Hernandez tossed 4.2 innings of two-run ball for the Emperors
(36-53) Gwinnett Stripers 2, (52-36) Indianapolis Indians 3
- Matthew Batten, 1B: 2-4, HR, RBI, R
- Sand Leon, C: 1-3, RBI
- Jhancarlos Lara, SP: 3 IP, H, 3 K
Gwinnett squandered a solid spot start from Jhancarlos Lara on Wednesday, as the bullpen gave up three runs across the final two innings in the loss.
After Nathan Wiles got the bump to the big league club, Lara was called upon to serve as the opener and, simply put, he was excellent. In three innings, Lara struck out three batters while allowing just one hit.
Offensively, things were relatively quiet, but the Stripers managed to take an early lead nonetheless. In the top of the second, Matthew Batten launched a solo homer over the left center field wall to give Gwinnett a 1-0 lead.
The Stripers tacked on an additional run in the top of the fifth as Sandy Leon drove home Eddys Leonard to extend the lead to 2-0.
Through seven innings, things were looking up as the Gwinnett bullpen — led by Dylan Dodd and Hunter Stratton — held Indianapolis scoreless through seven innings. In the bottom of the eighth, however, the Indians tagged Kevin Herget for one run to cut the Stripers lead in half. Then, in the next frame, Indianapolis played two runs off Jose Ruiz to walk things off and hand Gwinnett the loss.
(42-40) Pensacola Blue Wahoos 16, (34-46) Columbus Clingstones 9
- Ethan Workinger, DH: 2-4, HR, RBI, 2 R
- Stephen Paolini, RF: 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, R
- Geraldo Quintero, LF: 3-4, RBI, R
- Amos Willingham, SP: 2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, BB, K
Those who are fans of offense got their fix in this one, as Columbus and Pensacola combined for 25 runs on 29 hits. However, the Clingstones ultimately came up short in the loss.
This was as back-and-forth of a game as you’ll see, with four lead changes and five innings with at least two runs scored. Pensacola took the initial lead after plating one run in each of the first two innings.
Trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the third, Columbus took their first lead of the night as Stephen Paolini launched a two-run homer over the left center field wall to make it a 3-2 Clingstones advantage.
The next scoring opportunity for Columbus came in the bottom of the sixth, as the Clingstones were behind 5-3. After Geraldo Quintero and Drew Compton laced back-to-back singles to lead off the frame, David McCabe doubled Quintero home to make it 5-4. By the time the inning was finished, Columbus scored six runs — on just one extra-base hit — to take a 9-5 lead.
Pensacola scored three runs across the seventh and eighth innings to pull within a run of Columbus’ lead.
Leading 9-8 needing just three outs to get the win, the top of the ninth was an utter disaster for Columbus. Reliever Austin Smith was tasked with getting those three outs, but he ultimately failed to retire a single batter. All told, Smith allowed six runs — five earned — and issued three walks before he was pulled.
The Blue Wahoos scored a total of eight runs in the inning to take a wide 16-9 lead, which was far too much for Columbus to overcome in their final at-bat.
(36-45) Rome Emperors 1, (41-41) Hub City Spartanburgers 2
- Mac Guscette, C: 1-4, 3B, RBI
- Justin Janas, RF: 1-3, BB
- Herick Hernandez, SP: 4.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 7 K
Rome came up on the short end in this one, losing by one run to Hub City on Wednesday.
Starter Herick Hernandez was solid for the Emperors, tossing 4.2 innings of two-hit, two-run ball while issuing four walks and striking out seven on the night. However, his offense failed to back him up.
Trailing 2-0 headed into the bottom of the fifth inning, the frame would be the only one in which Rome was able to cross the plate, as Mac Guscette tripled home Keshawn Ogans to cut the deficit to 2-1 on the night.
However, that was the lone scoring opportunity Rome got in this one as that one-run lead would prove to be more than enough to hold the Emperors at bay.
(41-39) Augusta GreenJackets, (32-48) Salem Red Sox (POSTPONED)
Rain got in the way of this one, as Wednesday’s game between Augusta and Salem was postponed. It will be made up on Thursday as part of a doubleheader.