Staten Island 5, York 4
(September 5, 2024 – Staten Island, NY): Aaron Fletcher fired five strong innings, and the York Revolution offense launched three home runs, but it was not enough in a 5-4 rubber match defeat to the Staten Island FerryHawks on Thursday evening at Staten Island University Hospital Community Park.
York threatened in the first, loading the bases with one out as singles by Rudy Martin Jr and David Washington sandwiched a walk to Zander Wiel. Hawks starter Noe Toribio escaped with a pair of grounders including a force at the plate as York’s first opportunity came and went.
Two innings later, the Revs did strike first as Wiel cracked a two-out double to left, setting up Washington who blasted a two-run homer to right, his 32nd of the season for an early 2-0 lead.
Jacob Rhinesmith added another, hammering the first pitch of the fourth inning off the light tower in right for his ninth of the year, increasing the lead to 3-0.
Toribio (3-3) allowed nothing else, however, logging a season-high seven innings while his team pieced together a comeback.
Fletcher held the FerryHawks scoreless through the first four innings and allowed only an unearned run in the fifth as a passed ball set up an RBI ground out by Jackson Loftin to get Staten Island on the board at 3-1.
Things unraveled in the sixth, as Staten Island scored four times off reliever Brett Schulze (1-3) to take the lead. It all started as Pablo Sandoval reached on a leadoff walk, doing so via pitch timer violation on a full count. Luis Castro followed with a single to right, and Alejandro De Aza was credited with a game-tying two-run triple on what seemed to be a fairly routine fly ball to left that appeared to be lost in the lights. Matt Scheffler gave Staten Island a 4-3 lead with an RBI double to deep center. Later in the inning, a two-out error by second baseman Jordy Barley kept the frame alive before a wild pitch by reliever Oliver Garcia brought home what proved to be a crucial insurance run to make it 5-3.
Roldani Baldwin slugged a solo homer to left with one out in the ninth, his third of the season and second in four games since joining the Revs, but Hawks closer Robbie Baker allowed nothing further to pick up his 10th save, following JP Woodward who handled a scoreless eighth out of the FerryHawks bullpen.
Frankie Bartow and Tom Sutera each worked 1-2-3 innings out of the Revs bullpen, both striking out a pair to keep things close.
The Revs return home to host the Lancaster Stormers in a potential playoff preview on Friday at 6:30 p.m. RHP Michael Horrell goes up against Lancaster lefty Max Green in the opener on Ag & Farm Night at WellSpan Park. Promos include a Mechanical Bull presented by Crownstone Equipment, Oven Mitt Giveaway to the first 1,000 fans, and Rookie Revs Flag Parade and Field of Dreams. Tickets are on sale at YorkRevolution.com, (717) 801-HITS, and in-person at the Shipley Energy Ticket Office.
Notes: York finishes the weeklong home-and-home series against Staten Island 3-4. York scored first for the first time in those seven games. The series loss is just the fourth on the road all season for the Revs, now 15-4-1 in 20 road series with one remaining in the regular season. Washington’s 32 home runs rank third in a season in franchise history, now two behind Chris Nowak (2012) for second on the list. It adds to his career high and also marks the 101st homer of his Atlantic League career, 13th most all-time and now two shy of tying Will Pennyfeather and Ryan Radmanovich for 11th. Washington also becomes the eighth player in Revs history to 90 RBI in a season. Along with teammate Donovan Casey who had 96 RBI before having his contract purchased by the Los Angeles Dodgers, Washington and Casey become the first set of teammates in Revs history to total 90 or more RBI in the same season. Rhinesmith’s ninth homer eclipses his total of eight with York from last season, while he now has 39 over the course of his pro career. York pitchers struck out 12 Staten Island hitters for the second consecutive game.
Lancaster 8, Long Island 0
Oscar De La Cruz, the MVP of the 2022 Championship Series, delivered another huge win for the Lancaster Stormers on Thursday night.
The right-hander limited the Long Island Ducks to two hits over seven innings, pitching Lancaster to an 8-0 win in the finale of a seven-game, home-and-home series.
