(July 31, 2019 – Bridgewater, NJ): The York Revolution swept a day-night doubleheader from the Somerset Patriots, winning 7-1 and 5-4 on Wednesday at TD Bank Ballpark. The Revs extend the longest road winning streak in franchise history to eight consecutive games, and will go for a four-game sweep on Thursday evening before the road trip continues to New Britain for the weekend.
Ryan Dent opened the scoring in the top of the third in game one, launching a towering home run down the left field line to spot the Revs an early 1-0 lead.
The Patriots answered as Craig Massey led off with a single to right to give Somerset its first base runner, and advanced to third on a hit-and-run single to right by Alfredo Rodriguez. That set up Gabriel Bracamonte for an RBI fielder’s choice, but Revs starter Duke von Schamann retired Scott Kelly on a double play to short to end the inning, and allowed nothing further the rest of the way.
The Revs stormed in front with a five-run fifth inning, taking a commanding 6-1 lead. Henry Castillo ignited the rally with a base hit to right and Dent came up big again with a double over the head of right fielder Will Kengor to put runners at second and third with one out. With the infield in, Justin Trapp came through with a two-run single up the middle to break the tie, and advanced to second on the throw home. That put him in position to score as Melky Mesa followed with an RBI single through the right side of the infield. Telvin Nash ripped a double down the left field line and Isaias Tejeda was intentionally walked to load the bases. Carlos Franco pushed another run across on an RBI fielder’s choice, and Welington Dotel capped the rally with a check swing RBI single into right.
The Revs added one final run in the top of the seventh. Nash ripped a single to left-center and advanced to second on an error as the ball was bobbled by center fielder Justin Pacchioli. Nash advanced to third on a balk and scored his league-leading 70th run of the season on a sac fly to center by Tejeda who picked up his 50th RBI for a 7-1 lead. Reliever Nate Roe was ejected shortly afterward for arguing the balk call and heaved the ball into the stands on his way off the field.
von Schamann (6-3) retired each of his final seven and 14 of his final 15 batters to close it out with the Revs’ third complete game of the season and the fourth of his pro career, working five 1-2-3 innings in the seven-inning three-hitter. He combined to hold the top six batters in the Patriots order to an 0-for-17 mark and struck out seven while walking none.
James Skelton sparked the Revs in the nightcap, handing York a 1-0 lead on a game-opening leadoff homer to right on the second pitch of the evening.
Somerset answered in the bottom of the second as Rey Navarro came across on a throwing error to tie the score at 1-1.
The Revs went back ahead in the fourth as Henry Castillo and Nash singled to set the table, and Tejeda skied his second sac fly of the day on a ball to left, bringing Castillo home for a 2-1 lead.
Revs righty Julio Eusebio was terrific in his first career start and had retired nine of his previous 10 batters faced entering the bottom of the fifth when the Patriots rallied to tie the game. Scott Kelly led things off with a base hit to right and stole second. Bracamonte walked, and both runners advanced on a double steal. Justin Pacchioli ripped a game-tying RBI single to end Eusebio’s night after a career-high four innings. Pacchioli stole second and Will Kengor walked to load the bases. Reliever Julio Perez induced a huge double play as Yovan Gonzalez hit a chopper to third and Franco stepped on third before throwing home to nail Bracamonte at the plate. Perez (5-1) struck out Edwin Espinal to pull off the huge escape and keep the game tied at 2-2.
The Revs surged ahead with three runs in the sixth. Nash led things off with a double off the wall in left field, tying Tejeda for the league lead with 27 doubles on the year. The tie didn’t last long as Tejeda promptly drilled his league-leading 28th double on an RBI shot to the gap in left-center, plating Nash for a 3-2 lead. Franco followed with a two-run homer to right, his fifth of the year and fourth in just over a week to make it 5-2.
Somerset put together a threat against reliever Josh Judy in the bottom of the sixth. Navarro led off with a single and advanced on a pair of passed balls before scoring on a Massey ground out to make it 5-3. Rodriguez doubled to deep left and eventually scored on a two-out infield hit by Bracamonte, dwindling the margin to a one-run game at 5-4. Jameson McGrane entered and struck out Pacchioli swinging to end the threat.
McGrane came up big again the bottom of the seventh. Facing trouble after a leadoff single to left-center by Kengor and a one-out stolen base, McGrane struck out Espinal for the third punch out of his outing, and retired Navarro on a liner to shallow center to secure his 12th save.
Notes: The Revs’ previous record for a road winning streak was five consecutive games, matched earlier this season. In addition to the eight-game road winning streak, York has now won 19 of its last 22 on the road. The Revs have won five straight against the Patriots at TD Bank Ballpark, also a franchise first (previous record was three straight). Game one marked the third consecutive game that Revs pitching allowed just one run (combined three runs on 15 hits in 25 innings). York had outscored opponents 29-3 over a three-game stretch through the game one victory. von Schamann’s last complete game came on August 27, 2017 for Joliet of the Frontier League. He has now won five of his last six starts and ties Mitch Atkins and Dan Minor for the team lead with six wins, which is also tied for fifth-most in the league. It was his sixth start of the season in which he did not issue a walk and second straight. Eusebio’s four innings marked a career-high. The doubleheader sweep is the third on the road this season and seventh all-time; the Revs had never previously swept more than one doubleheader on the road in a given season. York has notched its first two doubleheader sweeps at Somerset over the course of the last two weeks. The Revs finish July with an 18-6 record. McGrane's nine saves in July are tied for third most in a month in club history and are the most since Mike DeMark saved nine games in May, 2016. York has now won 13 of its last 14 series. The 14-5 start to the second half is the best in franchise history. York improves to 48-40 overall, surpassing Somerset (48-41) for the league’s third best overall record. York righty Ricky Schafer makes his Atlantic League debut on Thursday, opposite Somerset lefty Rick Teasley (2-0, 2.35) at 7:05 p.m. 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 on the call.
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