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Hudson Valley Renegades

Renegades Game Notes

April 25, 2024 - South Atlantic League (SAL)
Hudson Valley Renegades News Release


Hudson Valley Renegades (9-7) vs. Bowling Green Hot Rods (11-6)

RHP Brian Hendry (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Yoniel Curet (0-1, 2.57 ERA)

| Game 17 | Home Game 9 | Thursday, April 25, 2024 | Heritage Financial Park | Wappingers Falls, N.Y. | First Pitch 6:35 p.m. |

FAMILIAR FOE: The Renegades began their season on the road at Bowling Green against the Hot Rods, and now they welcome them to Heritage Financial Park. In the opening series of 2024, Hudson Valley took two of three from the Hot Rods in Kentucky. After dropping the first game of the season 6-1, the Renegades flexed their muscles offensively with a 14-2 win. Jared Serna hit his first home run of the season in the victory, and followed it up with another long ball the following day. The Renegades won the rubber match 3-0, aided by a strong outing from starter Cam Schlittler, who tossed 6.0 scoreless innings and struck out seven. This six-game series will be the final time that Hudson Valley plays Bowling Green this season.

IN OUR RAYS ERA: Hudson Valley continues its homestand taking on Bowling Green, the High-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, the former parent club of the Renegades. From 1996-2020, the Renegades were the New York-Penn League affiliate of the Rays, winning three NYPL Championships (99, 12, 17) and compiling a 927-876 (.514) overall record.

LIGHTS OUT: Left-hander Geoff Gilbert has been nearly unhittable out of the bullpen this season for the Renegades. In 5 appearances, the 22-year-old has not allowed a single run. The former Clemson Tiger has tossed seven innings in relief, and has allowed only one hit and struck out 10 batters. He is one of only seven pitchers in the South Atlantic to hold a 0.00 ERA with at least 5 appearances, and only he and Brian Hendry still haven't allowed an earned run for the Renegades.

I'M WALKIN' OFF OVER HERE!: In their first three home games of the 2024 season, the Renegades recorded walk-off wins over the Aberdeen IronBirds. On Tuesday night, Omar Martínez drew a walk-off walk off Luis Sánchez in the ninth, while Nelson Medina followed that up with a walk-off single off Yaqui Rivera in the 11th on Wednesday. Thursday presented a third different scenario for a walkoff, with Cole Gabrielson scoring on a wild pitch by Ironbirds reliever Deivy Cruz. Hudson Valley had seven walk-off wins in 2023 and just two in 2022.

THIRTY, FLIRTY & THRIVING: The Hudson Valley Renegades are celebrating their 30th anniversary season throughout 2024. Now in their fourth season as a full-season club and affiliate of the New York Yankees, the Renegades will pay tribute to the greatest players and moments in franchise history throughout the season. Since the team's inaugural 1994 season, 131 Renegades have gone on to play in Major League Baseball, with catcher Kevin Brown being the club's first alumni to reach MLB on Sept. 12, 1996. Hudson Valley has been affiliated with three MLB clubs, the Texas Rangers (1994-96), Tampa Bay Rays (96-19) and Yankees (20-Present). They won the New York-Penn League Nader Cup Championship three times: 1999, 2012, and 2017. Other notable former Renegades include 2008 AL Rookie of the Year Evan Longoria, 2009 AL Rookie of the Year Jeremy Hellickson, 2010 AL MVP Josh Hamilton, and Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt.

OVER A DECADE OF SUCCESS: With a 70-62 (.530) record in 2023, the Hudson Valley Renegades recorded their 11th consecutive season with an above .500 record (since 2012). During that span, the team has won two league championships (2012 and 2017), seven playoff appearances (12, 14, 16-19, 23), and five league championship series appearances (12, 16-18, 23). Including their 9-6 start to 2024, among teams in affiliated baseball with at least 800 games, the Renegades have the best winning percentage (.576) in MiLB.

