SAL Hudson Valley Renegades

HVR Game Notes - May 28, 2022

Published on May 28, 2022 under South Atlantic League (SAL)
Hudson Valley Renegades News Release


Rome Braves (25-18) vs. Hudson Valley Renegades (19-23)

RHP Royber Salinas (1-2, 8.53 ERA) vs. RHP Blas Castaño (0-4, 4.08 ERA)

| Game 43 | Home Game 23 | Dutchess Stadium | Wappingers Falls, N.Y. | May 28, 2022 | First Pitch 6:05 p.m. |

WHEN NOT IN ROME: The Hudson Valley Renegades are back home this week taking on the Rome Braves for the second time this season. They are the first South Division team that Hudson Valley will see for a second time this year, with a second series with Greenville still on tap. The R-Braves won four of six games at AdventHealth Stadium from April 12-17 on the first road trip of the season.

SO, ABOUT LAST NIGHT: In one of the most wild games of the season, Hudson Valley fell to Rome 12-10 on Friday night at Dutchess Stadium. The Braves led 10-1 going into the bottom of the seventh, but the Renegades rallied to cut the deficit to 10-7 heading into the ninth. After Rome plated two in the top of the ninth, Hudson Valley scored three in the bottom of the ninth and had the winning run on base with two outs. Cooper Bowman had a huge game for Hudson Valley, hitting two home runs and driving in five runs, and Trey Sweeney went 2-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs.

SWEENEY HEATING UP: With his 2-for-5 performance on Friday night, Trey Sweeney has hits in three straight games. It is the first time that Sweeney has hit safely in three consecutive games since he had a four-game hitting streak to start the season (April 8-12). The 2021 First Rounder also homered on Friday, his first long ball in the month of May, breaking an 87 plate appearance homerless drought that spanned parts of 20 games. The recent hot streak for Sweeney has lifted his OPS from .585 to .628.

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 in currently on the 7-day injured list.

NO-FUN DIFFERENTIAL: Entering play on Saturday, the Renegades sit at four games under .500 with a 19-23 (.463) record, despite a +6 run differential (21-21 pythag record). One reason for this has been Hudson Valley's struggles in one- and two-run games this season. The Gades are 3-7 (.300) in one-run games, and 6-8 (.428) in two-run games. Typically, teams will sport a .500 record in these close games, indicating the the Renegades have had a measure of bad luck in close contests.

GADES RUNNING WILD: Hudson Valley had been in a base-stealing lull for the better part of two weeks before swiping four bags in Tuesday's series opener with Rome. The Renegades followed that up by stealing seven bases in Wednesday's contest with the Braves, with Aaron Palensky and Aldenis Sánchez each stealing two bags. It was the fourth time this year in 42 games that Hudson Valley has stolen at least six bases in a single game. In nine games with the R-Braves this year, the Renegades have stolen 25 bases in 31 attempts. The Renegades have stolen 90 bases this season, the third-most of any team in MiLB. It aso already ranks as the 17th-highest total in team history, despite only having 42 games played. The Gades are a perfect 14-for-14 stealing bases against Rome in the current series.

RE-WRITING THE RECORD BOOK: Utility man James Nelson stole second base in the bottom of the second on May 26 against Rome, recording his 10th steal of the year. It was also Nelson's 26th career stolen base as a Hudson Valley Renegade. With that, he moved into a four-way tie for 10th on the Renegades all-time career stolen base list. Nelson is now tied with Paul Hoover, Eddie Comeaux and Irwin Centeno, sitting one behind Brian Bryles and Manny Vazquez for eighth. He only needs three more to crack the top five. Jake Fraley is the Renegades all-time stolen base record holder, with 33.

HE GETS ON BASE: Eric Wagaman failed to reach base in Game 1 of Sunday's doubleheader at Brooklyn, bringing an end to a 13-game on-base streak to begin the season. Overall, he was riding a 15-game on-base streak dating back to the end of 2021. Wagaman responded by reaching base in each of his next two games to have gotten on board safely in 15 of 16 games. Wagaman's is the longest on-base streak for a Renegade this season, and he is the third Renegade with a 10+ game on-base streak this year, joining Everson Pereira (12) and Cooper Bowman (11). In 2021, HV had 10 such streaks, led by Josh Breaux and Ezequiel Duran's 24-game streaks.

STOP THE COUNT!: The Renegades win last Thursday night broke a season-long six-game losing streak, but the losing has not subsided. Despite winning back-to-back games, the Gades have gone 2-4 since and have dropped 10 of 14 games, 12 of 17, and 15 of 22 in May. During the stretch they have dropped from their high-water mark of four games over .500 (12-8) to a season-low five games under .500 entering play on Wednesday. The six-game losing streak for Hudson Valley was the franchise's longest skid since an 11-game losing streak from June 29 - July 9, 2017.

GOING THE DISTANCE: Blas Castaño tossed the Renegades first complete game of the season in Sunday's series finale at Brooklyn. In a 3-1 loss, the right-hander fired six innings, allowing three runs on four hits, striking out eight and walking none. Hudson Valley only had one complete game all of last year. Jhony Brito similarly lasted six innings in a July 15 road loss at Wilmington, surrendering three runs (two earned) in a 3-2 defeat. His complete game is the only complete game in the South Atlantic League this season.

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South Atlantic League Stories from May 28, 2022


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