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Tuesday’s News & Notes

Team Yesterday Today Probable Pitchers
Syracuse Lost, 6-5 (11 inn.) @ Charlotte,
7:05 p.m.		 Hill (2-3, 4.53)
Ranaudo (0-1, 3.68)
Harrisburg Won, 3-2 vs. New Hampshire,
7:00 p.m.		 Williams (1-5, 5.62) vs.
Santos (4-1, 3.14)
Potomac Lost, 8-2 OFF DAY N/A
Hagerstown Won, 2-1 vs. Asheville,
7:05 p.m.		 Baez (1-4, 4.75) vs.
Killian (3-2, 5.21)


Charlotte 6 Syracuse 5 (11 inn.)
• Cole 7IP, 6H, 3R, 3ER, 0BB, 5K
• Davis (H, 3) 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 1K
• Grace (L, 1-2) 1⅔ IP, 3H, R, ER, 0BB, 1K
• Severino 3-5, R, RBI
• Turner 2-5, R, 2-2B, 3RBI
• Goodwin 1-3, 2B, 2BB

The Syracuse ‘pen couldn’t hold a 5-3 lead in the 9th and fell in the 11th, 6-5 to Charlotte. Starter A.J. Cole went seven innings for the first time this season, letting in three on six hits and no walks while striking out five. Trevor Gott didn’t have the Motts as he surrendered a two-run HR in the 9th to tie things up at 5-5. Matt Grace gave up the gamewinner in the 11th on back-to-back two-out singles for his second loss. Pedro Severino led the Chiefs hit column with three singles while Trea Turner doubled twice and drove in three.

Harrisburg 3 Akron 2
• Giolito (W, 3-2) 6IP, 3H, 2R, 1ER, 4BB, 6K
• Robinson (H, 3) 2IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 4K
• Simms (SV, 2) 1IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 1K
• Bostick 2-3, BB, CS
• Collier 2-4, R, 2B

The Senators scored in three of the first four innings and held on for a 3-2 win to earn a split of the four-game series with the RubberDucks. Lucas Giolito won for the third time, giving up both Akron runs (one earned) on three hits and four walks over six innings. Andrew Robinson kept the ‘Ducks off the pond, er, bases with two scoreless for the hold while John Simms shook off a leadoff single to retire the next three for the save. Christopher Bostick, Zach Collier, and Cutter Dykstra each had two hits as the Harrisburg nine collected ten hits and three walks total on the afternoon.

Winston-Salem 8 Potomac 2
• Reyes (L, 3-4) 6IP, 7H, 4R, 4ER, 4BB, 2K, HR
• Sanchez 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 0K
• Abreu 2-3, 2B, BB
• Ward 1-3, 2B, BB

Winston-Salem earned a 2-2 series split with an 8-2 dismantling of Potomac. Starter Luis Reyes battled control problems again, walking four in six innings and giving up seven hits to lose his fourth game. After a scoreless inning from Mario Sanchez, the P-Nats ‘pen imploded in the 8th, with four walks and four runs surrendered by Dakota Bacus and Matt Spann. Offensively, Potomac got the leadoff man on just once in nine innings and managed just six hits, unable to capitalize on four extra-base hits aside from an “Orange” Marmolejos HR. Roster move: IF Grant DeBruin reassigned to Auburn.

Hagerstown 2 Asheville 1
• Rodriguez (W, 5-2) 6IP, 2H, 1R, 0ER, 3BB, 2K
• Peterson (H, 1) 2IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• VanVossen (SV, 4) 1IP, 0H, 0R, BB, 2K
• Schrock 2-4, 3B, 2RBI
• Gutierrez 2-4, SB

A fifth-inning triple proved to be the gamewinner as the Suns mugged the Tourists, 2-1. Jefry Rodriguez got his fifth win with six innings of one (unearned) run ball on two hits and three walks with two strikeouts. Tommy Peterson followed with two scoreless for the hold while Mick VanVossen walked one while earning his fourth save by pitching an otherwise clean 9th. Max “For Those About To” Schrock drove in both runs and went 2-for-4, as did Kelvin Gutierrez and Matt Page. Hagerstown collected ten hits total but walked just once.

19 Commments

  1. So the “Trea Turner Timer” begins ticking. All accounts I’ve seen have said anywhere between May 28-30 is when the Nats could promote him, the question is now no longer “when will he be promoted?” but “why hasn’t he been promoted?”

    And as Espinosa and Drew’s hitless nights keep adding up, the latter question will reverberate louder and louder…

    1. As long as the big club is winning and Espinosa remains above the Mendoza line, I don’t think they feel any urgency to promote him. The team is in first place relying on pitching, defense, and Daniel Murphy remaining unconscious. Who would you send down if they promote Turner?

      Happy to see another solid start from Giolito.

      1. Stephen Drew.

        Then Espinosa fills Drew’s vacated role as a utility infielder.

        We might currently be in first, but only by one game, and we’ve gone 14-14 in May. We’re not running away with things here.

        It’s not helping matters that our SS are hitting a combined .188/.279/.305 this season, while Turner’s crushing AAA pitching to the tune of .321/.385/.489.

