Burgers Split Road Series with Dash

The Spartanburgers have been on a very tough two-week road trip that started last week in Greensboro, where they took on the South Atlantic League North Division-leading Grasshoppers, who boast not only the best offense in all of the league or the Single A level, but quite possibly in all of Minor League Baseball. In spite of that, the Burgers pitching managed to hold the ‘Hoppers to single digits in the run column through all but one of the six games in the series. 

Hub City history was made in the opener when Yeison Morrobel hit for the franchise’s first-ever cycle that was part of a slug fest in which the Burgers fell 19-13. The Spartanburgers also won a game in the set, taking game three 9-2 behind three home runs — one from Rafe Perich, who was promoted to Double A Frisco over the following weekend,  another from Carter Garate, and one from Gleider Figuereo. On the mound that night, Kamdyn Perry made his High A debut, tossing four and a third innings of two-run ball on four hits to go with three strikeouts and a pair of walks. Cole Roland ended up getting the win in relief — his second decision of the season in an inning and two-thirds scoreless where he struck out three, walked none, and gave up just one hit. 

However, that was the only win as Hub City went 1-5 on the week for their first road series loss of the season. From Greensboro, the Burgers made the westerly trek to Winston-Salem for their second series of the season against a team that has proven to be a bit of a thorn in their side dating back to last season. The two sides split their first series four games of their first series back in April at Fifth Third Park, ending it with Hub City getting swept by a combined score of 19-1 in a Sunday twin bill that, at that point, felt like the low point of the season. Especially since the Burgers followed it up by dropping the next two games in Greenville to make for a then-season-long four-game losing skid. 

Having dropped the last three against the Grasshoppers coming in to this week’s tilt with Winston-Salem, the Spartanburgers were looking to avoid creating a new season-longest losing streak in the early games of the set. 

The last time these two met, the Dash offense was deep and mashing the ball. This time around, while there was still plenty of speed and power, they were considerably more even with Hub City, and it showed over the first three games. 

The first two contests in the week were eerily similar. In the opener, Enrique Segura and Luke Savage combined to no-hit Winston-Salem through 5 and a third innings. Segura struck out three and worked around six walks through three and a third frames. Savage did not walk a single batter while striking out two more in an inning and two thirds. Eventually in the top of the 8th, Chandler Pollard finally broke the chain of doughnuts on the line score, drawing a leadoff walk, later stealing second and advancing ninety feet more on an errant throw on the play to set up a Morrobel RBI single. 

After a pitching change, Malcolm Moore drew a walk, putting two aboard with no out. But, the next three all went down in strikes to kill a golden chance to add on, which came back to bite in the ensuing half inning. Anthony Susac issued a leadoff walk to Ely Brown, who later advanced on a grounder to third. With 2 away, former South Carolina Gamecock recruiting target George Wolkow smashed a go-ahead two-run homer, which would be the death knell in a 2-1 loss as Hub City went quietly in the top of the ninth. 

Game two saw goose eggs on the board through seven. J’Briell Easley retired four on strikes with two walks in three no-hit shutout frames. Brock Porter piggybacked off that with five zeroes, striking out four and walking just as many with one hit. In Déjà vu fashion, the Burgers pushed a single run across in the top of the eighth, cashing in a leadoff single from Pollard after he swiped second and advanced on a throwing error charged to the catcher on the play. Pollard would end up trotting home on a balk. But once again, Wolkow became the snake bite in the Burgers’ heel, this time in the bottom of the ninth. 

Joey Danielson came on looking for a save, and did get an out after issuing a leadoff walk to Brown. Ryan Burrowes then worked a walk in an at-bat that stretched 15 pitches and with two strikes, Wolkow delivered a walk- off two-run double to win it 2-1. 

In the third tightly-contested battle of the week, Perry made his second start with Hub City, once again shutting out the Dash into the fifth inning. He struck out two, walked three, and gave up just two hits. Kai Wynyard hung two more doughnuts, working two and a third with three K’s, two walks, and no hits allowed. 

