SAL Hudson Valley Renegades

HVR Game Notes - June 14, 2022

June 14, 2022 - South Atlantic League (SAL)
Hudson Valley Renegades News Release


Hudson Valley Renegades (28-29) vs. Greensboro Grasshoppers (24-32)

RHP Blane Abeyta (0-5, 5.55 ERA) vs. RHP Quinn Priester (MiLB Rehab)

| Game 58 | Road Game 28 | First National Bank Field | Greensboro, N.C. | June 14, 2022 | First Pitch 6:30 p.m. |

TWO WEEKS IN THE TRIAD: The Hudson Valley Renegades embark on their lone 12-game road trip of the season tonight as they take on the Greensboro Grasshoppers in the Gate City. Following this week's six-game series, the Renegades have a six-game date with the Winston-Salem Dash. This is the lone series of the year between Hudson Valley and Greensboro, despite both playing in the North Division.

SO, ABOUT SUNDAY: The Renegades used a six-run sixth inning and just enough pitching to propel themselves to a 10-7 win on Sunday over the Jersey Shore BlueClaws. Saul Torres ripped an RBI triple to right and scored on a two-run home run from Eric Wagaman to key the big inning. T.J. Sikkema was solid in 3.1 innings in the start, and five relievers combined to close out the game.

YANKEES AFFILIATES IN GREENSBORO: In the history of Greensboro baseball, the Yankees have fielded teams in the league several times. From 1958-68, the Yankees were affiliated with a Carolina League team, the Greensboro Yankees/Patriots. From 1980-84, the Yankees returned as the parent club of the South Atlantic League Greensboro Hornets. After a five-year hiatus, the Yanks returned from 1990-02 as the parent club of the Hornets/Bats.

RUN LIMIT: After a rough month of May, the Renegades pitching staff has been off to a terrific start in June. The staff sports a 2.28 ERA on the month entering play Tuesday, the best mark of any full-season minor league team in the month. The next-best team, Everett, has a 2.75 ERA on the month, nearly a half-run higher.

START ME UP: In the last 23 games, Renegades starting pitchers have turned in some great individual performances, and as a unit have been performed at a high level. In those games, HV starters are 7-5 with a 2.51 ERA (31 ER/111.1 IP), with 95 hits allowed, 34 walks (2.75 BB/9) and 115 strikeouts (9.30 K/9). The run has lowered the collective starting pitcher's ERA from 4.61 to 3.64, and the starters win total has quadrupled.

CLOSE GAME TROUBLE: Entering play on Tuesday, the Renegades sit at one games under .500 with a 28-29 (.491) record, despite a +30 run differential (32-25 pythag record). Part of the reason for this has been the Gades performance in one and two-run games this season. Hudson Valley is 8-10 (.444) in one-run games, and 6-10 (.375) in two-run games this season. Teams are typically around .500 in these kinds of games, indicating that the Gades have experienced some bad luck.

EVEN STEVEN: A win tonight over the Greensboro Grasshoppers will get the Renegades back to an even .500 mark on the season. It would be the first time since May 13 (Game 30) that the Gades would be at the .500 mark on the season. Since falling below .500, Hudson Valley has entered play with a chance to get back to .500 only three times including Tuesday, the span of exactly a month since falling below even.

TOP PICKS: Hudson Valley's roster is one of the most unique in High-A in that it features four of the last five 1st round picks of the New York Yankees. 2018 top pick Anthony Seigler is joined by 2019 Competitive Balance A pick T.J. Sikkema, 2020 top pick Austin Wells, and 2021 first-rounder Trey Sweeney on the roster. Only 2019 first-rounder Anthony Volpe is not with the Renegades this season, though Wells is currently on the 7-day injured list.

RE-WRITING THE RECORD BOOKS: Entering year two as a full-season team, it is not surprising to see many Hudson Valley franchise records be threatened. Both Nelson Alvarez and Charlie Ruegger have 43 and 42 career pitching appearances respectively, five and six shy of the HV record. Matt Sauer has 112 career strikeouts, fifth all-time and 36 shy of the record. James Nelson has 31 steals, two shy of the record. Everson Pereira has scored 57 runs, tying him for sixth all-time and 15 shy of the career mark. He is also tied for third all-time with 16 home runs, six off being the all-time leader.

HARDMAN HEATING UP: After a slow start to the season, infielder Tyler Hardman has been swinging a hot bat lately, picking up hits in 11 of his last 13 games. The hot stretch has lifted his season batting line from .173/.279/.298 to .221/.307/.344, a 74-point jump in his OPS. Hardman was drafted by the Yankees in the fifth round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of the Uinversity of Oklahoma.

GADES RUNNING WILD: Hudson Valley has been on a base stealing tear lately, including swiping six bases in the series opener with Aberdeen. The Gades are an unreal 39-for-46 stealing bases in their last 19 games, and four of the seven times runners were thrown out were on pickoff-caught stealings. The Renegades have stolen 115 bases this season, the third-most of any team in MiLB. It also already ranks as the 8th-highest total in team history, despite only having 56 games played. Cooper Bowman leads the team with 22 steals, which ranks tied for second in the South Atlantic League and tied for 18th among all Minor League players. His 22 steals are the most for a Renegade in the Yankees affiliation, and the most since Garrett Hiott stole 20 for the Gades in 2019.

HUDSON VALLEY TO THE SHOW: The Renegades have had two 2021 alumni recently make their MLB debuts. Infielders Josh Smith and Ezequiel Duran both made their debuts with the Texas Rangers last week. They became the second and third Renegades, respectively, under the Yankees affiliation (2021 - Present) to debut in the Major Leagues, joining RHP Elvis Peguero, who saw his first MLB action August 26, 2021. Ironically, all three Yankees-era Renegades in the majors debut with other organizations after both were traded in 2021. Duran's debut marked the 110th former Renegade to make the major leagues.

Check out the Hudson Valley Renegades Statistics



South Atlantic League Stories from June 14, 2022


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