SAL1 Greensboro Grasshoppers

Preview: Hoppers Look to Avoid Sweep

Published on April 29, 2018 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greensboro Grasshoppers News Release


GREENSBORO GRASSHOPPERS (12-9) - Marlins

at ASHEVILLE TOURISTS (7-14) - Rockies

Sunday - 2:05 p.m.

McCormick Field - Asheville, N.C.

Game #22 of 140

RH Brady Puckett (1-1, 2.42) vs. RH Antonio Santos (0-3, 5.01)

Today's Preview: The Grasshoppers (A, Marlins) play to avoid a series sweep in Sunday's finale against the Tourists (A, Rockies) at McCormick Field. Greensboro is coming off a 10-8 loss on Saturday in which Asheville set six new benchmarks for an opposing offense in 2018, including most runs (10) and most home runs (four). Today the Hoppers send the big right-hander, Brady Puckett, to the mound in the only ballpark more hitter-friendly than Greensboro for a 2:05 p.m. start in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Hoppers Hurlers: Brady Puckett, 22, makes his fifth start of the season and his first start against a Rockies affiliate. The 6'8" right-hander is coming off no decision on April 22 in a home start against Charleston, working 7.0 innings and allowing two runs on seven hits while striking out five and walking none. It was the second straight 7.0-inning outing for Puckett, who is tied for fifth in the SAL with 26.0 innings pitched. The Marlins selected him in the 15th round of the June 2017 First-Year Player Draft out of Lipscomb, and he made his professional debut last season primarily with the GCL Marlins, going 4-1 with a 2.85 ERA (15 ER/47.1 IP) before making a 2.0-inning relief appearance at Short-Season Batavia to end the 2017 campaign.

Twirling for the Tourists: Antonio Santos, 21 makes his fifth start of the season for the Tourists and the first of his career against a Marlins affiliate. He is coming off three games in a row in which he has allowed four earned runs, working between 5.0 to 6.0 innings in each outing. Despite suffering a loss in his last start - an April 21 outing at West Virginia - Santos struck out a season-high-tying nine batters for the second straight game. This is the second year for Santos in the Sally League, after going 9-10 with a 5.39 ERA (88 ER/ 147.0 IP) and 106 strikeouts in 27 games (27 starts) for the Tourists in 2017. In three starts against Greensboro last season, he went 1-1 with a 5.29 ERA (10 ER/17.0 IP), including a career-high 11 strikeouts over 6.0 scoreless innings in a no decision a year ago yesterday, on April 28, 2017 at McCormick Field. Santos made his pro debut in 2015 with the DSL Rockies and made his domestic debut in 2016 with the Short-Season Boise Hawks.

Last Time Out: Greensboro gave up a season-high 10 runs in a 10-8 loss at Ashville on Saturday at McCormick Field. The Hoppers allowed four home runs - three of which off starting pitcher Edward Cabrera - in defeat. While the Tourists jumped out to a 4-0 lead after two innings, the Hoppers rallied to take a 5-4 lead in the sixth and pulled ahead again 8-5 in the top of the seventh. Asheville pulled away for good with a 4-run home half of the seventh to secure a series win, taking the first two games of this 3-game set.

Take Your Time: Asheville and Greensboro played nine innings in 3:26 on Saturday, the longest game of the season for the Grasshoppers, including all three of the team's extra-inning affairs this season. Greensboro's previous long game lasted 3:14 on April 12 at Hagerstown, a 10-9 win in 10 innings over the Suns.

I love LA: The newest member of the Grasshoppers came through on the offensive end as Lazaro Alonso finished the game 2-for-4 with three RBI and three runs scored. He mashed a 3-run home run (1) in his Grasshoppers debut, a go-ahead blast in the seventh inning. In his unveiling, Alonso set a new season-high mark for most runs scored in a game by any individual Hopper (previously 11 different players had scored twice this season) and tied the mark for most RBI in a game, equaling Micah Brown on April 12 at Hagerstown.

Tourists Trap: Greensboro's offense struggled against Asheville, giving up 10 or more runs in a game for the first time since a 13-11 home loss to Kannapolis August 30, 2017. Asheville topped the season-high in runs for a Greensboro opponent - nine, set April 12 at Hagerstown - as well as the marks for most home runs with four (previously, Hagerstown hit three on April 12). The Tourists also scored runs in five different innings, surpassing the standard of runs in four different frames, which happened four times this season, last on April 21 against Charleston. Asheville's 4-run seventh inning equaled the biggest frame by a Greensboro opponent in 2018, now accomplished four times.

Check out the Greensboro Grasshoppers Statistics

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South Atlantic League Stories from April 29, 2018


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