Buffalo 13 Syracuse 4 – 2016
• Cole 6IP, 8H, 3R, 3ER, 2BB, 4K, HR
• Gott (L, 3-2) ⅔ IP, 4H, 4R, 4ER, BB, K
• Sizemore 1-4, R, HR, 4RBI
• Goodwin 2-4, 2B, BB
• Ramsey 2-4, R, SB
Once again, Syracuse ‘pen forgot that batting practice happens before the game, not during. The Bisons scored four in the 7th, one in the 8th, and five in the 9th to turn a 3-3 tie into a 13-4 demolition. Trevor Gott, Abel De Los Santos, and J.C. Gutierrez were stampeded for 10 runs on 11 hits and four walks, wasting A.J. Cole’s quality start of three runs on eight hits and two walks over the first six innings. Scott Sizemore drove in all four Chiefs runs with a three-run HR in the 4th and a fielder’s choice in the 8th. Brian Goodwin and Caleb Ramsey both went 2-for-4 to lead the Syracuse hit column. Pitcher pairings are a popular narrative–Spahn and Sain, Koufax and Drysdale, Johnson and Schilling, Maroth and Bonderman–and we’ve had our share here, too. At the site’s outset, there were two – Matt Purke and Sammy Solis, two overrated and overworked collegiate pitchers (yeah, I know: a double redundancy), and two HS arms taken in 2010: Robbie Ray and A.J. Cole. The Florida northpaw lingered in the system for nine seasons and made 19 starts for the big club before he was DFA’d and traded to the Yankees for cash in April 2018. Cole has since transitioned into middle relief and become a replacement-level middle reliever for New York (AL) and Cleveland. He signed as a FA with Toronto this past January.
Harrisburg 5 Reading 4 – 2014
• Poveda 6IP, 9H, 4R, 4ER, 2BB, 9K
• Herron (W, 2-2) 1⅓ IP, 2H, 0R, BB, 2K
• Grace (SV, 2) ⅔ IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, K, 3-0 IR-S
• Ramsey 3-4, R, RBI
• Dykstra 3-4, 2B, RBI
• Keyes 2-4, 2R, 2B, RBI
For the first time this season, the Senators dug themselves out of a four-run hole and scored the last five runs of the game for a 5-4 win. Omar Poveda survived a three-run first and gutted out six innings, striking out a season-high of nine. He allowed all four Fightin runs on nine hits. Tyler Herron got the win with a huge assist/save by Matt Grace as the southpaw struck out the first batter he faced and got the second to ground out to leave the bases loaded in the top of the 9th. Cutter Dykstra and Caleb Ramsey both went 3-for-4 with an RBI to lead the Harrisburg offense, followed closely by Kevin Keyes, who scored the gamewinner after leading off the 8th with a double, taking 3rd on a flyout, and chugging home on a wild pitch. Picked up in a trade from Milwaukee for Nyjer Morgan, Cutter Dykstra spent parts of six seasons with the Nats organization including two tours of duty with the P-Nats (2011, 2013) and three with the Senators (2014-2016). He remains married to actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler, with whom he has had two children.
Potomac 5 Salem 3 – 2019
• Lee (W, 2-3) 6IP, 3H, R, ER, BB, 9K, WP
• German (S, 2) 1⅔ IP, 0H, 0R, BB, 3K
• Freeman 3-4, R, 2-2B, BB, RBI
• Corredor 2-5, R, RBI
• Banks 2-5, R
The 5th was a big one for Potomac, too, but just four runs were enough as the pitching was a wee (Lee?) bit better in a 5-3 win that completed the sweep of Salem. Andrew Lee turned in his best outing of the season, matching his high of nine K’s while issuing a season-low (as a starter) one walk in six innings of one-run ball on three hits. It was his second win and second quality start. Big or small, it wouldn’t the Nats without some drama in the late innings. After a 1-2-3 seventh, Frankie Bartow gave up a single and double to open up the 8th and Hayden Howard brought the gas… can to put out the fire and gave up one single to bring in both baserunners and another to bring the tying run to the plate. Salem tried to bunt to push the tying run to scoring position with one out but Howard nailed the lead runner at third. Jhonatan German took over and then achieved what the Red Sox wanted with a wild pitch. But with a whiff and a groundout, German stranded the two runners then worked around a walk in the 9th to earn his second save. The P-Nats top third of the lineup combined for eight of the team’s 11 hits, three of the runs scored, and both doubles. Lee survived this week’s purge despite his advanced age (turns 27 in December) as the Nats perhaps see some hope for him in 2021 after pitching a career-high 109 innings in 2019 and 13 more in the AFL.
Hagerstown 3 Greensboro 1 – 2015
• Bach 6IP, 4H, 1R, 0ER, BB, K
• M. Sanchez (W, 2-2) 3IP, 1H, 0R, BB, 5K
• DeBruin 2-4, R, 2B
• Davidson 2-4, 2B, RBI
The Suns scored single runs in the 8th and 9th innings to pull away from the Grasshoppers and take the first game of the series, 3-1. Starter Connor Bach got the no-decision despite allowing just an unearned run on four hits and a walk over six innings. The win went to Mario Sanchez, who struck out five and walked one over the final three innings. Grant DeBruin and Austin Davidson both went 2-for-4 with a double, though the Suns struggled with clutch hitting, as they went 0-for-9 with RISP as the three runs scored on an error, home run (“Orange” Marmolejos-Diaz), and a two-out double that Davidson tried (and failed) to stretch into a triple. Alas, longtime OG Austin Davidson was given his walking papers this week after a six-year stint which included multiple stints at Hagerstown (2014-16), Potomac (2016-19), and Harrisburg (2018-19) and playing time at seven positions (all but P and CF). His best year was 2018, hitting .292/.374/.482 in 18G at High-A and 94G at AA.