Rogers, Hartle on Tap for Friday Night Battle in Akron
EL New Hampshire Fisher Cats

Rogers, Hartle on Tap for Friday Night Battle in Akron

Published on August 22, 2025 under Eastern League (EL)
New Hampshire Fisher Cats News Release


The New Hampshire Fisher Cats (20-27, 50-66) and Akron RubberDucks (25-23, 68-51) are set for a Friday night bout starting at 7:05 PM EDT at Canal Park.

LAST NIGHT

The Fisher Cats' three-game win streak came to a close on Thursday night after falling to the RubberDucks, 4-1. New Hampshire could not climb out of a four-run hole after Akron's four-run bottom of the second inning.

New Hampshire's lone run came across in the top of the third inning when Gabriel Martinez walked and Robert Brooks doubled to open the frame. That set the table for Victor Arias' sacrifice fly to cash in Martinez and make it a 4-1 game. Arias went on to single in the top of the eighth inning, extending his hit streak to seven games.

Fernando Perez (L, 0-2) made his second Double-A start and surrendered four runs, one earned, over three innings pitched. Pat Gallagher pitched two perfect innings as New Hampshire's bullpen held the RubberDucks to two hits across the final five frames.

PITCHING MATCHUP

The Fisher Cats send Grant Rogers (6-6, 3.15 ERA) to the hill for his 16th start since joining New Hampshire on May 20. The team-leader in quality starts is coming off another effective performance in Binghamton, where the right-hander tossed six scoreless innings with six punchouts and no walks in New Hampshire's 8-0 win. Rogers set the table for Yondrei Rojas to make his Double-A debut in game one of a doubleheader in Binghamton as New Hampshire snapped its eight-game losing skid. Of Rogers' 15 appearances at Double-A, 10 of them have been quality starts, including each of his last three and five of his last six. The righty out of Groves, Texas, was called up to New Hampshire with former Fisher Cats starter Juaron Watts-Brown, who was sent to the Baltimore organization in this year's trade deadline. Rogers went 3-1 with a 1.82 earned run average across six starts with Vancouver and collected 36 strikeouts to six walks over 37-2/3 innings pitched. Standing at 6-foot-7, Rogers was a two-time Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year at McNeese State in Lake Charles, Louisiana, posting a 12-1 record with a 1.82 earned run average in his final year with the Cowboys. Rogers is in his second year of professional baseball after being selected by the Blue Jays in the 11th round of the 2023 MLB Draft.

Left-hander Josh Hartle (0-0, -.--) will make his Double-A debut for the RubberDucks on Thursday night. Hartle went 10-2 with a 2.35 earned run average over 22 starts for High-A Lake County before being promoted to Akron on August 21. He racked up 100 strikeouts and 37 walks across 103-1/3 innings for the Captains, while holding opponents to a .195 batting average. The 22-year-old was drafted by Pittsburgh in the third round of the 2024 MLB Draft and made one appearance in the Pirates organization. Hartle made his professional debut with Single-A Bradenton on September 2 and allowed three earned runs in 1-2/3 innings pitched against Dayton (A, CIN). On December 10, 2024, Hartle was dealt to Cleveland with pitchers Luis Ortiz and Michael Kennedy for first baseman Spencer Horwitz. Ortiz, 26, has logged 16 starts for the Guardians this year as Kennedy, 20, has made 13 appearances and six starts for Lake County. Hartle pitched to a 1.35 earned run average over five starts in July and has yet to allow an earned run across 15 innings and three starts in August. His last appearance for the Captains was on August 16 when Hartle dealt six scoreless, one-hit innings against Peoria (A+, STL).

THIS DAY IN FISHER CATS HISTORY

August 22, 2024 - In an 8-2 win over the Yard Goats at Delta Dental Stadium, RJ Schreck hit a first-inning homer, and Rainer Nunez homered in the second. The early 7-0 lead was enough for Lazaro Estrada, who went six innings for the first time with the Fisher Cats. He allowed three hits and only one unearned run, while striking out eight Hartford batters. Schreck and Nunez each finished with two hits, as did Ryan McCarty, who went 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI.

WHAT'S NEXT?

New Hampshire and Akron's weekend slate of games kicks off with a 6:05 PM EDT first pitch on Saturday night. Right-hander Rafael Sánchez (2-7, 5.27 ERA) starts for the Fisher Cats against RubberDucks righty Trenton Denholm (10-5, 3.77 ERA) in the fifth game of the series.

Check out the New Hampshire Fisher Cats Statistics

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