Fresno 5 Las Vegas 4 (11 inn.) – 2019
• Copeland 6IP, 8H, 3R, 2ER, 3BB, 8K, HR, 2WP
• Bacus (W, 2-0) 2IP, 0H, 0R, IBB, 2K
• Marmolejos 2-4, R, BB, HR, RBI
• Hernandez 2-5, R, HR, 2RBI
• Cowgill 1-4, 2R, HR, RBI, HBP
José Marmolejos homered in 8th to tie the game and Yadiel Hernandez homered in the 9th to take a 4-3 lead, but Jimmy Cordero was up to his old tricks and served up a two-out tying HR to send the game into extras. After both teams failed to score in the 10th, Alec Keller tapped a grounder slowly enough for the runner at third to come home for the game-winning run as Fresno beat Las Vegas, 5-4 in 11 innings. Dakota Bacus put up goose eggs in both the 10th and the 11th to earn the win. Scott Copeland got the start and went the first six, allowing three runs (two earned) on eight hits and three walks while striking out eight. Collin Cowgill also homered and scored the winning run, though the Grizzlies were a woeful 1-for-11 with RISP and left on 12.
This would be the second win in a 10-4 spurt that would put the Grizzlies into 1st place by 2½ games by mid-May, which was a welcome change of pace after Washington’s AAA entry finished dead last in two of its last three seasons in Syracuse.
Harrisburg 5 New Britain 4 – 2012
• Demny (W, 2-1) 6IP, 4H, 2R, 2ER, 2BB, 5K, HR
• Nelo (SV, 2) ⅓ IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, K, 2-0 IR-S
• Rahl 2-3, R, 2B, BB, RBI
• Hood 2-4, R, 2B, 2RBI
• Kobernus 2-4, 2R, SB
A 122-minute rain delay scratched Chien Ming-Wang’s rehab start, but Paul Demny survived a rocky first inning to pitch six in 5-4 Harrisburg win over New Britain. The 22-y.o. Texan allowed two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out five. Both Rock Cats runs came on a two-run homer to the second batter of the game. Chris Rahl, Destin Hood, and Jeff Kobernus each had two hits as the Sens hammered out nine for the contest. After a 2-5 homestand, Harrisburg heads to the bustling environs of Binghamton for the weekend before returning to City Island on Monday to host Richmond. One of the hardest/wildest throwers to ever come through the Nats system, Hector Nelo may be one of several victims of the current pandemic. He returned from a one-year layoff to pitch the Puerto Rican Winter League this past offseason after pitching parts of four seasons in the indys from 2014 to 2017. The 2012 season was his best in affiliated ball, as he racked up 16SV and 63K in 52⅔ IP with a line of 2.73/3.73/1.39/
Potomac 10 Carolina 3 – 2013
• Cole (W, 1-1) 6IP, 3H, 0R, 0BB, 9K
• Meza 2IP, 1H, 1R, 0ER, 2BB, 2K
• Leonida 2-3, 2R, HR, 4RBI
• Burns 3-4, BB, RBI
• Oduber 1-3, 3B, 3RBI
A.J. Cole struck out a season-high nine as the P-Nats broke into double digits for the fourth time this season Last Night In Woodbridge.
Despite having not played for the Suns since 2012, you can still see Leonida on the Hagerstown website, though that’s prolly more function of how lazy the Hagerstown front office is as opposed to how beloved he was. As the LNIW predicted, the 2013 P-Nats would become a contender and win both halves. Alas, they would swept in the Mills Cup series by the Salem Red Sox, a team which finished the 2013 season with 23 wins in its last 26 games, including the last 12 in a row.
Hagerstown 8 Rome 3 – 2017
• M. Mills (W, 4-1) 5IP, 6H, 2R, 1ER, 2BB, 7K, HR
• Simonds (SV, 1) 2IP, 0H, 0R, 1BB, 0K
• Johnson 3-4, R, 2B
• Noll 3-4, 2R, RBI
• C. Kieboom 2-4, R, 2B, RBI
Hagerstown rallied for five in the 4th to erase an early 2-0 deficit and cruised to an 8-3 win over Rome. McKenzie Mills picked up his fourth win with five innings of two-run ball on six hits and two walks while setting down seven on strikes. Hayden Howard was dinged for the third run but earned the hold while Kyle Simonds threw two scoreless to garner the save. Daniel Johnson and Jake Noll both went 3-for-4 to lead the Suns’ 14-hit parade. Johnson, along with Jefry Rodriguez, would be traded to Cleveland for Yan Gomes in the 2018-19 offseason. Like 2017, Johnson played at two levels in 2019 – 39 games at AA Akron with an .872 OPS, and 84 Games at AAA Columbus with an OPS of .867. He was added to the Indians’ 40-man roster last November.