SAL1 Charleston RiverDogs

Grasshoppers Stun Charleston, Spoil Whitlock's Gem

Published on April 22, 2018 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston RiverDogs News Release


GREENSBORO, N.C. - Right-hander Garrett Whitlock tore through seven shutout innings and the RiverDogs jumped out to 2-0 lead after one, but Greensboro came back to win, 3-2, with a rare eighth inning rally off the bullpen in Sunday afternoon's finale from First National Bank Field.

Whitlock gave up a pair of first inning singles, and clamped down from there, allowing no hits the rest of the way and retiring the final 15 men he faced before Charleston (7-10) handed the ball to the bullpen in the eighth. The former UAB Blazer notched four strikeouts while coaxing the Grasshoppers into 15 ground ball outs and using just 80 pitches to get trough the seven strong, the longest start of his professional career.

Greensboro (10-6) rallied to claim their third one-run victory in the series, scoring all three off RiverDogs reliever Brian Trieglaff (1-1). Catcher BJ Lopez reached on a clean single into left before Zach Sullivan and Sam Castro each reached on bunt hits, both on bang-bang plays at first. Left fielder Aaron Knapp delivered with an RBI knock into right, shortstop Jose Devers grounded into a double play that scored another, and right fielder Isael Soto launched a first pitch into left field for a double that plated the go-ahead run.

Charleston's bullpen entered play with a 0.78 ERA before the three runs were charged to Trieglaff, who suffered the loss. It marked Greensboro's second come from behind win of the series and their SAL-leading eighth one-run victory of the season.

Charleston tallied both their runs in the opening frame. With one out, second baseman Oswaldo Cabrera roped a first pitch into right field for a single and advanced 180 feet on a pair of wild pitches before scoring on Chris Hess' sacrifice fly (good for his team-leading 11th RBI of the season). After designated hitter Dalton Blaser was plunked, he scored on Leonardo Molina's double that tailed into the right field corner.

Cabrera finished 3-for-4 in the Venezuelan teenager's first three-hit game of the season.

The contest lasted just 1 hour and 54 minutes, Charleston's shortest game of the season nine innings or otherwise.

Upcoming

The RiverDogs head home to start a four-game series with in-state rival Columbia, the Class A affiliate of the New York Mets, starting on Monday night at The Joe. The RiverDogs send right-hander Rony Garcia (0-1, 5.06) to the hill to face Fireflies righty Chris Viall (1-0, 2.00). The game will be broadcast on 1250 WTMA in the tri-county area with online streaming audio also available worldwide on riverdogs.com and through the RiverDogs TuneIn radio app. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. It's a Monday Dog Day at Riley Park featuring dollar beers and hot dogs presented by Busch Light.

RiverDogs single-game tickets, including options to the Riley Park Club, are now available for the 2018 campaign, the club's 25th season as the RiverDogs and their "175th season in dog years." Ticket information can be secured by contacting the box office at (843) 577-DOGS (3647) or online at www.riverdogs.com/tickets.

Check out the Charleston RiverDogs Statistics

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South Atlantic League Stories from April 22, 2018


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