Club Notes 4/8

Ian Locke Norfolk Tides

The Gwinnett Braves thwarted a ninth inning Tides rally, then used a two-out homer in the tenth to knock off Norfolk 4-2 Friday night at Harbor Park.

With the score tied 2-2 in the ninth, Norfolk mounted a near game-winning rally off of Braves reliever Danny Burawa (1-0). Michael Almanzar worked a one-out walk and moved to third on a single by Paul Janish, and L.J. Hoes followed with another walk to force the bases loaded. Burawa escaped the threat, however, as he retired Christian Walker on a strikeout before getting Joey Terdoslavich to ground out to second on a 3-2 pitch, sending the game to extra innings.

In the tenth, Daniel Castro worked a one-out walk from Zach Phillips (0-1), and Reid Brignac followed by reaching on a fielder?s choice. Tyler Moore then lofted the first pitch he saw over the left-center field wall for a two-run homer, giving the Braves a 4-2 lead.

Madison Younginer made the lead hold up, as he worked a scoreless tenth to earn the save and give the Braves their second straight win to open the 2016 season.

Hoes led Norfolk?s offense with a double and two walks, as the Tides drew seven walks in the contest but left 10 men on base. Henry Urrutia singled, walked and scored a run, while Ozzie Martinez added a single, walk and stolen base.

Norfolk starter Nick Additon yielded two runs on five hits over four innings of work. The Braves plated both of their runs off of him in the second frame, as Gwinnett strung together four consecutive hits ? including RBI knocks by Ryan Lavarnway and Rio Ruiz - to take an early 2-0 lead.

Matt Wilson Bowie Baysox

After committing three errors in an opening night loss, the Baysox defense committed two more Friday night leading to a pair of unearned runs in a 10-4 loss to Akron. A pair of home runs from Trey Mancini and Quincy Latimore were not enough to make up the difference on offense.

Baltimore Orioles LHP Brian Matusz pitched one inning for the Baysox Friday night on a Major League Rehab Assignment. It was a 1-2-3 inning and he recorded one strikeout.

It looked like a promising start to Friday's game when Mancini opened Friday's game game with his second home run of the season in the bottom of the first inning to give the Baysox a 2-0 lead. The home run came after Bowie native Jeff Kemp singled in his first career Double-A at bat against Akron starter Shawn Morimando.

Akron responded with a run in the top of the second inning against Baysox starter David Hess. Nellie Rodriguez hit a lead-off double to center field and scored on a Bryson Myles single to left field to make the score 2-1.

The RubberDucks came back to tie the game in the top of the fourth inning. Myles drew a lead-off walk and stole second base before scoring on a Jeremy Lucas single to right field that tied the score 2-2.

Akron came all the way back to take the lead in the top of the fifth inning. After a lead-off single by Clint Frazier, reliever Donnie Hart replaced Hess on the mound. Hart hit Bradley Zimmer with his first pitch before a Yandy Diaz hit into a force out at second base put runners on the corners with one out. Hart then picked off Diaz at first base, but Frazier scored on the play to give Akron a 3-2 lead.

The RubberDucks kept piling on the runs in the top of the sixth inning.Jordan Smith reached on a one out single to left field and moved to second base after a missed catch error by Adrian Marin on a pick-off attempt. With two outs, Todd Hankins reached on a fielding error by Quincy Latimore in right field that allowed Smith to score. The final run of the inning came home on an Eric Stamets RBI single to center field that made the score 5-2.

The Baysox tried to rally in the bottom of the eighth inning against Akron reliever Jordan Cooper. After Manini drew a lead-off walk, Latimore crushed a home run into the trees beyond the left field fence to make the score 5-4.

Akron shut the door in the top of the ninth inning against Baysox reliever Dennis Torres. Hankins drew a lead-off walk and Stamets followed with a single to third base. Frazier then reached on a sac bunt, fielder's choice to load the bases before Diaz drew a one-out walk to bring home a run. Nellie Rodriguez then blew the game open with a grand slam to left field to give Akron a 10-4 lead.

Hess threw four innings and allowed three runs on seven hits while striking out five and walking one in the loss. Hart pitched two innings in relief, allowing a pair of unearned runs on two hits while striking out four. Matusz pitched a scoreless seventh inning for the Baysox. Torres threw 1.2 innings and allowed five runs on two hits and two walks while striking out two. Reliever Ashur Tolliver recorded the final out of the ninth inning for Bowie.

Frederick Keys

MYRTLE BEACH, SC -The Frederick Keys batted around in the sixth inning, scoring four times as the visitors earned a 7-5 win over the Myrtle Beach Pelicans on Friday night at TicketReturn.com Field at Pelicans Park. In the game, the orange and black went 5-for-13 with runners in scoring position while seven of the club's nine starters finished with one hit.

