Burt Homers, RiverDogs Roll in Greenville
July 6, 2019 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston RiverDogs News Release
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Shortstop Max Burt drilled a first pitch offering out to left-center in the fifth to push the RiverDogs out to a four-run advantage as Charleston rolled to 7-1 win and took back a series lead over the Drive on Saturday evening at Fluor Field.
Burt, who spent his four-year collegiate career at Northeastern University, just around the corner from Fenway Park, notched his seventh home run of the season as part of a two-hit night to help spark a struggling Charleston (45-42, 8-9) offense against their Red Sox rivals. Left fielder Canaan Smith went 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles, including knocking one off the Green Monster in left, just missing a home run to plate the game's tying run in the third after second baseman Kyle Gray brushed one off the 33-foot wall in the at-bat prior. Smith also drew three walks, becoming just the fourth RiverDog hitter this year to reach base five times in a game.
After using back-to-back doubles with two away to tie it in the third, Charleston leaned on more two out hitting to take their first lead in the fourth. Third baseman Welfrin Mateo cranked Charleston's fourth straight hit off the monster for a double and scored on catcher Eduardo Navas' looping single into left field. In the fifth, Burt chased Greenville (39-48, 7-10) starter Chris Machamer (3-6) with a one out homer after two of his teammates reached on walks; Machamer issued a season-high five free passes while taking the loss.
RiverDogs starter Alexander Vizcaino worked around a pair of early jams to settle in for an effective, albeit shortened start on the night. The 22-year-old gave up back-to-back hard-hit singles by Tyler Esplin and Triston Casas in the first before yielding the Drive's only run on a sacrifice fly to first baseman Devlin Granberg. After working around a two out, bases-loaded jam in the second, his confidence soared as he struck out five of the next six hitters he faced as he found the feel for his devastating changeup. Bouncing back from allowing 13 runs over his last two starts, the All-Star selection finished an out shy of qualifying for the win, yielding just the run with six strikeouts to a pair of walks.
One game after seeing a 10-game hitting streak come to an end, third baseman Welfrin Mateo enjoyed the third multi-hit effort in the Charleston lineup that had entered play ranking second last in runs scored after a shutout at the hands of Greenville the night before.
Tanner Myatt (3-1) and Carlos Espinal combined for 4 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to finish the game for the Dogs 'pen.
Upcoming
Charleston wraps up their brief four-game swing in the Upstate tomorrow afternoon, going for the series win against the Drive at 3 p.m. from Fluor Field. Charleston will roll out the league's ERA leader Luis Gil (4-3, 1.90) to the bump in the finale. The Dominican Republic product leads the league with an average of 12.3 strikeouts per nine innings and is inducing a swing-and-miss on just shy of 17 percent of his pitches, also tops in the league among qualifying arms. Gil will face Greenville lineup for the third time this season; he has allowed three runs over 9 2/3 previous innings against the Red Sox affiliate. The right-hander's electric stuff will match up in a contrast of styles with knuckleballer Kevin Biondic (2-0, 2.80), a righty who allowed one run in four innings in his last matchup with the RiverDogs in the first-half finale on June 16 at The Joe. The former Maryland Terrapin has allowed three runs in each of his three starts since.
Catch the game on WTMA 1250 AM in the tri-county area and online streaming on the TuneIn Radio app. Fans can "Make Fun" with the RiverDogs all season long down at The Joe. Single-game tickets, including options to the Riley Park Club, are available at riverdogs.com/tickets or by contacting the RiverDogs front office at 843-577-3647 (DOGS). A full schedule and list of game times for the 2019 season is available at riverdogs.com.
South Atlantic League Stories from July 6, 2019
- Asheville Uses Late Rally to Beat Rome 4-0 - Rome Emperors
- Eight-Run First Powers 'Birds by Suns - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Burt Homers, RiverDogs Roll in Greenville - Charleston RiverDogs
- Drive Fall to RiverDogs on Saturday - Greenville Drive
- Shorebirds Cloud Suns with Eight-Run First - Hagerstown Suns
- West Virginia Pitching Too Much for Legends in Game Three - Lexington Legends
- Reed Crushes Walk off Homerun in 7-6 Victory - Hickory Crawdads
- Intimidators Win Third-Straight in Slugfest in North Augusta - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Kannapolis Wins Series with 9-5 Victory - Augusta GreenJackets
- Sweet Strikes out Career-High 10 Batters in 4-1 Win - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Hoppers Take Two from Claws on Saturday - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Schmidt, Harlow and Bosiokovic Combine to Shutout Braves - Asheville Tourists
- Fireflies Game Notes: July 6 at Hickory (Game 83) - Columbia Fireflies
- Game Notes (July 6) - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Hagerstown Suns: Game Notes - Hagerstown Suns
- Bill on Baseball: Hoppers Let One Slip Through Fingers - Greensboro Grasshoppers
- Newton's Four-Hit Night Flusters Hickory - Columbia Fireflies
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