Tuesday’s News & Notes

Fresno 6 Albuquerque 5
• Hoover (W, 6-6) 6IP, 5H, 4R, 4ER, BB, 5K, 2HR
• Bourque (H, 1) 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• Difo 3-5, R
• Keller 3-5, 2R, 2B, RBI
• Ward 2-4, R, HR, 2RBI, SB(1)

Fresno scored in five of its first six “ups” to take a 6-4 lead and held on for its fifth straight win, 6-5. J.J. Hoover evened up his won-loss record at 6-6 with four runs let in on five hits (2HR, 25 & 26) and a walk while striking out five. Sam Freeman cordero’d around two hits in the 7th for his fifth hold while James Bourque got his first at AAA with a 1-2-3 eighth and two whiffs. Derek Self allowed the final run on three hits in the 9th but was credited with his eighth save. Wilmer Difo and Alec Keller both went 3-for-5 while Drew Ward hit his 8th AAA HR and 18th overall for 2019 to lead the Grizzlies’ 14-hit parade.

Harrisburg 1 Altoona 0
• McGowan (W, 2-3) 6IP, 3H, 0R, BB, 5K, WP
• Mills (H, 5) 1IP, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• M. Taylor 1-4, R, HR, RBI
• Bichette 1-2, BB

Michael Taylor’s 9th HR was all the Sens could muster, but four pitchers combined on six-hit shutout to make it stand up for a 1-0 win to complete the four-game sweep to close out the regular season. Kevin McGowan went the first six and allowed the first three hits while issuing a free pass and fanning five. Jordan Mills and Jacob Condra-Bogan both put up a goose egg and both earned hold #5. Jhonatan German worked around a single and a Victor Robles in the 9th for his second save. David Masters (two BB) and Dante Bichette Jr. (single, walk) were the only two Harrisburg batters to reach base twice.
Thanks to the half system, the E.L. West’s best team (Erie, 77-61) is SOL while the second-best (Harrisburg, 76-63) and third-best (Bowie, 76-64) will meet in the first round of the playoffs. The Sens won six of the first eight games head-to-head while the BaySox won six of the last seven games between the two teams. The best-of-five series starts in Bowie tomorrow and finishes in Harrisburg over the weekend.

Potomac 11 Frederick 2
• F. Peguero (W, 1-1) 5IP, 6H, 2R, 1ER, 0BB, 3K, HR
• Howell 2IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 4K
• Davidson 3-4, 2R, 2B, BB
• Agustin 3-5, 2R, 2B
• Abreu 2-5, 2R, HR, 2RBI
• Lara 2-5, 2R, HR, 2RBI

Beers were on Jack Sundberg as he was the only Potomac batter not to take part in the 16-hit, 11-2 smackdown to close out the regular season with seven straight wins and 70 wins overall. Francys Peguero picked up his first Carolina Lg. win with five innings of two-run ball on six hits (one HR) and no walks. He struck out three. Jacob Howell put up two zeroes while Kevin Tapani did the same. K.J. Harrison, Osvaldo Abreu, Gilbert Lara, and Omar Meregildo each homered while Austin Davidson and Telmito Agustin both scored twice, singled twice, and doubled.

Lakewood 10 Hagerstown 5
• N. Gomez (L, 0-1) 3⅔ IP, 8H, 8R, 8ER, BB, 2K, 2HR
• Troop 3⅓ IP, 2H, 0R, 0BB, 5K, 2-2 IR-S
• Upshaw 2-4, R, HR, 3RBI, CS
• Connell 1-2, R, 2BB, OF assist at HP
• Pineda 0-3, SF, RBI, PB(26)

The Suns’ bid to finish above .500 in the second half fell flat with a 10-5 defeat at the Claws of the Blue. Niomar Gomez’s Sally Lg. debut was a forgettable one: eight runs on eight hits, including two solo HRs, and a walk over three and 2/3rds innings. Armond Upshaw went yard for just the second time in 2019, capping off a four-run 7th for Hagerstown. The Suns collected eight hits and three walks total and had just four RISP chances (1-for-4) and left four runners on base.

Batavia 7 Auburn 0
• Knowles (L, 1-1) 4IP, 4H, 5R, 4ER, 0BB, 2K, 2HR
• Moore 2IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 4K
• Peroni 2-3
• Randa 1-4, E(2)

Auburn’s modest three-game win streak came to screeching halt with a 7-0 shutout by Batavia. Lucas Knowles bore the brunt of the beating with five runs let in on four hits (two HR) over four innings. He walked one and struck out two for his first loss. Anthony Peroni got the first of the three Doubledays hits with a single to lead off the 3rd. Jake Randa singled and took second on a slow roller to third to become the lone Auburn batter to get into scoring position. J.T. Arruda walked to become the third baserunner while Peroni singled again in the 8th to round out the offense.