Fireflies Roster Move and Game Notes: June 6 at Hickory (Game 59)
June 6, 2019 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
Please note the following New York Mets minor league transactions:
- LHP Jake Simon transferred to double-A Binghamton
- INF Walter Rasquin transferred to Columbia's injured list
- LHP Thomas Szapucki transferred to Columbia from Brooklyn
- OF Taylor Lane signed by the Mets and activated with Columbia
Columbia Fireflies (23-35) vs. Hickory Crawdads (37-22)
LHP Thomas Szapucki (0-0, 2.16) vs. RHP Tim Brennan (5-2, 4.47)
Thurs., June 6, 2019 - L.P. Frans Stadium (Hickory, NC) - First Pitch 7:00 p.m. - Game 59
LISTEN: FirefliesLiveStream.com / ColumbiaFireflies.com / TuneIn App
WATCH: MiLB.TV
LAST TIME OUT: Columbia was victorious again on Tuesday against Rome. The Fireflies defeated their Southern Division rivals, 3-2. After the Braves took a 2-0 lead in the first, Columbia sprang for three in the second. Hansel Moreno's sacrifice fly plated the last run of the game, and it proved to be the decisive run. Starter Willy Taveras cruised through six innings. The right-hander allowed just two runs, tied his season-high with eight strikeouts and picked up his fourth win of the year. Billy Oxford and Tylor Megill combined to shut out the Braves over the final three frames.
BLAME IT ON THE RAIN: Columbia's series finale against Rome on Wednesday was cancelled because of rain. The Fireflies do not face the Braves again in the first half of the season, therefore, the game is cancelled and will not be made up.
WHO'S NEXT?: The Fireflies head to Hickory, North Carolina, on Thursday to begin a four-game series against the Rangers' class-A club. Columbia lost two of three games to the Crawdads when these teams last faced one another from April 18-20.
MOUND MOJO: Columbia held Rome to just two runs in back-to-back games (on Monday and Tuesday). Fireflies pitchers have punched out 23 batters in their last two games and walked just one.
MAURICIO MAGIC: Fireflies shortstop Ronny Mauricio was named a South Atlantic League All-Star on Tuesday. Mauricio is sixth in the league with 60 hits and sixth in total at-bats (211). The second-rated Mets prospect also leads Columbia in batting average (.284), runs (22), hits and games played (52). Mauricio, a physically gifted switch-hitter, is just 18 years old and one of the youngest players in New York's entire minor-league system. The native of the Dominican Republic signed with the Mets for $2.1 million in the summer of 2017.
MAURICIO MAGIC, Pt. II: Mauricio is currently riding an eight-game hit streak (May 26-June 4). The shortstop is hitting .343 (12-for-35) during the streak. Mauricio has also reached base safely in 14 of his last 15 games.
F=m(a): Shervyen Newton has turned things around at the plate. The 20-year-old Mets prospect was hitting .078 over his first 16 games as a Firefly (April 22-May 12). Since May 13 (22 GP), the Curacao native is batting .284 (23-for-87). Newton recently recorded a 10-game hit streak (May 22-June 1) and the infielder has reached safely in 19 of the last 22 games.
South Atlantic League Stories from June 6, 2019
- Breazeale Propels 'Birds in Tenth - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Rivera Dominant in Series Opening Win - Augusta GreenJackets
- Burt Goes Yard to Lead Dogs over Tourists - Charleston RiverDogs
- Late-Inning Comeback Undone in Ninth in 7-3 Loss - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Montano Goes Deep in Loss to RiverDogs - Asheville Tourists
- Mauricio Magnificent in Series-Opening Defeat - Columbia Fireflies
- Fireflies Roster Move and Game Notes: June 6 at Hickory (Game 59) - Columbia Fireflies
- Drew Rom Tabbed O's Pitcher of the Month - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Game Notes (June 6) - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Hagerstown Suns Game Notes - Hagerstown Suns
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