Atlantic League Bullpen, May 2, 2023
Published on May 2, 2023 under Atlantic League (AtL) News Release
Around The Horn: So. Maryland and Gastonia jumped off to great starts on Opening Weekend, each posting sweeps to grab an early division lead... Charleston is also undefeated but lost two games to weather at Staten Island... Gastonia hit a whopping .330 over the weekend and knocked a league-high 10 home runs... Gastonia's 25 runs scored are nine more than any other club... Charleston grabbed the early ERA lead with a 2.57 but only got in seven innings... High Point's 2.67 is second and the two clubs prepare to meet in a mid-week series... Frederick turned a league-best six double plays on the weekend while York's seven stolen bases mark a league high.
Tale of the Tape: A look at the league's Opening Day rosters reveal 58 players in the ALPB with prior MLB experience... Frederick and High Point each have 10... So. Maryland's Jesse Estrada is the league's tallest player at 6-9, just edging out Frederick RHP Max Povse and High Point RHP Kyle Halbohn who are each 6-8... Staten Island's Kelsie Whitmore stands 5-6 while Lancaster's Melvin Mercedes is 5-7 and High Point's Shed Long, Jr. and Long Island's Philip Caulfield each measure in at 5-8... There were 20 players on Opening Day rosters born in the 80s, making them at least 33 years old... Two players were born in the 70s including venerable Lew Ford (46 years, 260 days) and Charleston reliever Ricardo Gomez (44 years, 319 days)... The youngest player in the league on Opening Day was 19-year-old Staten Island infielder Cristian Sanchez, born Nov. 25, 2003.
Weekend Series Highlights: Friday 4/28: The Lexington Counter Clocks won their season opener with a 5-4 win at Counter Clocks Field... York's Drew Mendoza hit a 430-foot homer in the opener vs. Lexington... York's Nellie Rodriguez was 3-for-5 in the opener with a pair of doubles and a triple... Charleston's Bobby Bradley hit a three-run homer on Opening Night in his ALPB debut... Staten Island's Ricardo Cespedes had three hits and a pair of doubles vs. Charleston... Staten Island's Kyle McGowin fanned 11 Dirty Birds in just five innings of work... High Point's Michael Russell started the year with three hits and two doubles vs. Long Island... MLB vets Boog Powell and Daniel Murphy each had three hits for Long Island vs. High Point 4/28... Two Honey Hunters, Cole Freeman and Jack Reinheimer, each had three hits vs. Frederick on Opening Night.
Saturday 4/29: The Blue Crabs swept a pair from Lancaster as Daryl Thompson earned his first win of the season and the 92nd of his career... He is the ALPB career leader... Lancaster's Andretty Cordero went 1-for-3 with a solo homer in his season debut on 4/29... High Point's Beau Taylor drove in six runs with a bases loaded double and a three-run homer in a 10-1 win over Long Island... The Rockers' LHP Ben Braymer kept the Ducks hitless through six until Luis Guerrero singled in the eighth... Gastonia's Steven Moya hit a pair of home runs and drove in four in an 8-6 win over Frederick... Frederick's Luke Becker, who hit .308 for Kentucky last year, had a 3-for-4 night vs. the Honey Hunters... Lexington Yeudy Garcia fanned six York hitters in five innings of work.
Sunday, 4/30: York earned a 3-2 win over Lexington as starter Nick Raquet fanned seven in six innings and allowed just three hits... Gastonia completed a sweep of Frederick with a 7-4 win behind J.C. Escarra who had three hits and drove in a pair of runs... Steven Moya of Gastonia hit his fourth homer of the opening weekend, a solo shot leading off the seventh... Long Island's Stephen Woods, Jr. went five innings, allowed four hits and struck out six in a 5-2 win over High Point as Daniel Murphy homered and doubled in driving in three runs.
Long At-Bat of the Week: On 4/30, Long Island's Dustin Woodcock faced 11 pitches from High Point LHP Bryce Hensley before grounding out.
Feel Old?: The Atlantic League had four players born in 2000 or later on Opening Day rosters. The quartet includes C Jose Felix (Lancaster), C Ray Torres (Gastonia), RHP Jacob Gilliland (So. Maryland), and Staten Island OF Darlin De La Rosa. High Point pitcher Kyle Mott is believed to have been the first player born in 2000 to play in the ALPB, having debuted during the 2022 season.
Atlantic League Stories from May 2, 2023
- Opening Night Has Familiar âÃâ¬ÃÅRingâÃâ¬Ã - Lancaster Stormers
- Hintzen Turns in Strong Effort in Spot Start But Revs Unable to Spoil Lancaster's Home Opener - York Revolution
- Rockers Spank Dirty Birds - High Point Rockers
- Goodwill, Barnstormers Team up in 2023 - Lancaster Stormers
- Atlantic League Bullpen, May 2, 2023 - AtL
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