SAL1 Lexington Legends

Legends Hit Strasburg, But Lose to Suns 9-6

August 17, 2011 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Lexington Legends News Release


The Lexington Legends hit Stephen Strasburg hard in the first inning and two-thirds, but Hagerstown put eight runs on the board in the first three innings and beat the Legends 9-6 Wednesday night in Hagerstown.

Strasburg, who signed a $15.1 million contract with the Washington Nationals after being the top pick in the 2009 major league draft, is coming back from reconstructive elbow surgery in September of 2010. He was 5-3 for the Nationals in 2010 with 92 strikeouts in 68 innings before his injury. The start Wednesday night was his third at the minor league level and second in Hagerstown as he works his way back to the major leagues.

After Delino DeShields Jr. drew a walk to lead off the game, Tyler Burnett lined a double into the gap in right center field, scoring DeShields. Burnett moved to third when the throw home was high, and scored on a single by Domingo Santana. Telvin Nash's double to right center scored Santana to give the Legends a 3-0 lead.

The Suns tied it in the bottom of the first. With one out, Blake Kelso reached on a throwing error by third baseman Mike Kvasnicka. After Adrian Sanchez grounded into a force play at second, David Freitas singled, sending Sanchez to third, and Kevin Keyes tied the game with a home run to right center field.

The Legends reclaimed the lead with two runs in the second inning. With one out, Emilio King doubled and DeShields walked. A wild pitch moved the runners up to second and third. Burnett struck out, and Strasburg was relieved by Sam Brown after throwing 49 pitches. Santana's single off Brown scored King and DeShields, giving the Legends a 5-3 lead.

Strasburg pitched one and two-thirds innings and gave up four hits and five earned runs. He walked two and struck out three.

Hagerstown took the lead for good with three runs in the bottom of the second. Mills Rogers doubled, moved to third on a single by Chris Curran, and scored on a double by Michael Taylor as Curran advanced to third. Kelso struck out, but Adrian Sanchez tripled to give the Suns a 6-5 advantage.

In the Hagerstown third, Adrian Nieto doubled with one out and moved to third on Chris Curran's two-out single. Both runners scored on a triple by Taylor, and the Suns had an 8-5 lead.

Each team scored a run in the eighth to close out the scoring. Telvin Nash provided the Lexington run with his 12th home run of the year.

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South Atlantic League Stories from August 17, 2011


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