CarL Columbia Fireflies

Columbia Fireflies: Roster Moves and Game Notes at Charleston 7.13

July 13, 2024 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release


The Kansas City Royals have made the following roster moves affecting the Columbia Fireflies active roster:

* RHP Juan Martinez has been added to the Columbia Fireflies active roster

Martinez will wear jersey #38.

There are no corresponding moves. The Fireflies active roster now sits at 30.

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The Fireflies continue their series with the Charleston RiverDogs tonight at Joe Riley Park at 6:05 pm. RHP Mauricio Veliz (0-1, 4.09 ERA) takes the hill for Columbia and Charleston counters with RHP Trevor Harrison (0-0, 4.91 ERA).

The Fireflies return home Friday, July 19 for the start of Dino Weekend! Join us as we have a Mason Triceratops Bobblehead giveaway July 19, Jurassic World Night July 20 and we'll bring back Ed's Dinosaurs real life interactive dinosaurs Sunday, July 21. Buy your tickets now at ColumbiaFireflies.com.

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FIREFLIES FALL 7-1 IN CHARLESTON: The Fireflies pitching staff issued a season-high 11 walks in an 7-1 loss to the Charleston RiverDogs despite allowing just four hits Friday night at Joseph Riley Park. Charleston drove ahead in the fourth inning. After Narciso Polanco led the frame off with a double, Jhon Diaz drew a walk to set the table. Later, on a Raudelis Martinez fielder's choice to second baseman Lizandro Rodriguez, both runners were able to score to give Charleston a 2-1 lead. The RiverDogs offense didn't stop there though. In the bottom of the fifth, Ricardo Gonzalez drew a walk, advanced to second on a throwing error from reliever Henson Leal and came around on an Adrian Santana double to move Charleston's lead to 3-1.

GOING STREAKING: Catcher Dionmy Salon is riding a hot streak for Columbia. He is on his longest hitting streak of the season, an 11-game stretch that began June 9 and is the longest active hitting streak in the Carolina League. Salon is 13-30 (.433) on the run and has six RBI. Salon has increased his batting average from .165 to .239 during the strech which encapsulates over one quarter of his games played this season. Columbia's backstop has also scored a run in four-straight games, which is the longest active streak for a Fireflies player.

SCUFFLING AT THE DISH: The Fireflies bats have had some trouble in the month of July. The team has scored one run or less in three of their last four games and have a suspended game where they're being outscored 6-0 by the Augusta GreenJackets in the fourth inning. The Fireflies are hititng .217 in the month of July as a team, which is a start contrast to their season average of .229, which qualifies for the fourth-best average in the Carolina League.

WALKING ON SUNSHINE: Last night, the Fireflies pitching staff surrendered a season-high 11 walks. The previous high total was eight walks. It was the most walks since 2023 when the Fireflies pitching staff walked 13 hitters in a single game. Even with the season-high in walks, Columbia still has the second-fewest walks in the Carolina League in 2024.

I CAN SEE THE FUTURE: Tuesday, Major League Baseball announced their All-Star Future's game rosters, which contained a pair of former Fireflies player. RHP Ben Kudrna was Kansas City's second rounder in 2021 and after spinning a 3.48 ERA in 17 starts in 2022, he was named the Columbia Fireflies Pitcher of the Year by the Royals. Gavin Cross was also named to the roster. The outfielder was selected in the first round of the 2022 draft out of Virginia Tech and reached base safely in his final 22 games with the Fireflies that same season.

THIS IS 40: Thursday night, Austin Charles drove in three RBI, giving him 43 on the young season. In 2023 only three Fireflies finished the season with 40 or more RBI: Brett Squires (69), Lizandro Rodriguez (44) and Daniel Vazquez (43). The Fireflies single-season RBI record belongs to Juan Carlos Negret, who drove in 76 runs in a shortened 2021 season thanks in part to a franchise record 23 homers in a single season.

ROCKING ROSADO: Columbia's reliever has paced the way for the bullpen. After a strong showing in June, he's kept the ball rolling in July to bring his season ERA down to 2.00. Rosado has allowed just one run in his last 15.2 innings (0.57 ERA). In his last 11 outings, he has 19 punchouts compared to just seven walks. His biggest improvement has been reducing his walk rate. Last year, Rosado walked 16.7% of batters faced. This year, he's at a 7.6% walk rate.

Check out the Columbia Fireflies Statistics



Carolina League Stories from July 13, 2024


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