Monday’s News & Notes
| Team | Yesterday | Today | Pitching Matchup (’23 Stats at the Level) |
| Rochester | Lost, 4-3; Won, 7-4 | OFF DAY | N/A |
| Harrisburg | Won, 5-1 | OFF DAY | N/A |
| Wilmington | Won, 1-0 (10 inn.) | OFF DAY | N/A |
| Fredericksburg | Won, 10-4 | OFF DAY | N/A |
Lehigh Valley 4 Rochester 3 – GM. 1
• Herz 4IP, 4H, 3R, 3ER, 3BB, 2K
• La Sorsa (L, 0-1) 1IP, 0H, 1R, 0ER, 2BB, 0K
• Yepez 1-2, R, 2BB, HR, 2RBI, 2E
• Lindsly 2-3, R
A pair of errors in the top of the 7th combined with two walks pushed across the deciding run in the top of the 7th to give Lehigh Valley a 4-3 win in the opener. DJ Herz finally made his AAA debut but was dinged for three runs on four hits and three walks over four innings. The loss went to Joe La Sorsa with an unearend run on two walks and no hits. Juan Yepez hit his second home run, walked twice, and committed two errors while Brady Lindsly singled twice and scored a run to lead the Red Wings offense.
Rochester 7 Lehigh Valley 4
• Watkins 3IP, 3H, 2R, 2ER, 0BB, 3K
• Cate (W, 1-0) 2IP, 1H, 0R, 1BB, 1K
• Wood 2-3, R, 2B, SB
• Baker 2-3, R, RBI, SB(5)
• Call 1-3, R, HR, 3RBI
In the “aftercap,” the Red Wings erased an early 2-1 deficit with a four-run 2nd, highlighted by an Earl Weaver Special by Alex Call. Spenser Watkins got the spot start and let in two runs on three hits over three innings. He walked none and struck out three. Tim Cate got the “W” with two scoreless innings with one hit, one walks, and one strikeout. James Wood and Darren Baker both went 2-for-3 with a run scored and a stolen base to pace the Rochester offense.
Harrisburg 5 Erie 1
• Knowles 3⅓ IP, 4H, 1R, 1ER, 0BB, 4K
• Acosta (W, 1-0) 2⅔ IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 2K, 1-0 IR-S
• House 3-4, R, BB,
• Lawson 2-3, BB, 2B, 3RBI
• Morales 2-4, R
Senators doubled their 2024 total to date with a four-run 2nd then added a run in the 8th to avoid the sweep, 5-1. Lucas Knowles gave up the lone Seawolves run on four hits and no walks over three and 2/3rds. Daison Acosta stranded one while getting out of the 4th and then blanked Erie for two more innings to pick up the win. Brady House reached base four times with three singles and a walk while Cortland Lawson walked, doubled, and singled while driving in three to lead Harrisburg’s 11-hit parade.
Wilmington 1 Brooklyn 0 (10 inn.)
• L. Young 5IP, 4H, 0R, 1BB, 4K
• M. Perez 2IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 4K
• Peterson (W, 1-0) 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 0K
• McKenzie 1-3, SF, RBI
• M. Romero 1-3, BB
Jared McKenzie’s sac fly in the bottom of the 10th broke up the Star Trek Convention on the Frawley Stadium scoreboard and gave Wilmington 1-0 win for a sweep of Brooklyn. Luke Young went the first five and scattered four hits and a walk while striking out five. Wander Arias and Marlon Perez both turned in two goose eggs before Tood Peterson retired the side in order in the 10th. The Blue Rocks pinch-ran Johnathan Thomas for T.J. White. The Cyclones sandwiched a pair of intentional walks between a Branden Boisserie flyout before McKenzie flied out deep enough for Thomas to scamper home.
Fredericksburg 10 Delmarva 4
• Sthele 5IP, 4H, 3R, 3ER, 3BB, 0K
• Vasquez (W, 1-0) 1⅓ IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 1K, 2-0 IR-S
• McHenry 2-3, 2R, 2B, SF, 2RBI, SB
• Glasser 2-4, 3R, 2-2B
• Green 1-4, R, 2B, 2RBI, 2K
“This is A ball” was on full display Sunday Afternoon in Fredericksburg.
Young had good command of all his pitches, got a lot of strikes as well as outs with his off speed stuff. appeared to be tiring in the fifth. solid first outing if not overpowering.
the Rocks struck out 18 times!
after the first week the Eastern League is hitting under the Mendoza line, those boys will be happy to be hitting in a few less layers this week.
FredMD it’s been a very breezy April so far in many ways
Perhaps much of the Ks on offsides stuff ?
So a few games in now, and it’s become evident that the Nats have taken a new approach to starting pitchers. Whether it’s a gradual ramp-up or a permanent Rays-esque approach, it’s clear SPs are being given a VERY short pitch count. I get that Herz wasn’t sharp and deserved to be pulled after 4 IP, but his 70 pitches was the most among any starter yesterday. Despite Sthele’s control issues, he maxed out at 64, Knowles looked to be dealing and only went 54, Young was cruising and stopped at 66, and Watkins wasn’t having a bad game, but only went 58. This aligns with Susana’s abbreviated outing and Parker’s dominant outing ending after 57. It’s very interesting that there’s something of a hard 60ish pitch count cap that every starter, regardless of usage in past seasons, is bound to. I’ll be keeping an eye on this over the next weeks. It’ll be a very big surprise if this turns into a rigid cap, kind of like the Rays utilized a few seasons back, or if it’s just a tool to ramp up the starters’ workloads to start the season (particularly during the inclement weather).
Interesting that they’re trying to make Knowles a starter at age 26.
I wouldn’t say it’s “surprising”, because the Nats never saw a pitcher they didn’t think – after repeated evidence to the contrary – couldn’t work as a SP, but it definitely feels ill advised. We commented frequently back in 2022, when they toyed with Knowles as a SP, that he was far more effective in relief (2.08 ERA) than in the rotation (3.86 ERA), but maybe the new player dev guys need to see this for themselves? But I am confused what the rotation is now… Alvarez and Henry are already confirmed in the rotation. So whom of Cuevas, Saenz and Luckham is the odd man out?
With Crews getting a long look during ST, I’d have hoped he’d start the season less rusty (see Wood as a counter example). But he just recorded his 1st hit in 13 at bats so far, and struck out 7 times so far. It’s a worrying continuation of a bad trend since his promotion to AA last season. Hope we aren’t seeing a slow motion repeat of Elijah Green’s career, where he too started promisingly in the FCL, then subsequently dropped off a cliff.
The Norfolk Tides, the Orioles’ AAA affiliate, fielded a 9 man line up on Saturday, exclusively with batters with OPS above 1.000 (https://www.milb.com/gameday/tides-vs-knights/2024/04/06/753538/final/box). It helps that a couple days before, they scored 26 runs with 18 XBH (!!!!).
I really hope that our new head of player dev, Brad Ciolek, formerly of the Orioles, can capture that lightning in a bottle with us, as that Tides team is mouth watering in its talent (at least among the bats). Or, maybe we can pry away some of them with Harvey (a former O’s 1st rounder) and/or Finnegan. As much as the Orioles might want to, they can’t field a team of 8 infielders.