BOX SCORE
Down four in the ninth, the York Revolution fought back to bring the winning run to the plate but Isaias Tejeda narrowly missed a walk-off home run, flying to the warning track in right field as the Bridgeport Bluefish took the series opener 7-5 at PeoplesBank Park in the return from the Atlantic League All-Star break on Friday night.
Bridgeport wasted no time getting on the board. D’Arby Myers led off the game with an infield single, stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and two batters later scored on a Jose Cuevas double to left-center to take a 1-0 lead.
Bridgeport struck again in the third, as Myers led off the inning by taking a Jay Gause offering over the Arch Nemesis in left for his third home run of the season, extending the lead to 2-0. It was Gause’s first home run allowed, and his two earned runs over 4.2 innings in Friday’s game matched his run total from his previous three starts combined.
York got on the board in the fourth as Jared Mitchell led off the inning with a double to left center, advanced to third as Dayron Varona guided a productive groundout to the right side, and came in to score on a Travis Witherspoon sacrifice fly to right field, cutting the deficit to 2-1.
Bridgeport tacked on a run in the top of the seventh. Myers was again the catalyst, leading off the inning with a single. After stealing second, Myers came in to score on a Luis Hernandez single off the wall in left, on which he was thrown out by Alonzo Harris trying to stretch it into a double.
Trailing 3-1 in the home half of the seventh, Witherspoon led off with an infield single, stole second and moved to third on a groundout, but the skies opened and the game was delayed for an hour and seven minutes due to rain. Following the delay, Zac Grotz entered in relief of Bluefish starter Jonathan Albaladejo and delivered his first pitch to the backstop, bringing Witherspoon in to score and lifting the Revs within a run.
The Bluefish would answer with a big top of the eighth, batting around in the inning with three walks and three hits, and scoring three runs on a Myers (5-for-5) single and back-to-back bases loaded free passes to extend the lead to 6-2.
The Revs bounced back for a run in the bottom half. Harris led off with a walk, advanced to second on a groundout, and scored on a Tejeda single through the right side with Harris running on the pitch to make it a 6-3 game.
Bridgeport would tack on another insurance run to begin the ninth. With one away, Tony Abreu reached on a single and moved up to second on a wild pitch. Two batters later, Ozney Guillen lined a single to the gap in right center, bringing home Abreu to make it 7-3.
York continued to show fight in the ninth, stringing together three singles to begin the frame with Witherspoon coming across on a Luiz Cruz RBI. With the Revs down to their final out, Alexi Casilla snuck a single through the right side, bringing home Angel Franco and extending his hitting streak to 13 games in-a-row. Tejeda followed, representing the winning run, and skied the first pitch from Bluefish closer David Carpenter on to the back of the warning track in right field, but Guillen was there to squeeze it, preserving the 7-5 Bridgeport win.
The Revs and Bluefish are back in action Saturday night when Rainy Lara (7-4, 2.86) and Victor Mateo (3-5, 3.93) face off on the mound. It’s Faith & Family Night at PeoplesBank Park presented by PrimoHoagies, as well as Post-game fireworks following the action. For tickets visit yorkrevolution.com, the Apple Chevrolet Ticket Office, or call 717-801-HITS.
Darrell Henry and Matt Present will be on the air at 6:10 p.m. on WOYK 1350, as well as online at woyk1350.com, YorkRevsTV.com, and on the WOYK App.