HVR Game Notes - August 20, 2023
Published on August 20, 2023 under South Atlantic League (SAL)
Hudson Valley Renegades News Release
Hudson Valley Renegades (62-51, 23-24) at Brooklyn Cyclones (60-50, 29-18)
RHP Brendan Beck (0-1, 1.71 ERA) vs. RHP Robert Colina (3-3, 3.29 ERA)
| Game 114 | Road Game 60 | Maimonides Park | Brooklyn, N.Y. | Aug. 20, 2023 | First Pitch 2 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 fell to the Brooklyn Cyclones 8-7 on Saturday night. After the Renegades jumped out to a 3-0 lead, Brooklyn plated five runs in the fourth. After Rafael Flores swatted a game-tying home run the sixth, Ben Cowles recorded a go-ahead RBI single in the seventh before William Lugo tripled home a pair in the bottom of the seventh to push Brooklyn ahead 8-7. In his Renegades 2023 debut, Anderson Munoz tossed two scoreless frames out of the bullpen. Christopher Familia and Anthony Hall also homered in the loss.
OUT ON AN ISLAND: Through the first five games of this series against the Brooklyn Cyclones, Hudson Valley's pitching staff has held Brooklyn to hit 11-for-58 (.189) 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 .210 batting average with RISP.
THE FEATS OF STRENGTH:On Thursday night, Grant Richardson hit his 13th home run of the season, and his 23rd of his career as a Hudson Valley Renegade. He currently sits tied for first with Everson Pereira and current teammate Spencer Henson for the most in franchise history. In the two game's Richardson has appeared in this week against Brooklyn, the 'Gades outfielder is 5-for-9 with a double, home run, three RBIs, and three runs.
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 28th double of the season on Saturday night against Brooklyn. After he passed Joe Pomierski (1996) for the most doubles in a season by a Renegades batter last 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 23 doubles between Single-A Tampa and Hudson Valley.
JONES GOES FOR 30:With a stolen base against the Cyclones in Saturday's contest, Spencer Jones has now swiped 34 bags on the season. The New York Yankees' No. 1 prospect is just one away from matching Cooper Bowman's franchise record of 35 set last year. In the South Atlantic League, Jones currently sits 5th while his 34 steals are good for second among Yankees Minor Leaguers.
HE GETS ON BASE!: Ben Cowles currently holds the Renegades' longest active on-base streak at 32 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, High-A, and all of MiLB. 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 1.1 scoreless frames on Thursday, Luis Velasquez extended his scoreless innings streak to 15.0 innings over his last seven-plus appearances. The last runner to score against the right-hander came back on July 21 against the Brooklyn Cyclones.
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 last 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 24 stolen bases between Single-A Tampa and High-A Hudson Valley this year.
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.
ROAD WARRIORS:Entering Sunday's contest in Brooklyn, the Renegades own the second-most road wins in High-A this year (38). The 'Gades only trail the Great Lakes Loons (LAD) who have 39 wins.
South Atlantic League Stories from August 20, 2023
- Schnell Collects 13th Multi-RBI Game in Hot Rods 12-5 Loss - Bowling Green Hot Rods
- Drive Swept by Dash, Fall 8-4 in Sunday Finale - Greenville Drive
- Grasshoppers Take Series Win with 12-5 Victory over the Hot Rods - Greensboro Grasshoppers
- Cyclones Drop Series Finale to Renegades, 7-1 - Brooklyn Cyclones
- Renegades Coast past Brooklyn, Take Series - Hudson Valley Renegades
- Ortiz Hits 22nd Homer in 'Dads Loss - Hickory Crawdads
- Rincones' Four Hit Game Keys Claws 4-1 Win over Asheville on Sunday - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- BlueClaws Pitching Too Much in 4-1 Loss - Asheville Tourists
- HVR Game Notes - August 20, 2023 - Hudson Valley Renegades
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