(June 13, 2019 – York, Pa.): The York Revolution took four out of five from the High Point Rockers, winning 4-2 on Thursday night at PeoplesBank Park. The Revs now head to Lancaster for a four-game series over the next three days before returning home on Tuesday night.
York right-hander Corey Walter, making his first career start at PeoplesBank Park, took the mound for the series finale after a 90-minute rain delay at the outset. Walter recorded the first two outs of the game before Tyler Marincov and Viosergy Rosa hit back-to-back singles to set the table for the Rockers. Walter rebounded nicely as he retired Stephen Cardullo on a fly out to left to finish a scoreless first inning.
Former Rev and current High Point starter Joe Van Meter worked around a one-out double from James Skelton to retire the side and keep the game scoreless through one.
After Walter worked his second consecutive scoreless frame, the Revs got on the board in the bottom of the second inning. J.P. Sportman continued his impressive month of June by slapping a triple off of the wall in right field. With a runner on third and one out, Carlos Franco got the job done by recording an RBI ground out to second base, scoring Sportman and giving York an early 1-0 advantage.
“I’m comfortable,” said Sportman after the game of his recent move to the middle of the lineup. “We have a lot of good hitters in the lineup. Being in the six-hole means I get to hit with runners on base so pitchers have to attack me. I’m just happy I can contribute.”
Walter and Van Meter both recorded scoreless frames in the third. After Walter finished his fourth inning with no runs allowed, the Revs added a run in their half of the frame. Isaias Tejeda smacked a one-out double off the Arch Nemesis in left to give York a runner in scoring position. Telvin Nash immediately followed with an RBI double over the head of center fielder Myles Schroder, moving the lead to 2-0.
After Walter worked around two singles in the top of the fifth to keep the Rockers scoreless, the Revs added another run in the bottom of the fifth inning. Welington Dotel led off the inning with a single into right field. Van Meter retired the next two Revs batters before surrendering a two-out walk to James Skelton. The walk proved crucial as Mesa followed by slapping a single through the hole at short and third to plate Dotel and grow the lead to 3-0.
After surrendering a leadoff walk to Rosa in the top of the sixth, Walter was replaced by Jameson McGrane. Cardullo, who had struggled all series, greeted McGrane with a double to left-center, giving High Point runners on second and third with no outs. McGrane induced Hector Gomez to pop up for the first out of the inning and keep the runners in their place. Richie Shaffer walked to load the bases with one out and Giovanny Alfonzo lofted a ball to deep right field. Dotel made the catch and fired a rocket into the cutoff man Angelys Nina who relayed to first to double up an overly-aggressive Shaffer. Rosa tagged and scored before the final out was recorded which cut the Revs lead to 3-1.
For the third consecutive inning, the Revs added to their lead. Nash led off the inning with a walk. Rockers right-hander Akeel Morris fought back to record the first two outs of the inning, but Dotel came through in the clutch, cracking a double to the gap in left-center field, scoring Nash from first and driving the lead to 4-1.
Julio Perez worked arguably his best outing of the season in relief of McGrane. Perez went two perfect innings while striking out three in his team-high 22nd appearance, keeping the score locked at 4-1.
After the Revs failed to add insurance in the bottom of the eighth inning, Josh Judy came in to pitch looking for his fourth save of the year. Judy allowed three singles which produced a run, but retired Schroder on a line out to center with runners on first and second to end the game with the Revs winning the series, 4-1.
Walter (1-1) earned his first win, allowing a season-low one run in five-plus innings. It marked his third consecutive start allowing two runs or fewer.
Recap by Brett Pietrzak
Notes: The Revs have won five of their last six at home. York has also won five of its last six head-to-head against High Point after dropping the season’s first six meetings. The Revs ripped four doubles, adding to their league-leading total of 97 on the season. Tejeda’s double is the 76th of his Revs career, moving within three of Eric Patterson for third in club history. Mesa drove in seven runs in the series and now has 26 RBI in his last 29 games, giving him a team-leading 32 on the season which is tied for fourth most in the league. Sportman’s triple extended his hitting streak to 11 consecutive games, the Revs’ second-longest of the season and the league’s second-longest current active streak. Revs starting pitchers allowed two earned runs or fewer for the ninth straight game (1.61 ERA). McGrane allowed an inherited run to score but worked his team-best 10th straight scoreless outing and 14th in the last 15. Judy’s save is the 16th of his Revs career, two shy of matching Michael Nix for eighth on the all-time list. Franco’s RBI was his fourth in his first five at-bats with the Revs. York righty Mitch Atkins (1-4, 3.20) faces Lancaster right-hander Kelvin Vasquez (0-0, 6.17) on Friday at 7 p.m. at Clipper Magazine Stadium. Revs fans can catch the action live on SportsRadio 98.9 FM & 1350 WOYK, 989woyk.com, The New WOYK app, and WOYK on YouTube beginning at 6:55 p.m. with Darrell Henry and Brett Pietrzak on the call.
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