SAL1 Hagerstown Suns

Suns Notes

Published on August 26, 2014 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Hagerstown Suns News Release


About last game... The Hagerstown Suns (40-23, 84-49) won back-to-back 7-2 games over the Hickory Crawdads (34-29, 75-57) over the weekend, thereby taking the three-game series in Hickory two games to one. Hagerstown's magic number is now down to two to clinch a playoff berth, meaning any combination of two Suns wins and/or two Hickory losses over the final seven games of the season will send Hagerstown to the postseason.

In the final game of the series on Sunday night the Suns broke a 1-1 tie in the fifth by putting up a three spot. Hagerstown sent eight batters to the plate in that frame, and scored the three runs on four hits and an error. The Suns put up runs the next two innings as well to take a 7-1 advantage, before the Crawdads capped the scoring for the night with a run in the bottom of the seventh. Starting RHP Reynaldo Lopez (4-1) tossed 5.2 innings and gave up one earned run on three hits and one walk while striking out four to get the win for Hagerstown. Starting RHP Colin Wiles (2-3) got tagged with the loss for Hickory. He threw 4.2 innings, surrendering four runs (two earned) on seven hits and one walk. RHP Manny Rodriguez threw the final three frames for the Suns to record his second save of the season.

In the second game of the series on Saturday night the Suns took a 6-0 lead after six innings thanks to plating at least one run in four consecutive frames. The four consecutive innings with at least one run scored began in the third with an RBI double by 3B Cody Dent. Later in the inning he scored on a sacrifice fly by CF Rafael Bautista. Two runs crossed the plate in the fourth as well, and in the fifth LF Narciso Mesa went yard with a solo shot for his third homerun of the season. The run in the sixth came home on a single by Dent.

Starting RHP Robbie Dickey (1-0) got the win in his Hagerstown debut, tossing five scoreless innings while allowing four hits and striking out three. Starting RHP David Ledbetter (6-7) suffered the loss for Hickory. He went 4.2 innings, giving up five runs (four earned) on seven hits and two walks while striking out two. LHP Justin Thomas recorded the save for the Suns. He threw 2.2 innings without being charged for a run, surrendering one hit and one walk while striking out two. The save was his fourth of the year.

In game one of the series on Friday night Hagerstown was held scoreless for the final eight innings, falling by a final of 5-1. Starting LHP Yohander Mendez (3-0) and RHP Angelo Leclerc combined to limit the Suns to five hits. Mendez picked up the win, going five innings and surrendering one earned run on two hits and one walk while striking out one. Leclerc threw the other four innings, giving up three hits and striking out four to earn his third save of the year. LHP Travis Ott (0-2) made his second start for the Suns this season and lasted five innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on four hits and two walks while striking out four. Hagerstown totaled four errors in the game.

Hagerstown outscored Hickory 15-9 over the course of the series, and the Suns out-hit the Crawdads 26-22.

On the Mound... RHP Nick Pivetta will be heading to the hill tonight for the Suns. He is making his 24th start and 25th appearance this season. He last pitched on August 20 at home against Greensboro, tossing 6.2 innings and surrendering two earned runs on five hits including one homer. He walked one in that game and struck out five, and the two runs he allowed came on the homerun, which was hit by the last batter he faced in the outing. Pivetta has allowed a homerun in five of his last six outings. The 6.2 innings he threw against Greensboro marked his fourth longest start of the season. This is Pivetta's first time facing the tourists this season, as he was on the DL the first time these two teams met. On the road this year Pivetta is 5-5 with a 4.92 ERA in 11 games (all starts). Overall this season he has pitched 122.1 innings, giving up 61 runs (57 earned) on 130 hits including 15 homers. He has walked 37 and has struck out 94. Tonight he goes up against RHP Alex Balog for Asheville. Balog is making his 24th start and 26th appearance this season. He last threw on August 20 in relief at Kannapolis, throwing 3.2 innings and surrendering one earned run on three hits and one walk while striking out five. Balog has made two relief appearances over his last three outing after starting the first 22 games he pitched in this season. This is his second time facing the Suns this year. He pitched against Hagerstown on May 23, going 5.2 innings and giving up four runs (one earned).

Touting the Tourists... The Suns and Tourists are playing the fifth of seven games against each other this season, and the first of three that will take place in Asheville. The Suns are 3-1 against Asheville this year.

The Tourists are 44-19 in the second half, good for first place in the Southern Division second half standings.

Asheville is currently first in team batting with a .292 average and tied for sixth in pitching with a team ERA of 3.81.

Listen Live... All Suns home games this season will be broadcast live with play-by-play provided by Eli Pearlstein on hagerstownsuns.com. Just click on the "Listen Live" or "Listen Live on Tunein Radio" link on the drop down menu when you scroll over the "multimedia" tab at the top-middle of the home page. Games can also be heard on your Iphone or android phone with the Tunein Radio app.

Check out the Hagerstown Suns Statistics

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South Atlantic League Stories from August 26, 2014


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