(April 28, 2023 – Lexington, KY): The York Revolution battled back throughout the evening but dropped their season opener, 5-4 to the Lexington Counter Clocks on Friday evening at Counter Clocks Field.
York got off to a quick start as Trent Giambrone drew a leadoff walk and stole second, before scoring the first run of the season on a Nellie Rodriguez double down the left field line.
Revs starter Greg Minier worked around a leadoff single in his half of the first, stranding Ronnie Dawson at third base.
Lexington broke through in the second, tying the game on a Logan Brown base hit to right.
The Clocks took the lead in the third as Connor Owings connected on a two-run homer to right-center for a 3-1 advantage.
Lexington starter Jerad Eickhoff breezed through the second, third, and fourth, but Jalen Miller singled and Alejandro Rivero was hit by a pitch to ignite a rally in the fifth. Ryan January and Giambrone laced RBI singles to tie the game at 3-3. The Revs were set up with a golden opportunity to reclaim the lead, but with runners at second and third and no outs, were unable to push across a go-ahead run.
The Clocks answered right back in their half of the fifth, loading the bases with no outs on a pair of walks and a single against reliever J.T. Hintzen (0-1). Denson Hull entered to strike out Owings but hit J.D. Osborne with a pitch to force in the go-ahead run. A fielder’s choice off the bat of Brown produced one more as Lexington led 5-3.
Drew Mendoza crushed the Revs’ first homer of the year, a 430-foot blast down the right field line with one out in the sixth to bring York within 5-4.
Hull kept things close, striking out five batters over three scoreless innings of relief. Andrew Gross handled a scoreless eighth to keep it a one-run margin.
The Revs threatened in the seventh when Rodriguez (3-for-5) slammed a triple off the left-center fence but was stranded at third. Rodriguez kept the game alive with a two-out double to left-center in the ninth, his third extra-base hit of the night, but righty Garrett Schilling induced a game-ending groundout for the save.
York saw a two-year Opening Night winning streak come to a close, suffering their first loss in an opener since 2019 (now 10-6 all-time). The Revs also had a five-game winning streak in season openers on the road snapped, dealt their first road loss to start a season since 2008 (now 5-3 all-time in openers on the road).
The Revs were held to a 3-for-13 clip with runners in scoring position, though their counterparts went just 2-for-12.
The Revs will aim for their first win of the season on Saturday night at 6:45 p.m. as Jorge Martinez squares off against Lexington’s Yeudy Garcia. Revs fans can catch the action live on SportsRadio 98.9 FM & 1350 WOYK, 989woyk.com, The New WOYK app, and FloBaseball.TV beginning at 6:25 p.m. with Darrell Henry on the call.
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