(June 16th, 2023 – York, Pa.): Drew Mendoza drove in five runs as part of a huge late game outburst as the York Revolution won for the fifth consecutive game, whipping the Long Island Ducks 13-5 on Friday night at WellSpan Park. The Revs maintain a 1.5-game lead for first place with the victory.
Trailing 4-2 at stretch time, the Revs erupted to score six runs in the seventh and five more in the eighth to take the lead and eventually run away with the victory.
Long Island jumped to an early lead with three runs in the top of the third. Alejandro De Aza roped one just inside the chalk along the left field line that scored a pair, and Alex Dickerson knocked in a run on a single to right field as the Ducks led 3-0. Revs starter Jorge Martinez left the game due to injury after just 2.1 innings pitched.
The Revs answered with two runs in their half of the third. Ryan January singled and Trent Giambrone doubled down the left field line to start the inning. Trey Martin drove a liner to right center for a sac fly, and with two outs, Richard Urena stayed hot and shot one up the middle for an RBI single, cutting the Ducks lead to 3-2.
Revs righty J.T. Hintzen (4-3) played a huge role in the victory, taking over after Martinez’ departure and allowing just one run in 4.2 innings to pick up the victory.
Long Island’s only run off Hintzen came in the top of the seventh on a base hit from Tzu-Wei Lin, making it a 4-2 game. Hintzen gave up just three hits with no walks to go with five strikeouts.
Ducks starter Ian Clarkin did not allow another hit after the third innings, limiting the Revs to just two runs on four hits in six innings as he handed the lead to the bullpen in the late innings.
Joe Kuzia came in for the Ducks in the bottom of the seventh and got the first out of the inning before the Revs mounted a huge game-changing rally. Giambrone laid the foundation with an infield single and Martin smoked a base hit into left. Jacob Rhinesmith fouled off five two-strike pitches before capping a clutch nine-pitch battle with an RBI single to center, bringing York within a run. Urena singled to center to load the bases, chasing Kuzia (2-2) with still just one out.
Tomo Otosaka was called upon to pinch hit and the Ducks brought in lefty Kyle Lobstein. Otosaka tied the game with a first pitch single to left field that was lined off the glove of third baseman Joe DeCarlo, squaring the score at 4-4. Mendoza followed with a two-run single to center field giving the Revs their first lead at 6-4 with six consecutive singles. Alejandro Rivero fought his way on base with a two-out walk to load the bases for January who drove a two-run double off the right field wall, giving the Revs an 8-4 advantage after seven innings.
J.P. Woodward tossed a 1-2-3 eighth, striking out a pair.
The offense put together another huge inning, scoring five in the eighth to put the game away. Martin walked and stole second before moving to third on a fly ball. Urena drove one off the wall in right to score Martin on a double, extending the lead to 9-4. Mendoza nailed a three-run home run to right field as the lead exploded to 12-4. The Revs still weren’t done, loading the bases on two walks and a Rivero double before Giambrone rolled one to the right side for an RBI groundout, plating the Revs’ 11th unanswered run.
Tasker Strobel was touched for a run on three hits but recorded the final three outs to close out the victory.
Notes: York improves to 16-8 in comeback decisions, an impressive 6-15 when trailing heading to the seventh, and 10-8 when the opponent scores first. York leads the league with 44 runs in the seventh inning (outscoring opponents 44-23). The Revs are now 15-6 at home, having won 10 of the last 11 home games. York’s 27-16 record establishes the best 43-game start to a season in franchise history. The Revs are 17-4 since May 24, having outscored opponents 162-103 on that stretch. The five-game winning streak is the Revs’ third streak of five-plus wins this season, joining Gastonia with the most such streaks in the league so far this season; York and Gastonia are the only teams with more than one five-game winning streak. The offense posted 14 hits and 10 walks; York leads the league in total hits (424), walks (197), team batting (.284), and on-base percentage (.373) while ranking second in runs (275). Mendoza’s five-RBI game is the Revs’ third of the year, joining Otosaka (May 10) and Troy Stokes Jr. (Sunday); all three have come against the Ducks. Mendoza is now hitting .439 with four homers and 21 RBI in 16 games since May 25. Stokes Jr. stole three bases, his most since a three-steal game in last year’s home opener (May 3, 2022 vs. Gastonia) and now has 40 steals in his Revs career, three shy of reaching the franchise’s top ten. The Revs improve to 7-6 on the season against the Ducks, having won five of the last seven. York is averaging 8.5 runs per game against Long Island. The Revs played error free defensively for the fifth consecutive game. Hintzen has a 2.25 ERA in five outings (12.0 innings) since returning to the bullpen and has picked up the win in comeback victories in each of his last two appearances. Woodward worked a fifth straight scoreless outing. Urena extended his hitting streak to eight straight. Revs pinch-hitters had been 0-for-9 on the season before Otosaka’s game-tying single in the seventh. York righty Tom Sutera (3-2, 5.40) starts Saturday’s contest against Long Island righty Robert Stock (debut) with first pitch at 6:30 p.m. It is Jeep Night presented by PA Jeeps featuring Inside-the-Park Fireworks presented by Blue Moon Light Sky. Tickets are on sale at YorkRevolution.com, (717) 801-HITS, and in-person at the Shipley Energy Ticket Office.
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