Monday’s News & Notes
Syracuse ends its last-place reign while Harrisburg sweeps a de facto doubleheader to highlight a five-win Sunday on the Nats farm.
| Team | Yesterday | Today | Pitching Matchup |
| Syracuse | Won, 4-3 | vs. Buffalo, 1:05 p.m. | McGowin (2-2, 1.32) vs. Morimando (2-5, 6.34) |
| Harrisburg | Won, 7-4; Won, 6-1 |
@ Richmond, 2:05 p.m. | Darnell (8-6, 3.93) vs. Menez (6-4, 4.38) |
| Potomac | Won, 1-0; Lost, 3-2 |
@ Wilmington, 1:05 p.m. | Bogucki (3-2, 1.01) vs. O. Gomez (6-10, 3.52) |
| Hagerstown | Won, 4-1 | vs. Kannapolis, 2:05 p.m. | Cate (0-3, 6.60) vs. Rigler (6-9, 4.39) |
| Auburn | Lost, 5-4 | vs. Batavia, 1:05 p.m. | Irvin (0-0, 2.00) vs. Roberson (1-0, 1.80) |
Syracuse 4 Buffalo 3
• Voth (W, 6-8) 6⅔ IP, 3H, 2R, 2ER, 0BB, 7K, 2HR
• Gott (H, 4) 1⅓ IP, 2H, 0R, 0BB, 1K, 3-0 IR-S
• Falu 2-3, BB
• Marmolejos 2-4, RBI
The Chiefs ran their win streak to three games while extending the Bisons’ nosedive to ten with a 4-3 victory. Austin Voth notched his 11th quality start (out of 24) as he gave up two solo HRs and three hits total over six and 2/3rds innings. He walked none and struck out seven while winning his sixth game. Trevor Gott escaped a bases-loaded jam to end the 7th and pitched a scoreless 8th for the hold, and then watched Austin Adams wobble through the ninth with a double, HBP, wild pitch, and an error before getting a whiff and a flyout to earn his ninth save.
The win, coupled with Buffalo’s tenth straight loss, clinched 5th place for Syracuse, which has had the worst record in the I.L. the past two seasons. Syracuse can still lead the league in losses, thanks to fellow cellar dwellers Buffalo, Louisville, and Charlotte playing fewer games.
Harrisburg 7 Richmond 4 – COMP.
• Milone 2IP, 2H, 0R, BB, 2K
• Long (W, 6-8) 6IP, 6H, R, ER, BB, K, HR
• Gamache 1-3, R, 2BB, RBI
• Keller 1-3, R, 2BB
• Jones 1-3, BB
Richmond went long on Kevin but couldn’t get the six runs they needed in the 9th (just three) as Harrisburg took the completion, 7-4. Long gave up a walk and six hits total over six innings to win his sixth game. Jordan Mills and Derek Self were charged with two runs and one run in the 9th as Mills walked two and Self gave up two hits. Drew Ward’s three-run triple highlighted a four-run 6th but no Senator had multiple hits as seven walks and two errors helped Harrisburg score seven times on seven hits.
Harrisburg 6 Richmond 1 – GAME TWO
• Sharp (W, 6-3) 7IP, 6H, R, ER, BB, 5K
• Ward 2-3, R, HR(13), 3RBI
• Davidson 2-4, 3R, HR(10), 2RBI
Sterling Sharp lived up to his surname and tossed a complete game in the Senators’ 6-1 win to complete the de facto doubleheader sweep. Sharp gave up the one run on six hits and a walk while fanning five for his sixth AA win and 11th overall for 2018. Drew Ward hit his 5th HR since returning to AA and 13th overall and drove in three while going 2-for-3. Austin Davidson also broke into double digits in the HR for the first time in his career and he went 2-for-4 and scored three runs.
Potomac 1 Wilmington 0 – GAME ONE
• Raquet (W, 5-3) 7IP, 1H, 0R, 2BB, 4K
• Sagdal 1-3, 2B
• Agustin 2-2, BB, RBI
After giving up ten hits in his last outing, Nick Raquet only allowed one while throwing a 7-inning shutout in a 1-0 P-Nats win over the Blue Rocks. Andruw Monasterio led off the top of the 4th with a walk, stole second, took third on a wild pitch, and scored on Telmito Agustin’s IF single. Former Washington farmhand Blake Perkins broke up the no-no with a leadoff double in the bottom of the 4th but only made it to third as Raquet got two groundouts and a liner to short to end the inning and account for the 0-3 mark with RISP. Raquet walked two and struck out four while winning his fifth High-A game.
Wilmington 3 Potomac 2 – GAME TWO
• Acevedo (L, 1-3) 4IP, 5H, 3R, 3ER, BB, K, HR, 2WP
• Braymer 2IP, 2H, 0R, 2BB, 4K, HBP, PO at 2B
• Sagdal 2-3, 2R, 2-2B
• Masters 1-2, BB, RBI, E(10)
In the nightcap, spot starter Carlos Acevedo hit the wall in his second turn through the lineup as he gave up all three Wilmington runs in a 3-2 Potomac loss to split the twinbill. Acevedo allowed five hits, including a homer, and a walk while striking out one (1) over four innings. Ben Braymer finished the game with two scoreless innings, though he put on four baserunners with two hits and two walks while striking out four. Ian Sagdal doubled twice and scored both P-Nats runs to push his BA to .316, .0004 ahead of Salem’s C.J. Chatham for the Carolina League batting title.
