Friday’s News & Notes
| Team | Yesterday | Today | Pitching Probables |
| Rochester | Won, 3-1 | @ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, 6:35 p.m. | Je. Rodriguez (1-1, 6.62) vs. Waldichuk (1-1, 1.69) |
| Harrisburg | Won, 2-1 | vs. Richmond, 6:30 p.m. | Irvin (0-1, 3.86) vs. Frisbee (1-4, 4.72) |
| Wilmington | Lost, 3-2 | vs. Brooklyn, 6:35 p.m. | Cate (3-2, 3.26) vs. Rojas (5-2, 3.43) |
| Fredericksburg | Winning, 4-0 (susp., Top 5th) |
@ Myrtle Beach, 5:35 p.m. | TBD and Saenz (2-0, 3.45) vs. Gonzalez (0-0, 4.06) and Devers (7-3, 2.19) |
| FCL Nationals | Won, 11-6 | vs. FCL Cardinals, 12 p.m. | |
| DSL Nationals | OFF DAY | @ DSL Mariners, 11 a.m. |
Rochester 3 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 1
• Cavalli 5IP, 5H, 1R, 1ER, 1BB, 4K
• Murphy (W, 2-0) 1⅔ IP, 1H, 0R, 1BB, 2K
• Weems (SV, 7) 1IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 1K
• Vargas 2-3, R, HR, 2RBI
• Freeman 2-3, R, 2SB
Ildemaro Vargas’s two-run HR in the 7th broke a 1-1 tie and the Rochester ‘pen made it stand up for a 3-1 win to break an eight-game losing streak. Cade Cavalli dipped his ERA below 5 for the second time this season with five innings of one-run ball on five hits and a walk. He struck out four. The win went to Patrick “Might Be Irish” Murphy, who combined with Tyler Clippard and Jordan Weems for four scoreless innings of relief. Cole Freeman singled twice, scored once, and swiped two bags while Andrew Stevenson reached base three times with a bunt single and two walks to complement Vargas’s homer and single.
Roster moves: LHP Carson Teel, RHP Curtis Taylor reassigned from Harrisburg.
Harrisburg 2 Richmond 1
• Reyes (W, 2-2) 5IP, 5H, 1R, 0ER, 3BB, 6K, 2HBP
• Brkycy (SV, 3) 1⅔ IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 3K
• Flores 1-2, R, 2B
• Dunn 1-3, R, BB
The Senators won their sixth one-run game since May 28th and 10th overall as they grounded the Flying Squirrels, 2-1. Luis Reyes put on 10 baserunners in five innings, but only one of them came around to score as he won his second game. Francys Peguero, Reid Schaller, and Zach Brzykcy matched the feat of their AAA counterparts with four goose eggs, which earned holds for Peguero and Schaller, and a save for Brzykcy. Harrisburg made the most of its limited chances—2-for-3 with RISP—as lineup bookends Jecksson Flores and Jack Dunn combined to score both runs and had two of the six Sens hits.
Roster moves: RHP Dakody Clemmer activated from Developmental List.
Brooklyn 3 Wilmington 2
• Cuevas 3IP, 1H, 1R, 1ER, 5BB, 1K
• Stainbrook (L, 2-3) 2IP, 3H, 2R, 2ER, 2BB, 3K, 1-1 IR-S
• Antuna 1-3, RBI
• Baker 0-3, R, 2BB
Brooklyn made hay with the first man out of the Wilmington ‘pen and held on for a 3-2 win. Starter Michael Cuevas labored through three-plus innings, issuing five walks but only allowing one hit. The loss went to Troy Stainbrook, who let in one inherited runner and two more of his own on three hits and two walks over two innings. The Blue Rocks drew eight walks but had just four singles, as they went 1-for-11 with RISP and left on nine baserunners.
Fredericksburg 4 Myrtle Beach 0 – SUSP.
• Rutledge 4IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 4K
• Williams 2-2, 2R, 2B
The FredNats had two out and two on in the top of the 5th and a 4-0 lead when the lightning crashed; no word on whether a new mother cried. They’ll finish it tonight and then play a seven-inning game afterward.
