Walks Destroy the Night in Somerset

BY: Vincent Picone

 

On a hot and humid day in Somerset, the Patriots looked to get the bats going and take down the first-place Erie Seawolves. 

The two teams faced each other on Tuesday, with the Patriots losing 12-5. Despite the loss, Marcus Stroman made another Rehab start, going 3.2 Innings; however, he did allow five runs. 

 

The Patriots looked to even up the series yesterday with a win against the Seawolves. They would put a righty who shined his last start on the mound with Carlos Lagrange, who struck out 12 in five and a third last time out against Portland. 

For the Sea Wolves, they would send Garrett Burhenn to the bump. He came into this one leading the team in wins (7), ERA (3.30), and Strikeouts (61)

 

What looked like a pitching duel wouldn’t start that way as in the bottom of the first after George Lombard Jr. hit a ground-rule double. Rafael Flores stepped up to the plate with two outs. He flicked one out to left, and Lombard would come around to score.  The lead wouldn’t last for long because, in the top of the second, the nine-hole hitter Jim Jarvis brought in the game-tying run with a single.

 

Erie would be able to load up the bases after Lagrange. Then, in his first AA start, the new catcher, Omar Martinez, had a catcher interference that would move everyone up a base.  Lagrange would struggle after this. The second baseman, Max Anderson, hit a two-run double to extend the lead. He would get out of the inning with a good throw, but the walks would kill him in this one.  He gave up a career-high seven free passes. Now, in his four combined starts in Somerset dating back to June 6, he has given up 15 walks in a little over 20 innings pitched. His night ended with four innings pitched, four runs allowed, seven walks, and four strikeouts.

 

The bats struggled, but Omar Martinez did have a big moment. In the bottom of the sixth, he launched his first Double-A home run. This was also his first Double-A hit and RBI—a great start to his Somerset career. The Yankee’s #2 prospect, Spencer Jones, also got a hold of a pitch with a homer of his own. This was his 16th home run. Jones leads all Yankees minor league and Eastern League batters with 16 homers. Despite their efforts, the Patriots would lose 9-3 and start the second half of the season 0-2, falling under .500 with a 35-36 record. They are set to play game three of the series at 6:35 PM back in Somerset on Thursday night. With Austin Bergner taking on Somerset’s Brock Selvidge.