Columbia Fireflies: Roster Moves and Game Notes 8.1 at Augusta
Published on August 1, 2023 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 Erick Pena has been placed on the development list * INF Omar Florentino has been sent to the ACL Royals * 3B Trevor Werner has been added to the Fireflies active roster
Werner will wear jersey #4.
The Fireflies active roster sits at 29.
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VELIZ'S CAREER-START LEADS WAY TO 3-1 WIN: Pitching was the name of the game as the Fireflies used a three-run first to cruise to a 3-1 win over the Carolina Mudcats Sunday at Segra Park. Mauricio Veliz (W, 2-5) put together his best outing of the season Sunday. The righty spun seven innings, striking out four and allowing only one run. He tied Ben Kudrna, David Sandlin and Frank Mozzicato for a Fireflies single game-best seven innings of work in the best outing of his career. After that, the bullpen was lights out. Chase Wallace spun a 1-2-3 eighth to earn his first hold of the year and Chazz Martinez (S, 2) slammed the door with a two strikeout ninth to earn his third-career save, the second of the season for him.
BREAK OUT THE RAY-O BREAD: Oscar Rayo continued his role through the pitching utility role Friday. Rayo spun a season-high 5.2 innings while punching out a career-best eight batters to allow the Fireflies to get through the game after a rough start. The southpaw has a 1.61 ERA this season in what has mostly been a long-relief role--although he has also worked a few spot starts too. Sunday was his first save opportunity of the season, and he didn't disappoint, setting down Kannapolis 1-2-3 with a punchout.
CATCHING UP: Last week, the Fireflies catching room had a monumental series at the plate. All three catchers had a homer and Dionmy Salon led the Fireflies with a .444 average in three games. Hayden Dunhurst also had a .400 average in a trio of games in the series. After a two-hit game Sunday, Omar Hernandez had the third-best average amongst Fireflies bats, going .333 in the series. The three's OPS were all over .900 for the week, going 1.434, 1.355 and .908 in the same order as they were just listed. On the season, Dunhurst is hitting .185 in 16 games and Salon is hitting .204 in 56 games while Hernandez leads the way, hitting .243 in 64 games.
ROLLING RAMSEY: Ryan Ramsey came out and had another phenomenal game Saturday vs Carolina. The southpaw worked 5.1 scoreless innings with six punchouts while allowing only a pair of hits and a walk. Ramsey has not allowed a run since the third inning of his first start of the season back on April 15 at Charleston. Since then, he has spun 25.1-consecutive innings without allowing a run. The mark is the third-longest streak in Fireflies history without allowing a run. It trails Adonis Uceta who went 29.1 innings from May 11-July 22, 2017 and Matt Blackham who worked 26.2 frames from July 4-September 1, 2017.
MASTERING MCKEEHAN: After earning a save July 20, McKeehan now has 11 saves, which leaves him tied with Allan Winans (2019) and Adonis Uceta (2017) for the second-most saves in franchise history. Alex Palsha has the most saves in a single year in Fireflies history. He recorded 14 in 2018. After twirling 1.1 innings last night, the southpaw has a 1.13 ERA this season. He also leads the club with seven wins this year.
SCORING POSITION NOT SCORING: After a post-break-best 4-8 outing with runners in scoring position Sunday, the Fireflies are 17-113 (.150) with runners threatening since the All-Star Break. The run has dragged the Fireflies to a .201 average with RISP this season, the worst mark in the Carolina League. The next-worst team is Augusta, who is hitting .231. Kannapolis has the top marks in the circuit, hitting .267.
Carolina League Stories from August 1, 2023
- Three New Players Debut in Doubleheader Split with Mudcats - Fayetteville Woodpeckers
- Cermak Drives in Four as RiverDogs Beat Kannapolis 8-2 - Charleston RiverDogs
- The Mudcats Took Game 1 of the de Facto Doubleheader 4-3 But Dropped Game 2 - Carolina Mudcats
- GreenJackets Come up 90 Feet Short in 11 Inning Duel - Augusta GreenJackets
- Nats Stifle Salem 5-1 - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Fireflies Win 11-Inning Thriller in Augusta - Columbia Fireflies
- Hillcats Rally in Eighth to Defeat Shorebirds - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Wood Ducks Game Postponed - Down East Wood Ducks
- 2023 Draft Picks Cam Fisher, Garret Guillemette and Pascanel Ferreras Added to Woodpeckers Roster - Fayetteville Woodpeckers
- Columbia Fireflies: Roster Moves and Game Notes 8.1 at Augusta - Columbia Fireflies
- MLB and Softball Legends Heading to Fredericksburg for Home Run Derby X - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Brian Fitzpatrick Added; Jesus Parra Released - Carolina Mudcats
- Back to School Bash Returning to Segra Stadium - Fayetteville Woodpeckers
- Charleston Baseball Hall of Fame Releases 2023 Inductees - Charleston RiverDogs
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.
