
HVR Game Notes - April 21, 2023
April 21, 2023 - South Atlantic League (SAL)
Hudson Valley Renegades News Release
Hudson Valley Renegades (8-4) at Rome Braves (4-7)
RHP Zach Messinger (0-0, 0.82 ERA) vs. RHP Rolddy Munoz (1-1, 3.24 ERA)
| Game 13 | Road Game 4 | AdventHealth Stadium | Rome, GA | April 21, 2023 | First Pitch 7 p.m. |
SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO SAY, 'WHEN IN ROME': The Hudson Valley Renegades continue their second-ever series in the state of Georgia on Wednesday as they take on the Rome Braves, the High-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves at AdventHealth Stadium. In 2022, the Renegades played their first six-game series of the season in Rome, dropping four of six to the R-Braves to close out a season-opening road trip. The set was highlighted by a five-hit game by T.J. Rumfield, and a mammoth 467-foot home run by Everson Pereira.
GO ON...: The Renegades and Rome Braves face each other 12 times this season, with each team hosting the other for a six-game series. The 'Gades play more games with the R-Braves than against any SAL South opponent this year, and also more time than SAL North foe Greensboro (3 games). Incredibly, Hudson Valley has been scheduled to play Rome 24 times in 2022 and 2023, while Greensboro, a division rival, has been slated for just nine contests.
ABOUT LAST NIGHT: Rafael Flores led Hudson Valley with four hits in a 10-4 victory on Thursday night against the Rome Braves. Tyrone Yulie earned his first victory of the season, allowing just one run on two hits across six innings. After three hits on Wednesday, Flores recorded four hits to lead the charge offensively while Aaron Palensky notched his second home run of the season with a two-run blast in the first inning. Palensky drove in three and finished with three hits. The 'Gades also walked 14 times in the contest, tying a franchise record.
WALK THIS WAY: The Renegades tied a franchise record in Thursday's 10-4 win over the Rome Braves. Hudson Valley worked 14 walks against the Braves pitching, tying a franchise single game high. The only other time this feat happened was on July 10, 2011 at the Lowell Spinners.
ALL ABOUT THE RUN DIFFERENTIAL: With a +44 run differential in 12 games, the Renegades boast the best run differential among all minor league teams in Double-A or below (Triple-A began a week early in 2023). The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (+30 -- HOU, A) own the second-best scoring margin behind Hudson Valley.
DURBIN MOTORING AROUND: In the top of the fourth on Tuesday, Caleb Durbin stole second base, third base and home in succession to produce a run. He became the first Renegades player to steal second, third and home in the same inning since Anthony Seigler did so on July 6, 2022 at Jersey Shore. That rare feat is more common in the minor leagues, but has only been accomplished 54 times in the AL or NL, with 40 instances happening before World War II.
BENNY AND THE JETS: Renegades C Ben Rice is off to stellar start at the plate this season. The Dartmouth grad currently ranks first in HBP (5) & OBP (.583), 3rd in OPS (1.279), 4th in SLG (.696), t-10th in R (9), and 13th in AVG (.348) in the South Atlantic League. He is also tied for the second most HR on the team, after hammering his first two of the season in back-to-back games vs Rome on Tuesday and Wednesday.
STAY IN THE YARD: Marcos Cabrera's inside-the-park home run in the bottom of the sixth last Thursday against Aberdeen was the first inside-the-park home run for the Renegades since Eric Wagaman circled the bases against Jersey Shore on June 9, 2022 at Heritage Financial Park. Wagaman's inside-the-parker was part of a 10-run inning for Hudson Valley in a 15-1 rout of the BlueClaws.
PITCHING LEADING THE WAY AGAIN: The Renegades rank first in ERA (2.64) among South Atlantic League teams and all High-A teams. The 'Gades rank fifth among all MiLB teams in ERA this season. This comes after Hudson Valley paced the SAL in ERA in 2022 (3.62), and finished with the second-best ERA among all High-A teams. The Hudson Valley bullpen has been even better, sporting a collective 2.25 ERA through 52.0 innings, the fifth-best mark in MiLB.
GAS STATION: Through 12 games this season the Renegades pitching staff has registered 141 strikeouts, the second-most in the SAL (Aberdeen, 143), third-most among all High-A teams, and fifth-most among all non-Triple-A teams in the minor leagues. The Hudson Valley pitching staff has struck out a tremendous 30.8% of batters faced this season, a strikeout rate just better than the career rate of Corey Knebel, and better than any single season of Nolan Ryan's career.
RISPY BUSINESS: Over the past six games, the Renegades pitching staff has left 50 runners on base with opponents hitting a mere .091 (6-for-66) with runners in scoring position over this stretch. This season, opponents are hitting just .122 with RISP against Renegades pitching, the lowest mark in all of MiLB. The Akron RubberDucks (CLE, AA) are second-best with opponents hitting .125 with RISP.
MR. STEAL YOUR BASE: After going 6-for-6 on stolen base attempts in Tuesday's series opener with Rome, the Renegades are now 27-for-30 in stolen base attempts this season. They rank first in the South Atlantic League in steals, and are tied for the second most in all of High-A. The Lynchburg Hillcats (CLE, A) went 11-for-11 in steal attempts on Tuesday to rocket to the top of the MiLB steals leaderboard with 39 through 11 games. Caleb Durbin leads the team with eight steals so far, tied for the most in the South Atlantic League.
South Atlantic League Stories from April 21, 2023
- Hot Rods Fall to Crawdads 16-4, Seymour Collect First RBI - Bowling Green Hot Rods
- Grasshoppers Get to Drive Pitching Early, Drop Drive 16-6 - Greenville Drive
- 'Dads Roll Hot Rods in 16-4 Victory - Hickory Crawdads
- Braves Blank 'Gades in Friday Night Showdown - Rome Emperors
- Dash Storm Back Late Against Tourists, Win 13-6 - Winston-Salem Dash
- Lee Sang Homers in First, Claws Hold on for 4-3 Win - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Renegades Shut Down by Braves, 8-0 - Hudson Valley Renegades
- Cyclones Fall in Extras on Friday Night - Brooklyn Cyclones
- Dash Pull Away Late; Tourists Fall 13-6 - Asheville Tourists
- HVR Game Notes - April 21, 2023 - Hudson Valley Renegades
- Hoppers Dominate the Drive 16-6 in Third Game of Home Opener Series - Greensboro Grasshoppers
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