SYRACUSE CHIEFS (2016)
Syracuse 3 Lehigh Valley 2
• Jordan 4⅔ IP, 8H, 2R, 2ER, 3BB, 4K
• Grace (W, 1-0) 1⅓ IP, 0H, 0R, BB, 0K
• Solis (H, 3) 2IP, 1H, 0R, BB, 4K
• Turner 1-4, R, 3B
• Skole 0-2, R, 2BB
A walk, balk, a groundout, and a sacrifice fly proved to be the difference as the Chiefs edged the IronPigs, 3-2. Taylor Jordan fell one out short of going the requisitive five innings as he was lifted with two outs and the bases loaded in the 5th. He let in both Lehigh Valley runs on eight hits and three walks over four and 2/3rds. Matt Grace got the win as he stranded three in the 5th and pitched a scoreless 6th. Sammy Solis followed with two scoreless for the hold while Rafael Martin retired the side in order in the 9th for the save. Trea Turner (triple) and Jason Martinson (double) connected for extra bases as Syracuse was limited to five hits and three walks (two by Matt Skole, who scored the game-winning run). This would be Taylor Jordan’s final appearance in the Nats organization, as the prospect with the soap-opera name would go on the D.L. the next day and was released two months later. He finished 1-8 with a 4.48/3.66/1.46 line across three MLB seasons. The past two seasons he’s pitched for Sioux City of the American Association, winning a career-high 10 games in 2018.
HARRISBURG SENATORS (2015)
Harrisburg 10 Binghamton 2
• Voth (W, 2-0) 6IP, 5H, R, ER, 0BB, 5K, HBP
• Harper (H, 1) 2IP, 1H, 1R, 0ER, 2BB, 1K
• Severino 4-4, 3R, BB, 2RBI
• A. Sanchez 2-4, 2R, 2B, BB, 2RBI
After struggling to get clutch hits on Friday and Saturday, the Sens broke through on Sunday, exploding for four runs in the 8th and three in the 9th to turn a 3-2 nailbiter into a 10-2 laugher. Austin Voth picked up his second win, holding Binghamton to one run on five hits over six innings with no walks and five strikeouts. Pedro Severino reached base five times with four singles and a walk and scored three times to lead the Harrisburg offense, which was 5-for-10 with RISP and left on just seven. Voth would only win six games that summer, but the 2015 campaign was arguably his best in the minors: 2.92/3.07/1.11 across 157⅓ IP (28G, 27GS) with 148K (8.5/9IP), 40BB (2.3), and only 10HR.
POTOMAC NATIONALS (2018)
Potomac 5 Lynchburg 4 (10 inn.)
• Crowe 6IP, 6H, 3R, 3ER, 2BB, 4K, HR
• Peña 2IP, 2H, 0R, BB, 3K
• Bourque (W, 1-1) 2IP, 0H, 1R, 0ER, BB, 4K
• Barrera 3-4, 2B, 2RBI
• Noll 3-5, 2R, 3B, RBI
A walk by Carter Kieboom and back-to-back singles by Austin Davidson and Jake Noll turned a possible 4-3 loss in the extra frame into a 5-4 win for the P-Nats. Wil Crowe went a career-high six innings (87 pitches) but wasn’t as effective as his last time out, as he let in three runs on six hits, including a leadoff HR in the 6th. He walked two and struck out four. Ronald Peña followed with two scoreless while James Bourque was the winning pitcher, though he did allow the runner on base to start the 10th to score on two flyballs. Tres Barrera singled twice, doubled once, and drove in two while Noll went 3-for-5 with a triple and two runs scored to lead the Potomac offense. For all the hand-wringing about the man-on-second-in-extras rule, by this time in April 2018 it was obvious that managers wouldn’t go overboard and/or get cute. By July, the consensus was that it achieved its desired effect: preventing marathon games.
HAGERSTOWN SUNS (2017)
Hagerstown 2 Lakewood 1
• M. Mills (W, 2-1) 5IP, 1H, 0R, 3BB, 9K
• J. Mills (SV, 2) 2IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 1K
• Banks 2-3, R
• Johnson 1-2, BB, RBI, OF assist at HP
Led by McKenzie Mills, Hagerstown’s pitchers outdueled Lakewood to take the game and the series, 2-1 and evened up the road trip at 3-3. McKenzie Mills fanned nine and walked three over five scoreless innings for his second win. Jordan Mills (no relation) pitched two scoreless to earn the save, his second. Nick Banks went 2-for-3 with a run scored while Dan Johnson walked, singled, drove in a run, and gunned down a runner at the plate to lead the offense (and defense). McKenzie Mills was traded to Philadelphia in July 2017 (Howie Kendrick) and then again in August 2018 to Miami (Justin Bour). Since the latter trade, the now-24-y.o. Mills has struggled at AA: 1-11 with an ERA of 5.81 and a WHIP of 1.47.