Sunday’s News & Notes
| Team | Yesterday | Today | Pitching Matchup (’23 Stats at the Level) |
| Rochester | Lost, 5-4 | vs. Lehigh Valley, 1:05 p.m. | Herz (3-3, 3.43 @ AA) and Adon (0-1, 7.71*) vs. Abel (0-1, 3.86) and Phillips (0-0, 1.50*) |
| Harrisburg | Lost, 8-2 | vs. Erie, 1 p.m. | Knowles (4-2, 3.65) vs. Jobe (0-0, 0.00) |
| Wilmington | Won, 4-2 | vs. Brooklyn, 1:05 p.m. | L. Young (4-4, 4.40 @ A-) vs. Ziegler (0-0, 0.00 @ FCL) |
| Fredericksburg | Won, 11-4 | vs. Delmarva, 1:35 p.m. | Sthele (0-0, 7.36) vs. De Leon (3-1, 2.39) |
*2024 record
Lehigh Valley 5 Rochester 4
• Parker 4IP, 1H, 1R, 0ER, 1BB, 5K, E
• Bleier (L, 0-1) 1⅓ IP, 3H, 1R, 1ER, 0BB, 1K, WP, 2-2 IR-S
• Blankenhorn 2-4, R
• Dunn 1-3, 3B, 3RBI
Jack Dunn’s two-out, three-run triple capped off a four-run 4th for a 4-1 lead, which was too small for veterans Robert Gsellman and Richard Bleier to hold in a 5-4 loss to the Iron Pigs. Mitchell Parker allowed an unearned run on one hit and a walk while striking out five over four innings. Travis Blankenhorn led Rochester’s six-hit barrage with two singles and scored a run while Carter Kieboom drew two of the three Red Wings walks and committed his second error.
Erie 8 Harrisburg 2
• Henry (L, 0-1) 1⅔ IP, 3H, 4R, 2ER, 2BB, 3K, HR,
• Alston 2IP, 1H, 0R, 1BB, 2K
• Arruda 1-3, R
• Hassell 1-4, RBI
Erie put this one away early with an Earl Weaver special highlighting a four-run 2nd in an 8-2 plundering of Harrisburg. Cole Henry didn’t make it out of the aforementiond 2nd, allowing four runs (two earned) on three hits (one HR) and two walks. He struck out three. The Senators got on the board in the 6th as J.T. Arruda reached on error, took second on Dylan Crews’s walk, third on a Hassell GIDP, and scored on Brady House’s RBI single. Two inings late, Hassell sent in Jordy Barley with the third and final Harrisburg hit.
Wilmington 4 Brooklyn 2
• Lord 4IP, 0H, 2R, 0ER, 6BB, 3K, HBP, 65-33 PIT-K
• C. Romero (W, 1-0) 1IP, 2H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• White 2-4
• Stehly 1-4, 2RBI
• McKenzie 1-4, R, HR, 2RBI
Jared McKenzie walked off the Blue Rocks with a two-out, two-run HR to spin the Cyclones, 4-2. That made a winner out of Carlos Romero, who stranded two runners (that he put on) while striking out two in the top of the 9th. Starter Brad Lord let in two unearned runs on six walks and a Robles over four no-hit innings. He struck out three. T.J. White singled twice to lead the Wilmington hit column while Murphy Stehly drove in the first two Blue Rocks run with a single in the 6th that tied the game at 2-2.
Fredericksburg 11 Delmarva 4
• Davis 3IP, 3H, 4R, 4ER, 2BB, 3K, PO @ 1B
• Atencio (W, 1-0) 4IP, 2H, 0R, 0BB, 5K
• Pimentel 3-5, R, 2-2B, HR(GS), 8RBI, SB
• Dugas 3-4, 3R, BB, 2RBI, E
• Ochoa 0-2, 2R, 2BB
It was a grand time in Fredericksburg as the FredNats dug themselves out of a 4-0 hole after the top of the 1st with 11 unanswered runs for an 11-4 win over the Shorebirds. Marc Davis gave up all four Delmarva runs on three hits and two walks over three innings. The win went to Jose Atencio, who spun four shutout frames with just two hits and no walks. He struck out five. Brandon Pimentel racked up eight RBI and eight total bases on two doubles and a grand slam while Gavin Dugas reached base four times on three singles and a walk and drove in two to power the Fredericksburg offense.
It appeared Henry’s breaking ball was hanging on the HR and to other batters. I believe he was removed in the 2nd inning due to reaching an inning pitch limit. The bats were cold again as the Sens were no hit for 5.2 innings.
We await the answer to that trivia
Question
Who replaced Stras on the Nats 40 man ?
Great outing by Mitchell Parker, following on a strong spring for him. If he limits the walks, he’s golden. With struggles by veterans like Gsellman and Bleier, call-ups for MLB bullpen help may come from among starters like Parker and Herz, particularly since they’re already on the 40-man.
I felt sorry for a poor Senators intern last night. Down six runs going into the bottom of the ninth, an intern in a skunk costume was sent out into center field through a gate with a flag to pump up the crowd before the half-inning started… then got locked onto the field when time between innings expired. The poor intern pounded on the door, on the wall, anything to try to get the attention of anyone who could let them off the field, to no avail, all the while being yelled at by the umpires and the players to get off the field. (There were, by that point, maybe a thousand people left at the park, so sound carried.) Finally, someone in the Senators dugout opened the door and yelled at the intern to head that way and then out.
I thought at first it was Rascal who got stuck out there, but in photos it’s very clearly a new mascot outfit that looks like a sad skunk, probably because of the colony of skunks that live on City Island, occasionally stink up the place, and sometimes even run onto the field during play.
No comment on the actual performance of the Senators last night.
Last year a skunk ran on the field during two games. I heard he’s the “rally skunk” this year in the 9th. He was on the field so long trying to exit that the ump let the Erie pitcher throw more warm up pitches.
Soon they should have the rally cicadas !!