SAL1 Hagerstown Suns

Hagerstown Suns Game Notes

Published on April 13, 2019 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Hagerstown Suns News Release


Today's doubleheader between the Asheville Tourists and Hagerstown Suns will kick-off at 4:05 p.m. and gates will open at Municipal Stadium at 3:00 p.m.

Hagerstown will send RHP Francys Peguero (0-0, 0.00 ERA) to the hill in game one and RHP Leif Strom (0-0, 0.00 ERA) in game two. Meanwhile, Asheville will counter with LHP Alfredo Garcia (0-1, 11.57) in game one and RHP Riley Pint (0-0, 0.00 ERA) in game two.

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FIVE-RUN FIRST LAUNCHES TO SUNS TO WIN: Hagerstown's (3-5) bats were hot early, putting up five runs on four hits. Gage Canning and Israel Pineda hit back-to-back singles. Jacob Rhinesmith walked to load the bags with Suns. Asheville's starter, Shelby Lackey (L, 0-1) missed the mark with Gilbert Lara at the plate. Lackey issued a bases-loaded walk to bring in the Sun's first run of the night. Soon after, KJ Harrison kept his bat hot with a two-run double to make it 3-1 Hagerstown. Pablo O'Connor brought in a run on a groundout and Kyle Marinconz finished off the busy inning with an RBI double for a 5-1 advantage.

CALL TO THE SHOW: Pedro Avila made his major league debut for the San Diego Padres against the Arizona Cardinals Thursday night. The 22-year-old offered 85 pitchers, worked five innings and allowed just four hits and one run in the Padres 7-6 win. Avila was traded from the Nationals to the Padres December 2, 2016 in exchange for catcher Derek Norris. The righty played for the Suns in 2016, starting all 20 games he appeared in and finishing with a 7-7 record. The Venezuela-native fanned 92 batters in 93 innings to pair with a 3.48 ERA. He made a name for himself during the month of June in Hagerstown. In six starts that month, he worked 30.2 innings, fanned 26 batters and held opponents to a .227 average. He finished the month with a 2.35 ERA. Avila earned a 2018 CAL Mid-Season All-Star bid last season.

THE POWER OF FIVE: The Suns scored a season-high five runs in the first inning yesterday. Their previous season-high runs scored in a single inning was three. Hagerstown has also won back-to-back games for the first time this season, coming off the heels of a 5-4 win in Lakewood to end their seven-game road trip that started the season.

TWO FOR THE SHOW: Lara's two home runs have both come with two outs and have both given the Suns a one-run lead this year. The third baseman has five RBI on the two bombs and leads the team in the two categories. The righty played 115 games for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers of the Midwest League in 2018 and hit five homers, so his production has sky-rocketed in the young season.

PAT'S BACK: Skipper Patrick Anderson is returning for his sixth season in the Hub City. Anderson has a franchise record 363 wins under his belt and has guided the suns to two playoff berths in his five seasons at the helm. The Maryland-native led the Suns to the 2014 South Atlantic League Championship game in his first season with the team. Prior to his time with Hagerstown, Anderson led the Gulf Coast Nationals to the team's best winning percentage in team history and a league championship.

THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN: There are seven players who have played at least one game donning a Suns uniform on the Opening Day roster. Alastre and Cate in the rotation both finished last season in Hagerstown, while Jackson Stoeckinger and Jhonatan German both logged innings for Hagerstown in 2018 and will be coming out of the pen this season. Nic Perkins played one game for Hagerstown last season before getting injured and spending the rest of the season in Auburn and will return to the Suns this year. Finally, Juan Pascal and Canning are returning in the field for Hagerstown. Both played in more than 10 games for Hagerstown last year.

Check out the Hagerstown Suns Statistics

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South Atlantic League Stories from April 13, 2019


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