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Tuesday’s News & Notes

Team Yesterday Today Pitching Matchup
Syracuse Lost, 8-6 vs. Durham,
6:35 p.m.		 Valdez (3-6, 2.99) vs.
Faria (MLB Rehab)
Harrisburg Won, 6-3 vs. Akron,
6:30 p.m.		 Darnell (5-4, 5.05) vs.
Whitehouse (3-1, 1.53)
Potomac Won, 10-7 OFF DAY N/A
Hagerstown Lost, 7-6 @ Kannapolis,
12:05 p.m.		 A. Lee (3-2, 4.22) vs.
Harrington (5-4, 4.82)
Auburn Won, 8-2 vs. Mahoning Valley,
6:30 p.m.		 TBD vs. Draper (1-3, 4.50)
GCL Nationals Lost, 10-3 @ GCL Astros,
12:00 p.m.		  

Durham 8 Syracuse 6
• Dragmire (L, 1-4) 4IP, 8H, 6R, 6ER, 0BB, 5K, 2HR, HBP
• Adams 1IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 1K
• Marmolejos 1-5, R, HR, 2RBI
• Ward 1-4, R
Roster moves: RHP Brady Dragmire activated from the 7-Day DL; RHP John Simms placed on the 3-Day TIL; UT Adrian Sanchez placed on the 7-Day DL; RHP Trevor Gott optioned from Washington.

Harrisburg 6 Akron 3
• McGowin 7IP, 4H, R, ER, 2BB, 8K
• Self (W, 4-2) 2IP, 4H, 2R, 2ER, 0BB, 2K, HR
• Jones 3-3, R, HR(GS), 2BB, 5RBI
• Noll 2-4, R, 2B
• Kieboom 1-3, BB

Not all the HR drama was at Nationals park, as the RubberDucks blasted a two-run shot in the top of the 9th to take a 3-1 lead only to see Hunter Jones smack a grand slam in the bottom of the 9th for a 6-3, walkoff win by the Senators. Kyle McGowin made his first start in more than a week and was still sharp, with one run allowed on four hits and two walks while fanning eight. Derek Self was the blown-save-winner with four hits allowed, including a one-out triple issued after the go-ahead homer. Jones also reached base on two singles and two walks and drove in five total while Jake Noll went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored to lead the Harrisburg offense.

Potomac 10 Frederick 7
• Johnston 3IP, 8H, 7R, 5ER, 2BB, 2K
• Acevedo (W, 1-1) 3IP, 2H, 0R, BB, K
• Reetz 3-5, 2R, 2HR, 3RBI, E(7), PB(3)
• Sundberg 2-4, 2R, 2B, BB, HR, RBI
• Corredor 2-2, R, 2B

Potomac got both power hitting and strong bullpen work as the bats pounded out 16 hits and eight unanswered runs while the relievers strung together six scoreless innings in a 10-7 win over Frederick. Kyle Johnston, who dominated the Carolina League’s No. 8 offense in his previous start, was unlocked by the No. 3 Keys for seven runs on eight hits and two walks over three innings. Jakson Reetz tied the game at 7-7 with his fourth HR and capped off a three-run 6th with his fifth HR, a two-run shot that gave the ‘pen a three-run lead to hold. Carlos Acevedo, who held things down for three innings, picked up his first High-A win while Taylor Guilbeau put up two goose eggs for the hold (no. 4) and Jeremy McKinney set the side down in order for the save, his first. Roster moves: 1B Ryan Zimmerman assigned from Washington for (annual) MLB Rehab; SS Luis Garcia activated from 3-Day TIL .

Kannapolis 7 Hagerstown 6
• Alastre (L, 3-5) 5⅔ IP, 9H, 7R, 7ER, 2BB, 4K, 2HR
• P. Morse 1⅓ IP, 0H, 0R, 2BB, 2K, 2-0 IR-S
• Antuna 2-3, R, 2B, RBI
• Esthay 1-3, R, HR, RBI, BB, E(3), OF assist at HP
• Pascal 1-2, R, 2BB, SB

A three-run 6th proved to the killshot as the Suns blew leads of 4-0 and 5-4 to lose 7-6 to the Intimidators. Tomas Alastre gave up all seven Kannapolis runs on nine hits, including two homers as he lost for the fifth time. He walked two and struck out four over five and 2/3rds innings. Kameron Esthay hit his ninth homer while Yasel Antuna singled, doubled, scored a run, and drove in a run to pace the Hagerstown offense.

