Perez Continues Hot Stretch in Fireflies 8-5 Loss
CarL Columbia Fireflies

Perez Continues Hot Stretch in Fireflies 8-5 Loss

Published on July 29, 2026 under Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release


Columbia Fireflies pitcher Yeri Perez
Columbia Fireflies pitcher Yeri Perez
(Columbia Fireflies)

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Yeri Perez kept his hitless outing streak in check against the Augusta GreenJackets as the Fireflies fell 8-5 at SRP Park Tuesday night. Perez has not allowed a hit in his last three contests, spanning five innings for Columbia. He has notched five strikeouts on the run, which began July 22 vs Kannapolis.

All-in-all, the bullpen was strong in Tuesday's game, which allowed the Fireflies bats to rally late. Perez, Brandon Herbold and Jhon Reyes all turned in hitless outings to keep Columbia in the game. Herbold matched Perez's two hitless innings and Reyes mopped up the final two outs with a strikeout. Moises Amezquita was the final Fireflies reliever to pitch Tuesday, and he allowed a pair of runs in the eighth inning on the final of Connor Essenburg's three homers on the night.

Essenburg tallied a solo homer in the first, a two-run homer in the second and a second, two-run homer in the eighth inning. It was the first three homer game against the Fireflies since Charleston's Connor Hujsak accomplished the feat September 4, 2024 at Segra Park. The outfielder paced the way for five GreenJackets homers on the night, which is the most homers Columbia has surrendered in a game this season.

The Play-by-Play

The GreenJackets cracked the score column first Tuesday. In the bottom of the first inning, 19-year-old outfielder Conor Essenburg deposited his 12th homer of the season beyond the left field wall on the ninth pitch of the at-bat to give Augusta a 1-0 advantage.

In the second inning, the power stroke continued to work for Augusta, Junior Garcia pulled a two-run blast to right and later in the inning, Connor Essenburg mashed his second homer of the game to score Luis Guanipa and give the GreenJackets a 5-0 lead.

Essenburg launched one more round-tripper in the bottom of the eighth inning. It's the first time Columbia's pitching staff has surrendered a three-homer game since Connor Hujsak smashed three against Columbia July 3, 2026. The Braves 12th-ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline led the GreenJackets to a five-homer game, the most the Fireflies have allowed in a single game in 2026.

Columbia cut into Augusta's lead in the third. Roni Cabrera smoked his eighth homer of the season to left to make it 5-1-but Augusta answered quickly via a solo homer from Nick Montgomery in the bottom of the third to increase the Augusta advantage to five once again.

All-in-all, starter Ryan McDonagh (L, 2-3) surrendered four homers in three innings and was tagged with six earned runs on five hits and two walks before Columbia transferred the ball to the bullpen.

On the other side, Davis Polo (W, 5-5) had a career outing. The righty spun a career-high 7.2 innings and matched a career-best nine strikeouts as he kept the Fireflies bats at bay for his second-consecutive start against the team.

The Fireflies rallied against Augusta's bullpen, scoring four runs with their final four outs. Logan Forsythe came in and issued back-to-back walks with two outs in the eighth. Next, Henry Ramos reached on a two-base throwing error from Juan Mateo that scored Connor Rasmussen to cut Augusta's lead to 6-2 with two outs in the frame. Next, Josh Hammond drilled a single up the middle to score Angel Ramirez and Ramos to make it a two-run game.

After Essenburg's homer, Forsythe again issued back-to-back walks to start the ninth and JC Vanek grounded out to score Yandel Ricardo from third to get Columbia back within three. The Fireflies rally ended with a Connor Rasmussen flyout. Rasmussen was the tying run with Sean Gamble at third and Roni Cabrera on first.

On Deck

The Fireflies continue their series with the Augusta GreenJackets tomorrow night at SRP Park at 6:35 pm. Columbia has yet to name their starter for the game, but the GreenJackets are throwing RHP Gensi Angeles in his Carolina League debut.

The Fireflies return home for a series with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans Tuesday, August 4 until Sunday, August 9. Head to Segra Park for Bluey at the Ballpark presented by Cassell Brothers Home Services with a live appearance from Bluey and Bingo Saturday, August 8 and Darlington NASCAR Night featuring $1.50 Budweisers and $1.50 hot dogs during the game. Buy tickets starting at just $6 at FirefliesTickets.com.

Check out the Columbia Fireflies Statistics

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Columbia Fireflies pitcher Yeri Perez
Columbia Fireflies pitcher Yeri Perez
   



Carolina League Stories from July 29, 2026


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