Sunday’s News & Notes
| Team | Yesterday | Today | Pitching Probables |
| Rochester | Won, 4-3; Won, 6-4 |
vs. Lehigh Valley, 1:05 p.m. | Eppler (2-8, 7.68) vs. Paulino (3-3, 4.35 |
| Harrisburg | Lost, 2-1 | @ Akron, 2:05 p.m. | Cavalli (3-3, 3.06) vs. Pilkington (1-0, 2.40) |
| Wilmington | Won, 7-5 | @ Aberdeen, 2:05 p.m. | Adon (5-4, 5.54) vs. Prizina (2-2, 3.67) |
| Fredericksburg | Lost, 5-4 (10 inn.) |
@ Delmarva, 5:05 p.m. | Merrill (1-1, 5.40) vs. Pinto (0-1, 1.74) |
| FCL Nationals | OFF DAY | OFF DAY | |
| DSL Nationals | Postponed | OFF DAY |
Rochester 4 Lehigh Valley 3 – GM. 1
• L. Reyes 6⅓ IP, 3H, 3R, 3ER, 3BB, 3K; 1-3, R
• Barrett (BS, 1; L, 3-1) ⅔ IP, 1H, 0R, IBB, 0K, HBP, 2-2 IR-S
• Palka 2-4, 3RBI
• Swihart 1-3, 2R, BB
Lehigh Valley rallied for two in the 7th to tie but Rochester got the one run they needed to eke out a 4-3 win in the opener. Luis Reyes hit the wall in the 7th after dominating the IronPigs for six innings, giving up a single and a walk with one out. Aaron Barrett hit the first batter he faced then let both inherited runners with a ground-rule double before getting the last two outs to preserve the tie. A walk, a groundout, and back-to-back singles plated the game-winner in the bottom of the 7th. Daniel Palka drove in three, including the game-winner, while going 2-for-4 to lead the Rochester offense.
Rochester 6 Lehigh Valley 4 – GM. 2
• Bonnell 1⅔ IP, 3H, 4R, 4ER, 3BB, 2K
• Baldonado (W, 3-1) 2⅓ IP, 4H, 0R, 0BB, 3K, 3-2 IR-S
• Casey 2-3, R, RBI
• Castillo 1-2, R, 2RBI
• Flores 1-3, 2B, 2RBI
The IronPigs jumped on spot starter Bryan Bonnell for four runs in the 2nd but a funny thing happened: The Red Wings got two back in their half of the 2nd and then four more in the 3rd and held on for 6-4 win to sweep the doubleheader. Bonnell gave up all four Lehigh Valley runs on three hits and three walks while striking out two. The win went to Alberto Baldonado, though he let in two of three inherited runners. Diego Moreno and Sam Clay shut down Lehigh Valley to earn the hold and save respectively. Rochester squeezed six runs out of six hits and three walks, with Donovan Casey leading the hit column with two singles and Jeksson Flores and Ali Castillo both driving in two.
Akron 2 Harrisburg 1
• S. Romero (L, 0-2) 5IP, 8H, 2R, 2ER, 0BB, 7K, WP
• J. Romero 2IP, 2H, 0R, 0BB, 3K
• Corredor 3-4, R, HR, RBI
• Rhinesmith 1-4, CS
The RubberDucks edged the Senators, 2-1 despite outhitting them, 11-5. Seth Romero didn’t walk a batter but scattered eight hits over five innings, letting in two. He struck out seven while taking this second loss. Aldrem Corredor homered and singled twice to account for three of the five Harrisburg hits, with Gage Canning and Jacob Rhinesmith both collecting a single.
Wilmington 7 Aberdeen 5
• Parker 3IP, 4H, 3R, 2ER, BB, 5K, HR, HBP, 3WP
• Hernández (W, 4-3) 2IP, 3H, R, ER, 0BB, 5K
• Antuna 2-5, 2R, HR(12), 4RBI, E(27)
• Dunn 3-5, R, SB
• Upshaw 2-4, R, 2B
Yasel Antuna went deep for the third straight game, including a two-run shot that proved to be the difference in a 7-5 Wilmington win over Aberdeen. The 21-y.o. also connected for a two-run single… and committed his 27th error. Mitchell Parker left early for the third straight start as the IronBirds got to him for three runs on four hits (one HR) over three innings. Alfonso Hernández picked up the win in relief while Andrew Karp earned his fourth hold and Zach Brzkcy notched his second save. The four Blue Rocks pitchers combined to strike out 18 batters. Jack Dunn led Wilmington’s 12-hit parade with three singles, while Armond Upshaw and Ricardo Méndez both singled and doubled.
Delmarva 5 Fredericksburg 4 (10 inn.)
• Merrill 4IP, 4H, 2R, 2ER, BB, 7K
• Willingham 2⅔ IP, 1H, 1R, 0ER, 0BB, 3K
• Alastre (L, 2-3) ⅔ IP, 2H, 1R, 0ER, IBB, 0K
• Martina 2-5, 2R, 2B
• V. Peña 2-4, 2B
• 0-for-17 RISP, 10 LOB
Despite coming up short 17 times in 17 RISP opportunities, the F-Nats nearly won this one. But almost doesn’t count except for horseshoes, hand grenades, and drive-in movies, as the Shorebirds cashed in an error to tie it in the 9th and walked off in the 10th, 5-4. Matt Merrill went the first four innings and gave up two runs on four hits and a walk while fanning seven. The loss went to Tomás Alastre, who gave up two hits and walked a batter intentionally in the 10th. Four of the seven Fredericksburg hits went for extra bases, including a two-run HR by Onix Vega in the 8th, and doubles by Junior Martina, Jordy Barley, and Viandel Peña
FCL Nationals – OFF DAY
The FCL Nats had a scheduled off day and will next play on Monday with a doubleheader against the FCL Marlins.
DSL Nationals vs. DSL Astros – PPD
Eleven games were postponed yesterday, including the D-Astros/D-Nats matchup. The two teams play twice more next month – Sept. 11 and Sept. 18 – with the 11the being the most likely makeup date.
How happy must Donovan Casey be? Buried in the Dodgers system with almost no chance of making it, he does so well at Harrisburg that a quick promotion to Rochester is earned. So far at AAA his OPS is .908.
It’s hard to even imagine a 0 for 17 RISP.
Continuing the theme Antuna had great offense and bad defense in the same game.
The camp in FRED last summer helped guys like Cavilli , Big Tuna and Rhinesmith keep their momentum
Back to the subject of double digit losses on certain arms
Cavilli the OU alum reminds me of another OU alum who started his career with double digit losses – Steve Rogers , the victim of that Blue Monday HR which was mentally erased by Howies GS in LA in 19.
What a work horse Rogers was .
Time for the organization to acknowledge a couple of hard truths: Antuna isn’t a shortstop, and Romero isn’t a starter. Both have the talent to succeed in other areas, so why the resistance?
The Nats were much quicker to move Michael Taylor to CF from shortstop and he’s rated the #1 defensive outfielder I baseball this year.
Antuna has a position; its just not shortstop. You figure his offense will get even better without the pressure of constant failure everyday.