        1. There are three million reasons why Drew will not be cut. More likely, Taylor heads back to AAA since Robinson can also play the OF.

          1. Think that the Nats will wait for an injury to bring up Turner. I don’t see them cutting Drew. Absent an injury, the most logical move is to send MAT to AAA. Last night, when Harper left the game, Heisey was inserted in his place, and today with Harper out, Robinson is playing OF.

            It appears that the Nats have abandoned the idea coming out of ST of getting MAT max at bats as the 4th OF. Dusty doesn’t even bring him in as a late-inning- defensive replacement very often (although that will happen tonight with Robinson in the OF). If MAT has moved to last bat off the bench, it makes sense to play him everyday in AAA.

            That said, it would similarly make no sense to bring Turner up and not play him the majority of the time. As an FYI, Espinosa can be a sour puss. I can see him pouting if he becomes a bench player again.

          2. Also FWIW, Espinosa and Drew are both Boras clients. I’m not a Boras conspiracy theorist by any means, but I do understand that it’s not a bad thing to keep Uncle Scott happy.

            Turner is just coming out of a slump, so I don’t think there will be a rush to bring him up. When he comes up, it will be to play. If Espinosa sinks to .180 or so, it will become somewhat of a foregone conclusion. Otherwise, it may take a team slump to spark a shakeup.

          3. So where did you hear that Espinosa can be a “sour puss”. I’ve never read anything about that and in my experiences with Danny, he’s a team player and is not a pouter.

          4. There have been several articles about Danny Espinosa’s sourpuss attitude. Do a little research.

          5. Nats Guy – post a link if you’ve seen those “articles”. I’m not the one making unfounded accusations so I don’t need to do the research.

    2. I called it by saying Turner would not be up immediately because Espinosa’s defense is too valuable. Espi’s BAIBP is also about .050 below his career average, which means his BA is likely due for a rise if he stays in the lineup.

      1. In his past 1100+ major league plate appearances, Espinosa has batted .214/.282/.353. That regression to the mean isn’t coming.

        1. Espinosa is now on pace for 18 HRs this season. I’ll take that out of a No. 8 hitter who is a plus defender at SS any day. Turner’s transition’s going to have to wait until the right moment.

          1. Espinosa is slugging .309 this season and has a .111 ISO. That’s not useful power, it’s actually one of the worst in the league, even just compared to shortstops. League average for SS’s this season is .390/.132.

            Trea Turner is a good defensive SS with a massively higher ceiling than Espinosa. The right moment has already passed.

  2. On a similar front, now that we are heading into June, the Nats can bring up a starter if Gio’s struggles continue without concern about the call up gaining super 2 status. Giolito has surrendered only 4 in runs in his last 5 starts. Giolito will come up at some point; just not sure when.

    1. I’m not so sure. I think Turner IS a question of when, but Giolito not so much.

      First, SS is a dire need for the big league roster, whereas SP is perhaps our biggest strength with Scherzer, Strasburg, Gonzalez, Ross and Roark all locked down for the next 3+ years.

      Second, Giolito isn’t on the 40 man roster.

      We could promote Giolito and use him in a bullpen role, but I’m really skeptical that it doesn’t have a negative effect developmentally. Plus, we’re surprisingly not short on bullpen options. Someone will get demoted soon to make space for Belisle (most likely Solis). Meanwhile, Martin, Grace, Lee and whoever replaces Taylor Jordan’s 40 man roster spot (Davis, Espino, Cole, Glover, Harper, Simms) are all well placed to get promoted.

      I think Giolito pitches the entire season in Harrisburg, then comes to ST competing with Ross and Roark for the 5th spot.

      The only way I think Giolito plays this season is if Rizzo decides we need more bats and deals some of our pitching surplus for an impact bat (or to fill an injury).

    2. Trea’s date wasn’t a “Super 2” issue; it was about regaining a full year of service time for the club after his promotion at the end of 2015. Super 2, which involves the year of arbitration eligibility, is a floating date but generally falls around the middle of June, just a couple of weeks away. (It’s a complicated deal; Google it if you want more explanations.)

      Yes, the Nats will have an open 40-man spot whenever they move Taylor Jordan to the 60-day DL (which doesn’t count against the 40-man during the season). If there came a need for a call-up for the starting rotation (which overall has been one of the best in baseball), my guess is that the guy who would be deemed the most major-league ready would be Voth (who would also have to be added to the 40-man). Giolito isn’t ready yet, and currently there’s no reason to rush him.

      I’m eager to see what Turner can do at the major-league level, but I agree with SD above that as long as the big club is playing reasonably well, they’re not going to make a major shape-up. Cutting Drew and eating his $3M contract is unlikely. I’m sure Rizzo would entertain trade offers for Drew or Espinosa, although neither would bring much in return right now.

    3. I do not think Gio will come up unless there is an injury. Other option is to trade say Roark and bring Gio. The problem is that Gio is on an inning limit and more likely will not pitch in Sept or at leat not late Sept. So even if you were to bring him you would need someone else to cover for him in lat Sept.

  4. Stephen Drew reads this site
    Talk smack about a guy
    He hits inside the park homer in phily lol

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