Auburn 8 Aberdeen 2
• Stoeckinger 3IP, 1H, 0R, BB, 3K
• Y. Ramirez (W, 2-3) 3IP, 7H, 2R, 2ER, 0BB, 0K
• Jo. Sanchez 3-3, 2R, 2B, BB, SF, 2RBI
• Caulfield 2-4, 3B, BB, 3RBI
• O’Connor 2-4, R, 2B, BB

Auburn broke a 0-0 deadlock with three in the 4th and two in the 5th as they cruised past Aberdeen [insert I-95 joke here], 8-2. Jackson Stoeckinger went the first three, giving up a hit and a walk while striking out three. The win went to today’s announced starter Yonathan Ramirez as the pitcher of record despite the Ironbirds strafing him for seven hits and two runs over three innings. Phil “Don’t Call Me Holden” Caulfield got the scoring started with a three-run triple while Jose Sanchez led the 12-hit parade with two singles and a double, scoring twice and driving in two.

GCL Cardinals 10 GCL Nationals 3
• R. Gomez (L, 1-3) 3IP, 10H, 7R, 6ER, BB, 2K, WP
• Cuello 2⅔ IP, 2H, 0R, BB, 4K, HBP
• Pogue 2-4, R, 2B
• De Aza 2-5, R, 2-2B

The G-Cards scored early and often as they upended the G-Nats, 10-3. Rafael Gomez got the start and took the brunt of the beating, giving up seven runs on ten hits over three inning. he walked on and struck out two while losing his third game. Colton Pogue led the age-appropriate batters with a single and a double while rehab Alejandro De Aza doubled twice and scored a run to lead the G-Nats attack.

28 Commments

  1. Antuna has 11 hits over his last nine games (.333 clip), plus three walks, and only two K’s. Perhaps he’s quietly figuring something out.

    1. Freeman has picked things up too
      Two go hand in hand
      Lee gets the start tonight. Interesting

      1. No offense to Freeman, but he’s five years older than Antuna. It’s sorta now or never for him, . . . as it is for Andrew Lee, who is nine months older than Freeman.

        1. Interesting how similar Freeman and Antuna have been. Can you tell which is which:

          A: .220/.293/.334/.627
          B: .225/.318/.322/.639

          Here’s a hint: A is 18 years old, and B is 23.

        2. Lee is still in the process of regaining his control after the TJ surgery. As long as his K rate stays where it is, they’ll almost certainly stick with him.

  2. That GS last night by Hunter Jones made me think about the historic
    Milton Bradley GS bottom of the ninth EL title win vs Yanx
    Luke. I have not had breakfast or coffee yet. Not getting the Phil Caufeld nickname .
    Liking how Anderson is sticking with a set lineup with Big Tuna and Freeman table setting along with Scudder and Esthay vs /certain RHP then flipping in Omar / Pascal vs LHPs. No word on Anderson Franco ??

    1. Akron imploded in the 9th. Two errors and one was a sure doubleplay ball that the pitcher himself short armed to 2nd base. Great at bat by Hunter Jones to send the Sens fans home happy.

  3. Another outstanding game by McGowin for Harrisburg last night. Only 1 run in 7 innings on 8 Ks.

    1. Makes one wonder who tutored KM
      This spring . Nice AA effort this summer
      Jose Sanchez picking up the production .
      Yes age can be a deterrent to climbing up the ladder .
      Good to see the number one pick
      Get his feet on the ground in WPB

        1. Another day in DSL. 3 more hits for Braian including a double.
          Another Nats late inning rally
          As the deluge falls outside

    2. I don’t know what to make of McGowin. Is this a real re-invention or this a fluke? He’s walking fewer batters than ever before in his six year career while striking out more than ever before. He’s allowing fewer home runs, and is just an all around better pitcher. The Nats don’t appear to have taken much notice. With the 40 man roster pretty maxed out, especially with Glover returning soon and Voth not actually being used, there isn’t really much space to include another AAAA SP mix.

      1. Despite a bumpy stretch that inflated his ERA, McGowin still has some insanely good number: 1.03 WHIP, 2.87 FIP, 2.82 xFIP, .211 avg against, 10.6 K/9. I certainly understand the 40-man constraints, but there does seem to be something there.

        Those most at-risk on the 40-man would figure to be Sanchez, Marmolejos, and Matt Reynolds. Zim is also on the 60-man, so they would have to clear spots for both him and Glover.

