
Amalfi Opens Weekend Slate in Bridgewater
July 12, 2025 - Eastern League (EL)
New Hampshire Fisher Cats News Release
The New Hampshire Fisher Cats (5-11, 34-51) look to snap a four-game losing skid against the Somerset Patriots (11-5, 46-39) at TD Bank Ballpark at 7:05 PM EDT on Saturday night. Through four games this week, the Patriots have outscored New Hampshire, 20-5.
LAST NIGHT
The Fisher Cats dropped their 15th game to the Patriots this season with a 5-3 loss at TD Bank Ballpark on Friday night.
New Hampshire starter Juaron Watts-Brown struggled to escape the bottom of the second inning, walking the bases loaded, then allowing a bases-loaded free pass that ended his night after 1-2/3 innings pitched. The Patriots took a 2-0 lead without recording any hits in the bottom of the second thanks to five walks.
The Fisher Cats responded with two runs in the top of the fourth inning on a Robert Brooks double and Alex De Jesus' single that tied the game at 2-2.
Two solo shots from Somerset's Dylan Jasso and former Fisher Cats outfielder Cam Eden moved the Patriots back in front, 5-2, through six innings.
The Fisher Cats led off the top of the eighth inning with a pair of singles from Ryan McCarty and Charles McAdoo. Martinez roped a two-out single to make it 5-3, but New Hampshire left runners on the corners to end the eighth.
New Hampshire relievers Pat Gallagher (L, 1-1) and Geison Urbaez kept the Cats close with lengthy relief appearances. Gallagher surrendered one run and fanned six batters in 2-1/3 innings of relief. Urbaez dealt 2-1/3 scoreless frames with two hits.
PITCHING MATCHUP
New Hampshire sends Alex Amalfi (3-6 5.72 ERA) to the mound for his third start of the season. Amalfi has made 19 appearances out of the Fisher Cats' bullpen, boasting a 5.82 earned run average and a 3-5 record as a relief arm. Through two starts, Amalfi has surrendered three runs on four hits with six punchouts to four walks in 5-1/3 innings pitched. His last start was on April 30 when he went 2-2/3 innings and allowed three runs on three hits in New Hampshire's 3-2 loss in a doubleheader against Portland. Amalfi's first start was in a doubleheader in Binghamton, where he tossed 2-2/3 scoreless innings while allowing one hit and striking out three in the Cats' 4-1 loss to the Rumble Ponies on April 24. The right-hander is in his third full season of professional baseball after inking a minor league deal with Toronto in July of 2022. The Ashland, Massachusetts, native had finished up his junior year at UMass Boston before joining the Blue Jays organization with the Dunedin Blue Jays in 2022.
Right-hander Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz (0-0, -.--) will make his Double-A debut with Somerset on Saturday night. Rodriguez-Cruz started the year with High-A Hudson Valley, making 15 appearances and 14 starts with a 6-4 record and a 2.26 earned run average for the Renegades. He departed High-A one strikeout shy of the league lead with 99 in 83-2/3 innings pitched. The righty has the second-most strikeouts of any Yankees farmhand behind his Patriots teammate Carlos Lagrange with 106. Rodriguez-Cruz was a fourth rounder to the Red Sox in 2021, before he was sent to New York in December of 2024 for catcher Carlos Narvaez. The Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, product was called up to Double-A Somerset on July 11 and will make his debut against the Fisher Cats on Saturday night.
THIS DAY IN FISHER CATS HISTORY
July 12, 2019- The Fisher Cats won a fourth straight contest, beating the Yard Goats 4-2 at Dunkin' Park. Riley Adams homered in a three-run second and Kevin Smith went deep twice, in the second and fourth innings. Yennsy Diaz improved to 8-6, allowing two runs in five innings. Danny Young worked the ninth for his second save.
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Fisher Cats and Patriots wrap up their six-game series with a 1:05 PM EDT first pitch on Sunday. New Hampshire's Grant Rogers (2-5, 3.60 ERA) will make his second start of the week and Somerset has not announced a starter for the series finale.
Eastern League Stories from July 12, 2025
- Big Inning Haunts Ducks in 5-3 Loss - Akron RubberDucks
- Squrrels Take Saturday-Night Battle in Akron, 5-3 - Richmond Flying Squirrels
- Bullpen & Bats Get Cats Back in Win Column - New Hampshire Fisher Cats
- Wagner Homers Twice, Baysox Split Doubleheader against Reading - Chesapeake Baysox
- Rodriguez-Cruz Debuts, Burt Rips Multi-Hit Game in Jersey Diners Loss to New Hampshire Saturday - Somerset Patriots
- Fightin Phils Split Doubleheader with Baysox for Second Time this Series - Reading Fightin Phils
- Yard Goats Fall in Portland, Maine - Hartford Yard Goats
- Bullpen Dominates Rumble Ponies in 4-1 Win - Altoona Curve
- De La Cruz, DeShields Power Senators to 5-2 Win over SeaWolves - Harrisburg Senators
- Erie Drops Third Straight in Harrisburg - Erie SeaWolves
- Romero's Big Night Lifts Sea Dogs over Yard Goats - Portland Sea Dogs
- Ponies Snap Six-Game Win Streak with Loss to Curve - Binghamton Rumble Ponies
- Reigning AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil Currently Scheduled for Rehab with Somerset - Somerset Patriots
- July 12, 2025 Sea Dogs Game Notes - Portland Sea Dogs
- Amalfi Opens Weekend Slate in Bridgewater - New Hampshire Fisher Cats
- Minor League Baseball Seeks to Set a World Record for 'Most Signatures on a Piece of Sports Memorabilia' - Binghamton Rumble Ponies
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
Other Recent New Hampshire Fisher Cats Stories
- Watts-Brown, Fisher Cats Eye Bounce-Back against Binghamton
- Rojas Tallies Eight Strikeouts as Binghamton Takes Series Opener
- Reigning Pitcher of the Week Kendry Rojas Opens Series with Binghamton
- Kendry Rojas Nabs Pitcher of the Week in Second Fisher Cats Start
- Rogers' Sixth Quality Start Highlights Sunday Loss

