Monday’s News & Notes
| Team | Yesterday | Today | Pitching Probables |
| Rochester | Lost, 13-1; Won, 7-6 (8 inn.) | OFF DAY | N/A |
| Harrisburg | Lost, 4-3 (10 inn.) | OFF DAY | N/A |
| Wilmington | Lost, 7-1 | OFF DAY | N/A |
| Fredericksburg | Lost, 9-6 | OFF DAY | N/A |
| FCL Nationals | OFF DAY | vs. FCL Cardinals, 12pm |
Lehigh Valley 13 Rochester 1 – GM. 1
• Alvarez (L, 0-4) 2IP, 6H, 5R, 5ER, 3BB, 2K, HR
• Lipscomb 2-3, R, BB
• Lile 2-3, 2B, BB, SB
• Cluff 1-3, RBI; 1⅓ IP, 4H, 1R, 1ER, 2BB, 0K, 1-1 IR-S
The IronPigs scored in five of seven “ups” for a 13-1 demolition of the Red Wings. Andrew Alvarez was done after five runs let in and two innings thrown. He allowed six hits (one HR) and two walks and zero whiffs. Jackson Cluff broke up the shutout with an RBI single in the 6th and mopped up by getting the last four outs of the game. Trey Lipscomb and Daylen Lile both went 2-for-3 with a walk to lead the Rochester offense, which left on ten baserunners.
Rochester 7 Lehigh Valley 6 (8 inn.) – GM. 2
• Pilkington 2IP, 2H, 1R, 1ER, 3BB, 2K
• Weigel (W, 3-1) 1IP, 1H, 1R, 0ER, 0BB, 1K
• Lindsly 2-3, BB, 2B, RBI
• Hassell 2-4, R, 2B(5), RBI
• Pinckney 2-4, R, SB
In the “aftercap,” Rochester blew leads of 2-1 and 3-2 before rallying for two in the 7th to force extras and two in the 8th to win, 7-6. Konnor Pilkington was the opener for a bullpen day and allowed one run on two hits and three walks. Six relievers followed with Zach Brzykcy and Carlos Romero getting blown saves and Patrick Weigel getting the “W” as pitcher of record. Robert Hassell singled, doubled in a run, scored the tying run in the 7th. Franchy Cordero’s two-run single in the 8th walked ’em off as the Red Wings marched to a 12-hit parade and went 5-for-12 with RISP. Roster moves: RHP Matt Bollenbacher reassigned from Fredericksburg; RHP Thomas Schultz reassigned from Wilmington; LHP Colin Poche foisted outrighted from Washington.
Reading 4 Harrisburg 3 (10 inn.)
• Susana 3IP, 5H, 2R, 2ER, 3BB, 3K, HR
• Huff (L, 0-1) 1⅓ IP, 1H, 2R, 1ER, 1BB, 1K, HR, 1-0 IR-S
• V. Peña 2-4, 2R, 2B, RBI, SB
• De La Cruz 2-4, CS, SB, 2K
Harrisburg tied it a 2-2 in the 3rd and finally took the lead in the 10th, but a two-out two-run HR walked ’em off for 3-2 loss. Jarlin Susana needed 80 pitches to get nine outs out of 17 batters faced. He allowed two runs on five hits (one HR) and struck out three. Four relievers combined for five and a 1/3rd shutout innings to force extras. Chance Huff retired four of five batters before surrendering the game-winner. Viandel Peña and Carlos De La Cruz both went 2-for-4 with a stolen base to lead the Sens’ nine-hit, one-walk offense.
Brooklyn 7 Wilmington 1
• Cornelio (L, 0-2) 4⅓ IP, 5H, 5R, 3ER, 3BB, 3K, HR
• Jimenez 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 1K
• King 1-4, R, SB
• Lomavita 0-2, 2BB, E(7)
The Cyclones led this one from start to finish to take the game, 7-1, and the series, 4-2. Riley Cornelio gave up the first five runs on five hits (one HR) and three walks over four and a 1/3rd innings. He struck out three while taking his second loss. The Blue Rocks irritated Brooklyn pitchers for four singles and drew three walks. A passed ball plated Wilmington’s only run.
Salem 9 Fredericksburg 6
• D. Garcia 5IP, 4H, 1R, 1ER, 3BB, 5K, HR
• A. Roman (L, ⅔ IP, 3H, 5R, 5ER, 0BB, 2K, HBP
• Nunez 2-4, R, HR, 3RBI, CS(5)
• Vaquero 1-3, R, BB
• Ochoa 1-4, R, HR, 3RBI
The wheels came off the bus in the 6th as Salem erased a 5-1 deficit with an eight-run rally and handed Fredericksburg its fourth straight loss. Davian Garcia gave up a solo HR and four hits total over five innings for his fourth no-decision in six starts. Angel Roman took the loss with five runs allowed on three hits and a Robles with an “assist” from Austin Amaral, who came in with the bases loaded and unloaded them along with three runs of his own before getting the last out of the 6th. Elijah Nunez went deep with a two-run HR while Nathan Ochoa connected for an Earl Weaver special to power the FredNats attack.
FCL Nationals – OFF DAY
After a start-and-stop, the F-Nats continue their ’25 tour of the FCL East with home games today and Wednesday and road trips to Jupiter on Tuesday, Port St. Lucie on Friday, and the opposite dugout in West Palm Beach on Saturday.
Lomavita is an interesting player to watch. The scouting reports on his defense being a work in progress are proving true. 7 errors behind the plate (remember passed balls are their own thing) is pretty alarming, especially because Lomavita has only played 15 games at catcher (10 have come as a DH)! But it’s otherwise good to see Lomavita can flash some plate discipline. 2 walks yesterday is half as many as he’s accrued in his previous 22 games.
Robert Hassell just might be the streakiest hitter I’ve ever witnessed in the Nats farm, and we’ve had plenty of streaky players. Before TJ White forgot how to play baseball, he was famous for alternating months with 4 digit OPSs and sub .600 OPSs.
But Hassell just might take the cake. This season has been a roller coaster.
Through his first 11 games, he hit .311/.354/.378, which has come to be what I’d expected Hassell’s upside to be. Good average with little power.
But through his next 16 games, he was dreadful, all the worst of the Hassell we’ve mostly seen since acquiring him, hitting .182/.250/.200.
But since May began he’s been on fire (only 4 games, though), hitting .625/.647/1.063, and flashing power (2 HR and 1 2B) we saw only very briefly in the AFL last season.
For a guy, who was meant to have a pretty sweet, polished swing, it’s looking like it’s a lot more scuffed than advertised, but it’s these flashes of real upside that give me some (very) faint hopes for Hassell, unlike so many other busting/failed prospects in the system. If Hassell could just find more consistency, he could be really exciting. It looks, though, that in the best case scenario, he’s following the Steven Souza development model of wasting several years in the development wilderness rather than the Harper/Soto finished-product approach.
if Harper/Soto is your baseline then you should prepare yourself to be disappointed. ignoring Hassell’s injuries and declaring those years as wasting his talents is illogical.