        1. Sanchez seems like a sure fire future coach , instructor … manager in the Nats system.

  4. The Nats 40 man roster is currently full (not counting 60 day DL designees) 20 pitchers, 4 catchers, 9 infielders, 7 OFs are either active in the majors, minors or on the 10 day DL. The 60 day guys are:

    Ryan Zimmerman
    Howie Kendrick
    Jhonatan Solano
    Joe Ross
    Koda Glover
    Joaquin Benoit

    Zimmerman is coming off the DL this weekend. Glover is at least a couple of weeks away (maybe longer), Joe Ross may come off the DL in late August or September; haven’t heard a thing about Benoit.

    Assuming no else goes on the 60 day DL (depending on the severity of his injury Fedde could be a candidate, I would rate the following players as the most likely to be DFA’d off the 40 man to clear room:
    – Matt Reynolds
    – Austin Adams
    – Trevor Gott
    – Adrian Sanchez

    In addition to the 40 man roster move to clear room for Zimmerman to be activated, the Nats also have to clear room off the 25 man active roster. Although it would be unusual to carry 3 first basemen (really 4 if you count Murphy), would guess Goodwin will be sent to Cuse when Zimmerman is activated. I assume Goodwin still has options.

    1. Gott is back with the big club, so they apparently still have hopes for him. Adams has an insane 14.4 K/9 . . . when he can find the plate (also 1.88 ERA, 1.93 FIP). I don’t see him on the chopping block; maybe the trading block.

      Marmolejos hasn’t done much at AAA: .258/.306/.375, with only six homers. Considering that guys like Lind and Mark Reynolds couldn’t even get major-league contracts, there can’t be much market for a much “lighter” corner bat. Not wishing Orange ill, just stating a few facts of the current market. (I do wonder whether the Nats are trying to find a trade market for Mark Reynolds with Zim on his way back, though.)

      1. Agree with your assessment of Orange. Also, agree that the Nats would likely listen if another MLB team made even a mild pitch for Mark Reynolds as the roster would be very imbalanced with 4 players (including Murphy) with 1st base as their best position if Reynolds stays on the active roster after Zimmerman returns.

        FWIW, Gott is already back in Cuse. He was called up for one day in case Hellickson got knocked out early or if the game went deep into extra innings. If Glover is healthy, Gott becomes very expendable (if he isn’t already).

    2. By my count, Goodwin was optioned in ’15, ’16, and ’17 so doesn’t have an option left. But I’ve been wrong on these things before.

      1. If the Nats DFA’d Goodwin is it a given that another team would snatch him and put him on a 25 man roster?

        I was a little surprised when Tim Collins cleared waivers and returned to Cuse as he is a lefty that had some mild success in the majors; and always thought MLB teams coveted left handed relievers.

  5. To make room for Zimmerman, I would DFA Matt Reynolds.

    Matt is an IF and the only thing he *might* do better than MARK Reynolds is play SS. But with Difo and Turner, the need for a backup SS is pretty slim and if either of them go down, Sanchez can be the backup SS assuming they don’t have Mark provide cover.

    If Glover is ready before September, I would move Gott before Adams. The latter has a bigger upside. While I doubt he ever harnesses his control enough to be an effective big league reliever, he’s got a better chance to do so, IMO, than Gott.

    Adams’ AAA numbers are similar except his ERA is WAY better.
    Adams – 25 games, 28.2 IP, 1.88 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 46 K, 12 BB
    Gott — 14 games, 14 IP, 6.43 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 22 K, 6 BB.

    As for the 25-man roster spot for Zim, I would try and find a trade partner for Goodwin, who has shown he can be an effective OF if he gets consistent PT. With Robles, Soto and Eaton, he doesn’t figure to be anything better than a 4th OF here and it could be even less if Harper re-signs or Taylor is still the 4th OF.

    See what you can get for him. Won’t be much but it will be better than nothing.

    1. I don’t think either Matt Reynolds or Sanchez would be claimed. There are a lot of INFs with MLB experience floating around out there. The Phils have been collecting some of them, including Espy.

      I think Goodwin would probably be claimed. They’re in a tricky spot with him right now, as I agree that he showed pretty well when he got to play last season. If it’s Goodwin vs. Stevenson, I’d take Goody every time, particularly at the plate. That said, Goodwin hasn’t looked good at all at the plate, and he’s out of options (I think). (But I’ve also raised the question of whether they really want to burn service time for Robles to replace Goodwin on the bench.)

      Two things with Collins staying with the organization: 1) the Nats gave him a lot of time and effort on his rehab last season, and 2) his wife is from Richmond, and I think they live in VA, or want to settle there, or something.

  6. The balls are jumping off the bats this 48 hour period. Patience with Andrew Lee. Amazing. Upshaw gets 3 hits in a game.
    Let’s hope the Dodgers get Manny not Philly.

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