SAL Hudson Valley Renegades

HVR Game Notes - August 17, 2023

Published on August 17, 2023 under South Atlantic League (SAL)
Hudson Valley Renegades News Release


Hudson Valley Renegades (61-49, 22-22) at Brooklyn Cyclones (57-50, 26-18)

LHP Brock Selvidge (2-0, 2.66 ERA) vs. RHP Jawilme Ramirez (1-1, 2.57 ERA)

| Game 111 | Road Game 57 | Maimonides Park | Brooklyn, N.Y. | Aug. 17, 2023 | First Pitch 7 p.m. |

SUMMER FUN ON CONEY ISLAND:The Hudson Valley Renegades make their second and final trip to Brooklyn, N.Y. this week to take on the Brooklyn Cyclones. Hudson Valley clinched the first half championship of the South Atlantic League at Maimonides Park back on June 20. The Cyclones have won the first three series meetings.

LAST TIME OUT: The Hudson Valley Renegades downed the Brooklyn Cyclones 7-1 on Wednesday night to pick up their second straight victory. Spencer Jones paced the offense with three hits, including a two-RBI double in the eighth. In his High-A debut, Justin Lange earned the win after striking out eight in 5.2 scoreless innings. Jett Williams broke up the no-hit bid in the sixth inning with a single to right field. Ben Cowles extended his on-base streak after working three walks in the contest.

OUT ON AN ISLAND:Through the first two games of this series against the Brooklyn Cyclones, Hudson Valley's pitching staff has held Brooklyn to hit 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position. On the season, the 'Gades sit first in the South Atlantic League and High-A, and fifth in MiLB in holding opponents to a .209 batting average with RISP.

OH SO CLOSE!:The 'Gades pitching staff one-hit the Brooklyn Cyclones on Wednesday night for the second time this season, with the other occurring on June 20 at Maimonides Park. The Renegades clinched the first-half championship of the South Atlantic League that night.

ANOTHER ONE (HITTER):With their one-hitter on Wednesday night at Brooklyn, the Renegades have now thrown three one-hitters this season (June 4 vs Aberdeen, June 20 @ Brooklyn, Aug. 16 @ Brooklyn). In 2022, Hudson Valley threw four one-hitters (three in nine-inning games) and tossed three plus a no-hitter in 2021. The 10 one-hitters thrown by the Renegades since the start of the 2021 season is in stark contrast to the club having thrown only four between the 2005 and 2019 seasons. That is also by far the most thrown by a MiLB team since the start of the '21 season, with the next closest teams being Tampa (NYY, A) and Bowie (BAL, AA) with seven each.

DAZZLING DEBUTS:Over the past three weeks, four starting pitchers have made their High-A debuts for Hudson Valley and the results have been tremendous. Baron Stuart, Leonardo Pestana, Sean Hermann and Justin Lange combined to throw 20.1 innings, while allowing just 11 hits, one run, five walks and recording 23 strikeouts in their respective starts.

DOUBLES MACHINE: Spencer Jones tallied his 27th double of the season on Wednesday night against Brooklyn. After he passed Joe Pomierski (1996) for the most doubles in a season by a Renegades batter on Saturday against Jersey Shore, Jones currently ranks first in the South Atlantic League and among all New York Yankees Minor Leaguers in doubles. Jared Serna is a close second in the Yankees system, collecting 22 doubles between Single-A Tampa and Hudson Valley.

JONES GOES FOR 30:With a pair of steals against the Cyclones in Wednesday's contest, Spencer Jones has now amassed 32 stolen bases on the season. The New York Yankees' No. 1 prospect is just three away from matching Cooper Bowman's franchise record of 35 set last year. In the South Atlantic League, Jones currently sits t-5th while his 32 steals are the third-most among Yankees Minor Leaguers.

HE GETS ON BASE!: Ben Cowles currently holds the Renegades' longest active on-base streak at 30 games. The former Maryland Terrapin has reached base in every game since July 4 in Jersey Shore. It's currently the longest active streak in the South Atlantic League and High-A, while his streak is the third-longest in MiLB. Michael Busch (LAD--AAA) and Vaughn Grissom (ATL) currently sit in front of Cowles with 39 and 36 game on-base streaks. Cowles surpassed Josh Breaux (2021) and Ezequiel Duran (2021) last Wednesday for the Yankees-era franchise record which stood at 24 games. Emeel Salem (2007) owns the all-time record with a 35 game on-base streak.

NOBODY CROSSES HOME:After tossing 2.2 scoreless frames on Sunday, Luis Velasquez extended his scoreless innings streak to 13.2 innings over his last six-plus appearances. The last runner to score against the right-hander came back on July 21 against the Brooklyn Cyclones.

DEBUTS GALORE:Baseball America released its in-season Top 100 Prospects list update on Friday, and the Yankees claimed seven players on the list. 2023 Renegades Chase Hampton (#58) and Spencer Jones (#86) moved up the list. They were joined by former Renegades Oswald Peraza (#57), Jasson Domínguez (#64), Austin Wells (#85) and Everson Pereira (#79). Roderick Arias (#97) entered the list for the first time.

A NEW NO. 1:On August 10, MLB Pipeline reshuffled the New York Yankees Top 30 prospects list, with Spencer Jones becoming the new No. 1 prospect in the organization. Current Renegades on the roster listed are Brock Selvidge (#13), Zach Messinger (#18), Jared Serna (#20), Brendan Beck (#21), and Anthony Hall (#22). Other 2023 Renegades included on the list are Chase Hampton (#4), Drew Thorpe (#5), Ben Rice (#23), Agustin Ramírez (#24), and Danny Watson (#29).

THREE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER:In Friday's victory over Jersey Shore, Jared Serna stole three bases and became the first Renegades player to accomplish this feat since Caleb Durbin stole three bases on April 25 in Greenville. Durbin also stole three bases on April 18 in Rome. Serna has tallied 22 stolen bases between Single-A Tampa and High-A Hudson Valley this year.

SPENCE HENCE POWER:After a two home run performance in Hickory on July 30, Spencer Henson is now tied with Everson Pereira for the most home runs in franchise history. Henson clubbed 10 home runs last year and is currently leading the 'Gades this season with 13 blasts. His season long 10-game hitting streak was snapped on Saturday night.

WE'RE NO. 1:In their last series against the Jersey Shore BlueClaws, the 'Gades stole 13 bases which sits atop of the South Atlantic League over that span. Hudson Valley had just six in their prior series versus the Wilmington Blue Rocks. Spencer Jones and Jared Serna each led the way, stealing four bags, the most in the SAL last week.

HE'S RIDING SOLO: Ben Cowles swatted his 10th home run of the season on Tuesday night in Brooklyn. Coincidentally all 10 of his long balls in 2023 have been solo home runs.




South Atlantic League Stories from August 17, 2023


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