Revs Slug Their Way Closer In First Half Race, Hang On For Epic Win On The Island
Published on June 30, 2011 under Atlantic League (AtL)
York Revolution News Release
Chris Nowak and Scott Grimes each homered twice, and the York Revolution pounded out 22 hits, hanging on for an epic 16-12 victory over the Long Island Ducks to avoid a sweep in front of 6,719 fans at Bethpage Ballpark in Central Islip, NY. York's win coupled with a Lancaster loss moves the Revs within two games of first place with ten games remaining in the Freedom Division's first half race. The Revs return home to open a six-game homestand on Friday night against the Camden Riversharks.
It was a surprising display of offense in a game that featured two of the top four pitchers in the league. in terms of individual ERA, squaring off.
With their sights set on a sweep, Long Island landed the first blow with a three-spot in the first off Revs starter Corey Thurman, who entered with the league's second-best ERA at 2.69. Kennard Jones rapped a ground rule double to deep center on the first pitch, moved to third on a flyout by Ray Navarrete, and scored on a sac fly by Javier Colina for the game's first run. Matt Esquivel kept the inning alive with a bloop single, and Matt Padgett lined a two-run homer to right, giving the Ducks a 3-0 jumpstart.
Nowak brought the Revs within one on a two-run homer to left in the top of the second. The Revs then appeared to have taken the lead on a two-out, two-run double to left-center by Scott Grimes, but those runs were erased when Grimes was called out on an appeal at first base.
York responded by erupting for six runs in the third against Ducks starter Mike Parisi, who did not record an out while facing the first eight batters of the inning. Ramon Castro tied the game with an RBI double to right-center, James Shanks drove in another run on a single to left, Vince Harrison plated two more on a single to center, and Eric Eymann stroked another RBI single to left before Parisi was lifted.
Reliever Bob Zimmermann entered with five runs already home and the bases loaded with still no outs, and induced a double play allowing one more run to come across as York built an 8-3 lead.
The teams continued to trade runs as Padgett drove in another two-out run on a single to right-center in the bottom of the third, cutting the bulge to 8-4.
The Revs extended the lead to 11-4 with three more runs in the fourth, on another two-run single by Harrison to right-center, and a sac fly to center by Eymann.
Long Island again plated a run in their half of the inning as Kraig Binick connected on his first homerun of the season, making it an 11-5 game.
Grimes led off the fifth with a tape-measure homerun to left, giving York its second seven-run lead of the game at 12-5.
Esquivel lined a two-run homer to left in the bottom of the fifth, putting another dent in the Revs' lead. Thurman was then lifted after issuing walks to each of the next two batters. Freddie Thon greeted reliever Ronnie Morales with an RBI double to right, and Binick sprayed a two-run single into right, giving Long Island a five-spot, and suddenly cutting York's once-comfortable lead to 12-10. Morales avoided more trouble when Jones lined into an inning-ending double play.
The Revs added an important insurance run with two outs in the seventh. Val Majewski reached on an infield single to keep the inning alive, Castro dribbled another hit up the middle, and Herrera lined an RBI single to right, with Majewski sliding in safely at home plate to increase the lead to 13-10.
The Revs applied the finishing touches in the eighth as Nowak led off with a homer to left, his second of the night. Grimes later slammed a two-run homer to right-center, as the lead ballooned to 16-10.
Long Island had one last gasp, scoring two runs in the bottom of the ninth on an RBI double by J.R. House and an RBI single by Binick, but Revs closer Michael Nix struck out the side, including each of the final two batters with the tying run on-deck to secure the wild win.
Ricardo Gomez (1-0) worked three no-hit innings to earn the victory, and retired the first eight that he faced working the sixth through eighth innings.
Parisi (5-3), who entered with the league's fourth-best ERA (3.11), suffered the loss, charged with eight runs (six earned) in two-plus innings.
Notes: York's 22 hits are a season-high and the fourth most in a single game in club history. The four homers tie a season-high. It's the fourth and fifth time in the last 14 games that a Revs hitter has hit two homers in a game (Nowak and Grimes). It was Grimes' second multi-homer game in that span, giving him 10 total on the season, seven in his last 13 games. The Revs hit multiple homeruns for the fifth time in the last six games, and have blasted 25 homeruns in their last 14 games. Every starter had at least one hit for the fourth time in the last seven games. Eight of the nine starters had multiple hits. It marked the third time in the last six games that the Revs scored at least 15 runs, and the seventh time in the last 10 games that the Revs scored at least eight runs. It was York's second game with 20 or more hits in the last five contests. The Revs are now 10-2 in Thurman's starts, having won each of his last seven starts, despite allowing season-highs in runs (nine) and walks (five), while working a season-low 4.1 innings... it was just the second time in 12 starts that Thurman has allowed more than three earned runs. Herrera extended his hitting streak to a Revs' season-high 16 consecutive games, while Majewski's streak reached 12 and Harrison's climbed to 11. Harrison has now hit safely in 20 of his last 21 games, with multiple hits in six of his last 10 games. York's league-leading batting average has reached .292 for the first time since May 12. York's Matt DeSalvo (3-3, 4.01) will face Camden's Josh Towers (3-2, 3.00) in Friday's opener at Sovereign Bank Stadium with a special first pitch time of 6:45 p.m. due to pregame festivities for Salute to Veterans Night (all fans encouraged to wear red). The homestand kicks off with a Hot Corner Happy Hour at 4:30 p.m. It's also YMCA Date Night. The night will conclude with Postgame Fireworks presented by PA Lottery and Smart Mama. Tickets are available at YorkRevolution.com, (717) 801-HITS, and in-person at the Apple Chevrolet Ticket Office.
Atlantic League Stories from June 30, 2011
- Revs Slug Their Way Closer In First Half Race, Hang On For Epic Win On The Island - York Revolution
- Road Warriors Take Finale - Lancaster Stormers
- Riversharks Routed by Patriots - Camden Riversharks
- Crabs 'Furnished with a Loss - Southern Maryland Blue Crabs
- Furnish Fires Gem - Bridgeport Bluefish
- Patriots Hang Ten on Sharks - Somerset Patriots
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