Unfortunately, the Spartanburgers could not muster a run in this one, putting up just two hits and striking out 13 times while Winston-Salem pushed across what would be the winning run in the bottom of the eighth.

Cole Stasio came on to start the inning and was tagged for a questionably-ruled leadoff double by Burrowes. The ball was hit through the right side and over ran on a misplay in center, allowing Burrowes the extra ninety feet while the right fielder chased down the ball near the warning track. A groundout advanced Burrowes to third, and he scored shortly thereafter on a wild pitch. Stasio was stuck with the loss as Hub City extended their losing skid to a season-high six straight. 

Fortunes improved dramatically over the last three games of the series thanks to the offense finally broke out of their slump. In a game four that was back and forth, it took double-digit innings to decide. Malcolm Moore dealt the decisive blow in the top of the 11th by clubbing a one out two-run homer — the first four-bagger of the week for the Spartanburgers, making it a 7-5 game. Paxton Kling later added a run of insurance, cashing in a two out hit by pitch to Gleider Figuereo with his second double of the night. 

Kling went on to lead Hub City in the 8-5 win with three RBIs on a 3-6 night at the dish. Malcolm Moore drove in two, scored one, and drew a walk in a 2-5 effort. Antonis Macias and Chandler Pollard also drove in one each, combining to score three runs while Macias went 3-5 at the dish. Joey Danielson anchored the bullpen with a shutout frame in the ninth, notching a strikeout along the way to his sixth save of the season. Jesús Gamez earned the win in relief, surrendering one unearned run on no hits in an inning with a walk and a strikeout. As a whole, the bullpen combined to give up four runs, three of which were earned, on 7 hits with 6 walks and 8 punch outs. 

The offense kept on rolling in game five, taking advantage of a lot of early walks issued by Winston-Salem starter Grant Umberger. In just two innings of work, he issued four free passes and gave up three hits — one of which was a bases-clearing double from Malcolm Moore that was part of a four spot in the 2nd. The Burgers rode that the rest of the way as Ismael Agreda went 4 innings with two earned on three hits, two walks, and five strikeouts. Anthony Susac threw an inning and two-thirds of two run ball, allowing just one earned on three hits to go with a pair of punchies — earning him the win in relief. 

Hub City added insurance runs in the seventh and ninth innings while Luke Savage and Cole Stasio went the final three and a third without allowing a run on one hit, two walks, and two strikeouts. Those two K’s came from Stasio in a three up three down ninth, earning his fourth save of the season as the Burgers went on to the 9-4 victory. 

With a series split and some momentum heading back home to face Asheville on the line in the finale, the offense once again kept the train rolling. Yeison Morrobel set the tone with a leadoff home run. Winston-Salem claimed the lead 2-1 on a solo shot from Bryce Eblin and a Wolkow RBI single in the bottom of the third, the Burgers answered with a two-run blast from Esteban Mejia in the top of the fourth — a frame in which Hub City would hang a six-spot. 

From that point on, the Dash would chip away with three runs across the fifth and sixth innings just for the Burgers to answer with a three spot in the seventh. Winston-Salem added three more spanning the bottom of the 7th and eighth frames only to be answered with a single insurance run in the ninth. 

In the end, Joey Danielson whiffed two in a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth to lock down his seventh save of the season to preserve an 11-8 series-splitting victory for Hub City. Morrobel, Mejia, and Ben Hartl each logged a pair of runs batted in. Morrobel and Macias both went 3-5 at the plate while Mejia notched three hits in four at-bats. DJ McCarty pitched into the fifth inning, striking out nine, walking one, and surrendering two earned on four hits in four and two-thirds. Adrian Rodriguez earned the decision in relief, tossing an inning and a third with one earned on one hit with a K and no walks allowed. 

With the Burgers, now back to .500 at 28-28 on the season ending the road trip with some huge momentum in spite of going 4-8 over these last 12 games, they will return to Fifth Third Park on Tuesday night for the first of a 6-game set with the Asheville Tourists (15-41). First pitch between two arms yet to be named is set for 6:05 PM.