Hagerstown 4 Kannapolis 1
• Stoeckinger (W, 3-6) 7IP, 3H, R, ER, BB, 2K, HR
• German (SV, 2) 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 0K
• Choruby 3-4, 2R, SB
• Dunlap 3-4, 2B, 2RBI
Hagerstown broke out for three in the bottom of the 5th to break a 1-1 tie and cruised to a 4-1 win over Kannapolis. Jackson Stoeckinger picked up his third win—first since returning from a “sabbatical” in the NYPL—as allowed the lone Intimidator run on a homer, and three hits total over seven innings. He walked one and struck out two. Frankie “Goes to Hagerstown” pitched a scoreless 8th to earn the hold while Jhonatan German set the side down in order in the 9th for his second save.
Batavia 5 Auburn 4
• Schaller (L, 2-2) 2⅓ IP, 6H, 5R, 5ER, 2BB, 3K
• Chu 3⅔ IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 5K
• Daily 3-5, R, 2B
• W. Perez 2-3, 2R, 2B, BB
The Doubledays drew three walks on the 9th and scored two of them. But they needed all three as they lost, 5-4 to the Muckdogs. Reid Schaller gave up all five runs on six hits and two walks over two and a 1/3rd innings. Gilberto Chu and Joan Adon combined for five and 2/3rds innings of scoreless relief but the offense couldn’t get going until the 8th, when they loaded the bases with nobody out with bases with three straight singles and then hit into a 5-2-3 DP and struck out. In the 9th, Ricardo Mendez cashed in the first two walks with a double while Justin Connell plated the second with a sacrifice fly. The third walk never made it into scoring position as two flyouts ended it.
Mahoning Valley won 4-0 vs. West Virginia to clinch the Pinckney Division title while Brooklyn beat Staten Island, 5-4 to eliminate the Yankees. Auburn needs a win or a Brooklyn loss to secure the NYPL wild card.
Luke three QS in chain by three
Interesting guys.
Ty for an addictive NP blog summer.
Playoff format writing will be different ??
Davidson quietly earning consideration for first Vegas or Rochester AAA 19 roster spot ??
Drew Ward hitting HRs in Vegas air 2019?? Interesting thought
Congratulations to Drew Ward for finishing strong after a horrendous start. Also, Austin Davidson has been steady all season long. I agree both deserve a look at AAA next year.
Drew Ward and Michael Taylor have a similar development path. Ward and Taylor, both HS draftees, floundered for years in the minors, largely living off short glimpses of potential rather than anything sustained.
Taylor broke out in a big way at age 23, batting .313/.396/.539 in Harrisburg, before struggling with a promotion to Syracuse (.227/.333/.409). Sound familiar? Ward, too, at age 23 has put up his best offensive season yet, hitting .256/.373/.453 in Harrisburg, but struggled with his promotion to Syracuse (.185/.279/.222).
With a dearth of corner infielders in upper levels of the Nats farm system, they would be crazy not to add Ward to the 40 man this winter. But the bigger question is whether they’ll add him to the big league roster, when Harrisburg’s season ends. Taylor was unimpressive in AAA, but still got a September call up. I’d be surprised if the Nats didn’t do the same. There’s a bunch of decisions for Rizzo and co. to make in the next couple months, and a dozen games of Ward going up against major league pitching with nothing to play for might make those decisions easier to make.
The thing is that Ward’s numbers aren’t actually that great considering he is a first baseman now. He looks awfully Marmolejos-esque. I don’t see him being scooped up in the Rule 5 draft. And there are more deserving candidates for 40-man roster spots.
We’ll see what happens, I guess.
Indeed. The Nationals have done weirder things before, like adding Kelvin Gutierrez (who’s actually older than Ward is and with similar offensive numbers) and Jefry Rodriguez last winter.
But with 9 players currently on the 40 man hitting free agency next month (Holland, Collins, Wieters, Harper, Mark Reynolds, Hellickson, Milone, Herrera, Matt Reynolds), and 1 free 40 man roster spot currently (assuming Fedde and Ross are re-added any moment now), there’s 10 places up for grabs. You have to assume there will be a few higher profile FA signings, but a several minor leaguers getting added too.
Also, for whatever it’s worth, 3B have been more or less about the same offensively for the past several years now. For example,
1B have hit a combined .250/.329/.437 in 2018
3B have hit a combined .253/.326/.430 in 2018
A 1B with a weak bat isn’t as much a death sentence anymore.
Ward and Taylor are not similar at all in my opinion. Taylor is the better player clearly. Even if Taylor doesn’t hit he plays a key defensive position at a high level and has speed. Plus Taylor’s AA breakout was a better season and he was originally called up from AA. He didn’t play in AAA until after playing in big leagues and then ran into some trouble. But that September was not his debut. So as of right now Ward is not much of a prospect to me. Only thing he does better then Taylor is walk more. So in essence imagine Michael Taylor without speed and defense and walking a bit more. Not sure that’s a big leaguer.
An interesting note about Taylor’s breakout year was that happened the year following his only winter league participation where he played great in Puerto Rico. I wonder if Ward would consider one of the winter leagues to demonstrate his commitment to improving his game. In my experience and in talking to many players about their interest in the winter leagues, most of the American players have no interest in that as they claim that they need the time off for R&R.
It’s going to be Nashville, not Vegas.
Not sure if it has come up yet, but they just dropped a little tid bit during the Nats game. Seth Romero has undergone Tommy John surgery.
Five scoreless with Kyle McGowin on one hit, with five strikeouts. Early shower for him, which is unusual. Pretty good bet he got the good news.
Here’s hoping! He has earned it. 1.20 ERA at Syracuse.