Thursday’s News & Notes
| Team | Yesterday | Today | Pitching Matchup |
| Fresno | Lost, 12-3 | vs. Nashville, 10:05 p.m. | Copeland (4-5, 6.62) vs. Burke (AAA debut) |
| Harrisburg | Won, 4-2; Lost, 5-4 |
@ Binghamton, 6:35 p.m. | McGowin (0-1, 7.27) vs. Jannis (5-3, 3.94) |
| Potomac | Lost, 3-2; Won, 5-3 |
@ Frederick, 7:00 p.m. | Raquet (8-8, 4.46) vs. Hall (4-4, 3.36) |
| Hagerstown | OFF DAY | @ Lexington, 7:05 p.m | Schaller (1-2, 4.66) vs. Heasley (8-4, 2.94) |
| Auburn | Postponed | @ Mahoning Valley, 7:05 p.m. | TBD vs. Vasquez (1-0, 1.04) |
| GCL Nationals | Lost, 3-2; Won, 7-1 |
@/vs. GCL Mets, 10:00 a.m. |
Nashville 12 Fresno 3
• Hoover (L, 4-5) 4IP, 10H, 7R, 7ER, 0BB, 3K, HR
• Kontos 1IP, 1H, 0R, BB, 0K
• Keller 4-5, R, 2B
• Y. Hernandez 2-5, R, HR, 2RBI
Fresno’s woes continued with its 12th loss in 14 games, courtesy of Nashville, 12-3. J.J. Hoover threw batting practice for four innings, letting in the first seven runs on ten hits (one HR) and no walks while setting down three on strikes. Ronald Peña fared no better but was ejected—along with manager Randy Knorr—after throwing at the batter after he was taken deep in the 5th. Alec Keller led the Grizzlies hit column with three singles and a double while making a nifty catch in right field (link to .mp4 file, courtesy Fresno PR).
Harrisburg 4 Binghamton 2 – GAME ONE
• Tetreault (W, 4-5) 5IP, 5H, R, ER, 3BB, 3K, HR, BK, E(1)
• Barrett (SV, 25) 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 1K
• Wiseman 1-2, SF, 2RBI
• Banks 1-3, RBI
Jackson Tetreault tossed five innings of one-run ball while Rhett Wiseman drove in two to lead the Sens past the Rumble Ponies, 4-2 in the opener. Tetreault walked three and fanned three while winning his fourth game, giving up a run on a HR and five hits total. After Austen Williams “worked on some things” for a run on the 6th, Aaron Barrett shut the door in the 7th for his 25th save.
Binghamton 5 Harrisburg 4 – GAME TWO
• A. Lee 5IP, 2H, 1R, 0ER, 4BB, 2K, PO at 1B; 1-2, R
• Bonnell (L, 2-3; BS, 1) ⅔ IP, 3H, 4R, 4ER, BB, K, HR(3R)
• M. Taylor 1-3, 2B, 3RBI
• Masters 1-3, R, 2B, RBI
Harrisburg led 4-1 going into the final frame. They did not win, 5-4. Binghamton got a run on a single, error, then another single before a walk, an out, and a three-run HR off Bryan Bonnell, who replaced an apparently gassed Jacob Condra-Bogan (1IP, 13 pitches) to start the 7th. Andrew Lee was brilliant in a spot start, allowing the first Rumble Ponies run on two hits and four walks over five innings and went 1-for-2 at the plate with a run scored. David Masters drove in the first run of the game with an RBI double while Michael Taylor emptied the bases with a two-out, three-run double in the Sens’ four-run 2nd inning.
Roster moves: RHP Steven Fuentes placed on the restricted list; FWIW, the Nats’ history of suspensions.
Frederick 3 Potomac 2 – GAME ONE
• Tapani (L, 0-1) 5IP, 6H, 3R, 3ER, 0BB, 1K, 2HR
• Guillen 1IP, 2H, 0R, BB, K
• Meregildo 2-3, 2R, 2B, HR, RBI
• Corredor 1-3
The P-Nats’ six-game win streak was snapped with a 3-2 win by the Keys. Kevin Tapani gave up all three runs on two HR and six hits total for his first High-A loss. Potomac was held to just four hits – with Omar Meregildo accounting for both extra-base hits (double, solo HR) while Austin Davidson and Aldrem Corredor each connected for a single. Jack Sundberg and Telmito Agustin both drew a walk.
Potomac 5 Frederick 3 – GAME TWO
• F. Peguero 4IP, 5H, 2R, 2ER, BB, 3K, 2HR
• Reyes (W, 3-5) 3IP, 1H, 1R, 1ER, 1BB, 2K, WP, HBP
• Agustin 2-3, R, HR, 2RBI
• Lara 2-3, 2B, HR, RBI
• Davidson 1-4 R, 2B, RBI
Potomac rallied for two in both the 5th and 6th innings to overcome a 2-1 deficit and earn a split of the doubleheader with a 5-3 win. Francys Peguero made the spot start but was taken deep twice for solo HRs and five hits total over four innings. Luis Reyes picked up his third win (second against Frederick) with a run on one hit and one walk over the last three innings. Telmito Agustin and Gilbert Lara both went 2-for-3 with a HR to lead the P-Nats attack.