Charcer Burks gave Myrtle Beach a 1-0 lead in the third with a solo home run to left, before the Keys tied the game in the fifth. After Pelicans starter Zach Hedges retired 12 straight, Jomar Reyes singled to open the inning and advanced to second on a throwing error by Ian Happ. Later in the inning, Reyes scored on a single by Anthony Caronia.

Hedges would not make it through the sixth, as all nine Keys batters came up. Jay Gonzalez singled to open things off and reached second on Happ's second error. Gonzalez and Wilkerson then executed a double steal, before Aderlin Rodriguez drove home both with a double to center.

Dillon Maples would take Hedges' place, but struggled mightily with command, throwing only six of his 16 pitches for strikes. The reliever walked Reyes and then allowed an RBI single to Jimmy Bosco. Later in the inning Reyes scored on a wild pitch, before Maples was removed due to injury.

Down 5-1, the Pelicans refused to go away, scoring the next three. Happ walked with one out against David Richardson, moved to third on a Yasiel Balaguert single and scampered home on a wild pitch. One inning later, Cael Brockmeyer made it a one-run affair with a two-run homer off Luis Gonzalez.

Both sides exchanged runs in the eighth, as the Keys scored on a Bosco double and a Jonah Heim single, while the Pelicans countered with a David Bote RBI double that plated Jeffrey Baez.

With the Keys lead back to a single marker, Josh Hart singled home Gonzalez from second in the ninth to make it 7-5. In their last at-bats, Myrtle Beach threatened against Garrett Cortright, putting men at the corners with no outs, but the Canisius product retired the next three to end the game.

Richardson (1-0) earned the win, giving up a run on two hits in two innings. He walked one and struck out three. Cortright picked up the save, working 1.2 scoreless frames. The righty surrendered two hits, walked one and struck out two. After a good beginning, Hedges (0-1) suffered the loss, allowing four runs (two earned) on five hits in 5.1 innings. He struck out six and walked one.

Brandon Gulick Delmarva Shorebirds

Defense Lets Down Shorebirds in Late-Inning Loss at Hagerstown

Four Errors Prove Costly Early and Late in the Ballgame

HAGERSTOWN, MD - The Shorebirds overcame some costly errors when catcher Alex Murphy smashed a bases-clearing, 3-run double to give Delmarva the lead in the top of the eighth inning. But it wouldn?t hold. The Suns responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the eighth and won the second game of the season opening series, 6-4. The Shorebirds committed four errors in the loss, bringing their early season total to seven through the first two games.

Delmarva (1-1) fell behind in the first inning when leadoff hitter Victor Robles reached on Ryan Mountcastle?s error at shortstop, his second miscue in as many nights. Robles quickly stole second and third base. While stealing third, Murphy?s throw went sailing wide of the bag and into left field, allowing Robles to score the first run of the year for Hagerstown. The Suns (1-1) good fortune was far from finished.

The Shorebirds tied the game in the top of the fourth inning on a pair of two out base knocks. Murphy clubbed a double to right-center field and Mountcastle followed with a 1-hop smash to third base. Kelvin Gutierrez brilliantly dove and snared the ball, but his throw to first base was off target. Murphy scored on the error and Mountcastle traveled to second base. That?s all the scoring the ?Birds could muster though in the frame.

Hagerstown grabbed the lead back when shortstop Edwin Lora blasted his first home run of the season over the left field wall and onto the roof of the batting cages. Lora isn?t known for his power at just 6?1? and 150 pounds, but he took a good fastball from Shorebirds? starter Brian Gonzalez over the fence to regain momentum and the edge on the scoreboard.

The Suns added another run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Robles led off the inning with a double against Gonzalez. While Max Schrock was at the plate, Gonzalez balked, sending Robles to third. Gonzalez bad luck hadn?t run out; he struck out Schrock on a ball in the dirt that skipped away from Murphy which allowed Robles to score from third and Schrock to reach first base. Despite a rock rest of the inning, which included two more wild pitches, Gonzalez and his replacement Patrick Baker closed the door on any further damage.

Delmarva finally broke through in the top of the eighth inning. Ricardo Andujar, Gerrion Grim and Cedric Mullins led off the frame with three straight singles to load the bases. After lefties Ademar Rifaela and D.J. Stewart couldn?t come up with base hits against southpaw relief pitcher Taylor Guilbeau, the Suns went to the bullpen to bring on Mariano Rivera III against red-hot Alex Murphy. Murphy got a fastball on the eighth pitch of his at bat, drilling it into the left-center field gap and clearing the bases. But the Shorebirds lead was short-lived.

In the bottom of the eighth, Matthew Page and Rhett Wiseman connected on RBI singles, and with Wiseman eventually on second, another throwing error on Murphy during a stolen base attempt sailed into left field. Wiseman?s run made the score 6-4, where the game would finish.

Taylor Hearn pitched well in his first start of the season for Hagerstown, allowing one unearned run and four hits in five innings. Brian Gonzalez had an up-and-down night for the Shorebirds, firing 5.2 innings, allowing three runs and striking out five.