Saturday’s News & Notes
| Team | Yesterday | Today | Pitching Matchup |
| Fresno | Won, 8-5 (11 inn.) |
@ Reno, 10:05 p.m. | Hoover (3-3, 7.41) vs. Koch (2-6, 7.55) |
| Harrisburg | Won, 8-5 | vs. Portland, 6:00 p.m. | TBD vs. McGrath (2-0, 1.80) |
| Potomac | Won, 4-2 | vs. Fayetteville, 5:05 p.m. | Johnston (9-8, 4.19) and Tapani (A+ Debut) vs. France (3-6, 4.48) and Dubin (2-4, 4.31) |
| Hagerstown | Won, 9-8 | vs. Hickory, 6:05 p.m. | Adon (7-3, 4.48) vs Winn (1-3, 5.50) |
| Auburn | Lost, 4-3; Lost, 4-1 |
vs. West Virginia, 7:00 p.m. | R. Gomez (1-1, 6.94) vs. Kobos (0-3, 8.16) |
| GCL Nationals | Lost, 3-2 | vs. GCL Astros, 12:00 p.m. |
Fresno 8 Reno 5 (11 inn.)
• Crowe 7⅓ IP, 7H, 4R, 3ER, 2BB, 6K; 1-3
• Blazek 1⅔ IP, 2H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• Self (W, 4-1) 2IP, 1H, 1R, 0ER, 0BB, 0K
• Noll 3-4, 2R, E(18)
• Stevenson 3-5, R, BB, RBI, CS
• Keller 2-5, R, 2RBI, SB, OF assist at 3B
The Grizzlies rallied in the 9th force extras, where they exploded in the 11th for four runs to deal the Aces an 8-5 loss. Wil Crowe pitched into the 8th for the second time in his career as he gave up four runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out six. Michael Blazek got out the 8th and pitched the 9th without incident while Derek Self finished the game with two innings, letting in the free runner in the 11th on back-to-back wild pitches (yup, Raudy Read was catching; well, sort of). Andrew Stevenson notched his third three-hit game since his 11-game hit streak began while Jake Noll matched that feat (three hits) while scoring two runs to lead the 15-hit parade by Fresno.
Harrisburg 8 Portland 5
• Tetreault 5IP, 7H, 5R, 5ER, 2BB, 2K, 2HR
• Condra-Bogan (W, 5-4) 1⅔ IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 1K
• Barrett (SV, 19) 1IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• Barrera 3-4, R, 2B, RBI
• Davidson 2-3, R, BB, 2RBI
• Sagdal 2-4,R
Harrisburg got five in the 6th and four scoreless from the ‘pen to even up the series against Portland with an 8-5 win. Jackson Tetreault was pounded for seven hits (two homers) and five runs over five innings. He walked tow and struck out two. Jacob Condra-Bogan picked up the win as he retired all five batters he faced, followed by Brad Boxberger for an inning and a 1/3rd while Aaron Barrett pitched around a hit (the 23rd time in 34 appearances he’s put on a runner) and struck out two in the 9th for his 19th save.
Potomac 4 Frederick 2
• Teel (W, 4-2) 7IP, 6H, R, ER, 2BB, 5K
• Bartow (SV, 4) 2IP, 3H, R, ER, BB, 0K
• Abreu 3-4, R, 2B, HR, RBI
• Agustin 1-3, OF assist at HP
The P-Nats never trailed in this one as Osvaldo Abreu went Rickey Henderson on the third pitch he saw and his teammates posted a picket fence in the middle innings for a 4-1 win. Carson Teel pitched a career-high seven innings while letting in one run on six hits and two walks. He struck out five and won for the fourth time at High-A. Frankie Bartow gave up a run in the 9th while finishing up to get his fourth save. Abreu also singled and doubled while Cole Freeman, David Masters, and K.J. Harrison registered RBIs for Potomac.
Hagerstown 9 Hickory 8
• Schaller 4⅔ IP, 6H, 5R, 4ER, BB, K, 2HR
• Cronin 1⅓ IP, 1H, 1R, 0ER, BB, 3K, 1-0 IR-S
• Vann (W, 2-1) ⅓ IP, 0H, 0R 0BB, 0K, 3-0 IR-S
• Upshaw 4-4, R, 3B, BB, 4RBI, SB, CS, OF assist at 3B
• Marinconz 3-5, R, 2B, RBI
• Rhinesmith 2-4, R, 2B, BB, RBI
Hagerstown coughed up the lead in the top of the 9th and then got it back for a 9-8 walkoff win. Armond Upshaw (pictured above) reach base five times and drove in four runs, including an RBI single in the 9th for the gamewinner. The 23-y.o. Georgia native also stole base and gunned down a runner at third. Reid Schaller reverted to the mean with five runs allowed on six hits (two homers) and one walk over four and 2/3 innings. He struck out one while sporting this. The went to Chris “Chevy” Vann who stranded three while getting the last out of the 9th. The Suns collected 17 hits total with every batter registering at least one, and five collecting two or more.
