Columbia Fireflies Roster Move and Game Notes
Published on July 1, 2021 under Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Kansas City Royals have made the following roster moves affecting the Columbia Fireflies active roster:
OF Burle Dixon has been added to the Fireflies active roster from ACL Royals
There is no corresponding move. The Fireflies active roster now stands at 29 with one player on the injured list.
Dixon will wear jersey #0.
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The Columbia Fireflies will play the Augusta GreenJackets at SRP Park at 7:05 pm. RHP Matt Stil (2-1, 6.46 ERA) toes the rubber for the Fireflies while Augusta sends righty Jared Johnson (0-2, 4.66 ERA) to the bump.
The Fireflies return home for a six-game homestand with the first-place Charleston RiverDogs Tuesday, July 6. A Tuesday at Segra Park is a Miller Lite $2 Tuesday where fans can purchase hot dogs, popcorn, fountain sodas and 12 oz cans of Miller Lite for just $2. Fans can purchase tickets at FirefliesTickets.com.
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BATS CAN'T SUPPORT STRONG PITCHING PERFORMANCE: The Columbia Fireflies bats were held in check as the GreenJackets cruised to a 1-0 victory over Columbia at SRP Park Wednesday evening. Wednesday marked the seventh time Columbia (25-21) has been shut out in 2021. It's also the third time Columbia has found themselves on the wrong end of a 1-0 ball game. After Cruz Noriega turned in five scoreless frames, Patrick Smith (L, 2-2) found himself in a bit of trouble in the home half of the sixth. The lefty put runners on the corners with nobody out, before Matt Schmidt tossed Cade Bunnell out at home on a fielder's choice for the first out of the inning. Willie Carter was then hit to load the bases for Augusta (22-27) to set up Landon Stephens to hit a sacrifice fly to score the first run of the ball game. GreenJackets starter Tanner Gordon (W, 2-4) punched out a career-high 10 Fireflies batters in 5.2 innings while allowing only three runners to reach the base paths. After that, Lisandro Santos and Estarlin Rodriguez (S, 1) closed out the game without allowing a run in the final three frames.
EL DURO SHOWING HIS STUFF: After a slow start to the season, Juan Carlos Negret has found his stride in the month of June. The slugger has cracked six homers last month, which tied Kannapolis's Bryan Ramos and Carolina's Zavier Warren for the most homers in June. The slugger is hitting just .181 last month, but when he made contact, he made it count. Negret had 11 hits last month, eight of which went for extra bases. He had two doubles to go along with his six homers in June.
YOU WANNA SEE SOME REAL SPEED?: The Fireflies saw Tyler Tolbert climb his way a position higher on the all-time team leaderboard. Tolbert stole a Fireflies-best three bases in Friday night's game to give him 21 on the season. That tied him for second-most in a single season for a Fireflies player with Hansel Moreno, who accomplished the feat in 2018. He's chasing Jacob Zanon, who stole 28 bags in 2017. Tolbert stole a base again Tuesday to increase his total to 25 this year.
EMSHOFF EMERGING: Catcher Kale Emshoff started the month of June off in a rut. Columbia's backstop began the month 1-30 at the plate with 15 strikeouts and eight walks. That's a .033 batting average and a .230 on-base percentage. He's picked things up the last two days though, going 2-5 at the dish with a pair of walks and a homer. It only makes sense that the Royals' 30th-ranked prospect, according to MLB.com, would get hot again while the team is at home. This year, Emshoff has a .311 average at home with all three of his homers and 14 RBI across 45 at-bats. That's compared to a .146 average and eight RBI in 48 at-bats on the road in 2021.
SAVING THE OPPORTUNITY: Last night, Walter Pennington earned his team-leading third save of the year. The southpaw has earned all three of his saves at home and has now punched out 18 hitters in 11.2 innings at Segra Park this year. Despite allowing an earned run last night, the Coloradoan still has a 1.54 ERA at home and has maintained a 0.77 ERA at the friendly confines in 2021.
SZAPUCKI CLIMBS LADDER TO THE SHOW: Last night, 2017 Fireflies starter, Thomas Szapucki, made his Major League debut, twirling 3.2 innings in relief against the Atlanta Braves in a 20-2 loss for the Mets.
Carolina League Stories from July 1, 2021
- Charleston Bats Too Much for Kannapolis; Ballers Drop Third-Straight Game 10-2 - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Carolina Drops Season Worst Sixth Straight 6-5 in Fayetteville - Carolina Mudcats
- Jackets Thwarted by Columbia Pitching - Augusta GreenJackets
- RiverDogs Keep Rolling with 10-2 Win in Kannapolis - Charleston RiverDogs
- Pelicans Capitalize on Wood Ducks' Pitching Mistakes, Win Game Three - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Seijas Supported by Offense, FredNats Win 6-3 - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Gonzalez Homer Marks Difference in 3-1 Win at Augusta - Columbia Fireflies
- Pitching Staff Struggles in Loss to Myrtle Beach - Down East Wood Ducks
- July 1 Game Between 'Birds and Hillcats Postponed - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Edward Ureña Joins FredNats - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Columbia Fireflies Roster Move and Game Notes - Columbia Fireflies
- Szapucki Makes Major League Debut for Mets - Columbia Fireflies
- Down East Wood Ducks Game Notes - at Myrtle Beach - Down East Wood Ducks
- Mudcats Drop Both Games of Wednesday Doubleheader - Carolina Mudcats
- Mendoza's Stellar Day at the Plate Not Enough in 8-5 Loss to Charleston - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
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