Wednesday’s News & Notes

^{* Doubleheader canceled by Salem this morning}
Rochester 3 Syracuse 2
• T. Romero 3IP, 3H, 0R, 3BB, 1K
• Brill (W, 2-0) 2IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• Weems (SV, 16) 1⅓ IP, 1H, 0R, 1BB, 1K
• Banks 1-4, R, HR, RBI
• Stevenson 1-4, 2B, RBI

The Red Wings tried to give it away in the 8th but made the “mistake” of giving up two bases-empty homers as they took the series opener, 3-2. Tommy Romero walked three and gave up three hits but kept Syracuse off the board during his three innings. The win went to Matt Brill, who followed Romero with two scoreless innings. After Pat Garrett gave up back-to-back solo HRs with two out in the 8th. Jordan Weems got the last four outs, working around a walk to the first batter he faced and a single in the 9th. Nick Banks homered while Andrew Stevenson doubled to pace the Rochester offense.
Roster moves: RHP Daniel Ponce de Leon released.

Akron 12 Harrisburg 4
• Cate (L, 2-4) 4⅓ IP, 6H, 8R, 8ER, 3BB, 3K, 2HR, HBP
• W. Garcia 3-4, R, 2B, RBI
• A. Young 2-4, R, RBI

Akron dropped four on Harrisburg in the 4th and five in the 5th as the RubberDucks tripled up the Sens, 12-4. Tim Cate lost his fourth AA game with eight runs on six hits (two HR) and three walks over four and 1/3rd innings. Wilson Garcia got to work defending his Eastern League Player of the Week title with two singles and a double, which extended his hit streak to 16 games.

Wilmington 5 Hudson Valley 3
• Knowles (W, 8-1) 5IP, 5H, 3R, 3ER, 1BB, 8K
• Schlabach (H, 4) 2IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 3K
• Willingham (SV, 2) 2IP, 2H, 0R, 1BB, 2K
• C. Wilson 3-3, 3R, 2B, 4SB(15)
• Emiliani 3-4, 2B, RBI
• Vega 1-4, R, HR, 3RBI

Onix Vega’s Earl Weaver special in the 5th turned a 3-2 deficit into a 5-3 lead, which the Blue Rocks ‘pen held to win. Lucas Knowles won for the 8th time with five innings of three-run ball on five hits and a walk while striking out eight. Ike Schlabach and Amos Willingham each put up two goose eggs to get the hold and the save respectively. Cody Wilson singled three times, scored three times, and swiped four bases while Leandro Emiliani singled twice and doubled once to round out the rest of the Wilmington hit column.

Fredericksburg 15 Salem 5
• Rutledge (W, 8-6) 5IP, 7H, 4R, 4ER, BB, 7K
• M. Perez 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• White 3-4, 3R, BB, 2B(20), RBI
• Arruda 3-5, 2R, BB, 3B, RBI, E
• Ge. Diaz 2-5, R, 2B, HR, 4RBI
• Boisserie 2-5, 2R, 3RBI

The FredNats wasted no time doing their part to zero out their magic number, scoring eight runs in the 1st. By the 8th inning, up by the eventual 15-5 winning margin, they’d learned that they got the help they needed from Myrtle Beach with a 5-4 win in extras over Carolina and clinched the 2022 C.L. East 2nd half title. Jackson Rutledge got the Jack Morris win – his eighth overall – with four runs allowed on seven hits and a walk while striking out seven. T.J. White and Jake Arruda led Fredericksburg’s 17-hit parade with three hits apiece as every FredNats starter had a hit.

MLBPA Says a Majority of Minor-Leaguers Said “Yes” to Unionization

Yesterday, the MLBPA announced that “a significant majority” of minor-leaguers returned authorization cards sent out last month. They are asking for MLB to voluntarily recognize the MLBPA as their representatives.

MLB can (and very well may) ask the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to hold an election to confirm that figure, which is their right by law, as the union-card threshold to conduct the NLRB election is only 30%. If the NLRB does hold an election and more than 50% vote (again?) for the MLBPA to represent them, then the real drama starts.

No word yet on whether either the Teamsters or the Pinkertons have been contacted.