SAL1 Hagerstown Suns

Hagerstown Suns Game Notes

Published on May 10, 2019 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Hagerstown Suns News Release


Hagerstown closes out their homestand tonight at 7:05 p.m. against the Lakewood BlueClaws for 70's night at Municipal Stadium. RHP Jake Irvin (1-3, 7.01 ERA) gets the nod for Hagerstown, while the BlueClaws counter with RHP Francisco Morales (0-2, 6.16 ERA).

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SUNS PITCHING DAZZLES IN 5-1 WIN: Tim Cate continued on his roll of dominance in the Suns 5-1 victory over the Lakewood BlueClaws at Municipal Stadium Thursday night. Cate (W, 3-2) tossed six sensational innings, allowing just one run on five hits and striking out seven Lakewood hitters, while not issuing a free pass. The UConn product has now recorded at least seven punch-outs in four consecutive starts and has put together his fifth straight quality start. The Suns (15-18) trailed for the first four innings, but finally got on the board in the fifth. After a walk and an error, Juan Pascal executed a sacrifice bunt to put two in scoring position and chase BlueClaws starter Jhordany Mezquita (L, 1-4) out of the game. Two batters later, with reliever Gilmael Troya on the hill, Justin Connell came through for the Suns with a two-RBI single to right field that put Hagerstown on top 2-1. Hagerstown added two more runs in the sixth and one in the eighth and allowed Angel Guillen to close out the game for the win.

ARMS DEALING: After allowing 10 or more runs in back-to-back outings against the Greensboro Grasshoppers, the pitching staff rebounded on the seven-game road trip. In those seven games, the starters logged four quality starts and twice had worked five or more innings, allowing just one run, but didn't go the six required for a quality start. Joan Adon and Tim Cate continued that torrid stretch in the Suns homestand, spinning twelve combined innings while allowing two runs and each earning a quality start. The staff as a whole has a 2.55 ERA with 73 strikeouts across 81.1 innings in their last nine games.

QUALITY INSPECTION: After Adon worked his first-career quality start Thursday, the Suns are just 4-7 in 1 games where starters toss a quality start. The Suns finished the four game series against Augusta last week with two of those wins.

QUALITY CATE: The University of Connecticut-product has now issued five consecutive quality starts dating back to April 16. In that time frame, the Suns are 3-2, but he has worked 30 innings, allowing just five runs (1.50 ERA) while fanning 34 batters. The southpaw also leads the Suns in ERA (1.60), WHIP (0.89), wins (3), strikeouts (46) and innings pitched (39.1). The 2018 second round pick pitched in four games for Hagerstown last year and fininshed with 19 strikeouts in 21 innings to pair with a 5.57 ERA.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER: While Justin Connell didn't join the Suns until April 15, his presence has certainly been felt since being activated from Extended Spring Training. The 2017 11th round pick from Plantation Florida has the 2nd-highest batting average on the team, a .333 mark. Connell is hitting with a slash line of .333/.429/.464 in 18 games in the South Atlantic League.

TWO FOR THE SHOW: With Lara's homer in the bottom of the ninth with two outs Wednesday, Lara now has hit five of his team-high six homers this season with two outs. In addition to that, three of his six homers this season have been two-run blasts. Half of the Dominican-native's homers have come in the seventh inning or later this year. In the four games that Lara played against the Tourists prior to this series at McCormick Field, he knocked a pair of homers and drove in four runs.

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South Atlantic League Stories from May 10, 2019


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