Friday night, Hub City took their second straight home loss, marking the first instance of consecutive defeats in Fifth Third Park this season. The Spartanburgers’ bullpen had its second straight night of tough luck on defensive chances behind them, and that was the difference in the game.
After tossing a scoreless 7th kept the game in a 1-1 tie, HC’s Willian Bormie came back out for the 8th and gave up an infield single to Kalae Harrison that dropped 20 feet in front of the plate. Julian Brock called off Arturo Disla and Bormie only for the ball to drop in front of him as he lunged out for it. Harrison later stole 2nd and took third on a throwing error, eventually scoring on a sac fly.
In the 9th, Joey Danielson gave up a critical insurance run on back to back 1 out hits – a single from Grasshopper shortstop Javier Rivas and a triple to the right field corner from first baseman Maikol Escotto. In the bottom of the frame, the Spartanburgers would end up leaving a runner on after a 2 out walk to catcher Julian Brock and a steal when Gleider Figuereo flew out to center to end the game.
Hub City (17-14, tied for 1st in SAL South Division with Rome) would come into Saturday evening with an opportunity to clinch at least a split of the 6-game set. But, they would need to get their offense back in gear to do so. The Burgers would send DJ McCarty (0-2, 12.38 ERA) to the mound to try and hold back the Grasshoppers’ offense once more and face fellow right hander Antwone Kelly (0-0, 4.26).
Mother Nature had an impact in this one, delaying the start by an hour with some rain and a persistent chilly wind. But that didn’t put the enthusiasm of the 3.996 fans on ice, as they stayed loud and proud until things started to go sideways in the middle innings.
DJ McCarty had to work out of some trouble with 2 on in each of the first 2 innings, having walked 2, beaned 1, and given up a single. But he struck out three and got a couple of big ground balls to avoid any damage and keep the Burgers bats in position to deal a big blow early.
That sucker punch came in the bottom of the 2nd after Arturo Disla took the first pitch he saw to left for a leadoff double. Cal Stark followed by pushing a bunt up the third base side of the mound into no-man’s land for a single. Casey Cook worked a walk to put Burgers on the grill for Gleider Figuereo, who launched a 1-1 pitch high and deep on a line into the home bullpen in right for a grand slam, making for a 4-0 advantage heading to the 3rd.
McCarty’s playing around with a lighter finally sparked a rally in the top of the 4th after he issued consecutive bases on balls to Escotto and Designated Hitter Lonnie White Jr. Center Fielder PJ Hilson bunted them both into scoring position, leading to 9-hole hitter Emmanuel Terrero singling through the left side to plate them both and ending DJ’s game. He was replaced with Anthony Susac, who walked his first hitter before getting out of the inning with a strikeout-throw out double play to hold a 4-2 lead.
That lead was dissolved in the top of the 6th when Seth Clark’s abysmal start to the season continued. He walked Escotto to start the frame and then struck out White. Hilson later was awarded first on a catchers’ interference before Clark walked Terrero to load the bases. Duce Gourson worked a walk to force home Escotto. After notching a strikeout of Omar Alfonzo, Esmerlyn Valdez lined a single just out of the reach of Figuereo and into left field to plate 2 more, giving the Grasshoppers A 5-4 lead.
Adonis Villavicenzio joined in on the bullpen’s command struggles in the top of the 7th as each of the first three batters he faced reached on back to back base hits and a hit by pitch. He rebounded with 2 quick outs before walking Gourson to force in a run. Omar Alfonzo followed with a 2 run knock into left. After walking Valdez to reload the bases, Javier Rivas grounded to short to finally get out of the inning. But, at the stretch, Hub City trailed 8-4.
Greensboro added one more run of insurance in the top of the 8th, cashing in a leadoff walk with a balk and an RBI sac fly, and in the end, the Spartanburgers’ offense was unable to muster anything but 1 run after the 2nd inning. The offense went down in order in 4 of the last 7 innings with 9 more strikeouts (they K’d 13 times as a team tonight). Their lone run the rest of the way came after a Danyer Cueva leadoff double in the bottom of the 8th, taking third on a groundout and coming home on a fielding error on the 2nd baseman, making for a 9-5 final score.
Despite the lopsided loss and having dropped 3 in a row, the Spartanburgers (17-15) can still salvage a split in the series with a win in the finale tomorrow afternoon, which is set for a 2:05 first pitch (weather permitting). Jose Gonzalez (0-3, 2.37 ERA) is set to face off against Khristian Curtis (0-3, 8.84).
