Fireflies Game Notes: May 26 at Charleston (Game 50)
May 26, 2019 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
Columbia Fireflies (19-30) vs. Charleston RiverDogs (26-23)
RHP Christian James (1-4, 5.18) vs. RHP Nolan Martinez (0-0, 3.00)
Sun., May 26, 2019 - Joe Riley Park (Charleston, SC) - First Pitch 5:05 p.m. - Game 50
LISTEN: FirefliesLiveStream.com / ColumbiaFireflies.com / TuneIn App
WATCH: MiLB.TV
LAST TIME OUT: Columbia's once 2-0 lead on Saturday night at Joe Riley Park soon turned into a deficit and the Fireflies dropped game one of the series to Charleston, 8-3. Juan Uriarte drove in two runs with two singles, his second multi-RBI game in eight days.
STREAKIN': Fireflies third baseman Mark Vientos extended his hit streak to 11 games on Saturday, the longest streak for any Firefly hitter this season. In fact, it's also the longest active hit streak in the South Atlantic League. During the streak, the Floridian is hitting .364 (16-for-44) with two doubles, three homers and nine RBIs.
STREAKIN', Pt. II: Vientos has quite a ways to go to catch Raphael Gladu, who holds the franchise record for longest hit streak. The outfielder hit safely in 23 straight games from May 9-June 9, 2018. That was the longest streak during the 2018 SAL season and the second-longest for any SAL hitter over the last eight seasons (since 2012).
F=m(a): Shervyen Newton is having perhaps the finest stretch of his season at the plate. The 20-year-old Mets prospect tripled on Saturday and has now hit safely in four straight games. Not to mention he's reached safely in seven straight. Newton has six hits over his last four games (.400, 6-for-15), that includes two doubles, a triple, a homer, two RBI, a walk and three stolen bases.
IT'S GONNA BE MAY (FOR 6 MORE DAYS): Chandler Avant recorded his 5th multi-hit game in May on Saturday. He's hitting .296 this month in 17 games. That's contrary to how he performed in 11 April games: .105 (4-for-38).
NO BLUES: Mark Vientos and Ronny Mauricio have played in all 6 games on Sunday this year. They are Columbia's best hitters on the calendar's presumed first day of the week: Vientos - .333 (7-for-21) ... Mauricio - .333 (8-for-24).
THIS DATE IN FIREFLIES HISTORY, 2018: Anthony Kay led the Fireflies to a 9-2 victory over the Greenville Drive. The seventh-rated Mets prospect spun seven strong innings, struck out eight Drive hitters and surrendered just one run. The offense was over-whelming, too. Columbia ignited for 11 hits and every batter in the lineup notched at least one. Kay owns a 1.07 ERA this year in nine starts with the double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies.
POWER SURGE: Friday was the first three-homer game of the season for Columbia (Mark Vientos, Brian Sharp, Shervyen Newton). The Fireflies belted a season-best seven extra-base hits as well, which tied what Columbia had also done on May 19 in Rome.
FOLLOW THE LAW: Keith Law, senior baseball writer at ESPN, ranked Columbia's roster as the 7th-most "Loaded Roster" in all of Minor League Baseball. Law recognized the fact Columbia's roster includes the Mets' third, fourth and fifth-rated prospects (infielders Ronny Mauricio, Mark Vientos and Shervyen Newton, respectively), New York's past two second-round draft choices (RHP Simeon Woods-Richardson, Vientos) and the system's ninth-rated prospect, left-hander Thomas Szapucki (drafted in the fifth round in 2015). The roster also features 26th (Baseball America) and 27th-rated prospects Chris Viall and Christian James. The prospect rankings are according to MLB.com unless otherwise noted.
South Atlantic League Stories from May 26, 2019
- Aaron Bond Bombs Beat Greenville - Augusta GreenJackets
- Suns Split Sunday Twin Bill vs Shorebirds - Hagerstown Suns
- Gray's Two-Run Blast Accentuates Holy City Comeback - Charleston RiverDogs
- James Posts Finest Outing of the Season, Spins Six Shut-Out Frames - Columbia Fireflies
- 'Birds Salvage Doubleheader Split with Suns - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Crawdads Comeback to Defeat Greensboro 10-8 - Hickory Crawdads
- Walk-Off Walk Caps Six-Run Comeback Victory - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Braves unable to hold three run lead - Rome Emperors
- Garcia Fans 11, Tourists Rally to Beat Braves - Asheville Tourists
- Fireflies Game Notes: May 26 at Charleston (Game 50) - Columbia Fireflies
- Smith Makes MLB Debut with Indians Saturday Night - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Game Notes (May 26) - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Hagerstown Suns Game Notes - Hagerstown Suns
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