SAL Hudson Valley Renegades

HVR Game Notes - August 27, 2023

Published on August 27, 2023 under South Atlantic League (SAL)
Hudson Valley Renegades News Release


Hudson Valley Renegades (66-53, 27-26) vs. Aberdeen IronBirds (57-59, 25-27)

RHP Baron Stuart (2-2, 3.52 ERA) vs. RHP Kyle Virbitsky (5-1, 3.79)

| Game 120 | Home Game 60 | Heritage Financial Park | Wappingers Falls, N.Y. | Aug. 27, 2023 | First Pitch 2:05 p.m. |

HELLO OLD FRIEND:The Hudson Valley Renegades return home to Heritage Financial Park to battle the Aberdeen IronBirds for the final time this year. Neither side has met since the beginning of June after facing off three times in the first two months of the season. Each side has won a series, while both squads split their lone matchup at Leidos Field.

LAST TIME OUT:Zach Messinger punched out eight, as the Hudson Valley Renegades defeated the Aberdeen IronBirds 4-2 on Saturday night. Hudson Valley opened up the scoring with a Jesus Rodriguez RBI double in the first. Rafael Flores then belted his sixth home run of the season in the second to make it 2-0 'Gades. Messinger retired nine straight batters at one point and ended up going 4.2 innings. Christopher Familia also homered in the victory.

ROSTER MOVES:On Sunday, the New York Yankees announced the promotion of Spencer Jones to Double-A Somerset. In 100 games this year, the Renegades outfielder slashed .268/.337/.450 with 28 doubles, 13 home runs, 58 RBIs, and 35 stolen bases. He leaves Hudson Valley tied for first all time in stolen bases with Cooper Bowman while holding the 'Gades franchise record for doubles in a single-season.

OUT ON AN ISLAND:Over the last 10 games, Hudson Valley's pitching staff has held opponents to hit 20-for-112 (.178) with runners in scoring position. On the season, the 'Gades rank first in the South Atlantic League and High-A, and fourth in MiLB in holding opponents to a .208 batting average with RISP.

PITCHING IS THE WAY:Entering Thursday, the Hudson Valley Renegades sit third in Minor League Baseball with a 3.59 ERA and a K/9 innings of 11.19 this year. The Down East Wood Ducks (TEX--A) lead the way with a 3.30 ERA. The Somerset Patriots (NYY--AA) jumped ahead to second, sporting a 3.57 ERA. This comes after the 'Gades finished the 2022 season with a team ERA of 3.62, good for fourth-best in MiLB.

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.

JONES GOES FOR 30:With a stolen base against the Cyclones in Sunday's contest, Spencer Jones has now swiped 35 bags on the season to tie Cooper Bowman's single-season franchise record. The New York Yankees' No. 1 prospect has stolen 10 bags in the month of August, tied for the most in High-A. In the South Atlantic League, Jones currently sits 5th while his 35 steals only trail Jasson Domínguez (38) among all Yankees Minor Leaguers.

HE GETS ON BASE!: Ben Cowles currently holds the Renegades' longest active on-base streak at 37 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 Emeel Salem (2007) for the all-time record on Thursday night agaisnt Aberdeen. The 37-game streak is the 10th longest across the Minor's this year, tied with Murphy Stehly (WIL).

NOBODY CROSSES HOME:After tossing a scoreless ninth inning on Friday night, Luis Velasquez extended his scoreless innings streak to 18.1 innings over his last nine-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 Spencer Jones (#1), Chase Hampton (#4), Drew Thorpe (#5), Ben Rice (#23), Agustin Ramírez (#24), and Danny Watson (#29).

WE KNOW THOSE GUYS:On Tuesday, the New York Yankees announced the promotions of Oswald Peraza and Everson Pereira from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Peraza has appeared in 20 games with the Yankees this season while Pereira made his Major League debut on Tuesday. Pereira became the first 2022 Renegade to appear in the Bronx after playing 100 games between 2021 and 2022 in Hudson Valley.

THE FEATS OF STRENGTH:Last 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.

MOWING THEM DOWN:In 23 games this season, Hudson Valley's pitching staff has limited the IronBirds to a .169 batting average and .277 OBP. It's the lowest batting average and OBP against any opponent this year.

TOO CLOSE TO CALL:The Renegades own a 14-20 record in 34 games decided by one run or less this season. The first four games of this series against Aberdeen have been decided by five runs with each of the last three games decided by one run. In total, Hudson Valley and Aberdeen have competed in 10 one-run contests this year.

Check out the Hudson Valley Renegades Statistics

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South Atlantic League Stories from August 27, 2023


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