FCL Nationals 11 FCL Astros Blue 6
• Thompson ⅔ IP, 1H, 2R, 1ER, 0BB, 2K, 2HBP
• Candelario (W, 1-0) 2IP, 3H, 1R, 1ER, 1BB, 0K,
• P. González 2IP, 3H, 0R, 0BB, 3K
• A. Cruz 4-6, 2R, HR, 5RBI, 2SB
• Martina 0-2, R, 4BB, SB
• B. Fernández 1-2, R, 3BB, 2RBI
The F-Nats put up crooked numbers in four innings as they pulled away late for an 11-6 win over the F-Astros Blue. Mason Thompson “worked on some stuff,” giving up two runs, hitting two batters, and striking out two in the 1st. The win went to A.J. Candelario, who let in the final tun on three hits and a walk over two innings. Armando Cruz singled three times and hit a three-run HR to drive in five and lead the F-Nats hit column. He also stole two bases. Junior Martina led the walk column of 13 with four free passes.
DSL Nationals – OFF DAY
After an odd two-day break, the D-Nats get back at it this morning with the second of three games this week against the D-Mariners.
For the 1st time we have 2 straight good starts by Rutledge. He was only at 50 pitches so could have gone 2-3 innings more.
Zach Brzykcy has had 5 appearances in AA, and still has a 0.00 ERA. It’s supposed to be a tough transition.
Armando Cruz did not hit at all last year in the DSL; it definitely was concerning. This year after 28 AB’s his OPS is .929.
Good to hear , Mark L.
Hod line score read that vibe .
Good to see the Rule 5 relievers make their mojo up Ward
Sens truly playing small ball
Whitey Herzog Woolf chuckle
Cruz
A year of conditioning and good food intake ?
Cate should skate to AA now
The big club has now gone six games without a starter reaching five innings. The last four have been really, really ugly. Stras has been shut down again. I don’t think I would actually advocate it, but with the nebulous Super 2 date probably passing this week, Cavalli may be called up soon. That may have been his last AAA start last night.
If you meant six in a row, Fedde went 5.1 innings on Wed and gave up three runs.
On City Island, the Sens have been getting great all around pitching. Brzykcy gave up a single on his first pitch last night, but then got out of a bases loaded, one out jam. His fastball has a lot of life at 95 MPH.
And yes, it’s very good to see Armando Cruz hitting like a real prospect. His under-performance at the plate last season was quite concerning. One suspects that a strength/conditioning/nutritional program is helping a lot.
And, for the first time ever, we’ve had a week in which Denaburg, Rutledge, and Cavalli have all pitched very well.
Romero? Romero?
Somebody daily should chart the players on each date like today
How are the guys wearing number 17 doing
Well we know how Cuevas is doing ..
I’ve only seen the last three outings from Rutledge, and it’s still A ball but I can see what made him a high pick. he’s got a Derek Lowe sinking fastball and last night had command on his other pitches as well. only one ball hit in the air, the double he gave up was a grounder up the middle that De La Rosa took forever to get to and the batter never hesitated.
With any luck he’ll work his way up to Rochester by years end.
given his limited number of innings pitched that seems a little ambitious. if he starts next year in AA I’ll be happy
This is his 4th year in the organization and he’ll have to be put on the 40 man at the end of the year. Hoping to see some 1st round pedigree.
Rutledge is in low Class A. Don’t see him jumping all of they way to AAA in the next two months. Think the Nats just want him to find some success, while staying healthy, rather than have him jump three levels after essentially staying a Low A for three years.
I guess it’s way too early to start the Rule 5 protection debate about Rutledge, but it might be worth noting that the Rockies have left 2016 1/4 pick Riley Pint exposed for two years now. There are usually enough pitchers available that teams aren’t going to go scavenging in the lower levels for guys who clearly aren’t ready.
It was just a couple of years ago that the FanGraphs guys wrote that Rutledge “has some of the best stuff on Earth.” All we can do is keep hoping that he can tame it. No reason to expect him to be above A+ this summer, though, maybe with an AFL appearance if he isn’t up against his innings limit.