Saturday’s News & Notes
| Team | Yesterday | Today | Pitching Probables |
| Rochester | Lost, 6-4 | @ St. Paul, 8:07 p.m. | Henry (1-0, 0.00) vs. C.C. Gonzalez (2-2, 3.44) |
| Harrisburg | Won, 10-1 | vs. Bowie, 6 p.m. | Irvin (0-1, 8.31) vs. Rom (2-1, 4.15) |
| Wilmington | Lost, 4-1 | @ Rome, 6 p.m. | Cate (2-2, 3.65) vs. De Avila (1-4, 3.88) |
| Fredericksburg | Won, 4-3 | vs. Lynchburg, 6:05 p.m. | Collins (2-1, 6.21) vs. Leftwich (3-1, 2.48) |
| FCL Nationals | Lost, 3-1 | @ FCL Astros Orange, 10 a.m. | |
| DSL Nationals | Won, 1-0 | vs. DSL Mariners, 11 a.m. |
St. Paul 6 Rochester 4
• Cavalli 5IP, 6H, 4R, 4ER, 4BB, 5K, 2HR
• F. Perez (L, 0-2) 1IP, 2H, 2R, 2ER, 1BB, 3K
• Palacios 2-3, R, HR, RBI, HBP, OF assist @ HP
• Stevenson 1-4, R, HR, RBI
The Red Wings had leads of 2-0, 3-2, and 4-3 but the Saints had a more divine bullpen and won their fourth straight game, 6-4. Cade Cavalli’s control woes resurfaced as he walked four in five innings, including one ahead of the first of two homers given up. He gave up six hits total and fanned five in the no-decision. Francisco Perez took the loss with two runs let in on two hits and a walk in the 6th. Andrew Stevenson and Josh Palacios both hit solo HR’s while Ildemaro Vargas and Jake Noll each had a double. Alas, Noll’s two-bagger was the only hit in five RISP chances.
Harrisburg 10 Bowie 1
• Reyes (W, 1-2) 6IP, 1H, 0R, 1BB, 3K, HBP
• B. Gonzalez 1IP, 0H, 0R, 1BB, 1K
• W. Garcia 2-4, 2R, HR, 3RBI
• Al. Rodriguez 2-3, 2R, 2-2B, 3RBI
• Harrison 1-2, 2B, SF, RBI
Harrisburg won its third straight, 10-1 behind Luis Reyes’s best outing of the year. Reyes pitched six scoreless innings with one hit, one walk, and one Victor Robles. Even better, the bats came alive to give him the win. Wilson Garcia singled, homered, and drove in three while Alfredo Rodriguez doubled twice and plated three as the Senators collected nine hits and three walks total.
Rome 4 Wilmington 1
• Cuevas (L, 1-7) 2⅔ IP, 3H, 4R, 0ER, 1BB, 2K, 2HBP
• C. Romero 2⅓ IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 4K, WP, 2-0 IR-S
• Daily 1-2, BB, E(4)
• Méndez 1-4, RBI
The Blue Rocks were held to just two hits as they lost their third straight to the R-Braves, 4-1. Michael Cuevas lost for the seventh time in 11 starts as he was charged with all four runs (none earned) on three hits, a walk, and two hit batsmen over two and 2/3rds innings. Carlos Romero led a trio of Wilmington relievers that combined for five and a 1/3rd scoreless innings of relief. In the 3rd, Jordy Barley walked, stole second (#15), and scored on a Ricardo Méndez single for the lone Blue Rocks run. Cole Daily also singled in the 5th and drew one of four walks on the night for Wilmington.
Fredericksburg 4 Lynchburg 3
• Rutledge (W, 1-4) 6IP, 3H, 0R, 1BB, 4K, WP
• Sinclair (SV, 2) 1IP, 2H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• House 2-3
• Ge. Diaz 2-3
• De La Rosa 2-4, 2RBI
Fredericksburg rallied for two runs twice and held on for a 4-3 win over Lynchburg. Jackson Rutledge pitched a career-high six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk while fanning four to earn his first “W” of the year. Jeremy De La Rosa singled in two runs in the 5th while Viandel Peña matched the feat in the 6th. Tyler Schoff coughed up three in the 7th to make things interesting but Riggs Threadgill put up a goose egg in the 8th and Jack Sinclair cordero’d around two hits in the 9th to earn his second save. De La Rosa, Brady House, and Geraldi Diaz each had two singles to lead Fredericksburg’s 10-hit offense.
