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Wednesday’s News & Notes

Team Yesterday Today Pitching Probables
Rochester Won, 4-2 vs. Buffalo, 6:45 p.m. Ureña (0-2, 7.17) vs. Za. Thompson (4-5, 5.48)
Harrisburg Lost, 4-3 @ Akron, 7:05 p.m. Henry (0-2, 11.36) vs. Burns (2-3, 3.47)
Wilmington Lost, 6-4 vs. Brooklyn, 6:35 p.m. Cáceres (0-0, 6.75) vs. Stuart (3-0, 1.42)
Fredericksburg Won, 7-6 @ Delmarva, 6:35 p.m. Tolman (0-0, 0.00) vs. Cruz (5-1, 4.39)
FCL Nationals OFF DAY vs. FCL Cardinals, 10 a.m.
(Comp. of 6/30 game)
DSL Nationals Postponed OFF DAY

Rochester 4 Buffalo 2
• Rutledge 5⅓ IP, 3H, 0R, 0ER, 3BB, 1K, HBP
• Danish (W, 1-2) 1⅓ IP, 2H, 2R, 2ER, 0BB, 0K, 2-0 IR-S
• G. Moreno (SV, 4) 1IP, 0H, 0R, 1BB, 2K
• Noll 3-4, R, HR, 2RBI
• Blankenhorn 2-4, R, 2B, RBI, CS

Rochester snapped a 0-0 deadlock with three in the 6th and held on for a 4-2 win over Buffalo. Jackson Rutledge fell two outs shy of his first AAA quality start, giving up no runs on three hits and three walks while striking out one. The win went to Tyler Danish, who stranded two in the 6th, then lost the shutout in the 7th. Gerson Moreno worked around a walk in the 9th for his fourth save, and second this week. Jake Noll singled twice, homered once, and drove in two while Travis Blankenhorn singled, doubled, and drove in one to lead the Red Wings offense.

Akron 4 Harrisburg 3
• Saenz (L, 0-2) 5IP, 9H, 4R, 4ER, 2BB, 1K, BK
• Javier 2IP, 1H, 0R, 2BB, 3K, HBP
• Tostado 1-3, HBP
• Lipscomb 1-4

The RubberDucks put up four in the 1st and then tried to give it back in the 5th, but held on to beat the Senators, 4-3. Dustin Saenz gave up all four runs on nine hits and two walks over five innings while striking out one. He was charged with his second loss. Harrisburg managed to score three runs without a hit, with Jacob Young getting hit by pitch for the Homer Simpson RBI, James Wood scorching a one-hopper to first that the Akron 1B bobbled to plate the second run, and Jack Dunn chopping a high-hop grounder to third for the third run. Frankie Tostado and Trey Lipscomb had the only two hits for the Sens – both singles.

Brooklyn 6 Wilmington 4
• Luckham 6IP, 6H, 1R, 1ER, 0BB, 6K
• D. Diaz 1+ IP, 1H, 3R, 2ER, 2BB, 0K
• Powell (BS, 1; L, 0-1) 1IP, 2H, 1R, 1ER, 0K, 2-2 IR-S
• Baker 3-5, SB
• White 2-4, R, 2B, 3B, RBI

A 4-1 lead was too small for the Wilmington ‘pen to hold as three relievers cobmined to give up five runs over the final three innings to drop the opener, 6-4. Kyle Luckham’s second quality start was for naught, as he let in just one run on six hits, walked none, and struck out six. The blown-save-loss went to Holden Powell as the 2020 3rd Rd. pick let in both inherited runners and one of his own on two hits and a walk during Brooklyn’s three-run 8th. The Blue Rocks got the tying runs on base with two out in the 9th on a pair of two-out walks but Darren Baker couldn’t deliver a fourth hit as he waved at 1-2 breaking ball to end the game. T.J. White led the regulars with a double and a triple, which got him off the interstate (.202) for the first time since April 25.

