Friday’s News & Notes
| Team | Yesterday | Today | Probable Pitchers |
| Syracuse | Won, 9-5 | @ Scranton/W-B, 7:05 p.m. |
Espino (6-9, 3.51) vs. Cessa (5-3, 3.23) |
| Harrisburg | Lost, 3-2 | vs. Trenton, 7:05 p.m. |
Mapes (10-7, 3.14) vs. Carter (0-1, 4.00) |
| Potomac | Won, 4-2 | vs. Wilmington, 7:05 p.m. |
Fedde (5-4, 3.08) vs. Lovvorn (2-12, 3.64) |
| Hagerstown | Won, 8-6 (10 inn.) |
@ Lakewood, 7:05 p.m. |
Arauz (3-5, 4.20) vs. J. Rodriguez (7-8, 5.22) |
| Auburn | Lost, 5-3 | vs. State College, 7:05 p.m. |
Reyes (0-0, 9.00) vs. Perez (2-2, 2.81) |
Syracuse 9 Buffalo 5
• Cole (W, 8-7) 7IP, 5H, 4R, 4ER, 3BB, 3K, 3HR
• Grace 1IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 1K, WP
• Martinson 2-3, R, 2B, SF, 2RBI
• Taylor 2-4, 3R, 2B, 3B
• Skole 1-3, R, BB, HR, 3RBI
Syracuse got three in the 1st and three in the 6th and withstood a charge from Buffalo to take the series finale, 9-5. A.J. Cole gave up four runs on three homers and five hits total over seven innings. He walked three and struck out three while earning his eighth win. Matt Skole hit his organization-leading 16th HR in the 1st to get things rolling. Jason Martinson (single, double), Michael Taylor (double, triple), and Steve Lombardozzi (single, single) each had two hits in the Chiefs’ nine-hit, four-walk offense. Pennant update: Despite taking two in a row from fifth-place Buffalo, Syracuse remains in last place in the I.L. North by 5½ games, 18 games out overall.
Binghamton 3 Harrisburg 2
• Long (L, 3-3) 6⅓ IP, 5H, 3R, 3ER, 0BB, 5K, 2HR
• Self 1IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 1K
• Marmolejos 2-4
• Soto 1-2, BB
The B-Mets got to Jaron Long twice with solo shots in the 6th and the winning run in the 7th as they edged the Sens, 3-2 to split the four-game series. Long lost his third AA contest with all three Binghamton runs allowed on five hits and no walks while striking out five. Harrisburg was held to four hits total, with Jose Marmolejos singling twice, Neftali Soto once, and Rafael Bautista homering for the second time this season. Pennant update: The Senators trail the Curve by 1½ games in the E.L. West.
Potomac 4 Wilmington 2
• Bacus (W, 2-2) 5⅔ IP, 6H, 2R, 2ER, 2BB, 6K, 2WP
• Sanchez (H, 4) 2⅓ IP, 2H, 0R, BB, 2K, 3-0 IR-S
• Abreu 2-4, R, 2-2B, RBI
• Page 2-4, R, 3B
Potomac posted a picket fence over four innings and survived a rocky 6th to double up Wilmington, 4-2. Dakota Bacus won for the second time in as many starts since his return from the DL, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks over five and 2/3rds innings. He struck out six, including the side in the 5th. Mario Sanchez got a popup to the first batter he faced on the first pitch to strand three in the 6th and pitched two more scoreless to earn the hold while Gilberto Mendez cordero’d his way through the 9th with a hit and a walk for the save, his eighth. Osvaldo Abreu doubled twice, Matthew Page tripled, and Raudy Read homered to pace the P-Nats’ attack. Pennant update: Potomac leads first-half champ Lynchburg by a game in the C.L. North’s second-half race.
Hagerstown 8 Lakewood 6
• Guilbeau 6IP, 4H, R, ER, 2BB, 3K
• Johansen (BS, 1; W, 2-1) 2IP, 3H, 0R, BB, 2K, 3-3 IR-S
• Sagdal 3-4, BB, CS
• Reetz 3-5, 2-2B, 2RBI
• Gutierrez 2-4, 3R
The BlueClaws rallied for four in the 8th to tie, then gave away three in the 10th to lose to the Suns, 8-6. Hagerstown starter Taylor Guilbeau left with a 3-1 lead after six innings of one-run ball on four hits and two walks while striking out three. Grant Borne pitched a scoreless 7th and then gave up four straight singles in the 8th. Jake Johansen came in and let in all three inherited runners while getting out of the 8th for a 5-5 tie and the blown save. He would get credit for the win as the pitcher of record when a leadoff single, a hit batsman, two errors, and a wild pitch led to three unearned runs in the top of the 10th. Mick VanVossen sandwiched a solo homer and a doubled between three outs for his eighth save. Pennant update: The Suns third straight win kept pace with the Grasshoppers and the Crawdads to maintain leads of one and one-and-a-half games in the Sally North’s second-half chase.
State College 5 Auburn 3
• W. Davis (L, 2-3) 5IP, 7H, 4R, 3ER, BB, 2K
• Held 2IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 0K
• A. Martinez 2-3, R, 3B, RBI
• Neuse 1-4, R, HR, RBI
State College spiked Auburn for four in the 1st and got an insurance run in the 6th for yet another win over Auburn, 5-3. Weston Davis took the loss with four runs let in on seven hits and a walk while striking out two. Kevin Mooney allowed an unearned run on a hit and a walk over the next two while Samuel Held pitched two perfect innings to finish. The Doubledays were limited to six hits, with Andres Martinez (triple) and Sheldon Neuse (homer) collecting Auburn’s two extra-base knocks on the night. Pennant update: The Doubledays’ third straight loss denied them a chance to tie the Black Bears for 4th place in the Pinckney division of the NYPL and knocked them to 13 games behind the first-place Spikes.
Considering the number of bats from the 2016 draft on Auburn’s roster, the results have so far been quite disappointing. Only Noll and Sundberg from this year’s hitters have an OPS over .700, and only Barrera with 2 HRs has more than a single long ball. The whole team has only gone deep 8 times (2nd to last in the 14 team NYPL).
The one plus is that at least Neuse, Banks, Barrera and Johnson have relatively low strike out rates, so hopefully they will be able to make significant improvements with a full year of pro coaching.
With Joe Ross’s rehab setback, you have to wonder who is up next as the 5th starter for the big club. With some off days, they can skip that rotation spot a couple of times, as they did today, and keep the rest of the rotation on regular rest, so they’ve still got a little time to decide.
Neither Giolito nor Lopez has seized the opportunity by the horns. Cole’s start on Thursday more or less lines him up with the spot in the big-league rotation. Cole wouldn’t require a 40-man move to get a look; Voth would. So would Mat Latos, who has only given up one hit over two GCL starts, striking out 10 over seven innings.