LIMITING HITS & RUNS: Hudson Valley pitchers have been on a roll early on, and have allowed only 89 hits through 16 games. The Renegades have allowed the fewest hits in MiLB, six less than Portland (BOS, AA). Incredibly, Amarillo (AZ, AA) has allowed a staggering 174 hits through 17 games, most among all non-AAA teams. The team's 2.75 ERA is the fourth-lowest mark in High-A, and ninth-best among all MiLB teams.

HUDSON VALLEY TO THE SHOW: Already in 2024, the Renegades have seen four former players make their MLB debuts. Mitch Spence (2021) made his MLB debut with the Oakland Athletics, Matt Sauer (2021-23) debuted with the Kansas City Royals, and Oliver Dunn (2021) broke in with the Milwaukee Brewers all over MLB Opening Weekend. On Monday night, Josh Maciejewski (2021, 23) made his big league debut for the Yankees against the Marlins. The Renegades have now had 131 former players reach the major leagues, including 18 from the Yankees era and 16 from the star-studded 2021 team.

FINISHING STRONG: Over his last 14 games of the 2023 regular season, Jesús Rodríguez went 19-for-53 (.358) with two doubles, a triple, two home runs, 9 RBIs, and seven runs scored. Rodríguez has carried that success into the 2024 season by reaching base safely in eleven of his first fourteen games. He is currently batting .291 with a home run and 5 RBIs on the young season, and already has six multi-hit games, the most on the team. His 16 hits in 2024 rank 6th in the South Atlantic League in that category.

VZ POP: Omar Martínez has has quickly built on his strong season in the Florida State League with Single-A Tampa in 2023. The Renegades backstop is slashing .298/.411/.532 with a .943 OPS through 12 games. His OPS is the seventh-best mark in the South Atlantic League, and his batting average ranks eighth in the league. Martinez has reached base safely in all but two of his appearances, and has at least one hit in 10 of 13 games. On Saturday vs Aberdeen, Martinez launched a go-ahead solo home run to right in the bottom of the eighth to seal a 4-3 Hudson Valley victory. The long ball was the 22-year-old's third of the season, the most of any Renegades player. Last year, Martinez was third among Florida State League hitters with 18 home runs, and his 35 extra-base hits ranked sixth.

EASY AS 1-2-3: With Brian Hendry and Matt Keating combining on a three-hitter in Game 2 of last Friday's doubleheader in Rome, the Renegades became the first team in MiLB this season to have thrown a 1-hitter, a 2-hitter, and a 3-hitter (since joined by Montgomery). They followed that up by tossing a second two-hitter on Sunday in Game 2 of the twin bill with Rome and a three-hitter on Tuesday against Aberdeen. The 'Gades have allowed three-or-fewer hits in five of their first 14 games played, and five-or-fewer hits in seven contests.

MIDWEST REINFORCEMENTS: Jace Avina debuted with the Renegades last Wednesday after being traded to New York for Jake Bauers in November from Milwaukee. The 20-year-old has quickly made a big impact for the Renegades, off to an 8-for-22 (.364) start with four walks and four runs scored in seven games. On Wednesday afternoon vs. Bowling Green, the Sparks, Nevada native had a 3-for-4 outing, featuring his first home run of the season and a go-ahead RBI single in the eighth inning. Avina has also looked excellent defensively in the outfield, throwing out Ryan Higgins at third on a beautiful outfield assist from center on Saturday night. The Spanish Springs High School graduate was the Arizona Complex League MVP in 2022.

INTERNATIONAL OUTREACH: The Hudson Valley Renegades and the Bhutan Baseball & Softball Association have partnered to present Bhutan Night on August 20 at Heritage Financial Park. The team is currently fundraising to bring over several Bhutanese baseball players for baseball and cultural enrichment tour of the Hudson Valley and New York. More details on the night can be found at www.hvrenegades.com/bhutan.

NON-SACRIFICIAL LAMBS: The Hudson Valley Renegades have not laid down a sacrifice bunt in either of the last two seasons, one of four teams in MiLB to not register a sacrifice bunt in that time (also Asheville, Fayetteville and Tampa). The last time the Renegades successfully executed a sacrifice bunt was Eduardo Torrealba on 8/31/2021 at Greensboro, a span of 294 regular season games.

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