Hagerstown – OFF DAY
The Suns make their lone trip to Kentucky for four games over the weekend. It’s been a roller coaster in the second half, as Hagerstown has had losing streaks of three (twice), four (current), and seven and win streaks of two (three times) and seven (once) and has had just one series where there weren’t consecutive wins or losses (last week vs. Rome).
Auburn vs. State College – PPD
Rain washed away the series finale between Auburn and State College. They’ll make it up when two teams next meet in Pennsylvania on Aug. 17-19.
GCL Mets 3 GCL Nationals 2 – GAME ONE
• Taveras 2IP, 2H, 2R, ER, 0BB, 2K, HBP
• Ferrer (L, 1-2) 3IP, 1H, 1R, 0ER, 0BB, 2K, PO at 1B
• B. Fernandez 2-4, R
• Emiliani 1-2, 2B, RBI
GCL Nationals 7 GCL Mets 1 – GAME TWO
• Cuevas 2IP, 2H, 0R, BB, K
• Jameson (W, 2-0) 1IP, 1H, 1R, 0ER, BB, 0K
• Seijas 2IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 0K
• Matos 2-2, 2R, BB, 2RBI, SB
• Gomez 2-3, 2R, 2B
• Emiliani 2-4, 2B, RBI
Roster moves: RHP Jeremy Hellickson assigned from Washington for MLB Rehab.
Wow, that history of suspensions sure is a trip down memory lane. Like Zech Zinicola, a 6th round pick for the Nats in 2006 who played 6 seasons in the system. And he’s STILL PITCHING! Including the last 4 years in the Atlantic League. Now 34 years young.
Had to look him up. Leandro Emiliani, a 19 year old Colombian who came stateside last year has a .960 OPS this year. Someone to pay attention to.
Leonardo E is Grissoms guy
FWIW. Luke you are rising up earlier than before. Dogs needing early attention ??
Well slap me and don’t call me Shirley. Are the Nats getting some up tick from Fedde and Ross. No jinxing here.
Sept 1 call- ups : free Yadiel , Crowe, … somebody else fill in the rest unless brass sticks up Sens with a couple demotions for EL playoffs …
Andrew Lee gets a AA start, and (finally) a chance to hit as a pro. He was an excellent two-way player at Tennessee, slashing .306/.388/.590 as a junior. What’s his future as a pitcher? It looked bright in 2015 when he was drafted and made three levels that summer, finishing as a starter at Hagerstown. His second TJ the next summer cost him a season and a half, though. He’s been solid at Potomac and now (SSS) at Harrisburg this summer, but he turns 26 in December. Does he get an AFL invite this year, both because he hasn’t logged that many innings with a lot of time in relief and because he’ll be Rule 5 eligible? I doubt they would add him to the 40-man, but he could be an NRI candidate for next spring.
Hellickson has reappeared, after 10 weeks on the IL. I wonder when the Nats will recall him. He will need at least 3 rehab games. If Fedde and Ross continue to pitch well, Hellickson might wait until the September callups.
The Nats won’t be recalling Hellickson anytime soon with Ross suddenly looking like his old self and Fedde at least holding his own. Fortunately, I believe they can keep him rehabbing until the rosters expand.
In any event, he has incentive bonuses built into his contract based on total number of starts, so unless he is pitching significantly better than the young guys the Nats have no incentive to rush him.
Since we have touched on the proclivity between Rizzo and Backman : maybe Brian Matsutz might end up in Fresno?? So many tires kicked @ F- troop this summer.
KW you touched upon the non – tendered guys this winter. There are the guys parked @ Potomac who either ride another notch or become ORG guys. Omar is a good example , Luke.
Jeff, this is the last year that teams will be able to significantly expand MLB rosters in September. Starting next season, the limit will be 28 players. I can’t see the Nats adding anyone to the 40-man in Sept. just to call them up, though. If they were going to give Yadiel a chance, it would have been before now. They’re not going to start Crowe’s service-time clock, and they’re not going to tick off more from Carter Kieboom’s. He would seem destined for the AFL. They’ll have to manipulate the 40-man to get Hellickson eligible to be activated since he’s on the 60-day IL. The easiest thing would be to move Austen Williams to the 60-day since they likely see Helly as more valuable to them right now. McGowin would figure to be called up, maybe Bourque, one or both of the extra catchers (Read and S. Kieboom), Difo, Sanchez, and MAT. In other words, the usual suspects. Who knows about Noll, but I don’t think they would be worried about his service time.
The “usual suspects” are going to change for next season, though. I think Difo, Sanchez, Read, and S. Kieboom are all out of options after 2019, and they’ll certainly non-tender or trade Taylor (also out of options), who is making more than $3M. I’m sure they would like to keep Difo, Sanchez, Read, and S. Kieboom, but they would all have to be DFA’d and pass through waivers to be outrighted and remain in the system. Gushue and Barrera seem to have made themselves viable options on the catching shuttle front. Things are much murkier concerning SS-capable utility infielders. (To be clear, I’m not advocating that they get rid of any of these guys. These are just the facts of life for AAAA players who have used up all of their options. That’s why Severino got traded in the spring. He was out of options and would not have made it through waivers.)
All you have to know about Difo at this point is the f.o. signing Cabrera, who cannot field his position at this point, instead of calling up Wilmer. He’s a goner.