
HVR Game Notes - July 31, 2022
July 31, 2022 - South Atlantic League (SAL)
Hudson Valley Renegades News Release
Brooklyn Cyclones (47-48, 17-12) vs. Hudson Valley Renegades (50-44, 16-12)
RHP Junior Santos (4-10, 4.64 ERA) vs. RHP Blane Abeyta (4-6, 4.78 ERA)
| Game 95 | Home Game 47 | Dutchess Stadium | Wappingers Falls, N.Y. | July 31, 2022 | First Pitch 2:05 p.m. |
BACK AGAINST BROOKLYN: Hudson Valley continues its second series after the All-Star break against a familiar foe in the Brooklyn Cyclones. This series marks the second of two trips the Cyclones make to Dutchess Stadium in the second half. To kick off the month of July, Hudson Valley took four out of six from Brooklyn, holding the Cyclones to a combined 10 runs (2.5 runs/gm) in the four victories. With Saturday's loss, the Renegades are 12-11 across the first 23 games of a very competitive season series. The winner of Sunday's series finale will hold sole possession of first place in the South Atlantic League North Division's second half standings entering August.
ABOUT LAST NIGHT...: Grant Richardson continued his tear, blasting a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to give the Renegades life, but Hudson Valley fell to Brooklyn for a second consecutive night. Richardson finished 3-for-4 with two doubles, a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored. Matt Sauer allowed four runs (two earned) on eight hits in 3.1 innings, walking two and striking out two. The Cyclones added two runs off Kevin Milam in the fifth to take a 6-0 lead, but Carlos Narvaez struck back with a two-run double and scored on a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 6-3.
MARTIAN MINI SLUMP: OF Jasson Domínguez was on a tear through his first four games with Hudson Valley, but has gone into a mini slump over his last three, going 0-for-15 at the plate with five strikeouts. The 19-year-old Domínguez ranks as the Yankees No. 3 prospect and No. 39 in all of baseball according to MLB Pipeline.
ON THE DeMARCO: Renegades OF Pat DeMarco is 7-for-12 at the plate in his last four games played, raising his season batting line from .208/.250/.252 to .229/.266/.290. The run includes his first home run of the year on Sunday, July 24 at Wilmington, a solo home run off Jose Ferrer.
SERIES WINNERS: A win on Sunday would clinch a split of this series for Hudson Valley. After winning three of their first four series of the season, the Gades went through a stretch where they went 0-3-1 in sets. Since that point, the Renegades have rattled off wins in six out of eight series. Hudson Valley won two of the first three series with Brooklyn.
THE MARTIAN EFFECT: In the first four games of the current series with the Brooklyn Cyclones, coinciding with Jasson Domínguez's first home series, the Renegades have welcomed 18,967 fans through the gates at Dutchess Stadium. The Gades rank 5th out of 12 teams in the South Atlantic League in attendance, and are in the top half among all High-A franchises. Hudson Valley's average attendance is up 21.4
% compared to 2021.
SWEENEY ON A TEAR: Since May 25 when his slash line bottomed out at .176/.261/.333, Trey Sweeney has been on a tear, hitting .266/.365/.453 across 48 games to raise his line to .235/.329/.412. One of the biggest keys for Sweeney during the stretch has been how dramatically his K% has dropped, from 31.3% before May 25, to 21.5% since May 25, while his walk rate has spiked from 8.7% to 11.8%.
ALL GOOD THINGS MUST...: With Thursday's 0-for-4, Trey Sweeney saw his 20-game on-base streak come to an end. The run - which spanned a little over one month - was the longest for a Renegade this season. Over the red-hot stretch beginning on June 25, Sweeney hit .333/.451/.573, smashing two homers and tallying 13 RBIs and 15 walks.
PINSTRIPED PITCHING PROWESS: Strength in pitching is a theme across the New York Yankees minor league system and the Renegades are no exception. The staff sports a 3.71 ERA on the season, the second-best mark in the South Atlantic League (Wilmington -- 3.68). It also ranks as the sixth-best staff ERA in High-A, and 11th-best in the minor leagues. All four Yankees affiliated teams rank in the top 30 in the minors in ERA -- Somerset 3.48, 4th; Tampa 3.69, t-9th; Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 3.98, t-25th. Last Saturday, the Renegades threw their seventh shutout of the season, tied for fourth-most in the SAL.
LET'S TALK ABOUT THE STEALS: With Carlos Narvaez's steal of third base in the seventh inning on July 6, the Renegades stole their collective 150th base of the season to set a new franchise record. It took only 77 games to break the record that was set by the 2021 Renegades in 120 games. The Gades enter play Sunday with 182 stolen bases on the year, third-most in the minors behind Down East (A, TEX -- 227) and Lake Elsinore (A, SD -- 193).
BAD MUÑOZ RISING: In a spot start Thursday night, Renegades reliever Jhonatan Muñoz continued his strong run of outings. In his last nine games (Since June 19), he has gone 2-0 with a 1.06 ERA (17.0 IP/2 ER), with 6 H, 7 BB, 18 K, lowering his ERA from 6.33 to 4.30.
IN GOOD HANDS: The Renegades have been among the best fielding teams in the South Atlantic League this season, having committed the second-fewest errors (75) of any team. Hudson Valley fielders have committed just nine errors in 810 total chances over the last month (22 total games). The Gades are eighth among High-A teams in errors, while their .978 fielding percentage ranks tied for fifth.
LOST SO MANY GOOD MEN OUT THERE: Late Wednesday night the New York Yankees agreed to a trade with the Kansas City Royals to acquire OF Andrew Benintendi in exchange for three pitchers -- LHP T.J. Sikkema, RHP Beck Way and RHP Chandler Champlain. Both Sikkema and Way were staples of the Renegades rotation in 2022, while Champlain was pitching for Single-A Tampa. Sikkema has been assigned to Double-A Northwest Arkansas, while Way heads to High-A Quad Cities.
South Atlantic League Stories from July 31, 2022
- Tourists Let Lead Slip Away in Series Finale - Asheville Tourists
- Renegades Blanked by Cyclones - Hudson Valley Renegades
- Dyer Homers in 7-6 Loss on Sunday - Bowling Green Hot Rods
- Crawdads Romp Rome for 19 Hits in Win - Hickory Crawdads
- Power Surge Propels Brooklyn to 7-0 Win on Sunday - Brooklyn Cyclones
- Blue Rocks' Offense Comes Back to Life in 4-0 Win - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Claws Blanked Sunday, But Take Series in Wilmington - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Hot Rods Game Notes - Bowling Green Hot Rods
- HVR Game Notes - July 31, 2022 - Hudson Valley Renegades
- Seinfeld Night 2022 - August 6th: It's Real & It's Spectacular. - Brooklyn Cyclones
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
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