Combined with a loss by the Mudcats, the FredNats pulled to within one game of the division lead with ~11 games to go. MiLB announced yesterday that it will be bringing back the half system of playoffs from AA to Low-A. With Harrisburg down seven games with ~14 to go and Wilmington effectively eliminated, Fredericksburg is the only team in true contention for the first-half title. AAA will still have a full-season race, though the playoffs will be a college-basketball-style tourney in Las Vegas with the PCL and I.L. division winners playing on Friday, Sept. 30 and Saturday, Oct. 1 for a spot in the National Championship game on Sunday, Oct 2.
FCL Mets 3 FCL Nationals 1
• Marquez (L, 0-1) 3IP, 3H, 2R, 2ER, 3BB, 2K, BK, WP
• Candelario 2IP, 1H, 0R, 1BB, 2K
• Colmenares 1-2, SF, RBI
• A. Cruz 1-3
The F-Nats fell to .500 with a 3-1 loss to the F-Mets. Franklin Marquez took the loss with two runs let in on three hits and three walks while striking out two. Watchlister Jose Colmenares drove in the lone F-Nats run with a sacrifice fly and singled, as did Armando Cruz to account for the two (2) F-Nats hits.
DSL Nationals 1 DSL Mets1 0
• Ogando (W, 1-0) 5IP, 2H, 0R, 0BB, 6K
• Polanco (SV, 1) 2IP, 0H, 0R, 1BB, 4K
• Contreras 1-1, R, 2BB, SB, E(3)
• Mojica 1-3, RBI
Two D-Nats pitchers combined to shut out the D-Mets1 on two hits, 1-0. Adrian Ogando picked up the win with the first five innings pitched and both D-Mets1 hits allowed with no walks and six whiffs. Bryan Polanco closed it out with two scoreless, allowing just one walk and striking out four. Jhoan Contreras singled, scored the lone run, stole a base, and walked twice while Misael Mojica drove in Contreras with a single in the 2nd.
Rutledge had his first good start in a very long time, maybe turning the corner.
Cavalli showed he’s not ready for the bigs any time soon.
Stay tuned, Cole Henry and Jake Irvin toe the slab tonight.
De la Rosa has nothing left to prove in his second year at Fredericksburg, and there’s no one ahead of him standing in his way. Just sayin’.
Any positives from Rutledge are good to see, even if it is at a level lower than where he was pitching last year. He has tools and talent, but whether the organization can unlock them remain quite a question.
Reyes was in complete control for Harrisburg. The benches cleared in the 7th inning after two Senators in a row were HBP. Words were exchanged but no physical altercations.
Luis Reyes is the Adrian Sanchez of pitching. He signed with the Nats 10 years ago and still showing up and giving his all. He’s now 27.
I think I have down that Bowie’s pitchers hit five batters last night.
I was surprised that Bowie’s pitcher McGinness wasn’t tossed after the benches cleared, because he’d hit three of the nine batters he’d faced to that point. And I wasn’t sure if Alfredo Rodriguez was tossed for moving toward the mound after getting plunked in the head (which prompted the benches to clear) or if he was removed for Mitch Longo because of concussion protocols.
It was a lovely night on the island, and it’s nice to see good sized crowds in the park again.
Rodriguez was ejected for his actions following get hit. I was also surprised the pitcher wasn’t ejected. I can’t wait to see what happens tonight.
Finally, Jose Sanchez is starting to show up. One of the touted trio of international infielders signed a few years ago and always considered the best defensive player of the three. Since then, we all know the path two of them took after their excellent GCL debut.
Garcia’s and Antuna’s Nat history is well chronicled.
Sanchez has produced little offensively over the years until 2021, when he showed some life with a slightly above .700 OPS. This year he is batting .286, with a high .700’s OPS while playing third base for Wilmington.
And he is still only 21. I assume he’s still a good defensive player.