(September 25, 2024 – Charleston, WV): The York Revolution find themselves one win away from an Atlantic League championship as they return home Friday night off a record-setting 19-4 victory over the Charleston Dirty Birds in Game Two of the Championship Series on a rainy Wednesday evening at GoMart Ballpark.
York jumped on top, setting the tone right away with three in the first. Chase Dawson took a leadoff walk and advanced on a wild pitch before scoring the game’s first run as Matt McDermott clubbed an RBI double over the head of right fielder Tillman Pugh. Zander Wiel cracked an 0-2 slider back up the middle for an RBI single, and later stole third to set up Alerick Soularie’s sac fly to center for a 3-0 lead.
The Revs plated two more in the third. Rudy Martin Jr reached on an error and stole second, scoring when Wiel ripped another RBI single back up the middle. Wiel scored all the way from first as Jacob Rhinesmith smacked a two-out RBI double down the left field line for a 5-0 lead.
Roldani Baldwin greeted reliever Joan Martinez with a first pitch homer to left in the top of the fourth, and Wiel added his own leadoff long ball to left in the top of the fifth as the lead expanded to 7-0.
One night after the Revs combined to toss the first one-hitter in Atlantic League playoff history, starter Aaron Fletcher held the Dirty Birds to just one hit through the first four innings.
Conditions began to deteriorate with the rain intensifying in the bottom of the fifth. A two-out error and a pair of wild pitches preceded a Juan Santana RBI single to get Charleston on the board. Fletcher kept the Dirty Birds at a distance as Dawson made a diving catch on a liner at second to end the inning with the lead comfortably at 7-1.
Charleston lefty Carlos Meza struggled wildly in the top of the sixth, walking the first two before Martin Jr hammered a three-run homer to right center, ballooning the lead to 10-1. Two more walks followed before Samuel Alvarado took over. After recording the first out, Alvarado’s command escaped him as a walk to Rhinesmith loaded the bases and Alejandro Rivero accepted his own walk to force in a run. Baldwin drove in a run on a fielder’s choice, and another walk to Dawson reloaded the bases before McDermott took a free pass to force in one more as the Revs led 13-1.
Tom Sutera dealt with the elements in the bottom of the sixth as Charleston scored three times on a Jared Carr RBI double, a wild pitch, and a deflected infield single, but Sutera kept the Birds at a distance, leading 13-4.
Frustrations boiled over for the Dirty Birds in the bottom of the seventh when they believed Carr had a sac fly to left, but Phillip Ervin was ruled to have left third base early and the Revs’ appeal toss to third resulted in an inning-ending double play and a scoreless frame for Jack Eisenbarger. Ervin was ejected from the game after chucking his helmet into the backstop screen and Dirty Birds manager PJ Phillips was also tossed as a result of the argument.
The Revs put the finishing touches on the blowout with another six-run frame in the eighth. Rhinesmith doubled and Rivero singled to get things started. Baldwin drove in the first run on a single, and after a hit by pitch to Dawson loaded the bases, McDermott was hit by a pitch to force in a run. Martin Jr’s sac fly to right gave him a four-RBI game while Wiel finished his record night with an RBI single for his fourth run batted in. David Washington added an RBI knock to left center and Soularie chipped in an RBI fielder’s choice for the final tally.
Frankie Bartow and Braden Scott each worked scoreless innings out of the Revs bullpen to close it out.
Notes: York’s 19 runs establish a new Atlantic League record for a Championship Series game, topping a 15-4 victory by the Atlantic City Surf over the Bridgeport Bluefish in 1998. The Revs’ previous playoff single-game record was 10 runs (2010 Division Series Game One vs Somerset in the franchise’s first ever playoff victory). The Revs tied a club playoff record for most runs in an inning with six in both the sixth and eighth innings; the only previous time they had scored six in an inning was the first inning of their 2010 playoff opener. Wiel was 5-for-5 with five runs scored; the previous club record for a playoff game was three runs scored, while he notches the second five-hit game in Revs playoff history, joining Ramon Castro who did it in Game Two of the 2010 Championship Series. York drew a franchise playoff record 12 walks. They tied a club playoff record with three home runs and have now hit eight long balls this postseason, one shy of a club record set in 2011. They also tied a club playoff record with four steals, matching their single-game record set the night before; their previous record for an entire postseason combined was four steals. Rhinesmith (3-for-5) is now hitting .500 (10-for-20) for the playoffs. The Revs are now 26-21 all-time in the postseason (5-1 this year) and now own a 13-12 mark all-time on the road (4-0 this season). They are also now 11-1 all-time in Championship Series games having won eight straight dating back to 2011. York will send RHP Jon Olsen to the mound in Game Three on Friday night at WellSpan Park as the Revs will aim for the fourth championship in franchise history; Charleston will counter with RHP David Lebron. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale at YorkRevolution.com, (717) 801-HITS, and in-person at the Shipley Energy Ticket Office.
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