Monday’s News & Notes
| Team | Yesterday | Today | Pitching Matchup |
| Rochester | Lost, 2-1 | OFF DAY | N/A |
| Harrisburg | Won, 2-1 | OFF DAY | N/A |
| Wilmington | Won, 7-6 | OFF DAY | N/A |
| Fredericksburg | Lost, 5-4 | OFF DAY | N/A |
Buffalo 2 Rochester 1
• Strasburg 4⅓ IP, 2H, 0R, 2BB, 6K
• Eppler (L, 0-1) 2⅔ IP, 4H, 2R, 2ER, 1BB, 0K
• Keller 2-3, R, HR, RBI
• Noll 2-4, 2B
For the folks convinced the Nats must go 3-11 before turning things around, there is another way. The oft-injured Stephen Strasburg made his first rehab assignment of 2021 a success, dominating Buffalo for four and a 1/3rd scoreless innings on 75 pitches with two hits, two walks, and six strikeouts. Alas, the Red Wings couldn’t take advantage as they fell, 2-1 in the series finale. Tyler Eppler was dinged for both Bisons runs on four hits and a walk over two and 2/3rds innings. Alec Keller’s solo HR in the fifth accounted for the sole Rochester run. Roster moves: RHP Stephen Strasburg assigned from Washington (MLB Rehab).
Harrisburg 2 Richmond 1
• M. Sanchez 6IP, 4H, 0R, BB, 5K, HBP
• Baldonado 1IP, 1H, R, ER, 0BB, 1K, HR
• Klobosits (SV, 1) 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• Freeman 2-4, R
• Duarte 2-4, R
Cole Freeman, Osvaldo Duarte, and Aldrem Duarte each singled with two outs to rally Harrisburg to a 2-1 win over Richmond. Mario Sanchez got the start and clipped the Flying Squirrels for six scoreless innings on four hits and a walk while striking out five. Alberto Baldonado’s streak of clean outings ended at three with a solo HR in the 8th but got the win nevertheless. Gabe Klobosits extended his scoreless innings streak to five with a 1-2-3 ninth with two whiffs for the save, his first since 2018.
Wilmington 7 Jersey Shore 6
• Adon 5IP, 7H, 6R, 6ER, BB, 3K, 2HR, HBP
• Brzykcy 2IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 3K, HBP
• Troop (W, 3-0) 2IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 4K
• Marinconz 2-3, R, BB, SF, RBI
• Canning 2-4, 2R, 2B, HR, 2RBI
• Meregildo 2-5, 2B, RBI
Beginning with Gage Canning’s solo HR and ending with Omar Meregildo’s two-out, two-run single, the Blue Rocks erased a 6-2 deficit to walk off the BlueClaws to take the game, 7-6 and the series, 5-1. Joan Adon got the benefit of the late outburst and sensational bullpen work. Zach Brzykcy gave up a hit and hit a batter while striking out three over two scoreless. Alex Troop did even better, retiring all six batters faced – four by way of the K to win for the third time in as many appearances. The trio of Canning, Kyle Marinconz, and Omar Meregildo combined for six hits, two doubles, three runs, and four RBI to lead the Wilmington offense. No word on exactly what the injury was to Yasel Antuna after his two-run double in the 9th, as there was no MiLB.tv broadcast nor a gamer on the Blue Rocks website. According to the boxscore, he was removed after the intentional walk was issued to the subsequent batter (Pineda).
Delmarva 6 Fredericksburg 4
• Seijas 5IP, 4H, 2R, 2ER, BB, 6K, HR, WP
• Driskill (L,0-1) 2⅓ IP, 3H, 2R, 2ER, BB, K, HR
• Emiliani 2-4, R, 2B, HR, 2RBI
• Strohschein 2-4
Fredericksburg was not losing into the 8th before Delmarva struck for a pair of runs twice in the late innings as the Shorebirds completed the six-game sweep, 6-4. Karlo Seijas threw five innings of two-run ball on four hits (one HR) and a walk while striking out six in a no-decision. The “L” went to Tanner Driskill, who gave up a two-run HR with no outs in the 8th after putting up goose eggs in the 6th and 7th innings. Leandro Emiliani broke into the hit column with a double in the 6th then smashed a two-run HR down the RF line. Kevin Stroschein also added two hits as the F-Nats surpassed three runs scored for just the third time this season. Roster moves: IF José Sánchez activated from 7-Day I.L.; IF Paul Witt reassigned to XST.
A nice change of pace to have multiple positives to take away! Almost across the board (looking at you, Joan) Nats pitchers performed really well.
Very solid outings from Sanchez, Seijas and, of course, Stras. Plus, continued excellent performances from Brzykcy, Troop and Klobosits, who all still sport perfect ERAs, with excellent peripherals to support it (only 7 H allowed and 31 K between the 3 of them in 19.1 IP!).
Also, it’s nice to see some signs of life from Gage Canning, who was drafted with some hype, but hasn’t been able to live up to that potential.
Man, Yasel Antuna is still ever the enigma. The man has a grand total of 2 hits in 48 plate appearances, sporting an embarrassing .050 AVG. But he’s definitely made those two hits count! First, a walk off HR a few days ago, followed by a game-tying two run double in the bottom of the 9th. It is truly an awful irony that the only time Antuna got on base this season, he got injured and had to be taken out of the game.
Finally, super happy to see my boys Emiliani and Pena start to find their zone! Pena going 1 for 3 with a BB and a SB. And Emiliani keeping on raking, hitting a double and a HR. An added bonus is that his presence moves Kevin Strohschein off 1B, where he was dreadful, collecting 5 errors in 8 games.
I still wonder what was the reason for Emiliani, De la Rosa and Pena’s delayed arrival? Perhaps it was visa issues? They’re obviously the most talented players on a team otherwise bereft of talent. I’m not sure what an additional couple weeks in Extended Spring Training meant, when it appears the entire FNats roster could use plenty more time getting ready.
Agreed, Will, the reinforcements at Fredericksburg are pretty exciting. It’s obscured by the terrible pitching there but the 3 of them, plus Junior Martina, are worth watching.