SAL Hudson Valley Renegades

HVR Game Notes - July 30, 2023

July 30, 2023 - South Atlantic League (SAL)
Hudson Valley Renegades News Release


Hudson Valley Renegades (53-42, 14-15) at Hickory Crawdads (46-43, 19-9)

RHP Juan Carela (2-4, 3.78 ERA) vs. RHP Winston Santos (6-5, 5.38 ERA)

| Game 96 | Road Game 48 | L.P. Frans Stadium | Hickory, N.C. | July 30, 2023 | First Pitch 2 p.m. |

ON TO THE TARHEEL STATE:The Hudson Valley Renegades make their first-ever visit to Hickory, North Carolina this week to take on the Hickory Crawdads. The Crawdads and Renegades played a six-game series at Heritage Financial Park last year where 'Gades took five out of the six games from the Texas Rangers High-A affiliate.

SIMPLY SOUTHERN:In 17 games in SAL South ballparks this year, the Renegades are averaging 8.12 runs/game. In their other 78 games, they are averaging just 4.44 R/G. Incredibly, Hudson Valley has hit 39 of their 100 home runs this season (39.0%) during their trips south, representing 17.0% of games played.

SÁNCHEZ POWER SURGE:After hitting just two home runs in his first 158 games with the Renegades, Aldenis Sánchez has homered in two straight games for Hudson Valley during the current series in Hickory. He now has a career-high three home runs on the season. All four of his home runs hit with the Renegades have come in SAL South ballparks (AdventHealth Stadium, Fluor Field and L.P. Frans Stadium).

LAST TIME OUT: The Hudson Valley Renegades comeback was cut short due to rain in an 8-6 (5 innings) loss to the Hickory Crawdads on Saturday night. Hickory jumped out to a 6-0 lead after two innings before Eduardo Torrealba singled home a pair of runs and Ben Cowles doubled home another in the fourth. Anthony Garcia later homered while Spencer Jones knocked in two runs as well before the game was halted.

FOUR SQUARED:With a first inning home run on Thursday, Agustin Ramírez raised his streak to four straight games with a home run. He became the first Renegade to accomplish this feat since since Aaron Palensky hit a home run in four straight from April 23 - April 30. Christopher Familia then followed that up with a solo blast in the fourth inning on Friday night to make it his fourth straight contest with a home run as well. Familia was held without a home run in his last contest on Saturday night.

GETTING HOT:Over the course of the last six games, Christopher Familia is hitting .435/.500/1.000 with one double, four home runs, nine RBIs, three walks, and seven runs. He's collected a hit in eight of the last 10 games.

PAVING THE WAY:Since June 1st, the Hudson Valley Renegades pitching staff owns the second-best ERA with 3.05 ERAin this span. Hudson Valley pitching has also punched out 521 batters in 416.0 innings. The Somerset Patriots (NYY--AA) sit fourth with a 3.22 ERA.

ANOTHER ONE:On Tuesday, Drew Thorpe was named South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week for the week of July 17-23. Thorpe previously earned the award for the week of May 29-June 4 and was named SAL Pitcher of the Month in June. In his lone start on Sunday versus the Brooklyn Cyclones, the New York Yankees' No. 6 prospect tossed 8.0 shutout innings and struck out 13 batters, setting a new single-game franchise record. He earned the Renegades fifth weekly award of the season joining pitchers Juan Carela and Tyrone Yulie, and outfielder Aaron Palensky.

WIDE MARGINS:Through the first five games of this week's series against the Hickory Crawdads, the Renegades have outscored the Crawdads 45-21. Hudson Valley has won three of the first five games in the series as well.

NEW KID ON THE BLOCK: Since his promotion from Single-A Tampa on June 29th, Agustin Ramírez is 34-for-86 (.395) with 10 doubles, seven home runs, 17 RBIs, seven walks, and 17 runs in 21 games. He recorded a hit and reached base safely in his first six games while also already collecting 11 multi-contests in his brief time in High-A. Since June 29th, he ranks fourth in total bases and slugging percentage among all qualified Minor Leaguers.

THE K-ZONE:The Hudson Valley Renegades pitching staff has been dominant all season long at getting swings-and-misses and they have been rewarded for it. The 'Gades currently own the second-highest strikeout total in all of Minor League Baseball. The Chattanooga Lookouts (CIN--AA) have struck out 1066 batters compared to 1053 for Hudson Valley this year. The Renegades tied their season-high with 19 strikeouts against the Wilmington Blue Rocks on July 2nd. The mark also tied their franchise record, which they recorded earlier this season on April 23rd versus the Rome Braves.

HE GETS ON BASE!: Ben Cowles currently holds the Renegades longest active hitting streak (eight games) and on-base streak at 17 games. The former Maryland Terrapin has reached base in every game since July 4 in Jersey Shore. Rafael Flores holds the longest on-base streak by a Renegade hitter this season at 18 games.

INTO THE TOP 100:Baseball America released its in-season Top 100 Prospects list update on July 14, and the Yankees claimed six players on the list. 2023 Renegades Chase Hampton (#60) and Spencer Jones (#98) entered the list for the first time. They were joined by former Renegades Oswald Peraza (#56), Jasson Domínguez (#71), Austin Wells (#86) and Everson Pereira (#96).

HOME RUN BUG:After hitting 11 home runs in their first nine games out of the All-Star break, the Renegades have hit 15 over the last five nights against the Hickory Crawdads. The team's 26 home runs since the All-Star Break are the most in High-A and third-most in Minor League Baseball. The Syracuse Mets lead the way in this span, hitting an incredible 29 bombs in 14 games.

RUNS, RUNS, RUNS:The Hudson Valley Renegades tied their season-high run total in Tuesday night's 16-5 victory over the Hickory Crawdads. They previously scored 16 runs back on April 26 against the Greenville Drive. The 16 runs was also their highest offensive outburst since a 15-2 win at Greenville on April 30.

Check out the Hudson Valley Renegades Statistics



South Atlantic League Stories from July 30, 2023


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