With York also losing, the Stormers lead the division by four over Long Island and 4 ½ over York. The magic numbers stand at six and five, respectively. Nine games remain on the schedule for each club.
De La Cruz (4-3) yielded only a pair of doubles to Long Island center fielder Leobaldo Cabrera. He walked two and struck out five. The walks both came with two outs in the second inning. No runner got to third base for the Ducks over the contest.
Scott Engler and Phil Diehl finished the shutout with a scoreless inning apiece.
Mitchell Senger (0-1) retired the first nine Stormers hitters in his Atlantic League debut, but the Stormers broke through in the fourth. Damon Dues rode the first pitch of the inning into left field for a single. Dues scored when Gaige Howard ripped a triple to the right field foul pole. After Senger struck out Isan Diaz, Mason Martin reached the right field deck with a homer to build the lead to 3-0. A fourth run scored on Joe Stewart’s double to left and a single up the middle by Joseph Carpenter.
Senger settled down and faced only three batters in each of the next two innings, but the lefty departed after a one-out bunt single by Kyle Kasser in the seventh. Lefty bullpen ace Jake Fishman hit Trace Loehr with his second pitch and left with an injury. Justin Alintoff was rushed into the game and retired Dues on a lunging catch by Cabrera for the second out. Howard followed with a three-run homer to right center, largely icing the game.
Martin rocked a leadoff homer in the eighth for the final run.
The Stormers open a three-game weekend series with the York Revolution at WellSpan Park on Friday at 6:30. Left-hander Max Green (11-5) will make the start for Lancaster against right-hander Michael Horrell (5-7). Fans may tune into the game on FloBaseball, starting at 6:25.
NOTES: Martin has 13 homers in 13 games, hitting 11 in the recent 10 games against the Ducks…The two hits were the fewest by the opposition this season…Dues and Martin had two hits apiece and remain in the top five in the league in batting average with averages of .336 and .332, respectively…Long Island finishes the season with three games at Charleston and six at High Point…The Ducks won the 30-game season series, 16-14, but the Stormers outscored them, 221-159.
High Point 4, Lexington 1
HIGH POINT, N.C.- Behind a dominant performance from their pitching staff and timely hitting from DJ Burt and Ben Aklinski, the High Point Rockers secured a 4-1 victory over the Lexington Legends in the third game of their six-game series at Truist Point on Thursday night. The Rockers allowed just two hits all evening, with starter Yuhi Sako and relievers Garrett Schilling, Will Carter and Jameson McGrane combining to stifle Lexington’s offense.
Sako recovered from a shaky start to go six innings, allowing just one unearned run. The Legends took an early lead in the fourth inning when Kole Cottam reached on an error and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by Jacob Barfield. But Sako settled in, allowing no further damage and retiring the last eight batters he faced until the bullpen took over.
The Rockers’ offense found life in the bottom of the fifth when Michael Martinez doubled to deep right field, setting up Burt for an RBI single that tied the game 1-1. High Point then broke the game open in the seventh, starting with a walk to Gilberto Jimenez. Frank Nigro followed with a clutch double into the right field corner that brought Jimenez home, giving the Rockers a 2-1 lead. Burt struck again with another RBI single, driving in Nigro to extend the lead to 3-1.
In the eighth inning, Aklinski added an exclamation point, launching his 26th home run of the season—a solo shot to left field that furthered the Rockers’ lead to 4-1.
The Rockers’ bullpen then took care of the rest. Schilling struck out the first batter he faced in the seventh, and Carter delivered a flawless eighth. McGrane closed out the ninth inning in dominant fashion, securing the Rockers’ win and ensuring their pitching staff’s gem of a night remained intact.
The Rockers (31-23) will look to continue their momentum in the next game of the series tomorrow night, where the final fireworks Friday presented by High Point University will take place after the game. Game time is 6:35 p.m. at Truist Point.
Hagerstown 7, Charleston 5
Gastonia 3, Southern Maryland 2 (suspended)