings on nine hits and a walk. P.J. Walters settled things down with three scoreless for his second hold. Every starter had at least one hit in the 12-hit night, with Emmanuel Burriss, Jason Martinson, and Dan Butler each having two hits and two RBI.

Reading 8 Harrisburg 4
• Purke 5IP, 6H, 3R, 3ER, 0BB, 2K
• Harper (L, 2-2) ⅓ IP, 3H, 3R, 2ER, 0BB, 0K, HR
• Davis 1⅔ IP, 2H, 0R, BB, 3K, 2-1 IR-S
• Difo 2-3, R, 3B, BB, HR, 3RBI

The Fightins once again threw haymakers at the Sens ‘pen, connecting for three in the 6th as Reading knocked out Harrisburg, 9-5. Matt Purke got the no-decision with five innings of three-run ball, giving up six hits, no walks, and striking out two. Bryan Harper took the loss with three runs charged on three hits, including a home run. Wilmer Difo was one-man wrecking crew as he walked, tripled, homered, and drove in three runs. The rest of the lineup went 3-for-27.
Roster moves: 2B Reegie Corona reassigned from Potomac; OF Derrick Robinson placed on the 7-Day DL.

Potomac 8 Winston-Salem 2
• Lopez (W, 6-7) 7IP, 2H, 0R, 0BB, 11K
• Johansen 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 1K
• Keller 2-3, R, BB, RBI, SB
• Mesa 2-4, R, 2RBI
• Norfork 1-3, R, BB, RBI

Reynaldo Lopez struck out a career-high 11 batters while tossing seven shutout innings in an 8-2 Potomac win over Winston-Salem. Lopez allowed just two hits and walked none while earning his sixth win. Every batter in the lineup hit safely with Alec Keller leading the pack with two singles, a walk, a run, an RBI, a stolen base, and a partridge in a pear tree.

Augusta 3 Hagerstown 2
• Reyes 6IP, 4H, 2R, 2ER, BB, 6K, HR
• Brinley (L, 1-1) ⅔ IP, 2H, R, ER, BB, 0K
• Marmolejos-Diaz 2-4, 2B
• Read 1-4, R, 2B

Hagerstown and Augusta locked up in in a pitcher’s duel that Augusta won with a walkoff single in the 9th, 3-2. Luis Reyes made one mistake, a two-run HR in the 4th, over six innings for a no-decision. He gave up four hits and a walk and struck out six. Ryan Brinley took the loss as he let in the gamewinner on a walk and two singles in the 9th. “Orange” Marmolejos-Diaz matched his line from Tuesday, going 2-for-4 with a double to lead the Suns’ four-hit effort, with both runs scoring on sacrifice flies.

Tri-City 2 Auburn 0
• Hearn (L, 1-4) 3⅔ IP, 4H, R, ER, 4BB, 2K, HBP, WP
• Ramos 1⅓ IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 0K, 3-0 IR-S
• Florentino 1-3, BB, CS
• Encarnacion 1-3, SB

The ValleyCats scratched out single runs in the 1st and 7th innings while blanking the Doubledays for a 2-0 win. Taylor Hearn gave up just one run on four hits but left with two out in the 4th after walking the bases loaded. David Ramos stranded them and got the last out of the 4th and then pitched a scoreless 5th. The offense was limited to five hits and two walks with Darryl Florentino the sole batter to reach base twice with a single and a walk.

14 Commments

  1. Ding Ding Ding Ding–Difo FINALLY hits the dinger we’ve all been waiting for. He’s been totally on fire as of late, and hopefully this is the beginning of him dominating at AA like he did at Hagerstown and Potomac.

    1. It sure looks like it.

      In his first 10 games after returning to Harrisburg, he batted a pretty miserable .150/.190/.225, but it looks like he’s found his stroke again. Because in the 10 games after that, he’s batted .455/.489/.636

      Still, the drop in walks and rise in strikeouts are a bit concerning, but you can’t blame the guy for swinging at every chance he’s got, when he’s batting like he is.

    2. A homer AND a walk from Difo. He must have read our comments yesterday!

      Lopez = wow. Anyone see it and have a scouting report? That’s the line for him we’ve been waiting to see all season.

      2. I saw a good chunk of it — he was getting ahead of the batters consistently while his offspeed stuff wasn’t slop. First time I can recall both those things happening in one of his starts this season.

      3. Something to keep in mind : after difo the next middle
        Infielders who switch hit are Jeffries and Franklin Perez
        Or whoever that FA signed from this past year.
        Question to the Nat nation : Dombrowski and rizzo were
        With white sox @ same time ?? Long time ago Dombrowski
        Headed north to join Stoneman and co in Pierre De Coubertin!!

  3. Luke , GG and forum : poll question. Does brass still
    Love estarlin if he finishes BA over .270???

  4. I was at Syracuse last night and the Chiefs were hitting. Best were Burriss and Turner, but it could have been just a mediocre pitcher. Den Dekker also was smacking the ball well. Espino wasn’t impressive at all. Good time at the game – my kid got to meet a bunch of players – but tiny crowd.

    We are at the Auburn game in Troy, NY now. Jefry Rodriguez has very good stuff it seems so far (we are in the 4th) but control is all over the place. I’m no scout but he looks like a thrower more than a pitcher and hopefully he can figure that out. I wish there was a radar gun here. We met Robles, Wiseman and Little Mariano. Wiseman seems like a really good guy – we asked him how he was able to stay in the game after the neck shot in the CWS. Good times and really nice crowd here tonight!

  6. Not playing, Jeff. There is a Dominican guy playing first who I didn’t see on the roster. Eusebio, maybe?

    By the way, found the radar gun and Jefry sat low 90s and may have hit 95 a few times. Came out after 5.2 and I’m guessing he walked 75 guys. Great stuff, but no idea where it is going.

    2-2 going into the 7th. We have 8 hits, they have 3. Lots of guys left on base.

    Reetz came out after 3 innings – wonder why??

  7. Folks I am watching this week:

    Matt DenDekker: Has found his swing and his bat. And his power, which was not altogether absent until a couple of years ago. Maybe the trade that wasn’t has a chance to be one tha was.
    Max Schrock: At his price, you know he gets promoted if there is room at Hagerstown. He was on my list last week of most likely to be promoted, got four hits tonight and now over .300 with a good eye. Someone needs to get the bump to Hagerstown, and to Potomac. Did anyone think he’d get there before Wiseman? I do.
    Randy Encarnacion: What a dreadful start he got. And the team already tanked one bonus baby, Guzman, a few weeks ago. Would they do it again to the erstwhile Nova. Not the way he’s picked it up, they won’t.
    Drew vanOrden: He and Austen Williams going in separate directions. Has really faded and hopefully not hurt.
    Isaac Ballou: OK, Jeff, that was for you. But he is doing well a the bottom of the order.

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