Roster moves: LHP Chris Vann activated from 7-Day I.L.
Batavia 4 Auburn 3– GAME ONE
• Romero 5IP, 5H, 1R, 0ER, 0BB, 9K, HBP
• McMahon (BS, 1; L, 0-1) ⅔ IP, 3H, R, ER, BB, 2K, 2-2 IR-S
• Sanfler 2-3, R, 2B
• Vega 1-3, R, 3B, RBI
No such luck in Auburn, as the Doubledays took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the 6th and gave it back with three in the top of the 7th for a 4-3 loss to the Muckdogs. The meltdown masked a strong out by Carlos Romero, who struck out a career-high of nine over five innings with one unearned run on five hits. The blown-save loss went Hunter McMahon who let in both inherited runners and one of his own on three hits and a walk while striking out two. Caldioli Sanfler extended his hit streak to five games with a single and a double while scoring a run to lead the Auburn attack.
Batavia 4 Auburn 1 – GAME TWO
• Willingham (L, 1-3) 3IP, 5H, 2R, 2ER, 0BB, 3K, WP
• A. Hernandez 4IP, 6H, 2R, 2ER, BB, 4K, WP
• Carrillo 1-3, R, HR, RBI
• Pratt 1-3
Auburn avoided being shut out but not being swept as the Batavia took the nightcap, 4-1. Adalberto Carrillo’s solo HR broke up the no-no the Muckdogs’ Jackson Rose had going. Andrew Pratt singled to comprise the Doubledays’ offense on the night. Amos Willingham lost for the third time as the spot starter, going three innings and giving up two run on five hits. He walked non and fanned three. Alfonso Hernandez finished the game with two runs allowed on six hits and a walk while striking out four.
Roster moves: RHP Trey Turner demoted from Hagerstown; LHP Nelson Galindez released.
GCL Cardinals 3 GCL Nationals 2
• Hiraldo 4IP, 5H, 2R, 2ER, BB, K, HR, E(1), PO at 1B
• B. Peña (L, 0-2) 3IP, 2H, 1R, 0ER, 2BB, 2K
• Martina 2-3, BB, RBI, E(5)
• Arias 1-3, 2B, BB, 2K
What are your thoughts on Stevenson’s performance in AAA? PCL inflated numbers for sure, but it doesn’t seem like it would take much for him to leapfrog Michael A as the Nats 5th OFer.
Right now, the Nats are operating with only four OFs and seems content to use Kendrick and Adams as the 5th. While he wouldn’t fetch much as a standalone, for his sake, I’d like to see him get traded as part of a package if (when) Rizzo decides to overpay (again) and trade away what little there is in the system.
Kyle Johnston keeps up a stretch of consistency he could make City Isle before the playoffs
Allow me to get ahead of the headline here. Tapani May pitch like an All Star in his Potomac going forward even if my prediction pre season did not lock on with a Sally League Star nod
Johnston to Harrisburg seems ahead. Could we see Joan Adon bump up to join Tapani ??
Wiseman ! Wiseman ! Where did you go ??
Luke. The beer league ? PCL? Pacifico Cuevesa League. Lol
Cane the slow purge continues.
Galindez exits after a disappointing career start in the eyes of some fans. Turner can’t get the traction on his career forward. Or just a numbers game ??
Quietly, Jake Noll has lifted his batting stats to something approaching respectability at Triple-A. Still not good by the standards of a corner infielder, but on the right track.
Carlos Romero might be a better Romero than Seth Romero.
Come again , Rizzo ? Blazek ??
I am having Junior br549 in bib overalls passing through my mind kicking the tires on an old rusted out Ford from 1939
Better yet. I think about the barristers wife saying to Archie the barrister husband in Fish Named Wanda. Have you gone totally mentally ??
Mr Rizzo I hope your intuition
Is above the fray here
I posted on the challenges of believing Stevenson’s numbers in the Friday comments so won’t repeat myself. Taylor is turning into a sad case, but when you have K numbers like that . . . you turn into Espinosa, who also fell apart at what should have been the middle of his career. Barring injuries, we may have seen the last of MAT in a Nat uniform. There’s no way they tender him next offseason.
So I expect Stevenson to get a long look for the Nat bench next year, although I’m dubious of real improvement.
Right now, I have Taylor as an obvious non-tender, Miller is an obvious non-tender, Ross as a likely non-tender, Barraclough as a likely non-tender, Difo as a likely non-tender, and Gomes likely to not have his option picked up. Read, Fedde, Voth, and Adrian Sanchez will also be out of options and don’t appear at first blush to have a place on the 2020 Opening Day roster. The stage is set for a roster-cutting bloodbath for fringe players, including some longtime members of the organization.
Meanwhile, I’d say Taylor Guilbeau and Steven Fuentes are locks to be added to the roster to protect them from the Rule 5 draft. Joan Baez, Taylor Gushue, Drew Ward, Dante Bichette Jr., and Jordan Mills are less obvious cases but could also be considered.