Frerdericksburg 7 Delmarva 6
• L. Young 5IP, 3H, 0R, 2BB, 6K
• P. González (W, 4-2) 2IP, 4H, 4R, 4ER, 2BB, 1K, HR
• Witt 4-5, 2R, 2B(10)
• Quintana 2-4, 2B
• Lile 1-4, R, BB, HR, 3RBI, OF assist @ 2B

The FredNats and Shorebirds starting pitchers traded zeroes for four innings, then turned it over to the bullpens. Fredericksburg’s relievers were less ineffective than Delmarva’s to get a 7-6 win in the series opener. Luke Young pitched five full innings for the first time as a pro, allowing three hits and two walks while striking out a career-high six. Pedro González coughed up four in the 6th and wobbled through a scoreless 7th. He got the benefit of the FredNats’ six-run 8th, highlighted by a three-run HR by Daylen Lile. Matt Merrill took González’s beer and gave up runs in the 8th and 9th innings, but got the save anyway. Delmarva’s defense took the beer for Merrill in top of the 9th as they let Paul Witt, who led off the 9th with his fourth hit, take second on a wild pitch and then score on a passed ball.



FCL Nationals – OFF DAY
Roster moves: RHP Tyler Dyson MiLB rehab ended, reassigned from Wilmington.

DSL Nationals – PPD
Can’t lose if you don’t play! It would appear that they’ll make this one up when the two teams play next on August 5th.

17 Commments

  1. Even following Rutledge last IP bs Buffalo on line game day
    You could tell with the last wide and high balls he was ready to get pulled .
    Just saying .
    Bob Uecker : jjjjjust a bit outside !! Lol

    1. Oh ( brother where art thou !) Urena audition continues tonight ! Lol !

    2. much sharper than last time out, mostly fly ball outs, still goes safety first with two strikes and misses outside the zone. but I’m sure he followed the game plan and they have to be satisfied with this start. only 77 pitches so if he’d had a couple runs to work with it would have been interesting to see him try to work out of the sixth. maybe next time

    3. Concern about Thaddeus Ward on the DL or routine placement ?

      1. it actually could work out where it give them an opportunity to see him as a starter. he was on the roster long enough to qualify for a rehab stint, they may also shut down Irvin before the seasons over

        1. Fred
          So Ward and Irwin parked in the garage
          Lord forbid we see Urena up north

      2. Ward says he had some stiffness. A Rule V draftee must be on the active roster 90 days. Ward has passed that, so the f.o. can do what they want without having to send him back.

        I suspect he will spend 2024 learning to be a starter at Rochester.

        1. Well, Ward won’t be “learning to be a starter” at Rochester because until this season in DC he was solely a starter in the Boston system. 51 games, 51 starts. The Nats put him in the bullpens solely to be able to hang onto him as he worked off his Rule 5 servitude.

  2. The bright spot has to be Rutledge’s showing. More traffic than you’d like but as he’s new to AAA he gets a pass.

    Daylin Lile has an OPS of .841. Just sayin’.

    1. And a .920 OPS over the past 30 days.

      I’ll be watching closely how Wilmington aligns its OF over the next week. McKenzie and de la Rosa appear to have locked down starting OF jobs (with JDLR mostly manning CF and McKenzie occupying one of the corner spots). But the last position has been a bit of a revolving door. Darren Baker got a start in LF, Shumpert and Cody Wilson too have gotten playing time there too. I’m all for Baker getting some regular time in the OF, as his 2B spot is blocked in DC, but he’s demonstrated mastery of A+ pitching. And neither Wilson nor Shumpert should be blocking Lile’s further development. I think his promotion should be imminent.

      1. after DeRosa’s rough time in A+ last year I suspect they’ll be more cautious with Lyle. he’s only 20, no need to rush him along. let’s see how July shakes out for him, he slumped in May

  4. Cristhian “Sonny” Vaquero continues to rake – he has raised his average to after today’s game.

    Since June 15 he’s 15-for-41 with 5 BBs and 3 Robleses. Of the 15 hits, 6 are doubles and one is a 3-bagger and he’s also 3-for-4 in steals during this stretch.

    The Nats have him switch-hitting and the difference in his splits are pretty startling. For the season, it’s only 10 ABs, but vs. LHP he’s slashing .200/.182/.200.

    Against RHP, he’s got a slash line of .298/.425/.439. That’s a difference in OPS of.482! I don’t know enough about hitting to know if it would make a difference but at what point would a hitter be better off just batting from his stronger side regardless of the pitcher as opposed to switch hitting?

    1. Does he have a shoe deal with Adidas or Nike? (Oh, wait — that’s Vaccaro 😉

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